binge eating

So i definitely have a bit of a binge eating problem. I need some help and support regarding how to go about tackling this issue of mine... I went on a bit of a binge already this morning, and it left me in tears. my binge eating has aided me in gaining 20 lbs. over the course of 3 months.. i need to get this under control. my self respect has plummetted. i'm hoping beginning to record what i eat again will help me think twice before bingeing, and help hold me accountable. so far though, it hasn't. if nothing else i need to stop this for my health. my blood sugar levels must be out of control..

i just hate how i'm left feeling so desperate and hating myself. please.. any support, advice, talk would be wonderful..

Keeping a food diary is a useful place to start.  Some questions you should ask yourself (because everyone is different)

• When do I tend to overeat?
• How do I overeat?
• What foods do I usually choose?
• Am I getting enough to eat?

The first questions... 'when'... can help you see if the problem is linked to particular places & times.  Some people, for example, get bored at particular times and this kicks off a period of overeating, just for something to do.  Other people overeat all day long and it's less specific. Others will be set off by some stressful event.

'How'... refers to to whether you eat everything in sight in a mindless daze, unaware that you're doing it almost.  Or is it more opportunist snacking/grazing all the time, absent-mindedly...?   Or something else? 

'What foods'.... can be interesting.  Are you indsicriminate about what you'll eat or are there particular trigger foods?  Are there foods you can't stop eating once you start?  When bingers go for sugary foods that tends to be self-perpetuating, for example.  Excess sugar consumption can cause very bad sugar cravings

And 'getting enough to eat'... is pertinent for some people.  People with a nutritionally poor diet are more likely to overeat than people who make more satisfying food choices.  And people who try to stick to a very restricted diet e.g. trying to lose weight or trying to maintain an unfeasibly low weight... can find overeating becomes an issue.

If you can start by understanding the scope of the problem and thinking about it subjectively then you can sometimes think of ways to tackle the problem that will work for you.  In the meantime, don't hate yourself.... if you overeat when you're unhappy that only makes matters worse. 

When i binge, it's definitely when I'm alone. It's embarassing to do in front of others.. i know that's an issue. i should make a point to only eat when i'm around people. also definitely when i'm bored. or stressed. or sad...

as far as how - lately it's been sort of desperate mindless inhalation. so much so quickly..

i've definitely been bingeing on sweets. massively excessive sugar consumption, which is causing my blood sugar issues too.. i know i'm not getting any sort of proper nutrients. it needs to stop - and sometimes i am able to think about it subjectively, but then sometimes i'll give in so easily and just succumb to the urge to binge and proceed to order pizza and dessert and eat it ALL.. so quickly..

are there any sort of books regarding binge eating, how to overcome it, or just a book helping deal with emotional eating and/or disordered feelings and relationships with food...

i'm terribly disgusted with myself for how i've been eating and treating my body.. but this hasn't made me stop..

to be honest, though, just writing it out like this makes me feel a little bit better and gives me a little more hope that i maybe can tackle this. at least more so than just keeping it all in my head.

regardless; i feel like **** and this behavior is making me extremely anti-social too..

you have a journal entry that states you are fasting.  i think most people would say thats the most counter productive thing you can possibly do to stop binging.

no kidding..

easypeazy,

You aren't still trying to fast, are you?

Binge eating can happen for numerous reasons.  Some of the more common ones can be because of stress, depression, and yes, even under-eating.  When someone under-eats, it has the possibility of puting them on a binge-restrict cycle that is very detrimental.

The first thing you need to do is try to figure out why you binge eat.  Sometimes people can figure this out all on their own, and sometimes it might take a therapist to help out.  Some may be able to get over it fairly easily and others might need alot of help.

The more information you share with us, the more we may be able to at least steer you in the right direction.

I am a recovering binge eater. Though I am very active, I had gained 10 pounds over the last year. I finally now have it under control.

Though it will seem like a weird idea, read Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution. The book will explain to you what happens to your body when you comsume sugar and carbs and how to get your insulin/blood sugar levels back in your control.

I did do the induction phase of the Atkins diet for 1 week (limit 20 net cards a day). The induction plase stopped my craving into a dead HALT!! I am now moving on from there and have NO desire to binge.

I **was** a terrible, terrible binge eater. I estimate that I could eat up to 10,000 (or more) calories in a day and still not be full. I had spent most of 2008 very depressed over this issue. The loss of control and the gaining of weight. I felt like it would never end until I read Atkins' book. Now I understand why and what happens inside my body and how to aviod a binge ever happening to me again.

Hopefully this helps you. Been there, done it and it sucks!!

Now happily in recovery :)

thanks guys for taking the time to respond. I'm feeling better this week, today, right now anyway. I feel like it would help me out immensely to have some sort of material to read up and offer ideas, assistance, and encouragement for me - so I'm thinking reading the Atkins book might be a good idea for me - thanks sherea.

I've searched around Amazon.com to try and find other book resources for help overcoming binge eating - but there are so many out there I don't know which will legitamentlly offer assistance and real help, and which are completely bogus. 

p.s. that is way awesome you kicked the binge habbit sherea! congratulations! i definitely know how hard it is to stop the cycle and how easy it is to become overwhelmed with the desire - if you and others can do it, maybe i can too :)

Your welcome. I got Atkins' book at Borders for $14.95. Maybe even your local library would have it. As weird as it sounds, I really did find that book to be a "revolution" to me. While stress did cause my binge eating, finding out why I quickly would go out of control was the key for me. There really is a "reason" that a binge will quickly become impossible to control. There is a lot of information on binge eating in the book, actually. I encourage you to read it. Maybe it will be the hope and answers that you need.

I do feel that I will need to control my carbs and sugar intake for life. I am as dangerous with those foods as a someone is that is addicted to drugs or alcohol. I have come to terms that this is the way I need to view the binge issue. It is an addiction and controlling the intake of those foods is the way to my continued recovery. I am following the Atkins plan to see how many carbs my body can handle by increasing the net grams by 5 grams a week.

I am hoping to be back to my maintenance weight (108) by the spring and be back into my skinny jeans :)

Please let me know how you are doing. Hoping you have as much as success as I have had with this information.

Hi I'm new to this website and found your post in a desperate bid to get ride of my binge eating..and what a relief to see how you also feel..i feel exactly the same! I used to be Anorexic but was in Recovery and now the ED has come back with binge eating and is way out of control. I also tried to Atkins for a week and it worked really well but i fell of the band wagon as i found it expensive and boring to maintain and time consuming..any ideas on how i can get back on it and stay on it> I have the books...but the recipes are tedious and i live at home still so making all these things can be hard..

Thank you all :)

Hi. I am going through the same thing. Have been for the last few years. Every time I binge, I feel so guilty and sick and look up different websites to try and find ways to stop it. Then I do good for a day, maybe two, once I actually went 10 days binge free, but I always slip back up. I know that I feel a million times better when I don't binge, yet sometimes once I start eating I just can't stop. I don't know what to do with myself either because I feel like it will never end. I've read books and websites and talked to my doctor, but it seems like nothing ever works. I've figured that I binge because of stress and sadness, but even knowing my triggers doesn't help. I make a vow every day I will not binge and more often than not I still do. I am embarassed and disgusted living with this disorder.

So it's not really advice, but I just wanted to share my story and let you know that you are definitely not alone.

it's nice to not feel alone. since that, for me at least, is a huge huge binge-self loathing-depression trigger. i'm with all of you too...