anyone overcame BINGE EATING?

First of all, congrats on asking for help! That is great and you CAN overcome this!

The only way I could overcome it was by not having ANY of the binge foods in my house, period. I was a binger, anorexic and bulimic and I've been recovered for over 20 years now.

Once you slowly change your habits you will realize that healthy foods arent so calorie dense as the stuff we binged on and you can eat a TON of stuff that actually fills you up, satisfies you and you hardly ever feel hungry. It does take effort to prepare the healthier stuff but with planning you can do it. I also don't get that nasty bloated feeling like I did when I binged, even though I'm eating a lot more food.

Your tastebuds change after you've been eating healthier stuff for a while. I used to eat carrots and think, yuck, this is boring,,,awful and I hate it. Now they taste delicious and sweet to me! I also have treats on occasion but I'll only buy ONE serving so I won't have a whole package to gorge myself on and I know I would if it was here! I had a birthday party to go to yesterday so I had a chocolate cupcake with frosting on it. It felt rather odd eating it. It was good, but not as good as I remember! lol Today I have 2 graduation parties to go to with bbq, potato salad, slaw and more cake on the menu. I logged some of it into my diary ahead and I'm going to cut back a bit on my breakfast, lunch and snacks to fit in the extra calories today. It's all about planning for that type of situation. Again, you can have the bad stuff, just plan for it and you'll do fine and it'll get easier as you go.

You can do this! I know you can or you wouldn't be reaching out for help! <hugs> and good luck to you!

Cheers to your honesty
I have struggled with binge eating/emotional eating for years. I used to "diet," and certainly had the yo-yo effect going on for a number of years. I've learned a lot since then and have much more realistic expectations about weight loss and a healthier relationship with food (and healthier food!). I was in counseling for a few years, and it really does help some folks; it helped me. But I still struggle with it and have days that I cave on purpose.

I figure, if it only happens once every 2-3 weeks and I eat half a pizza with coke and ice cream for dessert later, then that is just one day in 2-3 weeks worth of days that I made healthy choices and ate tons of veggies and whole grains and lean protein. If I need to have one crazy, hedonistic, glutinous food day every so often to satisfy some eager little beast inside of me and maintain sanity the rest of the time...fine by me for now.

Overcoming our less than desirable emotions and behaviors is a process. It takes time. It's different for everyone. You've recognized and admitted the issue, now it's up to you to do what you need to do to overcome it. This could mean a support groups (of friends, or anonymous), reading books, writing it out, seeking professional help, or some combination of all of these. I wish you the best in your efforts and feel free to friend me if you are looking for MFP support. I also think there is a group for binge eaters on here, though I'm not a member...

Best :flowerforyou:

i really struggle with binge eating disorder... i don't know what to do... i can't get a professional help because i live on my own and only have money to pay for the rent, studies and food, literally...
my question is, IS IT POSSIBLE to overcome it? and HOW to do it?..
the reason why i binge almost always was because i felt deprived - i was eating 1200 or less a day, but now upped to 1500... today i binged just because 'it tasted good' ... there is something really wrong with me, and the worst part is that i can't stop it... i really tried...
binge eating for me means no less than 1000 calories above my maintenance...
help anyone?

also, when i think about it, one of the reasons i binge is because (my life changed completely in past 2 years) i feel 'empty'... i don't know how to describe this feeling, but it's like something is missing from my life...

You can send me a friend request if you like. I know exactly what you are talking about. I wish you much success in uncovering your eating disorder. **hugs**

i really struggle with binge eating disorder... i don't know what to do... i can't get a professional help because i live on my own and only have money to pay for the rent, studies and food, literally...
my question is, IS IT POSSIBLE to overcome it? and HOW to do it?..
the reason why i binge almost always was because i felt deprived - i was eating 1200 or less a day, but now upped to 1500... today i binged just because 'it tasted good' ... there is something really wrong with me, and the worst part is that i can't stop it... i really tried...
binge eating for me means no less than 1000 calories above my maintenance...
help anyone?

also, when i think about it, one of the reasons i binge is because (my life changed completely in past 2 years) i feel 'empty'... i don't know how to describe this feeling, but it's like something is missing from my life...

