Has Anyone recovered from Binge eating disorder and lost weight? How??

Hi,

Im really trying to beat this! I have been binging for the past two years following a big weight loss and have gained back all the weight i lost plus more . But I cant  seem to stop!!! I am currently on day 4 of eating properly but im battling the binge eating all day every day.

My question is has anyone managed to beat BED, lose weight and keep it off? If so how did you do it?

I am recently seen a therapist who has recommended a 12 wk course of cognitive behavioural therapy which starts next week. I have also employed a nutritionist/trainer to meet fortnightly to weigh me measure me, look at my food log and exercise as motivation not to binge and to keep me on track. Lots of effort to beat this thing as its seriously destroying my otherwise great life!

Any input, ideas or best of all any happy ending I beat BED! info would be great.

Dear Mustfitthedress

It is possible but it takes serious work.  I have lost 40 pounds and kept it off for over 1 year.  There is a book by Judith Beck that is titled "How to think like a thin person"  It really helped me with the cognitive part.  I believe it is very important to eat enough calories that you are not obsessing about food.  For me that was 1800 calories per day.  I went to Structure House where I was inspired with a great program with food,exercise and psychology.  Although at Structure House I was advised to take only 1300 calories, I knew from past  experience that if I ate that few calories, I would be very hungry most of the time and be destined for failure. So I assigned myself the highest calorie available 1600 in the month that I was there. I lost 16 pounds while in North Carolina in Structure House.  And over the next 8 months I lost 25 more pounds on a 1800 diet.  Best of wishes...It is possible

Alwaysvigilant

Thank you. Thats so good to hear! Wow you are doing amazingly well! I need to lose around 35lbs also but it just seems like a huge undertaking at the moment.

Have you stopped bingeing completely? I mean i know everyone overeats once in a while but i just want to stop that screw it im eating and eating and not paying attention just piling it in episodes!

Ill definitely look up that book!

I got over it. I ate a whole lot after losing a lot of weight, and gained it all back plus more, but what I've learned is that you really can't restrict yourself. I eat about 2000 calories a day, which is maintenance for me, but they are all healthy foods, and it has helped me lose the weight and get into great shape along with working out.

I think having a fitness routine really helped, because that way I'm more motivated to keep my nutrition right.

i think i have recover from BED but I still binge in once in a while..just not too much..I found some low-cals food that could make me feel like my stomach burst..

anyway,instead of losing weight, i been gaining since I recover...How weird is that?

Hi! I don't think I'll ever recover from Obsessive Overeating, or Binge Disorder, but I am in recovery. That's to say I don't think I'll ever "get there", but being in recovery has allowed me to lose 99 lbs. I am not recovered, but the behaviour I have adopted by being in recovery has totally shed my pounds away.

I have written about this a lot in my journals. I hope you get a chance to read them. Not that I am some sort of sage or guru, or anything like that, but I am amazed at how similar so many of us are when it comes to binge eating. We can all learn a lot from each other.

My main strategy this time involved eating an average number of calories per day vs. trying to reach a limit every day.  My personal average was 1800 calories a day...one day I would eat 1400, the next 2200, and so on. We call it the zig zag method. Doing it this way allowed me to eat a ton of chips and dip at least once a week, and still live within that 1800 per day average.

I also always ate my favourite meal of the day during what was my normal binging time. I binged at 10 to 11 PM. Starting in December, I ate my largest, tastiest meal of the day at that time. It kind of short circuited the desire to binge because I was having something I loved at a time when I normally would sneak food.

You can totally eat at night and not fear gaining weight...as long as you are within your daily average. Trust me. As long as you log your calories to the letter, you'll be OK.

I don't think I'll ever get over my binge eating disorder, but I have learned to live with it. You can too. Make up your own plan...one that fits you and your habits. That's what I did...I simply used my previous behaviour to my advantage, and it worked.

If you have any questions, or need some straight talking (yet compassionate and understanding) support please please send me a message. I want you to get better, and I want to help as so many others have helped me. I guess I'm paying it all forward!

Cheers,

Mike

My story is similar to yours, so maybe it will help:

I starved myself for two years in junior high and high school and lost 20 pounds. Fear of discovery and loss of confidence in my ability to sustain such a lifestyle resulted in secret late night binges in order to (a) satisfy my ravenous hunger, and (b) get rid of the food i was supposed to have eaten throughout each day. Although I recognized that it would be much healthier to spread the food out throughout the day instead of starving until very late at night, I couldn't bring myself to portion out healthy meals. I held the conviction each day that I would conquer bingeing and slip back into my anorexic habits. This continual devastation and resulting lack of confidence continued for a year, during which I gained back all of the weight I had starved off, plus 8 additional pounds. Finally, beginning at the end of this past winter, I began eating substantially on a regular schedule. To hold myself accountable, I logged absolutely every calorie I consumed. I didn't allow myself to cheat and say "I'll start again tomorrow" each time I overate. In addition, I weighed myself every Friday and recorded it- no excuses and no weighing on other days. Seeing the correlation between the numbers helped to convince me that I didn't have to starve or binge to be satisfied with my eating habits. After several months of this and a weight loss of those extra 8 pounds, I'm back where I started. Confident that my metabolism has recovered from anorexia, I'm now comfortable adding in strength training and daily jogging while upping my calories to sustain this exercise. It will be tough initially and slipping up is nearly unavoidable, but as you adjust to eating regularly and healthily, you'll realize that you no longer feel that unbeatable urge to gorge yourself. Motivation can be easily procured whether from within yourself or with the help of support from CC. I think the main points of focus are to hold yourself accountable for your actions, never skip meals, plan out your eating ahead of time, and keep your goals in mind at all times. You can definitely do it and you have a whole community of people who will support you through difficult times. Let this be a new, amazing chapter in your life. I know you can do it =]

PM me if you ever need a friend <3

Thanks everyone for your posts. Its really appreciated! I guess the take home message is eat your correct calories, plan your time and meals properly, exercise and don't deprive yourself......

Lalalaurennn you sound just like me. I have weighed myself weekly for the past 3 weeks as you recommended and that as helped as even though i have been overeating at times i have seen a small loss each week and that has been motivation not to starve myself and inevitably binge so the binge episodes have definitely lessened.

Mike Your ideas for stopping a binge are great and the zigzagging calories That may stop that oh well i have blown it now might as well eat as much as i possibly can as im back on the diet tomorrow type binges.

Well Im on day 6 of no binges.... been exercising daily and eating my correct calories. Must stick with it. Thanks again for all the support!