BINGEING

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jennafluff
jennafluff Posts: 54
in Health and Weight Loss
Am I the only person that binges even tho I don't want to??? Wondering if anyone has any tips/suggestions for the following scenario!! I'm an at-home Mum (and love it) have a busy morning, get the littlies lunched and down for their afternoon nap and then have my 'me' time till the big kids get home from school. Usually sew, read or do some book work. However; every now and then I find myself at the pantry looking at chips, chocs - you get the picture- and wondering what to eat! I tell myself 'you'll feel awful once you've finished', 'you don't even like that food', 'shut the door and walk away', yet some inner demon takes over and............... that's another day gone with out losing weight!! I've only just joined up to fitnesspal so am hoping I may be able to curb it with that??? would love to meet some 'friends' who suffer in similar ways!!!!!!!!!

Replies

  • jfluchere
    jfluchere Posts: 346 Member
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    I would suggest removing the junk food from your house and track your sugar intake. Sugar is auditing and feeds a frenzy of eating.
  • Belladonna261
    Belladonna261 Posts: 12
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    Hey! you are not the only one, I'm sure its a familiar scenario to many. I found the only way to stop the temptation was to remove all the stuff that tempts you! Hard as it is!! Anything that is easy to grab and eat that you know you shouldn't be grabbing it - get rid of it - you can start introducing it back once you've got a bit more control.

    Instead, place some pre-packaged, calorie counted snacks in - I have things like marshmallows, popcorn, low calories bar etc and LOTS of fresh fruit. So if your mind blanks and you take SOMETHING from the cupboard, its not as bad.

    Also, if you have an inspirational photo of you at a weight your happy with, or something your inspiring to achieve, or even just the number of your goal weight - place it on the door of your cupboard to remind you what you are doing this for.

    Good Luck! :)
  • bobthesmogs
    bobthesmogs Posts: 58 Member
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    Oh I'm the same. I imagine there are thousands of us out there that are. I'm 50 with 50lbs to lose and have yo-yoed all my life. I just joined this site a week ago and am finding it really motivating. I've generally always been good with my foods through the day but binge big time late afternoon and evenings. This time I've set myself regular meal/snack times with an alarm and I'm just refusing to eat until the buzzer rings. Just keep telling yourself it's not food time yet as I find if I can just stop myself for 20 mins or so, then the craving goes away. Good luck!
  • jennafluff
    jennafluff Posts: 54
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    Oh I'm the same. I imagine there are thousands of us out there that are. I'm 50 with 50lbs to lose and have yo-yoed all my life. I just joined this site a week ago and am finding it really motivating. I've generally always been good with my foods through the day but binge big time late afternoon and evenings. This time I've set myself regular meal/snack times with an alarm and I'm just refusing to eat until the buzzer rings. Just keep telling yourself it's not food time yet as I find if I can just stop myself for 20 mins or so, then the craving goes away. Good luck!
  • jennafluff
    jennafluff Posts: 54
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    whoops - a bit new to this!!! Thanks so much - this sounds like me. Removing the junk - that's easy to say but I imagine my two 'tweens' would have a lot to say about that!!!! Also hubby who EATS and EATS and is SLIM!!!!!
  • Shutupndance
    Shutupndance Posts: 8
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    Absolutely. There are so many possible reasons about WHY we binge, even though we don't want to, know we're going to feel like crap afterwards, know we're going to feel guilty, etc. I've started a book called, "Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating" by Geneen Roth. It's basically a workbook with exercises, etc. A few days in, it made me CRY. It helps you figure out why it is that you binge, even though you don't really want to. Hope that helps!
  • happystars82
    happystars82 Posts: 225 Member
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    I too was the same, it would get a week away from my T O M and thats it, i would raid cupboards and eat and eat... but since i've started MFP and started exercising my t o m came and went without me even thinking abut binging which is a majoy break through for me.... i was so chuffed when i realised!!

    So i don;t know if its a combination of healthy eating and exercise which has curbed that along with the motivation of the wonderful people on here or if its just my iner will power which i didn;t realise i had!! who knows!

    Anyways, my point is that if you find your at home alot then invest in a wii or something similar and get zumba or just dance, its brilliant and results in weightloss and passes the time for binging..

    hope this has helped, have a good day!!.x
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
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    You are definitely not the only one!
    I have a pretty bad sugar addiction, so once I start, it's hard to stop.

    The harsh truth is that sugar and crappy carbs are ridiculously addictive, so even though your inner voice knows that you should stop, your body would much rather the pleasure it gets from that sugar spike. The only problem is that it's short-lived, so your body will crave the next binge soon after!

    It's true that old habits die hard (I'm still struggling to stop sugar binges for good!) but once you've gotten into a habit, your body will stop asking for it, or stop responding to it by demanding mass amounts.

