Can’t stop binge eating! HELP!
HoneyBeez94
Posts: 46 Member
I need help, I cannot stop binge eating. I have never been like this before and it’s beginning to scare me. I will start off the day okay, taking note of what i’m eating but by the evening I will begin to lose control and start eating anything I can get my hands on. I have purposely tried to put the unhealthy foods out of sight and place them into difficult to reach places to try and train myself to avoid them and conveniently place healthy foods out for me to grab, but I seem to automatically ignore this and go into the places where I have hidden the foods and go CRAZY! I don’t know if i’m suffering from an eating disorder and if I need to seek help for my manic eating episodes. Has anyone gone through something like this? If so how did you overcome it? It’s been going on for a little over a week now and my weight has levelled off. I think i’ve been eating well over 2,000 calories a day when I have these episodes...
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Replies
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2000 calories is a normal average number of calories?3
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Are you currently trying to gain weight?0
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I’ve been eating well over 2,000 calories a day (possibly 3,000) and I know I need to eat 1,200 calories a day that is recommended, i’m trying to lose weight1
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I’m trying to lose 7lbs, not comfortable discussing my weight haha
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I’m trying to lose 7lbs, not comfortable discussing my weight haha
Are you underweight or near underweight ?
Also what are your goals?
How long has the binging been going on? Are you being overly restrictive with your diet? Do you have a history of food issues? 1200 cals may not be enough for you and can lead to overeating. Also if you are lean trying to get leaner, hunger can take over.4 -
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I just feel like my body is out of whack right now and just can’t stop eating sweet things! I’m not underweight haha just trying to be healthy at the moment but with great difficulty
hopefully I can get to my goal weight but just wanted to see if anyone had experienced this with dieting before? 1 -
I just feel like my body is out of whack right now and just can’t stop eating sweet things! I’m not underweight haha just trying to be healthy at the moment but with great difficulty hopefully I can get to my goal weight but just wanted to see if anyone had experienced this with dieting before?
Are you still 113lbs?3 -
I’m trying to lose 7lbs, not comfortable discussing my weight haha
Are you underweight or near underweight ?
Also what are your goals?
How long has the binging been going on? Are you being overly restrictive with your diet? Do you have a history of food issues? 1200 cals may not be enough for you and can lead to overeating. Also if you are lean trying to get leaner, hunger can take over.
Sorry I added some more questions here, just in case you didn't see them.0 -
try chromium picolate ti kill sugar craving. it works for me10
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Have someone else hide the unhealthy foods or get rid of them completely. Workout when you feel like you are about to binge. Pick up a hobby like sewing or knitting. Keep yourself busy!1
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Thanks for the advice so far, I will ask my family to help hide them as I know i’ll keep running back to them. I want to lose my extra weight after gaining some over Christmas and it doesn’t look good on me
plus the food I eat wreaks havoc with my digestive system as I suffer with IBS and get plagued with spots the stomach pain can be unbearable because of it... 0 -
The same thing happened to me last week. It was when i made the transition from cutting to bulking. I had my first sugary treat(cheesecake) and after that i started craving sugar so bad it opened the floodgates. Was eating about 4000-5000 cal per day for like a week. It was absolutly terrible. On friday i decided enough was enough and i cut all carbs that day and powered through my craving and gradually added back clean carbs over the past couple days. Im finally back on track and my sugar craving has gone down immensely. Im not sure of the science behind it but yeah thats my experience.1
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Thanks for the advice so far, I will ask my family to help hide them as I know i’ll keep running back to them. I want to lose my extra weight after gaining some over Christmas and it doesn’t look good on me plus the food I eat wreaks havoc with my digestive system as I suffer with IBS and get plagued with spots the stomach pain can be unbearable because of it...
Hiding food is not the answer. And knowing you will keep running to them is an unhealthy approach to dealing with this. If you have a known medical condition, you need a 'diet' that that caters to the best ways to eat to keep that under control and help you manage weight better with proper balance.
That said, with only 7 vanity pounds to lose says you are at an already healthy weight and 1200 is too aggressive. Under eating and restricting too much is going to cause you to want to binge. Trying to drop more weight that you don't necessarily have to lose, your body may try to be getting back into hormonal balance and if you exercise as well this is causing additional stress on your body which also adds hunger too.
I know that there is much more to your situation, don't ignore what your body is telling you. I don't think you would have mentioned getting help for this if it has not reached a level of concern for you. Anytime you feel out of control with eating and weight loss, always seek the advice from professionals that are more knowledgeable and equipped to help you.7 -
Yes, I've suffered exactly what you described. I don't know what kind of diet you have been following or have followed in the past, but if you're overweight you could be suffering from insulin resistance. It's a situation where you have too much insulin in your system (blood) and it can't access getting the sugar into the cells because they are constantly being barraged by this insulin so they resist it. But in essence, the cells are starving so you are driven to eat, but the very foods you are eating are creating the release of too much insulin. It's a vicious cycle. I found the only diet that has helped me is a low carb, high fat, moderate protein diet. I've lost 25 lbs....after gaining 40!!, so I too have a way to go. The protocol I follow is the one Dr. Eric Berg recommends. Please, do yourself a favor and check out his Youtube channel videos, follow him on Instagram. I've known about him for the last 4 years and have had great success with him in the past, but thought I could go back to my other way of eating and it failed. It's just a suggestion, but I know exactly what you are experiencing and how frightening and discouraging it can be.6
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I’ve been there and have been known to be a binge eater myself. Here’s what helps me.
