My Binge Eating disorder has a name - BED

I always considered Obesity to be the 3rd eating disorder... like Anorexia & Bulemia.  It is as complex and deadly and seemingly impossible to fix as the other 2 recognized disorders...

But... it is all the hot controversy... & popular thought is that all you have to do is close your mouth and get up and move and you will be skinny!

That has not worked for me... I have been determined and I have tried & tried & failed & failed and felt hopeless to help myself.  I've felt like some of the medical professionals just think I did this to myself out of laziness... 

I think that if Obesity was recognized as an illness like Anorexia or Addiction to drugs or Alcohol, then it would have to be treated accordingly and covered by insurance and that would be hugely expensive.   It needs to be covered and people need to be able to get help, imho...

So I have spent years trying to figure out what the frick~n~frack is wrong with me and not the skinnier people in my life... 

Well... Here is some info I ran across that fits me to a T ~ It explains a lot and what a relief...  I think it more appropriately describes my syndrome... BED, short for Binge Eating Disorder... and that I'm not just gaining weight because I'm lazy & fat.   It is a relief to see I'm not just out of my mind or the only one. 

Anyway, here's the info...

BED ~ Binge Eating Disorder

Some eating disorders are associated with obesity, especially binge eating disorder (BED). As the name indicates, patients with this disorder are prone to overeat, often in binges. A proposed mechanism is that the eating serves to reduce anxiety, and some parallels with substance abuse can be drawn. An important additional factor is that BED patients often lack the ability to recognize hunger and satisfaction, something that is normally learned in childhood. Learning theory suggests that early childhood conceptions may lead to an association between food and a calm mental state.

http://obesity.alistabout.info/causes_obesity .asp

also... interesting was the factors that got me where I am today.... (from the same link...)

Factors that have been suggested to contribute to the development of obesity include:  I've highlighted the ones that ring a bell with me... oh my... I can hardly cope with this, but it is where I have to start... recognizing the problem...

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Genetic factors
• A high glycemic diet (i.e. a diet that consists of meals that give high postprandial blood sugar)
• Weight cycling, caused by repeated attempts to lose weight by dieting
• Underlying illness (e.g. hypothyroidism)
• Genetic disorders (e.g. Prader-Willi syndrome)
• Eating disorders (such as binge eating disorder)
• Stressful mentality
• Insufficient sleep
• Psychotropic medications
• Smoking

Now the hard work begins... to overcome my compulsion and past behaviour ~ to relearn life without binging, to regain my health.   To Lose my obesity.  To Recover.

your story?

hi united, I'm not very computer savy. But I was watching a program on television a few month back, about obesity, according to them, there is talk that they want to do exactly what you mentioned, to make obesity an illness, so the many people who have to deal with it, can get the medical help the need. But you have to be very computer savy to find the report.

Maybe you can look into it. And I'm with you, 1 day at the time.

Gabi

I don't know if one would call me a "binge" eater....but I sure do have majority of the factors listed....that would contribute to my beautiful fat figure (lol).....................I am on a weight loss standstill.......but I'm in on your journey!

I too suffered from BED in the past although I did not eat as much as some people do when binging. I guess I had a mild form of it. But I did hide food and binge when depressed. For example, I might stash a package of cookies and eat them all in one sitting. On my own I learned what was triggering me to eat that way (depression) and I had to make changes in the way that I delt with stress and life. It wasn't easy. Many times I had to tell myself that chocolate was not the answer to my problems! It took me six months to overcome BED and now that I have I'm better able to stick to my weight loss program of healthy eating and exercise. You see me mention www.coping.org a lot and I do because that is the site that helped me the most with my binge eating.

The good news is now that you know what's wrong you can learn ways to get better. It can be overcome. If I could do it, so can you. :)

I can relate-I've been a binge eater for most of my life, pretty much from my teens onward. never really full, eating just because it was there, bingeing-that sort of thing. contributing to the problem is that I eat too fast-years of working in retail with only a half hour lunch break to obtain and eat your meal gave me some really bad habits.

I've been 'scared straight' now though-I'm starting to see some of the same behaviours surface in my six year old daughter. That, along with her sensitivity to sugar, made me resolve to make the changes necessary to create a healthy home for both my kids, my husband, and myself.

this time I'm not concerned about slipping back into old behaviours-my kids are far to precious to me to let the cycle continue. I'm doing this for them as much as I am for myself.

