All or Nothing?

I think i've finally realized why I binge / what my problem is;

I usually think 'All or Nothing', especially with sweets and junk foods.

So I'm trying to break this mentality.... has anyone else done it before? Or undergoing a similar experience? Thoughts/advice? :)

This is my problem too. I've learned to just eat 11 chips and 2tsp salsa, or eat 1 cookie. That way I still get to eat all of the things I like- without overdoing it. That way I don't feel deprived and binge out on junk food. You can do it too! Just measure everything. Eat what you like, just in smaller portions. It's much easier to stick to a diet when you're eating foods that you think taste good.

-Adrea :]

Portion control is very important. Make sure you eat just the right amount to satisfy your craving, but do not turn it into a binge! Undereating or restricting will cause more problems in the future too.

It's a good idea to practice keeping small amounts of the high calorie 'fun' foods in your diet.  However, what I would say is that many people can identify a food that they can't stop at a small amount no matter how hard they try.   If you recognise that in yourself it pays not to have that particular food around the house in large amounts.  e.g. if you know you eat a lot of potato crisps once you get started, don't buy multipacks or family-size bags, buy individual small-size packets...... or find an alternative that isn't quite so more-ish.

You need balance.

If you eat some e-numbers or chemicals or processed products or "unhealthy" foods or whatever in minimal amounts during your day, oh well. If you're eating foods all full of preservatives, colourings, flavourings and simple sugars, processed, poor quality, ALL THE TIME or for the majority of your foods then yes, you're going to have a problem and no, you're not eating properly or in a way that will help your body heal.

If you're eating ALL healthy clean foods and are actually scared or God forbid, feel guilt for eating something like a piece of chocolate or something with a high saturated fat content or with e-numbers and so on in it or are SCARED of eating "unhealthy" foods you're not eating properly either or in a way that will help your mind heal.

Recovery from disordered eating, or part of it, involves the need to establish a normal and healthy relationship with food. You need to have balance in your diet, to practice the basics of a balanced and nutritious diet - like a normal carbs-protein-fat ratio; adequate fruit and veg; dairy or dairy alternatives; salt, and the differences between refined sugars/carbs and complex, and healthy and unhealthy fats; portion sizes - and to stop yourself being "afraid" of anything or denying yourself anything. To eat everything in your diet that you can eat that isn't limited by your body or strong beliefs - like an allergy, or intolerance, or religious inclination (eg halal, kosher).

With binge troubles portion control is very important to learn, in particular. Knowing what a portion is, knowing when to stop and listening to your body to stop when you are full. And if you do have a trigger food like Jane has mentioned take her advice - either keep it out of the house, or in a hard to reach spot, or in such quantities that there's not enough there for you to break down and consume a lot of in the first place.

Denying yourself higher calorie foods in the amounts you need them makes it SO much harder to prevent binges or to break fears. Being "scared" of foods makes it all so much harder. Not establishing that healthy relationship and the balance you need - echo, echo - makes it all so much harder.

And it's only as hard as you make it. So don't make it hard! :]

What are "e-numbers"?

Taken from the Wikipedia article, E-Numbers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union... In casual language in the UK and Ireland, the term "E-number" is used as a pejorative term for artificial food additives, and products may promote themselves as "free of E-numbers" even though some of the ingredients (e.g. bicarbonate of soda) do have such a code.

Whoops! Sorry. I didn't realise it wasn't a common term in the US/Canada. It's additives, basically. Some E-numbers are actually perfectly harmless - for example, E300 just means ascorbic acid. Aka, Vitamin C. Or there's E162 - beetroot red, a colouring made of - you guessed it - beetroot.

But certain E numbers and additives have been linked to hyperactivity and health problems. It's a bit of a slang term in the UK, really, as far as I've found.

Guess I will have to pay more attention to the labels on food. I just looked on my yogurt and not sure I see "e-numbers". Maybe it is just in the UK. Interesting though!

That sort of thought processes or mentality is found in a lot of yo-yo dieters, bulimics, and over-eaters. Its good that you have recognized it in yourself. By trying different ways of portion control Im sure that you can find some middle ground. Also, if you back away from the ALL or NOTHING type thoughts by rewarding yourself for small daily victories, you will start to feel better about yourself and find more balance in your eating habits.

I used to have horrible binging problems-- like 4,000 calories/day all the time. I was scared, frustrated, guilty, depressed... but recently it has gotten better, and I think it is due to  realizing the same thing as you did-- you need to FORGIVE yourself for overeating a little. It may be bad to overeat a little, but overeating 300 calories may be a boost to your metabolism, overeating 3000 is way different. You can stop yourself after the 300 and before the 3000. It can and will makes a huge difference. Just let a little overeating go, and I think you will find that the binging will lessen miraculously.

Also, busy yourself. I don't mean that you are bored-- I am usually not bored myself; I've got tons of things to do, but I usually really don't want to do them! I find that when I don't want to do things then I eat. I have found that usually I don't really need food the way I thought I did if I actually force myself to go off and do things I didn't want to do, I forget about food pretty quickly, and I am so glad I did not eat after all.