How to avoid the BINGE Eating

Was wondering what other people do to avoid binge eating?

I know for myself I can easily go left field and binge, meaning that I eat way more than the alloted calories for the day.

Do some of you allow yourself a binge or no calorie counting day weekly, monthly, etc?

I know for me if I don't stay busy or if I am upset or depressed about something the binge can happen much easier as that is the type of eater than I am, or so that I think I am.

Just looking for other perspectives....

Yes, I allow myself to be human.  I don't think I could eat enough calories to gain a pound in weight in one day.  If I do over-indulge, I don't weigh myself for a couple of days and just get back to eating correctly.  I know it's probably water weight anyhow. 

I don't binge..I take binging to mean one who is out of control and unable to stop eating even when they're well past full..so, I don't binge.

I do let myself have things on weekends though. No food is off limits persay..but during the week, if I have something 'bad' it's going to be a tiny portion only.

Weekends are when I'll have a couple of beers or some brownies or a fast food run..stuff like that.

It's hard to gain a whole pound in one day since you'd have to consume 3500 calories *over* your maintenance amount.

Anyway, it works for me..Nazi counting most of the time, and relaxed attitude a little bit of the time.

I've kept my weight loss thus far..and actually, according to the doctor's scale, I've somehow lost 2 more..or 3..depending how much I want to deduct for jeans and sneakers.

Weird.

Good points......

Perhaps the word BINGE is not the best word to be used.  I wouldn't say that I get to a point of being "out of control and unable to stop" but when I'm sitting around not doing much I snack and snack... for me I'd call that a binge. 

I think on here I am allotted 1950cals per day and I try to stick to that... anything over that greatly I'd consider a binge. 

Again, perhaps not the best word to describe what I was trying to get too.

if i eat something bad, i feel guilty after and have just recently noticed HOW guilty i feel so ive stopped. if i allow anything over my "calories per day" its now an apple instead of a cookie. the cookie probably has more calories then the apple, but the apple fills me up way more and i dont feel so guilty.

it all depends what you want more

that 15 seconds of chewing the food, or the 24 hours of everyday 7 days of every week to feel the way you want to feel and look the way you want to look.

thats my new favourite quote, and its helped so much!!

(if i do eat something bad, its every 2 weeks, and a very little portion, but i usually find that there isnt a point to it because it does nothing for me.. what just to taste the food for 1 minute?? its not like it fills you up, for the amount of calories you probably consume on a cookie or piece of cake or whatever you eat, you could probably have a whole healthy meal that will do more for your body)

you just have to tell yourself no ... have power over the food ... dont let the food have power over you, you feel alot better in the end knowing that you havent let yourself down if your on a mission to lose weight ...

well, i just found this song, whose title really inspires me not to binge. it's "soon we'll be living in the future", which is really good, cause sometimes once youve binged, you tell yourself "i'll do better tomarrow" but that way you can think, well, in 5 min, or 10, or by the end of the week, i want to look back and see that i didnt binge.

and yeah, if i'm upset or my parents are mad at me, i have to pay A LOT of attention when i eat, cause i tend to overeat then. its a way of distracting myself. in order to avoid that i tend to take a shower. it keeps you out of the kitchen, away from w/e is bugging you, and, lets face it, naked in front of a mirror, which, for me, works as a good insentive not to over-eat.

or, find someone you can brag to about passing up an opportunity to binge. someone who cares, preferrably ;p

If and when I binge, its out of boredom and frustration. 

I always crave food when im bored but can usually hold off but its tough. However yesterday for the first time, by bedtime i had 200 calories left over.

I think it was because i had a two low calories lunches a few hours apart rather than one big meal, and then had dinner a little later. I also noticed that because id had two separate lunches my fat/protein/carb ratio was much better, with about 60% carbs rather than the usual 45-50.

i am quite the binger myself, especially at night.  the way i manage it is with my eating schedule.  i have a bunch of small 200-400 calorie meals throughout the day with a few <100 calorie snacks sprinkled in.  i always end up with enough calories at the end of the day to let me eat a few snacks before bed.  somehow all this prevents me from binging.  i don't even want to binge when i stay on this schedule.  but if i go off it for a day for whatever reason (even though i still count my calories), i get in SUCH a binge mood at the end of the day.

i wonder if it's because the eating schedule simulates my binge habits but on a smaller, healthier scale.  also, my overall food choices are more balanced.  when i'm real careful and eat small, frequent meals, i tend to watch how much of each food group i eat, fiber, calcium, etc.  i guess that keeps my nutrients balanced.  i've also heard that eating this way also keeps your metabolism working at it's best.  maybe that helps?

whatever it is, this keeps me from going over my calories or binging.  and that helps me stay sane and lose weight.

"i always end up with enough calories at the end of the day to let me eat a few snacks before bed. somehow all this prevents me from binging. i don't even want to binge when i stay on this schedule. but if i go off it for a day for whatever reason (even though i still count my calories), i get in SUCH a binge mood at the end of the day."

I do the same thing as annacabana. This has been my saving grace in all of this. If you let yourself go off counting, or if you let yourself binge you may just eat enough calories to negate 3 or 4 days of careful calorie restriction. That would leave you with a tiny deficit for the week. Remember, one pound of fat is 3500 calories. You need to have at least that much of a deficit per week to lose a pound.

I have an eating disorder, and it's all about binging. I will always be in recovery from it, and like an alcoholic, I will always have to be vigilant about it.

Good luck!

If I am craving something unhealthy like a dessert, I will either:

Brush my teeth so I don't want to eat since my mouth feels clean

Eat something healthy but still sweet like a fruit (cherries are very sweet and low cal) or a health food bar (fiber one bars are delicious!)

Chew gum so I have some flavor with only a few calories and I have the sensation of chewing

Hope this helps!  Still, make sure you're getting enough calories/healthy foods, but just try to keep from going out of control when you're eating! Easier said than done, but try the above - especially the gum if you're thinking about unhealthy things to binge on!  If you want to binge on something healthy like whole grain cereal or fruits or vegetables, maybe it wouldn't be an awful thing to give in once in a while so you don't feel deprived and youre still being pretty healthy!  Mostly my opinions, don't take it as hard facts - Hope this helps :-)