Oh united! right there with you ! I am glad you posted that information, it was very helpful to me seeing how I am also a recovering binge eater... I am in the fight with you!

oh and chocorific! My daughter is allergic to sugar too! She has a rare disorder called Candendida (hope I spelled it right) which causes the yeasts in her body to multiply so rapidly she breaks out in hives, and if there is too much sugar ie yeast, it can cause brain damage. I can totally see what you are going through.  Not being able to have too many 'real' sugars in the house makes it alot easier for me too. 

In my research papers from school, I have done addiction, and I just finished one on BED for my new psychology class, it was not real indepth, but I did notice one correlation between the two. Addiction is sometimes classified by not giving something up even in the face of harm to your self or harming those close to you. I feel that BED is an addictive disorder. By that classification, all eating disorders could be addictions.

I feel that I have had a problem with it for some time. That is how I ended up 66 pounds overweight. Conversely, I have had problems NOT eating when I was a teenager, due to depression. Depression can make you go either way. I guess I have had some depression issues lately and a LOT of stress. You know how they rate stress according to how many stressful influences you have had in the last 6-12 months or whatever? OMG people would freak out if they saw mine!!!

united...I do share your problem. In fact we have almost exactly the same factors highlighted. Thanks for the info.  Ahhhh...what I have done all my life does indeed have a name.  I started reaching for food as a child.  I believe I was trying to find love & acceptance.  Food is comfort for the things that are missing. I always thought these eating patterns must of been an illness of sorts.  I too am trying to shake this addiction.  Half the time I cope pretty well, and the other half the time I fall flat on my face.  Hopefully with time I will get it under better control.

Its great to know some people have learned to control this. This sight has been wonderful for all the information.  I will check out those websights.

Yep - one day at a time for me too.

i loved the info!  i've always said that i have bulemia without the purging.. and i wasn't joking but everyone thought i was.. haha.. but i must say that BED does sound like what i was trying to describe.. and that's why i think that fixing yourself emotionally is the only thing that will work in the long run because that's about the only thing that you can do to cure any addiction.. if you only treat the symptoms without finding out what drives them, you will lose every time (and not a good losing haha).  There are still days (when i'm stressed) where all i wanna do is eat and eat and eat.. but now instead of eating (i do if i'm hungry and it's a meal time but i don't over eat) i write down what i am feeling, why i am feeling it, and why eating won't solve my feelings and emotions.. it sounds corny but it does help i think.. :)  then i come on here and read through posts and get inspiration and support from you guys!

{{{obsidyan}}} Welcome back! 

jmmrm - you say your problem started as a child. I find that interesting bc in my research I came across some good articles while trying to defend my stance that your parents influence your eating habits. I am not trying to blame my problems on my parents lol, but I believe I picked up quite a few bad habits from them.

My father eats like crazy, and while he used to have a higher metabolism, now he has gained weight. My mother was constantly yo-yoing. Neither one eats very healthy foods on a consistant basis. My mother has more than once said to me since I started this "diet" that she used to be able to go on a diet and be back to her ideal weight in a week. I do not know if I think that is exaggeration or scary, but it is surely not healthy. These were the food behaivors I was exposed to as a child. No wonder I have issues with food!! lol.

Another bad thing I remember is when I would ask for more food than I could really eat, and my parents would make me sit until I "cleaned" my plate. That is very bad, I will never do that again to my daugter. Young children are capable of regulating their own intake of food, so you really should not worry about them eating too much or too little. You should 100% not force them to eat foods...(not that I think my parents were bad for this, they meant well, they did not want me to waste food.)

Really, it motivates me more to have a healthy attitude about food, knowing that I am setting an example for my girls. I also often think to myself that I do not want to follow the same path as my mother, as far as weight. I am actually terrified of that. This is the only real way to avoid that situation. Eating properly for nutrition and fuel for my body, not out of boredom or depression.

{{{meredith}}}

HI.. my name is Dena, i'm a binger.. ****HI DENA!!!****

I have not binged since january 17th 2006.  It has been very hard road but one that i am pleased with.  It HAS gotten easier to not binge because i'm using these forums to get out my frustrations and emotions that caused me to binge.  I am also using my journal to track my feelings when i feel like bingeing.. and i've found that i binged when i was upset, angry, happy, confused, bored, busy, ok.. so i binged all the time.. but now i am not.

