binge eating disorder?

LynneM1980
LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else struggle with this? Just diagnosed last month and I am really trying to gain some insight. So far I'm working with a therapist weekly, and she has me logging my amount of binges. I guess it just boils down to the fact that food and I are most definitely not on good terms!

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Some here have mentioned finding the "Brain over Binge" podcast helpful.
  • LynneM1980
    LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
    Thank you! I'll do a search for that.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    I found therapy incredibly helpful. In my case I used dialectical behavior therapy, because cognitive behavior therapy wasn't a good fit. It wasn't something I kept doing forever, but every now and then when things get hard I find myself remembering and re-implementing the strategies more deliberately again. :)

    It didn't solve my overeating entirely, because that wasn't entirely or even primarily binge related, but it laid a very important groundwork and I can be much more neutral about food now than I used to be. Best of luck to you!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    I have been struggling with this for decades, not as much the last couple of years though, I am slowly improving my relationship with food, I found the book Overcoming Binge Eating (Christopher Fairburn) quite helpful.
  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
    I have been suffering from this as well for a looooooong time! What really has helped me is to eat enough calories...when I try to reduce too much the next day all bets are off! I wish you all the best and if I can help you in any way please let me know.
  • LynneM1980
    LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    I have been struggling with this for decades, not as much the last couple of years though, I am slowly improving my relationship with food, I found the book Overcoming Binge Eating (Christopher Fairburn) quite helpful.

    Thank you! I'll see if my library has it.
  • LynneM1980
    LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
    sarah7591 wrote: »
    I have been suffering from this as well for a looooooong time! What really has helped me is to eat enough calories...when I try to reduce too much the next day all bets are off! I wish you all the best and if I can help you in any way please let me know.

    Thanks so much!! I've found if I deny myself all day , the next day I am the same and I just eat everything in sight. I'm working with a therapist and hoping against hope to get a handle on things!
  • Beautyofdreams
    Beautyofdreams Posts: 1,009 Member
    Have you tried recording time of binge, what you ate and how you were feeling just prior to bingeing and after. I did this to show my therapist and work on strategies to avoid triggers and resolve the stresses actually bothering me. I wish you success, OP.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    Although I was never "officially" diagnosed, I am pretty sure I had this in my mid 20's, and probably as early as my teens. I even sought out counseling for it and bought the books and workbooks. This was back in the early 90's, then early 00's, before it was more well-known. Mine began out of severely restrictive dieting and dissatisfaction with my body. I initially binged with the idea of purging somehow, mostly with laxative-type meds and efforts, but could never make myself vomit.

    What helped for me was not restricting my intake at all and getting to the root of why I was doing it. I then set out to lose some weight by focusing on positive things and not counting anything. I eventually got the point where I felt I had developed a pretty comfortable relationship with food, and decided to enter a "weight loss contest" through my local park district 9 months after my 2nd/last child was born. It introduced me to MFP. Although the idea of counting calories/restricting scared me a bit, I made sure to eat plenty and learned what types of foods were more filling (e.g., protein and fiber).

    Part of what helped me was learning to have a "growth mindset" and change my thinking about weight loss. I always had this thought--either consciously or subconsciously--that if I restricted my intake in any way, I would binge. I mean, that was my pattern for several years! For that to happen, that meant my restriction (e.g., calorie deficit) had to be small, and I had to add to my CO through more movement throughout the day, not just the formal exercise I already enjoyed. I also had to tell myself that I could learn to be the person who did NOT binge, who could control herself around foods, that in fact I wasn't powerless (like OA meetings would tell me) over certain foods. If I ever start to feel like I might binge, I am usually able to turn that off.



  • LynneM1980
    LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
    Beautyofdreams wrote: »
    Have you tried recording time of binge, what you ate and how you were feeling just prior to bingeing and after. I did this to show my therapist and work on strategies to avoid triggers and resolve the stresses actually bothering me. I wish you success, OP.

    I'm actually working on this over the next two weeks. I have a few worksheet type pages she is having me fill out to see what is triggering things. Thanks!!!
    Speakeasy76 wrote: »
    Although I was never "officially" diagnosed, I am pretty sure I had this in my mid 20's, and probably as early as my teens. I even sought out counseling for it and bought the books and workbooks. This was back in the early 90's, then early 00's, before it was more well-known. Mine began out of severely restrictive dieting and dissatisfaction with my body. I initially binged with the idea of purging somehow, mostly with laxative-type meds and efforts, but could never make myself vomit



    I find myself doing the same thing, and I appreciate your advice!! I'm not to a point yet where I can stop counting everything I eat but hopefully with therapy my self esteem will get better and I can tackle this in a healthier way.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    i started paying attention to my binges and learning triggers. i still binge but a day or two not months
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    I have been struggling with this for decades, not as much the last couple of years though, I am slowly improving my relationship with food, I found the book Overcoming Binge Eating (Christopher Fairburn) quite helpful.

    Second this book. Actually working through it (as opposed to just reading it) was really helpful to me.
  • mikethewriter
    mikethewriter Posts: 18 Member
    edited June 2021
    Hey @LynneM1980
    Like @scarlett_k mentioned, I have also read this book Overcoming Binge Eating by Christopher Fairburn. I must say this book has helped me a lot in fighting with binge eating disorder. If I can do it, then surely you can do it too. All the best!
  • LynneM1980
    LynneM1980 Posts: 102 Member
    mikethewriter wrote: »
    Hey @LynneM1980
    Like @scarlett_k mentioned, I have also read this book Overcoming Binge Eating by Christopher Fairburn. I must say this book has helped me a lot in fighting with binge eating disorder. If I can do it, then surely you can do it too. All the best!

