I'm Robin- 34 years old. I am a mother to 4 kids: 7, 3, and twin 1yos.
I'm also a military wife, teacher, grad student, writer and runner.
I'm in great shape- just ran my first half-marathon, but I have one little problem that holds me back....
I have been a binger for 14 years and have seen my weight go to 192lbs at my highest.
I lost 40lbs over the past two years thanks to increasing my fitness, but I've been lousy with eating
So, I've turned over a new leaf and made the commitment to get the eating under control once and for all.
I am 35 days binge free today, and going strong. I did it by doing a 30-day detox system. That worked for me so far, but I've seen hundreds of other people fail miserably as the first week on it was hellish. So, I'm not sure if I recommend it for anyone- what works for some, does not work for all.
My father is a recovered alcoholic. He hasn't had a drink in 31 years. I see this addictive eating disorder in the same way. It's totally a one step at a time thing, and I'm starting to really believe now that I can tackle it better when I just set really short-term goals for myself... i.e "I'm not binging this month" than really unrealistic ones.
So, I like this group.
Thanks Megan for starting it. We've got this!

Hi, I'm Rita, 38 years old, Mental Health Therapist. I'm glad this group has been started, generally when people think "eating disorders," they think anorexia and bulemia, but we all know it is. I have been a binge eater since I was a child. I remember my mother bringing home doritoes and I would literally eat the whole bag in once sitting on a regular basis. I am an emotional eater, I can usually control my binging (now) unless I'm stressed, angry or sad. It starts with a craving for something bad and sweet, then all bets are off once I cave. I don't do it impulsively anymore, that's what is hard to grasp for me. I think about it, ruminate on it, and make the decision to do it. I've coped with impulsive eating, I don't keep those items in my home, so if I want it, I have to go get it. I continue to struggle with portion control, but I'm dealing with a LOT of family stress that is unwanted and unwarranted, so when I eat dinner, I think "just a little more, just a little more," and even though I am terribly uncomfortable when I overeat, I keep thinking it will alleviate the stress, somehow. It doesn't of course, I always end up feeling even worse. At my highest weight, I was about 330, I am now about 268, and I have been stuck at this weight for MONTHS. It won't budge, I realize it's the stress eating that is keeping me stuck. So, I need support, big time! Glad to meet you all

My name is Suzanne, 26, I'd say I feel like I've been binging since I was a kid too. I've always struggled with my weight. Back in 2010, I wanted to rid of the weight I was carrying once and for all. I decided to cut my portions in half and decided to try and walk a couple miles every day, and it worked. I lost 50lbs in 6 months and also didn't have a huge issue with binges. Then..I dunno what happened. I just got stressed out, shut down mode and feeling bored, confused, still felt fat, am to this day struggling to love myself and my own body..I have cravings like you can't believe, and its just hard to fight those..it's hard to have just one slice..or one cookie...and for months, my eating habits and my weight has been yo-yo. I'd say the longest I ever stayed strong for being binge free was last summer for 3 months. I just want my life back..I want my health..and to have a body to love..regardless of the rolls on my body.

Hi, am leanne, It seems to have become an obsession with me, all day i think about what food am eating and plan ahead what i should eat! in the end after work and in my own house, of best friedns houses - I ALWAYS end up eating whatever food i can get my hands on.

Even if i only eat one chocolate bar, i feel ive been bad so stuff my face till i feel sick, make myself feel horrible and guilty, in the past ive had an addiciction to laxatives after every binge... i need to really stop myself from taking them now. I know am not 'fat' its just am big for me (the heaviest ive been, i look at photos and mirros and hate what i see - even say i cant see people for few days to give myself time to get over binge and try work out) and the weight is increasing all the time regardless, and happyness is decreasing, i know am 100 percent and emotional eater but how to control it........?! i know how bad binging is for your body so trying to not binge again!

think i need to try some of your guys trick, eating gum etc!

