Binge eating disorder and counting calories

emjam99
emjam99 Posts: 92 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
I've come to terms with the fact that binge eating disorder is something I struggle with. I binge frequently, eat alone, (I hate eating in front of people) and would avoid situations that involve food often. Recently then binging sort of got out of hand mixed in with counting calories (don't get me wrong myfitnesspal is the best thing and calorie counting helped me lose 45 pounds) but I also became a bit obsessed and would put myself in a vicious cycle of binging and saying I'll start fresh the next day. I'm currently 5'5 138 pounds and would like to ale improvements to my body whether that's building muscle or losing more weight, however I'm worried about my well being. Should I maintain my weight for a while and fight my disorder or try another method? Thank you! (Ps. I never restrict my diet where I starve myself and have to binge I just did it)

Replies

  • Howdoyoufeeltoday
    Howdoyoufeeltoday Posts: 481 Member
    My vote would be maintain. It's hard to keep losing weight when your brain keeps trying to tell you the opppsite. I have ed issues myself and the only thing that ever helped was cutting out any form of restriction and then maintaining my calories. I just try to make better choices and eat when when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. It's a hard process but after years of doing all the wrong things it's the only thing that seems to keep on better track.
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
    As someone who also struggles with an eating disorder, I agree with maintaining and working on your relationship with food. You're a healthy BMI at the moment which is great- and if you want to do extra work on your body in future like building muscle, getting the binging under control now really is essential, so that you have a strong base to start from.

    You might like to talk to a therapist about this if you want to speed up the process (CBT is a good type of therapy for eating disorders). Maybe you already are :) If you can't afford therapy, you could try and look for self help workbooks online or in the library?
    Seeing a dietitian specialising in eating disorders might also be a good idea to make sure your diet in general is balanced. It sounds like calorie counting isn't working great for you at the moment, so you could potentially work out a flexible meal plan that doesn't require counting calories? It might be that thing you need to break the binge/start over cycle you seem to be stuck in. :heart:

    Feel free to friend me, I'm recovering from six years of eating disorders so I might be able to help you out with some relatability/treatment experiences :) Best wishes!
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    For me I need a range when counting calories (Im still medically 10lb overweight). I dont go over or under which stops me from over restricting. I also got professional help for my ED before I started counting cals.

    You are in a healthy weight range so like others I'd recommend maintaining while getting help to address the relationship you have with food.
  • Fitgirllife72
    Fitgirllife72 Posts: 500 Member
    Come join us on our no binge accountability support group. I don't know how to post a link but if you put that in search you can find us. We are a group of people who support each other through the binge and restrict cycle.
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