Binged for 6 days straight..

I really need help. Im 16 years old, 5'0 and weigh 110 lbs (probably 112 now cause of binging) I need to know if this has become a eating disorder or just a really bad week. I've been eating properly around 1500 before the days of binging occured but now I've eaten at least 2000 calories or more these past 6 days and I always seem to binge during the evening time and I eat like I normally do in the morning though some afternoons I've had cravings of binging. I think I know the root of my problem though I still binge regardless of it. When I do, the thought of it being bad for me pops in my head yet I still cannot seem to control the urge. I just keep stuffing my face..it's disgusting. My parents aren't really helping me either. Whenever I eat out my parents nudge me towards eating more but I told them about my problem and they laugh thinking that it's just normal for me since I'm still "growing." Though they don't know what I'm going through it's really had an impact on me. I think about food everytime I get home from school and it's taken up most of my studying time. And whenever I do end up studying or doing "something" I get the urge to eat something even though I'm not hungry..and end up eating a crap load of food. It's been like that for 3 school days and same goes for the weekend. Please help! How can I break this cycle that seems to never end? And do I even have a problem to begin with..?

Relax and listen to your parents.  It's very unlikely that you have an eating disorder.   You're not 'bingeing' (which is quite a negative term) just hungry, and that's totally normal.  To start with, if you're a reasonably active 16 year-old you need much more than 2000 cals a day to meet your energy requirements on an ongoing basis.   The minimum for someone your age is 1800 per day which means that if you've been trying to exist on 1500 you've not been getting enough - and that alone is enough to trigger overeating as your body desperately tries to play catch-up.   Your parents are right about 'growing'.  Your body is still growing & developing, outwardly and inwardly, mentally and physically and for that it needs plenty of good nutrition.   If you're 112lbs you're a very healthy weight for your height.  

If you want to feel more in control ... which sounds like the real issue here.... try to make sure you choose more nutritious, filling foods like vegetables, wholegrains, fruit, meat, fish, pulses/legumes etc.  and fewer of the less healthy, less satisfying foods like sweets or crisps.  Healthier foods take longer for the body to digest and this means you wouldn't feel hungry again so quickly.   You could find the information on this website useful if you're unsure what a healthy diet should look like. http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /   But if you're hungry, eat and don't feel like it's a bad thing. 

thanks for your reply. But thing is that bothers me is that I keep eating even after I feel like my stomach is going to burst, I still feel the urge to eat something regardless of what it is. Today is officially a week of overeating..my jeans around my waist is starting to feel tighter and my stomach more has become more bloated. >_<

Though I understand by your means of me not getting enough calories but how can I avoid overeating again. I find that when do eat healthy I usually end up eating only around 1200 calories. When I do eat over 1600 calories I become insecure and just end up ruining my day even more, how can I prevent this from happening? What foods are high in calories yet they are healthy at the same time? Sorry if this has become a little off topic..

There are lots of high-calorie healthy foods.  Olive oil for one... .a tablespoon is 120 cals and is great as a dressing.  Avocados... a medium-size one is 300 cals or so.  Very healthy.  Nuts and seeds.... 150 cals for a tiny little ounce packed with goodness.   Oily fish like salmon.... a small 3oz portion is 175 and you're getting Omega 3 oils.  Dried fruit... 5 dates are 250 cals.   And then don't dismiss things like full-fat dairy products, ice-cream and chocolate.  There are no 'bad foods', only 'bad diets' and a big mistake people make is to write great lists of foods off as 'not healthy' and then find they're undereating.   Like you.

Plan your food day in advance so that you get the full 2000 calories you need.  Use the CC food log for that rather than simply to record what you ate.  Start with a good breakfast and plan a snack or a meal every 2 or 3 hours from that point.  Work in some of the foods I've just mentioned and try not to fill up on too many bulky vegetables or 'diet' products.  If you try to get 2000 cals from low-calorie foods and vegetables you will pop

Make meals an occasion in their own right.  Don't stand in front of the fridge grazing, for example.  Don't eat while you're watching TV or using the computer.   Sit at a table (preferably with other people so you can make conversation), eat slowly, savour what you eat, sip water, put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls.  Once you're finished, clear the table, wash up and move to another room.   Eating slowly gives your brain chance to register that your tummy is full.   Eating more slowly also makes it easier for your digestion.... so less chance of bloating.  Giving yourself 'the meal is finished' cues means you stop eating.