Hi there My name is simone renee Im grateful for this group Ive this is my 3rd day without overeating.. when I pray and go towards the Lord I stay on track so thats where I am right now but its a pleasure to be around a group that struggles with the same iss thanks everyone for your support glad to be here

Hello, everyone.....I am a binge-eater, sad to say, for a long time. I'm 62, weigh 177, feel best around 155. I have been gaining and losing the same 20-30 lbs. since I was, say 10! That's a long time. So, it doesn't go away, we just learn to manage it. Making friends, being less isolated, reaching out in groups like this is very helpful.
Lately, my binge-ing is down to maybe twice a week....definitely emotionally based. I learned long ago to deal with bad feelings by eating....and it is really hard to change that pattern. I keep trying, one day at a time. Thanks for your support.

Morning all.

I have been a binge eater since as long as I can remember. I am 38 years old with 4 kids, I work full time. I was hospitalized when I was 22 for ED (bulemia/anorexia). I worked through therapy and did well most of the time. I would purge on and off for the next 7 years. I no long purge, but I still binge. I try and control myself, but at times all I can think about is food. I swear I act like I have never eaten before or that I will never eat again. I have to remind myself that food will always be there. There will always be a See's candy around, or pizza or a cupcake. I have been able to regulate my weight for the last 11 years (minus pregnancies). I am not where I want to be and have gained a few pounds over the summer. I know it is because I am binging and need to control it. I am in therapy now, but am mainly working on my marriage. I understand my underlining reasons for the binges, I just need to learn to control them.

Thanks!

Hi, my name is Sarah. Im 20 years old, a nursing student, with a baby girl that turns 5 months today. And i cannot control my eating. I have been working out 3-4 hours a day, but if i eat one of my "favorites" i start craving more and more and consume m&ms, chocolate chips, chocolate protein bars, brownies, a couple big bowls of cereal, peanut butter jelly sandwiches, toast with honey... all in a matter of hours. Ive been trying to keep track of it... its hard when to try and list it all when the binging adds up to almost 5000 calories for the day. :[ i started a new diet monday, had a cheat meal yesterday, and then it all went downhill from there. It seems to be getting worse. every few days i lose control at night and eat everything i can get my hands on, rationalizing that tomorrow i will stop eating it. im at a loss as to what to do. i know i need self control. i just dont know how to find it

Hello, I'm fairly new to this site. I signed up back in March but didn't get into it fully until this week.

I have a lot of issues and binge eating is definitely one. If I eat the wrong foods for me I literally cannot get "full". I actually get a buzz from binging and it's a cover for my emotional problems. I have a lot of things that I use not to face reality or making change.

However, I can totally end binging (but not some of the other non-food problems) by eating the right food (what's right for ME). I think I fall off the wagon because I like the fuzziness of not dealing with reality. There's no other explanation since when I eat right I feel like superwoman!

Nice to meet everyone!

OMGG i neva new there were groups on MFP! this really nice old lady told me to check it out to help me out

i feel sooo much better now that im not going through this alonee i thought i was the only one that dat has these habits.. like binging then purging i think its more bulimia but yeh i joined a bulimic group too so all good

i will support anyone feel free to message me

i have been binging since start of the year its all got to do with depression and relationship problems ive been having i use food to comfort myself but i have to stop!

Hi, my name's Brandi. I'm a 24 year old mother of one awesome little dude. I work from home on a computer. I first noticed I had a serious problem with food when I used to work in an office and I would go to the vending machine, buy Hostess cupcakes, then go in the bathroom and hide to eat them. That was roughly 3 years ago. I've always been heavy so I just chalked it up to that. But, it's gotten worse since starting to work from home. I'll go out after having just ate dinner an hour or two ago and eat my son's sugary cereal. That makes me feel really awful. I always say "This is the last day", but it never is. I'm glad this group is here to help. This is my first time really checking out the groups and I'm glad I found this one:flowerforyou:

