Binge Eating , Please Help Me

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  • cbear017
    cbear017 Posts: 345 Member
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    It's really hard to know what to say to help. Binging is a type of disordered eating pattern and I suffered from it for a long time. I can't pin point precisely how I broke the cycle but it has a lot to do with the anxiety disorder I had and how I dealt with it first.

    I also wanted to comment that your replies don't quite make sense to me. You say you're "stuffing" yourself during the week (though you only net 1,000 calories on average) but then you binge on the weekends at excess of 4,000 + calories???

    It might appear as though you're eating enough during the week, but I'm going to take a wild guess that you are confused about eating back your exercise calories (which you should do). For the average person this is how it works: you consume 1200 calories because that's what MFP says to do (it's already factored in your deficit, because your TDEE is really 1700, so it subtracts 500 cals per day to help you lose 1 lb a week). Then you go to the gym and burn 400 calories. You still eat your 1200 for the day without realizing that you've now just created an additional deficit with your exercise, so in reality you only net 800, which is way too low for your body's needs. To compensate (unaware to your conscious self) you binge on the weekend to give your body back what it so desperately wants....FOOD and nutrients!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    Rather than having a "massive" sandwich for lunch that you're having a hard time finishing, or a huge dinner, take a supply of snacks with you. Today I had a couple of kiwi fruit, a small (1.5oz) bag of nuts, and this afternoon I'll have a couple of wedges of Laughing Cow cheese with Rye Krisp,. Which means when lunch or dinner arrives, I'm only mildly hungry. Sometimes I'll have part of an avocado as a snack, or some peanut butter with my Rye Krisp, or Laughing Cow with some celery sticks. It's the fat that makes the difference for me ... low fat means low satisfaction (both hunger and mouth feel), and I'm more tempted to "cheat". Having a couple of huge meals just doesn't work for me.
  • lailal
    lailal Posts: 4
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    Sounds like your binge eating is more psychological than it is based on your nutritional needs per say (especially if you are eating "huge sandwiches" and "not feeling hungry during the week"). My recommendation would be to see a couselor, or join an eating disorders group. Perhaps this will help you to identify the source of your urge/compulsion.
  • allysonb80
    allysonb80 Posts: 109 Member
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    Sometimes binging is purely emotional/social and have nothing to do with nutrician or lack thereof. I have Binge eating disorder so when I am presented with foods (like out with friends) or I have an emotional day, all I want to do is eat. I stuff my face. The faster the better. To help overcome this I have found a few techniques that help. When i get the urge I try chewing gum. Or I workout. (Working out makes me not hungry anymore and helps me forget about food). I also look at pics. I look at the success stories and the progress people have made. Or I look at the pics of my own progress and tell myself I DON'T want to go back to that. Sometimes I just go to bed to get away from food. Yes, I have gone to bed at 8:30 before just for this reason. When out with friends, I just drink lots of water. I try not to give into the one bite temptation. Cuz I know I wont stop at one bite. I will eat and eat and eat. Thats not to say I don't slip. You can read my food diary or blog and know there have been occasions I have eaten a whole pizza. But then I just brush myself off and vow to try harder next time. I have even cought myself mid-binge and spit out the food I was eating. (Dont read, thow up. I have never purged in my life which is why I am fat ;) Anyway, you just have to find what works for you to get past it.

    Lastly, I bought this book and it was a great read and really helped me think about things. Worth a try.
    http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Light-Moon-Relationship-Storytelling/dp/0936077360/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331575788&sr=8-1
  • BruteSquad
    BruteSquad Posts: 373 Member
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    My thought is what is your WEEKLY caloric intake supposed to be?

    Now, what are you eating WEEKLY PLUS BURNING in exercise? I suspect part of it is that your NET calories at the end of the week are way low. That is basically what everyone is saying.
  • xlolitabandita
    xlolitabandita Posts: 242
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    I'm going to have to agree with everyone else, you need to eat more. If you want to build good healthy muscels you need a balanced diet. Also, some advice on the eating out and late night snacking. If I'm going out with friends, i always check the menu of the place a ahead of time and pick something healthy to eat. I then go ahead and record that into my journal and use that to remind myself to only eat that. If they pick somewhere that doesn't have healthy option I eat before I go and then maybe share an appetizer with th group or just enjoy good conversation. The second one works for parties as well. As for the late night eating, I find it helps to leave some extra calories for a bowl of cereal or some fruit. I KNOW that I always get hungry late at night, so I plan ahead for this. Good luck!
  • bigprettygirl69
    bigprettygirl69 Posts: 19 Member
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    Hello. My name is Susan and I feel your pain. My sisters and nieces and I are notorious snackers and especially when you are in social setting the binge eating can be really bad. I had to tell my sister what all of the binge eating was doing to me. It's ok to hang out once in a while, but if you can help it try not to put yourself in these situations are try and remove yourself also. When going out try finding the smallest plate and use that so you don't have much room to put so much stuff on. Hope that helps.
  • Dahllywood
    Dahllywood Posts: 642 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the advice/support/constructive criticisms :) . I had another binge last night, though not as serious as the other night. This week is tough on me since I am on spring break with a bunch of my friends, which includes almost daily drinking. I lose a lot of self control when I drink and being surrounded by foods that I don't usually eat doesn't help.

