Binging

abbyhodgkinson · January 2022

I'm a binge eater. It ruins my life. When I have motivation to get fit and healthy I am so focused and lose heaps of weight but the minute I lose motivation I just eat. It's like I never feel full and rarely feel sick after either. I know I'm not hungry but I keep eating whatever I can get my hands on. I've tried hypnosis, dieticians and counselling but can't make any work for me. Having someone say "just don't eat" doesn't work. Can anyone give me advice or links to find help, I just don't know what to do.

Kelly22081822 · January 2022

Hi 👋 I am exactly the same 😔. First time trying this though so 🤞. If your UK based have you ever looked on the BEAT website ? They have good resources and chat rooms full of people facing the same struggles . Happy to be a friend 😊 if it was help ? Just add me x

Rsrs35 · January 2022

Firstly hugs.

I don’t think this type of binge eating is given enough thought because it doesn’t come with anything else like purging or strict deficit / fasting.

Maybe some people assume that “we’ll you’re just over eating” just stop right?

So here’s a few tips on what I think might help you and by jog being here you’ve already taken the biggest step. Half your work is done

))

Don’t massively change anything for a week but start logging absolutely everything you eat - I mean every little morsel!!

This will then show you a couple of things
- what types of food you reach for
- how many calories you consume each day

I know it’s a week of waiting when you have motivation, but remember - it’s your motivation right? It’s not going to just leave. It’s always there. Don’t be fooled into thinking your motivation will go. We can trick out motivation by taking tiny action steps - like putting on our trainers and going for a walk. Because motion creates motivation.

So let this weeks motion be that you are figuring out what you have been doing on a general basis before you figure out your next step.

Then there are a whole bunch of steps after this but I do think you need to understand what you eat, your emotions when you eat, sad, angry, tired, lonely etc - and some therapy can help
You figure this out.

CBT is great for emotional eaters.

))
All the best

Xellercin · January 2022

You say you tried counselling, but what kind of counselling? Did you feel totally comfortable with your counsellor? The main reason therapy fails is because someone tries it with someone who isn't a good fit and then they give up.

For sure you need really good therapy, no question. But it might take a few tries to find a really top notch, ideal-fit therapist for you.

cathy100lynx · February 2022

From my experience, 1200 or so calories a day is not enough. It's too restrictive and leads to overeating, so you might want to try adding a few hundred calories a day. It sounds counterintuitive, but in the end, you would probably eat less. Also, I highly recommend an app (both for iPhones and androids) that really helped normalize my eating. It's free and quite easy to use and is called RR or Recovery Record. You plan healthy meals and record all your meals and snacks (preferably before you eat them) but you don't count calories. They suggest you eat three meals and three snacks a day, which prevents you from getting too hungry. I found that it took the food obsession away and very quickly, I started eating less and finally eating normally. You might want to try it for a while and then cautiously go back to counting calories but make sure you don't starve yourself or the diet/binge cycle will just continue. Good luck to all of you!

thewhipple12955 · February 2022

I was the ultimate binge eater. I never stopped. I would have friends round and as the evening progressed I was wanting them to hurry up and leave so I could start my binge. I knew I had a serious problem as I literally never stopped eating in the evenings. About 6 months ago I said "no more" but until that "no more" I was actually comfortable just eating. I literally stopped overnight and stayed clean for 6 months and got in good shape lost a lot of weight and was proud to take my top off as I had shape. Lately the urges started creeping back in. I visualize what I went through and keep myself motivated by saying I do not want to go back. I cant go back as I bought a new closet full of clothes and if I put on weight they will not fit. There is no magic pill. Listen to podcasts. Watch youtube shows where you see how companies making this stuff addictive and fight back.

cupcakesandproteinshakes · February 2022

The brain over binge podcast really helped me. I have never been diagnosed with a BED but I had a period of eating repeatedly and secretly to the point of needing to vomit because I was so uncomfortable. Listen to the podcast. It may help. She has very simple concepts. But you have to br patient and put any thoughts of losing weight aside until the binge issues are resolved.

zebasschick · February 2022

i'm a binger. something that helps is to have low calorie snacks that i really like ready to grab. for example, 2 sugar-free snack pack juicy gels is 10 calories, a cherry light & fit yogurt is 80 calories with a decent amount of protein, 1 baby bel mini is 50 calories.

when i started losing weight, i was 242 pounds, and lost 60 pounds by doing food substitutions without changing anything else. instead of full fat cheese, i'd eat light cheese (there are a few that taste good), instead of full fat ice cream, i like dryer's slow churned sugar free, instead of 2% milk, i had fat free milk - i like the taste of lactose free store brand milk better than the regular or lactaid milk. i discovered i prefer dannon light & fit cherry and vanilla greek yogurts to other yogurts, and they're lower in calories and sugar. or if you're in the u.s., kroger makes a light greek yogurt that is imo excellent. nd so on. there are some yummy lower calorie brownie and cookie recipes out there, too.

these days, i enjoy both instant and cook and serve sugar free jello chocolate pudding - with non-fat milk, it's low in calories and yummy. i make a cabbage slaw with my favorite light dressing and white pepper, and keep some in the fridge so i can grab it when i want something not sweet. the 37 calorie brownies are tasty (recipe found on MFP and elsewhere) are good. i also found Scotty's keto bread and cake mixes claim to be super low in calories, and i tested my blood sugar, and they don't drive it up, so they probably really are super low in calories. i make the bread mix into crackers, too.

things like mushrooms and broccoli, raw or lightly cooked, with a light dressing can be just the ticket, and i've found that if i roast red bell peppers with very light salt in the air fryer, they're just so satisfying.

this next doesn't always work for me, but when i get food cravings and i know i'm not actually hungry, i try and do something i love. sketching, watercolor painting, playing the bass or the harp are things i love doing that i also find engrossing. i find i mostly binge when i'm stressed out, worrying or very tired, and i find doing those things helps unless i'm very tired. if i'm very tired, i listen to an audiobook, and once i get into the story, i usually fall asleep. if i'm worried about napping too long, i set an alarm for the latest time i need to be awake.

Binging

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