Name: Desarae age: 25 Height: 5'1" Children: 1 daughter (almost 7 months old but I do not blame my weight on the pregnancy it was binge eating) I've been with my husband for 3 years (he is supportive in his own way but he is skinny and has never had to struggle with weight gain or trying to lose it).
My triggers are stress (which has gotten better) and depression (which I have a steady mild case of) I'm a social worker at a nursing home and I feel like I don't do a good job so I'll eat because of my low self esteem. My heaviest weight was 190 (before I got pregnant) and then I got back down to 145 and found out I was having my girl (was excited but knew that was going to happen haha) after I had her I was 170 (after healing from the C-Section) and now I'm 159. I feel like if I don't get this under control I'll never achieve what I want. I need to get back down to 130 to be healthy again and if that is where I stay I'm just fine with that but my ultimate goal is to be 120 because that was a perfect weight for me, since I'm so freakin' short.
I need a group like this because I'm the only 'big' person on my dads side and they are always telling me about new diets and I'm sick of hearing it, I don't want to be on a diet I just need to learn to stop binge eating. My mother is 20lbs heavier than me but she is so depressed about her weight she doesn't want to talk about it. I wish she would do what I'm doing so we can lose weight together. I don't see that happening so that puts me in the position all by myself. I need support and this site is great but I just need more people that have a binging problem so they know what I'm talking about. I would love to find someone I can text (not a lot just when I have that urge to binge) and they can text me when they need help. I feel like this is my last hope and I'm so close to my mini goal 30lbs (I know it is a lot but from what I was I feel so much closer). The funny and sad part is I can lose weight and I can lose it fast but the BINGING!!!!!

Hi y'all. My name is Andi and I'm trying to get my life back on track. I'm 26 and was a collage athlete. When I was 20 I was in the best shape of my life. I weighed 203 lbs, which is a high number but I wore a medium shirt and size 14 pants that I often had trouble keeping them up lol. I had gone thru a lot after my sophmore year emotionally. I had gotten depressed and turned to food for comfort. All my life growing up I had always eatten more than I needed but never had a serious problem until these past few years when I really started putting the weight on and eattin like crazy. I do it in private and lie about it. I want to change so bad. I have started back to the gym but it's hard to get really motivated while I'm there. My husband is helping with meals at home. But I am also so stubborn that sometimes what he says doesn't matter. I look at old photos of myself and remember how good I felt, how in shape I was, how happy I was and how confident I was. My self esteem was so high back then. I'm just unhappy with myself and that I let my self get this far with my issues. Any and all support I can get/read/give would be great!

Hello. My name is Crystal. I've been using MFP on and off for a couple of years, but never got into the group thing. I've been a binge eater since I was a kid. I was always pretty thin, and my family would joke about how much I was able to eat. I think maybe that attention helped feed my desire to stuff myself. Then as a teen I started to gain weight and gained & lost the same 10 lbs every year with attempting to diet. After college and some guy issues, I dropped a ton of weight. I was too skinny, but I loved it. Although when I started dating my husband I started gaining. It was probably a normal weight and diet for me, but at that time I felt fat, so the binges started again. My husband doesn't understand the inability to stop eating when I'm full. I eat until I (sorry to be gross) "vurp", finally stop because I can't breathe anymore, and as soon as I can breathe I go back for more. I get crabby when I eat right AKA diet, and so when I say I'm craving ice cream, my hubby goes and buys 2 half gallon tubs. I finish mine in 1 or 2 sittings and his lasts 2 weeks. I can finish a box of swiss cake rolls in 1 day! I get mad at him, I beg for his support and for him not to bring junk into the house, but every time he is at the store he gets something bad... he thinks it will make me happy for that moment. Which it does, but then I hate myself and him! I actually find that I can control my binges when he's away for work more than when he's home. I think its because when he's here and I say "lets go get ice cream", I know he will say yes, and him saying yes is him (as my support system) allowing me to have this cheat. I have no one to let me down when he's gone. so I do my hardest to stick with the program.
Anyway, I did well last year and almost made it to my goal weight. I was on the treadmill daily and somehow I had been repeatedly tearing a ligament in my foot. I just figured it was "growing (old) pains" and ignored it until I could barely walk. So I was put on strict rest, NO exercising for 2 months, and that did it. I figured if I couldn't be healthy and do the whole package, what was the point in eating right??? I gained 25 pounds this year and as of 5 weeks ago at my max (non pregnant) weight.
Now I have been back at this for a little over a month and dropped a few pounds, but I already injured myself again. I have an ultrasound tomorrow to see whats wrong with my foot now, but I'm to rest until its better. So far I have made it 3 days eating well and not binging without exercising. I'm hoping to stick with it and not cave with last years "why bother" mentality. Overall, I've gone close to 5 weeks without a full out binge, but only 4 days without cheating and eating junk food that I'm not suppose to be eating.
Sorry this was so long. I have more issues too, but I'm thinking this is a good start.
Thank you.