    But I have taken what many of you have said to heart. I need to change my diet. Once I get back from spring break I plan to do a few things:
    1. start incorporating more substance into my diet (possibly more carbs and/or treats). When I binge, I am constnatly eating either carbs or sweets, so I need to not restrict myself so much.
    2. I might go see a counselor for my binge eating once I get back on campus. The first few appointments are free, and I feel that (as someone mentioned) my binge eating may be partly psychological.

    Thank you again for the responses and feel free to friend/message me or continue this thread. I appreciate the support.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the advice/support/constructive criticisms :) . I had another binge last night, though not as serious as the other night. This week is tough on me since I am on spring break with a bunch of my friends, which includes almost daily drinking. I lose a lot of self control when I drink and being surrounded by foods that I don't usually eat doesn't help.

    But I have taken what many of you have said to heart. I need to change my diet. Once I get back from spring break I plan to do a few things:
    1. start incorporating more substance into my diet (possibly more carbs and/or treats). When I binge, I am constnatly eating either carbs or sweets, so I need to not restrict myself so much.
    2. I might go see a counselor for my binge eating once I get back on campus. The first few appointments are free, and I feel that (as someone mentioned) my binge eating may be partly psychological.

    Thank you again for the responses and feel free to friend/message me or continue this thread. I appreciate the support.

    great ideas! also i agree that sometimes it is emotional. even though i said eating more will help, i thoroughly recognize that it can be emotional. i do this too! good luck with figuring out the answer for you.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the advice/support/constructive criticisms :) . I had another binge last night, though not as serious as the other night. This week is tough on me since I am on spring break with a bunch of my friends, which includes almost daily drinking. I lose a lot of self control when I drink and being surrounded by foods that I don't usually eat doesn't help.

    But I have taken what many of you have said to heart. I need to change my diet. Once I get back from spring break I plan to do a few things:
    1. start incorporating more substance into my diet (possibly more carbs and/or treats). When I binge, I am constnatly eating either carbs or sweets, so I need to not restrict myself so much.
    2. I might go see a counselor for my binge eating once I get back on campus. The first few appointments are free, and I feel that (as someone mentioned) my binge eating may be partly psychological.

    Thank you again for the responses and feel free to friend/message me or continue this thread. I appreciate the support.


    Love number 2. The whole starving yourself then binging most likely is psychological. I know that guys that I know that suffer from this type of behavior have either been bullied or had some other environmental issues that have caused this. This is your life we are talking here. I know there are limits that college students have as far as money goes but many insurance policies will cover children in college until age 25. The theory we can not afford something to make us healthy is not accurate, as I will take health over wealth any day, because when the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

    You really really need to eat at the minimum between 2000 and 2500 calories per day. If you cant eat them, drink them in protein shakes. You are not going to get fat, trust me, you will however, see a major increase in muscle mass.

    We should not fear food, we should enjoy it!
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Wow, looking at your diary, you really do need to eat more, especially since you're just maintaining. You're probably balancing out from all of the extra calories you eat on weekends, but starving yourself during the week will just trigger more binges. Or, you'll become even more controlling of your diet and it will turn into a serious eating disorder, if it isn't already. The bingeing could be emotional, or it could be your body telling you to feed it.

    I saw that you're going to see a counselor now. That's a great idea.

    And coming from someone who just likes to binge eat for fun: Why not make your goals a little different? Try averaging however many calories a day you need. Say you need about 2300 a day... Eat 2000 on weekdays and 2800 on weekend days. It will give you a little leeway.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    I'd encourage you to see the counselor at school particularly since you can go for free ... make sure of course you get someone who is knowledgeable about eating disorders ... you might also want to read "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch ... it's not a diet book, it's a book about changing our relationship with food. They've done a lot of work with people with eating disorders.

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