    Thank you Scarlett and Mike! I'll see if my library has it, and if so I'll give it a go!
  • Susan_Star
    Susan_Star Posts: 15 Member
    I have been dealing with binge eating disorder and emotional eating disorder for years now, and unfortunately it’s gotten quite a bit worse in the last few years so I really put a lot of weight on.

    I just started seeing a weight-loss doctor, and she said that she wants to put me on prescription weight loss medicine And the doctor said this would get my binge eating disorder under control because I will lose my appetite

    I’m feeling rather hesitant about going on a prescription, because I’m scared of side effects, space has anyone else tried this?
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    edited July 2021
    Medications might be a helpful part of treatment, but not the only part of treatment. Just like antidepressants can help with the symptoms of depression, but people still need therapy to learn new ways of interacting with the world and new ways of thinking when they hit stressful times.

    I was started on medication for migraines that is also used for weight loss, and I was amazed at how much it changed my appetite. I was a little angry that no doctor had brought it up as an option to me in the past. There is a physiologic drive to eating... it isn’t all emotional. If you track your binges and your intake on MFP, you might find that your tendency to binge occurs more often on days when you’ve eaten fewer calories several days in a row, or been too restrictive for another reason, or you’re at a phase in your menstrual cycle where you typically eat a few more calories than at other times. Once I learned to separate emotions and eating, and stopped blaming myself for needing to fuel my body, I saw these normal rhythms.

    The medication took off a lot of that edge, and a lot of the normal physiologic response of a heavy body weight response to things like a carbohydrate load. I don’t have to be as attentive to food, as on top of my macros all the time to lose weight with the medication. It’s easier to lose weight with it. It’s easier to not think about food, because whatever mis-wiring that was constantly turned on is finally working more normally.

    I still have to consciously turn elsewhere when I face stress. I have to know my triggers and use other means to meet my needs. That took work with a trauma therapist, and a health coach who understood binge eating behaviors.
  • OnceAndFutureAthlete
    OnceAndFutureAthlete Posts: 192 Member
    Cheesy567 wrote: »
    Medications might be a helpful part of treatment, but not the only part of treatment. Just like antidepressants can help with the symptoms of depression, but people still need therapy to learn new ways of interacting with the world and new ways of thinking when they hit stressful times.

    I was started on medication for migraines that is also used for weight loss, and I was amazed at how much it changed my appetite. I was a little angry that no doctor had brought it up as an option to me in the past. There is a physiologic drive to eating... it isn’t all emotional. If you track your binges and your intake on MFP, you might find that your tendency to binge occurs more often on days when you’ve eaten fewer calories several days in a row, or been too restrictive for another reason, or you’re at a phase in your menstrual cycle where you typically eat a few more calories than at other times. Once I learned to separate emotions and eating, and stopped blaming myself for needing to fuel my body, I saw these normal rhythms.

    The medication took off a lot of that edge, and a lot of the normal physiologic response of a heavy body weight response to things like a carbohydrate load. I don’t have to be as attentive to food, as on top of my macros all the time to lose weight with the medication. It’s easier to lose weight with it. It’s easier to not think about food, because whatever mis-wiring that was constantly turned on is finally working more normally.

    I still have to consciously turn elsewhere when I face stress. I have to know my triggers and use other means to meet my needs. That took work with a trauma therapist, and a health coach who understood binge eating behaviors.

    I'd just like to disagree with the bolded part above, if I may, or at least offer a counterpoint. As long as I stay on my AD, I haven't needed therapy. It's purely a brain chem thing with me, or so it seems. If I go off for even a couple days, I start feeling overwhelmed by the smallest set-backs or need to multi-task, and that's when I need strategies, etc. But as long as I keep constant with the medication, the issue really doesn't arise.

    I think it's similar to your comment about meds and hunger. Which I totally agree with. I had a very similar thing happen: ended at 278# because of a constant, nagging hunger that nothing seemed to satisfy. Found a new doc who put me back on my AD, bumped up my Vit D, and found I had a slight low thyroid function. Something about addressing those issues has totally changed my brain re: eating. I still get hungry when I don't eat, but it's not the same constant, obsessive nagging. Which has made it so much easier to use MFP strategies and lose 40# as of this morning.

    I think so often we blame ourselves, attribute our issues to some kind of weakness or moral failing, but sometimes it may be just physical. I wear glasses because my eyes don't work like they should, and I don't judge (blame) myself about that; I've worked to change my thinking to do the same about my eating.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    Thank you @OnceAndFutureAthlete, thank you for correcting me and for sharing your story. And I love your comparison with the glasses!
  • JenneauInLA
    JenneauInLA Posts: 18 Member
    sarah7591 wrote: »
    I have been suffering from this as well for a looooooong time! What really has helped me is to eat enough calories...when I try to reduce too much the next day all bets are off! I wish you all the best and if I can help you in any way please let me know.

    Kudos on starting therapy! Keep an open mind and you can get a lot out of it. For me, binge eating was physiological, but what I did about it was emotional/psychological. What I mean is that my messed-up metabolism would make me ravenous, but it was my self-esteem/body image that allowed it to become a full-on binge/purge when I overate. So the trigger was a sugar addiction, even though I didn't only crave sweet foods. I would suddenly get too hungry to control it, and usually while trying to "diet." Then all bets were off! I won't give diet advice, but if you consider that there may be a nutritional component it could take some of the pressure off while you continue with therapy and figure stuff out. Be well!
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 326 Member
    I know someone who attends Overeaters Anonymous with this issue and it seems to help. I would check with your therapist first though

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