    Good luck!!
  • jfluchere
    jfluchere Posts: 346 Member
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    I say take control of your kitchen cabinets and teach them all healthy eating so they don't struggle with this same issue parer in life.
  • inge88
    inge88 Posts: 184 Member
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    Yep, you are not the only one.

    I joined one of the challenges that are going around on this website, and one of the things this week is that you will have to do 10 reps of something you hate when you eat something you should not have eaten. So, if I eat any of those biscuits that are here (outside the ones that are planned in), I will have to do 10 burpees. Well, this has stopped me from snacking on them! Maybe a system like this could help you?

    Other than that, make sure you have got plenty of healthy snacks to go to. There are plenty of examples on the forums. My favourites are: some yoghurt, fruit, carrots, cucumbers, almonds..

    Good luck!
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    As the great Danny Devito said "Since when do you gotta be hungry to eat donuts!"

    I think alot of us binge/overeat just because something triggered it for us. This sunday, a simple youtube video where the girl reminded me of my ex make me go eat 20 chicken wings + lots of icecream lol
  • samanthahg1977
    samanthahg1977 Posts: 6
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    Oh my god, you ve just summed me up 100 percent...awful isnt it...i too am struggling with this at the moment,....and probably summed up an awful lot of mums.....would welcome any advice to....one thing which helps a bit is fruit teas...they can sometimes occupy me and give me a bit of a sweet fix....over here in spain little packs of Pipas...sunflower seeds seem to work fairly well...you get quite a lot in a bag for 100 calories and if you get them with the shells take a long while to eat so that helps.....sorry i cant be any more help as i too dont know what to do so look forward to other peoples advice, just wanted to let you know you are not alone...good luck and if you want to add me as a friend for moral support please do!!!!
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    bump
  • samanthahg1977
    samanthahg1977 Posts: 6
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    also try low fat choc cereal bars....things with calories worked out are good, thats what i am trying other wise you just have to guess and have no idea if you are guessing right or not....low fat yogurt
  • ohnogogo
    ohnogogo Posts: 110 Member
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    As others have said; you are not the only one. I have the same issue come up every few weeks it seems and it is maddening! Especially when you KNOW you shouldn't be eating but you are pretty much unable to stop yourself. For those who suggested "clean your cupboard & fridge"; that only works to a certain extent; especially if you live with others. Also for some of us a binge is not always sugar - it could be peanut butter, bread, chicken, etc.

    No matter how much we talk to ourselves, chastise ourselves and KNOW we are screwing up, it sometimes seems impossible to stop. Unless you have this problem it is very difficult to understand and easy to dismiss as a simple problem to solve and all one needs to do is have some willpower. But "having some willpower" may not be enough.

    I would ask that you read this article about willpower as it is VERY interesting: http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/science-willpower-0

    A brief summary: "Willpower is not a personality trait, a skill or a virtue. Instead, it operates like a muscle. And as such, it can be strengthened—but also easily exhausted". The article goes on to talk about how willpower is depleted, how it is restored and theorizes if it can be increased.

    I think knowing the limits of one's willpower can be a very important tool. If you know your willpower is often depleted at a certain time or under certain circumstances, you have in your power to work within those confines and build yourself some tools to combat a lull of willpower.

    Some one earlier in the thread posted about a book called "Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating". Thank you for posting this! I checked it out on Amazon and am going to buy a copy. I think discovering my triggers will help me with combating and strengthening my willpower.
  • MumMumOfMany
    MumMumOfMany Posts: 79 Member
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    im a weekend binger. all week im fine, come weekend it all goes to pot! i have found the best way is to snack on nuts. I make up little containers of walnuts/almonds/plain cashews and put them at front of cupboard. then when i go 'raidin' i see these first and tht helps x
  • ChelSleeve
    ChelSleeve Posts: 144 Member
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    If I get in the mood to binge I get on here and read thru the success stories and remind myself that I can stay strong enough and that I don't have to have it.. give the monkey on your back a banana.. or duct tape its mouth shut! :)

    Also.. I keep a bowl of sugar free hard candies that I eat when I do my busy work, read, or crochet. :) make sure they are the hard candies so that they last longer :)
  • ladytinkerbell99
    ladytinkerbell99 Posts: 970 Member
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    I also find what is helpful is...........not only removing the food but,

    find out what your triggers are that cause you to binge.

    Then when you feel one of these triggers replace it with another habit instead of eating.

    This has been working for me with about 95% success.
  • jennafluff
    jennafluff Posts: 54
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    Have bought the 'Why Weight' book online this evening. I think it is emotional or boredom eating??? I don't want to remove food because then when it is there ............. will I still be able to control myself??? I need to learn to live with it:-)

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