Binge eaters only. Loving food, too much, managing stress hormone over earing

Wow what brilliant responses thank you for sharing. I want to sit down with pen and paper and take notes.

I think carbs give me a bit of a rush when I’m down, today was pancakes../. 4, 1 wasn’t enough!

It’s hard with children, cold weather and being around lovely food feeling a little miserable.

Oddly I did notice a few weeks ago that when I binged on one day, intake approx 4000 kcal (!) when I kept the rest of the week around 1800 kcal I actually lost not gained weight!

I’m worse before my monthly time, but feel I have to be slightly obsessive about planning meals etc. Years ago I would be working and muss lunch or breakfast and would semi binge in my evening meal but was slim, made healthier choices.


When I was ill recently I felt what it was like to have limited appetite and it was bizarrely liberating I could eat a slice of cake and didn’t want another- I was full.

I notice when my husband and I have pizza I ask that I only have a small plate half filled with salad, if you filled my plate with just pizza I would eat it all, whereas my husband stops and can’t eat any more because he is full.

I can be perfectionist, am a bit of a people pleaser, I work with very ill people and which can be sad and am prone to very mild depression and I know that food often gives me a “lift” in mood- whereas I have friends who find a drink helps them.

Give me a pack of biscuits and I will never want one I’ll want the lot or none. I’ve tried the whole normal person apparoach it take one, savour it don’t feel guilty but nope I still want the lot.

As I said my one way of managing my weight appears to be moderating portions during the week- but the math doesn’t add up as my binge says I can consume quite a few calories but as long as I don’t keep bingeing then I appear to not gain.

I just wish something else in life gave me a boost like food does.

singularlysarah wrote: »

I'm still struggling with this, but I'll share what has helped reduce my cravings to binge-eat. First of all, I'm very careful to not let myself get hangry. My body seems to overreact if I get too hungry and all I can think about is eating and all I crave is bad food. And then the normal amount of food is never enough - I'll eat dinner but then just keep eating afterwards until I'm miserable. There are also certain foods I absolutely cannot have in my house because I will binge eat them; for me, it's salty snacks like chips or Cheez-Its and I will not buy them anymore. I have to be especially careful when I'm feeling bad - either emotionally or physically - because I get it in my head that food will fix those bad feelings and will just keep eating. I've managed to structure my days I work to keep from most binge triggers, but my days off I still struggle when I'm home alone. When I binged more often, it was always alone, either in my car or my house, and happened almost every time I had a day off. I am still working through that, but I find if I make healthy snacks easy to grab and give myself fun activities to do on my days off that I look forward to instead of lying around being a bum and watching Netflix, that I'm less tempted to binge. I am also trying to understand what I'm thinking and feeling when I'm wanting to binge and find productive ways to handle the stress/boredom/anxiety/hanger/perfectionist thoughts and feelings.

Hope that gives you some ideas! Wishing you the best on your own journey.

singularlysarah wrote: »

I'm still struggling with this, but I'll share what has helped reduce my cravings to binge-eat. First of all, I'm very careful to not let myself get hangry. My body seems to overreact if I get too hungry and all I can think about is eating and all I crave is bad food. And then the normal amount of food is never enough - I'll eat dinner but then just keep eating afterwards until I'm miserable. There are also certain foods I absolutely cannot have in my house because I will binge eat them; for me, it's salty snacks like chips or Cheez-Its and I will not buy them anymore. I have to be especially careful when I'm feeling bad - either emotionally or physically - because I get it in my head that food will fix those bad feelings and will just keep eating. I've managed to structure my days I work to keep from most binge triggers, but my days off I still struggle when I'm home alone. When I binged more often, it was always alone, either in my car or my house, and happened almost every time I had a day off. I am still working through that, but I find if I make healthy snacks easy to grab and give myself fun activities to do on my days off that I look forward to instead of lying around being a bum and watching Netflix, that I'm less tempted to binge. I am also trying to understand what I'm thinking and feeling when I'm wanting to binge and find productive ways to handle the stress/boredom/anxiety/hanger/perfectionist thoughts and feelings.

Hope that gives you some ideas! Wishing you the best on your own journey.

Really interesting thank you! I can overeat in any setting but my bingeing yo overcome emotion is almost always alone. Like you at work if I’m busy then o don’t but if I’m stressed and working hard I reach for sugar in any form and when I get home from work... well!

In the U.K. weather is miserable and weekends when feeling worn out and looking after little people it can be a real challenge.

Interesting with regards to that hit from food. When I’m on holiday I’m the only person that comes home slimmer, I relax, get enough sleep and enjoy the beautiful salads etc.

It sounds like you have been your own car therapist and have done some brilliant self reflection. Well done! Thank you for posting. The hangry tip is interesting I’m like that too, although if I snack a lot I can snack too much and think of food too much if that makes sense?

ilovejasonlantz wrote: »

Intermittent fasting helped me to stop thinking about food 24/7.
I fast for 16 hours and I never eat breakfast because it makes me hungrier throughout the day.
I eat my first meal at noon and my second at 6 and I feel a lot less hungry than when I was eating 3 meals a day. I don’t go to bed dreaming of pancakes or something anymore and I just drink water if I am hungry.

this! i have been researching this for myself and believe i need to learn to do this. I tend to binge during the week before TOM ( ugh ) but the other 3 weeks i do great. I think i can relearn this behavior with fasting to retrain my brain. thanks!

This is really interesting thank you. I don’t want to obsess about food more but I found the eat regularly and things you love approach to be a nightmare. What I’m slightly scared of is challenging my low moods without food. Thank you for sharing x

tammyfranks2 wrote: »

I am 51 and I have binged all my life , I don't eat 2 pieces of chocolate , I eat the whole box , I don't eat 1 doughnut I eat the whole box , I never ate breakfast , I maybe wouldn't eat til after 4pm , but then I would eat all night , into 2 or 3 am , bag of chips half a pizza , whatever i had . I am in so much pain , I have arthritis , and lymph edema so one of my legs is huge . my birthday was jan 16 and I am done , overeating and binge eating , I can not just do it once a week or give myself a cheat day , I have to stop it all . So I am doing low carb/ keto diet . This diet works for me , I can binge on pepperoni , or cheese or pork rinds , stuff I am aloud to have . But I am not even doing that , I am following the diet right . I am losing weight , and my legs feel better, but I will never be rid of the binge , it will always be there waiting like a demon in the dark .

I am sorry to hear of your struggles. However you are tackling something you have struggled your whole life! That’s amazing and any success is success surely. I am exactly the same with one bite I want the lot. I am not excusing but think it’s just one of those things we will always have to manage . Just like I have a friend who has to watch what she drinks... because one is never enough.

I think if we work hard we can achieve this. Thank you for sharing and well done for making changes...!!

Kazgorat may I ask what your diet consists of today?

I do believe eating can be addictive I’m not excusing it, but my dad was the same as was my grandma. My mum has always been a “love food but I’m full now” as have my siblings and man the maternal side. It’s too much of a coincidence to not have a genetic component. As are the low moods ...