Need advice on overcoming binge eating disorder

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Hi all,

I've been struggling with BED for almost four years. Does anyone have any advice on what to do to begin to overcome it? It is really affecting my life and I don't really know how to stop.

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  • cdemars763
    cdemars763 Posts: 8 Member
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    Maybe professional help is need to find the cause in case it is medical or psychological. My situation is similar in that I eat correctly during the day and then overeat at night. I have seasonal depression that usually ends by February, but this year it hasn't ended to the point that my diabetes is so out of control that I feel sick all the time. I know what it is to just keep eating when I'm not even hungry and I know I will wake in the night with very high sugar level. I wish I could stop too.
  • TaraTaraTara76
    TaraTaraTara76 Posts: 89 Member
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    I have that too and the only thing i know is deal with the underlying emotional issue in your life that's bringing you down. If you can get rid of that problem and be brave to tackle it, it'll help. I'm good at giving advice but not taking it. I don't have the guts to change things bc I'm a chicken.
  • TaraTaraTara76
    TaraTaraTara76 Posts: 89 Member
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    Ps. Maybe u can friend me on here and we can become friends and maybe help eachother. ??
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    why haven't you sought professional help?
  • jeffdeluca
    jeffdeluca Posts: 3 Member
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    I realized I have this too. I found a therapist that deals with it. It has been so great try his far.
  • Myzzlone
    Myzzlone Posts: 34 Member
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    I also battle BED. I find having support of my family is huge. My parents and others woyld often suggest i "have just one bite" not realising that that is the equivalent of saying "just have one drink" to an alchoholic. We talked about it once and when i really opened up and described how i felt to them they stopped. I have to avoid my triggers which for me means no deepfried, sugary, overly processed foods. This app also helps me stop to think about what i eat because i log everything that passes my lips. If you need support from someone else in similar situations feel free to add me and ill be here whenever you need someone to talk to!
  • tracibrown2
    tracibrown2 Posts: 3 Member
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    I struggle with this. No official diagnosis or anything but I tend to eat great during the day at work, etc and then I get home and I'm eating chips, sweets, etc all before dinner and then I fit something in right after dinner. It's terrible. Just know that others are there with you.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I've never sought professional help for BED. The wrenching descriptions of BED I've read on this site lead me to doubt that I experience it. What I do think I experience involves environmental cues to eat. I sit in front of the television, cue the eating. I see the chips on the table ... cue the eating sometimes. When I've gotten into a mode of IDGAF eating I eat salty carby things in excess. My amateur sleuth mode posited that I could try to satisfy the salty urge without feeding the carby urge by eating straight salt. I tried it once. Every time I wanted to reach for the corn chips, I reached instead for a few big grains of pink salt. I ate an extra half gram of sodium that day, but I did not have an extra carb that day. Yesterday I went way over my calories with salty carby things, a disturbing frequently recurring event which has happened more often in the past month since I tasted Nutella for the first time. I don't give myself permission to finish off the Nutella jar, but I have asked my daughters to never again request it be replenished. Today I have the pink salt at hand, and have resorted to a few dozen grains already. I'm avoiding the television even though the baseball game is on. I'm keeping my hands busy with verbosity. I'm looking for ways to avoid the binge. Good luck finding your ways of avoiding it.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    For the salt urge, I have found eating sunflower seeds to be good. The extra salt will cause water retention but the total calories are not excessive, it takes a while to eat them if you go one at a time.
  • Laura040
    Laura040 Posts: 38 Member
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    I have struggled with B.E.D for around 10 years which has now ended up being rediagnosed as bulima in the last year.

    I find anything can trigger me, even something small. I have turned to self help books and workbooks that I found on amazon with amazing reviews. I have also spent time looking up mindful eating and working on a eating and exercise regiment that will work for me.

    It has helped that I've finally allowed myself to come to terms with my diagnosis, and realized there is no "easy" fix. No pill, no quick start easy guide nothing like that. I just decided that I need to finally take control, face my fears and emotions, and do this for myself, my life, and my family.

    Ugh, it's going to be a super long, emotional, roller coaster of a ride. But I'm determined to change my life and with that needing to be complete honest with myseld and get rid of an friendship that may trigger me, workplace triggers (I had to leave my job), and any other triggers until I am able to fully control this.

    A lot of my friends were unable to understand my diagnosis, and always look at it as a lack of self control. I finally had to sit down and describe to them my daily fears, struggles, and so on until they realized this wasn't a lack of self control, this wasn't as easy as some may seem.
  • SnowChick17
    SnowChick17 Posts: 15 Member
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    I have been diagnosed with BED. I highly suggest you seek out some professional help to figure out a plan. My doctor had me on an antidepressant because she felt like that was the underlying issue but it made me feel really bad. It did curb my eating though. There is 3 hours between when I get home from work and when my husband gets home from work that is my "binge time" that I will uncontrollably eat. I would down 2000 calories no problem then eat dinner when my husband got home and pretend like everything was ok even though I was stuffed full and uncomfortable. I find what helps me is to surround myself with people so I can't binge in those 3 hours. Even talking on the phone with someone sometimes helps me stop eating. Lately I have been going to workout classes every day after work to keep my mind off of food. Don't be afraid to talk to people about this condition. It is embarrassing but if you can get the support system around you it helps tremendously. Posting here is a good step in the right direction.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I had to seek professional help to get over binge eating. I've spend thousands of dollars in almost three years of therapy because I have to hit that silly deductible. I used to go every week, now I go every two weeks (1 hour appointments). Every penny was worth it. All of my troubles were based in anxiety, and the binge eating was a poor coping mechanism, and nothing else. As we worked on the anxiety, the binge eating started to go away too. It was a symptom of a bigger problem in my life. I'm far from perfect, but I have so many more tools and a better perspective now to help fight against the urge to binge when things go wrong.
  • johnhitman
    johnhitman Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi all, I'm New to apps but find this one good. I have some serious health issues and gained a few stone. I've spent a lot of time in hospital and around the house unable to get out. I've read your stories and understand your pain It's like tumbling down a hill . For what its worth my advice is, to find something that gets you off your butt and out the door, a home can easily become a prison (a prison with a fridge ). Find someone or something you love and then work like hell to live as long as you can to enjoy it. Best of luck and happiness to you all. And remember the brain is a computer but your the one who programs it.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Another vote for professional help, here. *hug*

    ____________________________________________

    Down 140lbs: My story.