Today i had a break through of sorts.  I was gone all day so i couldn't track my calories through the day.. when i got home the hubby wanted to take me out to dinner.  We went to the olive garden... i had that chicken pasta dish with the veggies and lemon sauce (it's on the garden fare section) very very good.. but i could only eat 1/2.. i also only had 1 small scoop of the salad (i love their salad).  I counted up my calories for the day and i was at 950.. DANG!  so i ate a piece of bread and some turkey just a bit ago instead of my regular snack (which is usually around 100 calories) so i got my calories up to 1120.. which is going to have to do today because i just don't want to eat anymore.. i have permission from how few calories i had today to eat more and i can't!  I'm goin gto have to work in a few more calories tomorrow because of this.. i'm amazed at how far i've come in 2 1/2 short months! 

so the moral of this LONG story is this:  it can be done and if i can do it anyone can.. i thought i was hopeless and going to lose the battle.. (and that's how i felt last december. not that long ago!)

i used to yo-yo diet, which meant I would binge out as much as i could and then I would get so upset at myself and starve myself for 2 weeks. It was 2 weeks on and off. Im still having problems, but now when I mess up and binge out I dont look at it as "giving up" I try to make it a positive thing and say, I will not let this set me back. like for spring break I did horrible, just because I was lazy and out of my normal routine. but I refused to let it get to me and this week im back at the gym and eating better. After a while of eating good, your body wont like it when you binge out. You will feel sick, or so full you cant move. And it makes you never want to overeat again. At least thats how it is with me. Like you said, just take it one day at a time, and you can do it. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am so proud of myself. I have bee dieting and excercising since december, and I have lost 15 pounds. Of course at the beggining I was all gung ho and thought I would lose 35 by june. But I have found my pace, and although it is slower than I thought, I will achieve my goal. So set little goals for yourself.  Like think in weeks, not 6 months ahead of time. Because if you "fail" and dont lose that 30 pounds by june, you might just focus on that instead of the 15 you did lose. So i guess what im getting at is stay positive! you can do this! and if you want to talk to me I will be happy to help!

Hi AmericanGirl :) 

wow intense postings.  I work with individuals who have a mental illness.  I am not a therapist but for years I worked with therapists and did group therapy.  What is going on in these posts is a type of therapy.  something I would strongly recomend for anyone struggling with binging, anorexia, or bulumia.

What a great mix of support, information, and advice.

I'm still struggling to identify why I gained weight.  I was 130 pounds till my late 30's. I have gained over 100 pounds since then.  My diets usually last 2 days except the one time I went on atkins for 2 months and lost 30 pounds which I have gained back.  just thinking of going on a diet would send me into eating alll the stuff I knew I would want while on my diet.

anyway thanks all your info and support is great

i binge too and am trying soooo hard to stop!  its a rough path, but im sure that we can do it  :)

Wow!!  That's a lot of information to "eat up", good thing I'm a binge eater so it'll go fast.  Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!!!  It feels sooo good to know that I'm not crazy.  Well I'm crazy, but hey at least I'm not crazy alone!  LOL  Weekends are bad for me.  That's usually when the binging happens.  Maybe I'll start a journal, or try to spend more time checking out some of these links.

Thanks again, mind if I add you as a friend??

Oh my gosh, I have heard you all talking about BED before, but I never recognized it until I found this! I am dumbfounded. I never even considered this.
My parents were divorced and we barely ever saw my dad and when we did I didn't want to be with him. My mom tried to give us healthy foods and snacks and I would balk against it. I remember my brother and I cleaning out our piggy banks and going across the street to the drugstore to buy as many candy bars as we could. Then we would eat them all before mom got home from work so she wouldn't know.

I definately have the emotional triggers. I maybe don't binge a huge amount, but when I am upset or stressed I definately make the worst choices for food. Knowing that they are the worst because I don't care! I have been working on not allowing myself to eat junk when I am upset and it has been working since I started here. I have even made it through that dreaded time of the month without eating just to eat.

I have always known that people in my family have addictive personalities. Many of them smoke and several drink what i feel is too much, even if it is not technically alchoholism ( I don't know if it is or not) I have always carefully avoided those things not wanting to do that or to become an addict. I never noticed that I was, it was just my addiction to food.

Thank you all so much for being here and United, thank you for this post. It really opened my eyes and knowing is half of the battle. Now I can focus on being healthier and keeping myself from bingeing. What an amazing insight. I feel like I have walked around with blinders on my whole life and now suddenly I can see the whole picture.

OK, you know how I feel about this. Its an addiction pure and simple. And you have described MY parents to a "T"!
Even though I may not be as overweight as some, I still think my behaviors may qualify as binge eating.
I was told a lot when I was younger how skinny I was - and I was!
I graduated from high school weighing 98 pounds - and I ate all the time! In fact, in 10th grade I was playing basketball and I ate 6 regular meals a day and I still lost weight!
The thing that happened is my metabolism changed when I got older. It slowed down but my eating didn't slow down and I looooovvvve food.
I do. I love food. I have to start by admiting that I love food.

Like you say ...food is not bad. It's the choices I make about it that can be good or bad