Hi I suffered in silence for so long with that too.
You may really need someone to talk to, Someone who will listen to you not just throw you loads of advice. I am guessing that you have bottled up a lot of stuff and it needs to be released. Try to get in touch with a women's centre or look on the internet for the nearest charitable organisation that deals with counselling or eating disorders. They are out there. Until then get a pen and paper (instead of eating when you know you don't need to) write down what's on your heart, it might take a while to get started, but just give yourself permission to pour it all out. Now if you feel you want to you can throw away what you have written, but you could also create a journal and bring it with you once you have found a counsellor to let him/her read it. Try to make sure there are plenty of healthy snacks around for you to pick up and get rid of the addictive high sugar-salt- variety. Have a list ready with other things you could do to make yourself loved and not deprived such as a nice bubble bath, try to be creative and occupy your mind. Above all treat yourself with the love and tenderness you would give to your best friend because sometimes we are our own worst enemies.
Make sure you are getting enough vitamins for us women B vits are very important!
If you have faith then pray and ask God to fill the void you are experiencing, He answered my prayer and I am thankful to be free from this awful binge cycle. I sought counselling and although I will always be susceptible to eating disorders, I now can stop before It starts. I will keep you in my prayers.

I can't say I've overcome binging...but I find it comes down to my faith. When I am in God's word and giving Him control over my eating and emotions, I am able to find the self control to "eat to live, not live to eat". I know it sounds a little flakey...the book "Made to Crave" really helps alot. Check it out if you're a believer. I am currently on day 5 of no binging....one day at a time.

Not everything is in God's doing. That is not the answer!! The answer is that she needs help. Prayer doesn't help anything truly. People only "think" that it helps. People really need to stop putting everything under the sun that happens is because of the presence of God. Please!!

Just because you have different beliefs, and prayer doesn't/hasn't helped you, doesn't mean you have to bash her beliefs. She even says "check it out if you're a believer", not implying that its for everyone. Just as you don't want her beliefs forced on you, please refrain from forcing your beliefs on her and others.

What works for me is to eat small meals several times a day. If you keep your insulin levels even, you don't get that craving to just eat everything in the fridge until you're overfull. Keep a cooler of healthy snacks with you, and when you start fo feel hungry, allow yourself a small snack. Then wait 20 minutes before eating anything else to see if you're actually still hungry. You may need to up your overall calorie intake a little to make sure you're getting enough fuel. I think MFP tends to be a bit stingy on the amount of calories realistic for many of us. We track our exercise, but not the day-to-day business we do, which also burns calories.

I have binge eating disorder. I understand everything you are saying - feeling completely out of control, eating everything in sight, not being able to satisfy the hunger no matter what. It's awful. I think it must be what heroin addiction feels like. That first bite of cheesecake feels great, but you need more and more and you feel sicker and sicker and it never gets better. Yeah.

I see a bariatrician (aka my "Fat Doc"), who actually put me on meds for binge eating disorder. It has been classified as a "real" disorder, a real chemical imbalance. Amazing, right? The meds do help. But there is a lot of underlying stuff as well, stress eating and childhood stuff. And this is a genuine food addiction as well. Do whatever you can to ditch the sugar, if that's your nemesis. For a while, I was literally eating nothing but sugar. If you can cut out all the sugar and junk food for even a week, you won't crave it as much. It will get easier. The whole "one day at a time" thing? Sounds cliche, but it works. Sometimes it's "one minute at a time", as in, "I'm way too lazy this minute to get up for that (insert junk food of choice here)". Above all, as someone else said above, be kind to yourself. Guilt will perpetuate the cycle. You're fighting a hard battle. You don't need to be smacking yourself around. Be kind, take it one day at a time, and you'll get there. *hugs*