If you still feel the urge to keep eating, try to understand when it's happening and take a break.  Drink some water, find something to occupy yourself, take a walk outside.  Buy bigger jeans.... you're growing.

Best of luck

I know what you mean but if your body is giving you cravings its a signal that you are not eating enough. When your body "craves" an unhealthy food, always a high fat, or sugar packed treat, is your body asking you for nutrition. Thats about all you need to know. If you consistently eat 1,800+ a day of healthy foods, taking in your servings of fruit and veggies, protein and healthy carbs (whole grains) you wont have the need to binge.

I have not had a binge craving in over a week (and to me thats somethign huge) because I used to have them every single day when I was only having 1,400 calories (so low). Im now having 1,600 sedentary (completely sedentary) and I dont have any urges, so this gives me a clear signal that Im feeding my body. If I were to be more active, or younger like you, Id have to eat 1,800 if not I bet Id be going through the same as you...with the cravings and such.

Follow what gi-jane said...

Plus know that having sweets and pastries and such (empty calories) make you want to eat more. Eating fruits and veggies and whole grains when you get an urge to binge, will satisfy you faster and you'll find that those cravings slowly diminish...until you have none.

Self control is very very hard, but if you really want to get rid of cravings, eat above 1,800 and dont worry about it. You wont gain insanely at this amount , EVER even less at your age.

good luck

Hi! I'm in a similar situation like yours. I'm 16, 5'1 and I don't know my weight because my mom and the doctors wouldn't tell me. But I've been binging like crazy for the past month. I always eat a nice and hearty HEALTHY breakfast in the morning, yummy healthy filling lunch at school, but when I hit home, I immediately eat/make then eat whatever is there. Like, I've eaten strawberry jam, right out of the jar. It made me have such a stomach ache >_<

I've told my mom about it and she always shrugs and says it's because I'm growing. But to be frank, I think I've stopped growing, in terms of height. I will growing in terms of weight though. And when I study or do homework, I always end up binging and not being able to do my studying/homeworking.

I wish I can help you, but I don't even know how to help myself. But I'd like you to know that you're not alone.

I hope you feel better!

:)

gi-jane: Thank you for the advice and I usually do plan ahead of my meals it's just the binge kind of dragged me out of that habit. Today I'm following my plan so far and haven't had any slipups. I will try my best to eat at least 1800 calories.

bananee: Thanks for your support. I will consider to eat at least 1800 calories and I'll try my best to eat healthy. Though my binges weren't entirely unhealthy, they weren't sweets or sugar because I don't keep many around the house, more like starchy foods (bread,whole grain cereals) whatever I could find in the kitchen that seemed appetizing at the moment. The first 2 days however I ate like half a tub of ice cream and too many store-bought cookies. It was starchy foods afterwards cause I knew it was going to cost me. Today it seems like I'm controlling, which is a start right? Thanks a bunch :)

strawberry-dolly: wow, pretty similar aren't we. Well, I feel better today and hopefully this will last. I hope your the best for you as well and I know we can do it! It's going to be a hard and long process but it can be accomplished. Thank you and good luck to you. (:

I am also pretty much the same way. I think that at least for me I know that food has become a very real and very scary physical addiction. I try to combat it by eating tons of filling, low-calorie food. I drink lots of soup, eat mostly fruits and veggies. I let myself binge on broccoli every day pretty much. Drink lots and lots of water. Even if you don't feel like it. If you're bored and feel like binging, make tea. I just spent $25 on a whole bunch of different types of tea, chocolate, vanilla hazelnut, roobius, etc. They are really sweet without adding any sugar. I add a splash of soymilk, and it really helps me not binge I think.

Good luck, I know this is hard, but know that you're not alone. Far from it. So many people here go through this problem, it's crazy. It's like a sickness, and the important thing is that you believe you can fight it. Seriously, I do think half of it is mental. I binge eat the most when I feel helpless and scared and feel like I have given up on myself. Don't let that happen!