how to stop binge eating?

Hi! Somebody might have already written something about this, but if you eat slow release carbs, they'll keep you feeling full for longer. Baked potatoes is a good or the best example, it has quite a fair amount of calories for being a veg, but at least it won't keep you attacking the fridge every hour, as it will make you feel full for long, however avoid having it with loads of butter or olive oil, otherwise it won't work. Something that also makes you feel full and burn calories is black pepper, so you can combine the two for a cool binge free day. Also it has been demonstrated lately that proteins make you feel full for longer. So... if you make yourself with some brown rice and egg, or jacket potato with pepper, or brown rice with black pepper marinated chicken or something like that you might avoid feeling full. Ahh and pasta, but when it's still a bit hard "al dente" as the italians call it, that makes you feel full quicker and for a long period of time

I am a binge eater also. One thing that I did was to get rid of any food that I could just open and eat. For three months, I went to my cupboard over and over again looking for something that I could just rip open and start eating. AUGH. It was hard. My other problem was eating out. I could order two or three hamburgers on my way home. I would binge on that. Eating in my car and ordering fast food is out now (very hard to do). I am down to eating out once a week at a nice restaurant. My last biggest problem is grocery shopping. That seems to be my one binge day. I buy ice cream, candy, doughnuts, microwaveable good. I eat it all in one night, sigh. I'm working on this one.

It is hard work. Take one day at a time. Don't consider the first binge food off of your diet (if you bindge, you feel like you failed so you feel you might as well keep on eating and then you start eating because you are mad at yourself). This is a visous cycle. Learn ways to stop it. (I'm still working on this one too. I take it one day at a time.)

All this discussion is really helpful.

I started occasionally binge-eating about two years ago. I hate it, and I am trying so hard to break the cycle. I am quite fit, work-out vigorously six days a week, and am not overweight. I eat really healthy for 4 or 5 days. Then, on day 4 or 5, I tend to be overcome by cravings. Eventually, I snap and eat the house. Then I feel terrible, and over-restrict and train really hard to compensate for the next few days. Until I snap again! It's a viscious cycle. I always say 'never again', but it always happens. It's like a "last supper" mentality.

I am convinced it started as a biochemical response to depriving myself too much (as I worked down to my goal weight a couple of years ago). It was a way of coping with food restriction and a lot of exercise. But then somewhere along the way it simply became a habit.

Some things I am going to try:
- I will take myself out for a treat every 3 or 4 days. I honour it. Enjoy it. Savour it. Own it. This may help to break the pattern of secretive bingeing at home.
- Make nothing off-limits
- Working out ess. Overttraining may lead to intense carb/sugar cravings.

Good luck to everyone working on this issue. Would love to hear updates from those working on this!!

Suze

I have the same problem. I don't have junk food to eat in the house, but I just feel like my appetite is out of control! I think drinking water does help, but I have been trying to figure this out myself. I don't do it everyday...so what do I do different on the days that I don't feel like bingeing? one of the things I think is ... I wait too long since the last time I ate... Its like, if you wait til your hungry, you waited to long kinda thing. (since we are eating under our needed calorie intake to loose wieght) so Im gonna try to do little snacks to keep me going with the water. This might mean a small portion at dinner but when the weights off and we go to maintenance calorie intake we will have a little more room to work with. I don't know, just a thought.

I agree with you saying "wait too long since the last time I ate" I run errands with one of my kids extra lunch boxes....holds my water, grapes, carrots and green peppers. This way I can't make the excuse to stop someplace that I know I will regret! When I eat healthy and then jam a fried burger in there, my body freaks!! Good luck.

kristi

I follow a twelve step program for compulsive eating which helps. Also meditation and yoga. There are certain foods that I still don't keep in the house but for the most part, with a family, I can bring most junk foods in my house. It is a one day at a time thing. Good luck!

If it gets to meal time and I am really hungry I have a low calorie snack before I make my dinner and sit down to it. I had a problem with making portions that were far too big and then eating more than I had to because I was eating really fast out of hunger. I make sure I have things like skips or quavers in the flat because they have pretty low calorie content.

I also get snack boxes delivered to my door but I dont think I am allowed to post the name of the website on here that I get them from.

bump

Definitely keep the really tempting "bad stuff" out of the house and try regularly brushing your teeth with strongly flavored toothpaste or chewing really minty gum so that the flavor of anything you might be tempted to binge on will be spoiled by the mintyness. It's easier to avoid eating things you shouldn't if you know you won't be able to really taste them anyway.