- Stay 100% on track. For me, even one cheat meal isn’t a good idea. Because that turns into a cheat day or a cheat weekend. “I’ll just have this one cookie. Can very quickly turn into I ate the entire kitchen.” Don’t give in and stay on track. Commit to your healthy food and your healthy eating.
- Once you’re off track it can be hard to get back on track. The downward spiral of binge eating is hard to turn off. Which is why I don’t turn it on, as mentioned above. Likewise, once you are on track you can gain momentum as you will be happier and pleased with progress. Make the commitment to being on track for a week or two and the momentum should take off.
- Keep yourself busy with things that keep your mind preoccupied. Hobbies, work, cleaning, friends, anything. Try to stay away from doing things that tend to lead to thoughts of junk food. For me that’s watching TV.
- Look objectively at yourself and your life. You are likely binging because you are unhappy, frustrated, upset, ectera. Identify the issue and take measures to solve it.
- When you are about to binge ask yourself questions such as: “Is this going to make me feel better and/or happier? Is this worth it? Do I really need to eat this? Is this taking me towards where I want to be? How am I going to feel about this after/later/tomorrow?
It is within your control. Trust me I’ve been there. And if there is anything that I’ve learned its to not get caught up in the downwards spiral. It’s never worth it. That cookie that took you 30 seconds to eat is not worth the set back. If you’re caught in the storm, pull yourself out ASAP. You’ll thank yourself later.2 -
Hope I can help! First try finding patterns in the binge eating. When are you most likely to binge? At night, before bed, after a workout, etc. For me I would stick to diet macros alll day and come 7pm, my sweet tooth would take control & Id find myself eating 2 boxes of Cereal!
Heres what I did once I noticed this- I started consuming my Fats around night time and my carbs earlier. I felt fuller quicker but also satisfied my sweet craving. EX. rice cakes with Peanutbutter. Fats help you stay fulll longer!
Intermittent fasting! When your in a deficit with low calories that are spread throughout the day, you tend to leave 2-3 hours in between meals and by the time your ready to eat your starving and typically will eat the first thing in sight!. IF allows you to eat the Same calories in a shorter time. So basically you can set your eating window to whats easiest for you! I start eating around 12pm-8pm (16/8) and workout from 9:30am-11ish AM. In my 8 hr eating window, Im soo full, I no longer think about food!. At first it DOES take some getting used to but your body will adjust. Again just a suggestion its really just changing timing of food but it helps if your always hungry!
Another thing mentioned above is cheatmeals. they affect insulin levels and can cause further cravings and elicit more binge episodes. Unfortunately if you cant have JUST one cookie without eating the entire box like me- it might be best to avoid it all together. It comes down to knowing yourself!
this might be self explanatory and obvious but Water. drink it till you become sick lol literally. Like it will make u full. I drink 2 cups before and after each meal. Add Bcaas, glutamine whatever but lastly its just gonna take lots of willpower!0 -
HoneyBeez94 wrote: »I need help, I cannot stop binge eating. I have never been like this before and it’s beginning to scare me. I will start off the day okay, taking note of what i’m eating but by the evening I will begin to lose control and start eating anything I can get my hands on. I have purposely tried to put the unhealthy foods out of sight and place them into difficult to reach places to try and train myself to avoid them and conveniently place healthy foods out for me to grab, but I seem to automatically ignore this and go into the places where I have hidden the foods and go CRAZY! I don’t know if i’m suffering from an eating disorder and if I need to seek help for my manic eating episodes. Has anyone gone through something like this? If so how did you overcome it? It’s been going on for a little over a week now and my weight has levelled off. I think i’ve been eating well over 2,000 calories a day when I have these episodes...
actual hunger? appetite? boredom snacking? ..?
Log it- maybe it isn't a lot extra compared to what you should be eating (maybe you were under-eating earlier and it is actual hunger).
If you are sitting in front of the TV or similar while this happens, my bet would be habitual boredom snacking. Find a hobby; also see the below.
Are there particular 'trigger foods' that you tend to want more and more and more of? - don't keep these in multiple servings at home (hidden or otherwise). Exercise the self-control during the 20 minutes in the supermarket so you won't during the hours at home.
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Op if you are in fact 113 pounds I'd reccomend instead of weight loss switching your goal to maintenance and progressive lifting program.TavistockToad wrote: »I just feel like my body is out of whack right now and just can’t stop eating sweet things! I’m not underweight haha just trying to be healthy at the moment but with great difficulty hopefully I can get to my goal weight but just wanted to see if anyone had experienced this with dieting before?
Are you still 113lbs?
When you're at maintenance you're going to be able to eat a lot more. 1,200 is probably a small amount for you, and thus you're binging. Good luck!!
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I think This is going to be very difficult for you to hear and even harder to implement, but it sounds like you need a full break from dieting. Youre in an awful cycle that more restriction won't break. After an extended period of being in a hypocaloric state you are primed psychologically and hormonally to binge binge binge!! It can be rough, but a few weeks of eating at maintenance calories will be exactly what you need to reset and come back fresh and ready to meet your goal2
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