BINGEING support group

Hi everyone.

I'm a very healthy eater from day to day. VERY healthy. And I'm quite proud of my diet and my will power. I eat whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy products. I also eat portions of nuts and drink lots of water.

But I have a problem. I'm in university, and tend to go out to the bars on the weekends every now and then. Now, I can deal with a night of drinking, because I can control how much I drink and I dont drink really hefty sugary drinks. My problem is my loss of will power to junk food when I drink. I eat so much... SO MUCH chocolate when I'm drunk! So much that sometimes I feel ill the next day, but of course, I get back on track and dont drop my calories the next day because I know it's unhealthy recoil.

After this rant, I propose creating this group to support and track / log how many days myself and any others interested in joining can go binge free. I still dont mind having small portions of chocolate throughout the day because they might be just 5g portions. I just want to be able to motivate myself to stay on track and not destroy my healthy diet every weekend.

So, I'm going to start out. Since I went all out last night, today is...

Days without bingeing: 1 (I know the whole day hasnt gone by, but I know I'll control it today haha)

Thanks! 

cool, kikbox! if you are for real (and it sounds like you are!) we'll help you meet your goal! If I'm not bingeing, some weight should come off! and 5# is SO doable in 4 weeks...glad you are joining us!

This is Day 4 and I am totally taking advantage of warm weather/sun to get me out and going!

samesofam, welcome! be careful...you don't want to associate your bad habit w/the bf! if you'll claim the responsibility for your overeating, that's the start of getting control of it. glad you are joining! the more the merrier! :  )

Everyone have a great April!!!

Day 4!!  And I even got a piece of chocolate in last night without it turning into a binge! Wish me luck for the weekend :)

Can I join?

I stand up today and admit that I have a problem and I point blank refuse to let disordered eating get me!

I have been binging on and off for 12 months, today, after a 1000 calorie chocolate fest, was the first time that I have seriously considered throwing up.

I didn’t, I know that I have already absorbed the calories and it would do me no good at all.  I had a cup of hot tea and went for a short walk around my office but it has finally hit me that perhaps this is serious. 

First root cause: from when I was younger, growing up in a house with 3 brothers – if I didn’t eat (and usually sneak) the treats then someone else would and I would miss out.

Second Root Cause –I am binging to sabotage myself, to give myself a reason why I am not losing the weight that I want to.

 I’ve been sneaking food from my friends house even though I know she wouldn’t not mind me eating it anyway, I eat packets of biscuits – I don’t know why, I eat cakes when I bake them just so that I don’t feel like I’m missing out when I share them out.

But now I can afford to buy anything that I fancy, I don’t need to scoff loads of it at any time, I can just go any buy whatever I want whenever I really want it, it will always be there, it will be there tomorrow I still fancy it then.

Can anyone help?

I have always been able to control my weight up until very recently, then I started to binge.  The best thing I ever did was read 2 books by Jean Antonello.  Just get the absolute cheapest used books you can find on Amazon.  Her first book is called How to Become Naturally Thin By Eating More, and her second is Breaking out of Food Jail.  They were actually recommended to me by someone on calorie-count.  It has been helpful to me to have both books. The author is an eating disorder specialist who has been at both extremes--anorectic and overweight, and she knows her stuff.  I have been binge free for 2 months since reading these books.  She has nailed everything I've ever thought about food in her books.  They helped me TREMENDOUSLY.  I totally understand now why people binge.  You have nothing to lose by reading these books. 

Uni hasn't been as good to me as I thought. I ended up going to Tescos with my housemates last night, buying a box of doughnuts and cookies, eating almost all of them and then purging. Then I ate the rest from the bin this morning. Rank D:

I'm going to book a counsellor's appoinment on Monday once term starts. I need to curb this horrible behaviour before I put on even more weight again.

Ooooh well. I'm going to go do an exercise dvd now. If I can't eat healthily at the moment at least I'll get proper exercise :)

risabelle, thanks for the suggestion!  I may go check those out...

sunnybra, welcome!  I know it's helped me a LOT to have this thread, so kudos for posting and telling us about yourself!  It sounds like you have more of an idea of why you binge than you think you do -- that's actually great!  Lots of people find that keeping a journal helps (I've never done this, but that doesn't mean it won't help you!).  Do you have access to counseling?

rampant, sorry to hear about the bingeing/purging :(  You definitely have the right attitude, though; you're going to see a counselor, and you're excersizing, which will make you happier and healthier!  Let us know how your appointment goes, and good luck to everyone for the weekend!

today will be binge free day 1, i really hope. the last 3 days have been disgusting- i ate all three days whenever possible, even when i was at the point of feeling like throwing up from eating so much. ive had some serious issues to deal with friends over the last while, from feeling ostricized by my group of friends, to having a close friend confess he really like me and not liking him back, to having my closest friends begin experimenting with hard drugs. i dont want to be specific, but it seems like my only escape is to dive into food. ive literally gained 2 pounds from eating 2500 over maintenance EVERY day. holy crap. and on me it shows immediately on the face. wow. just backtracked 2 weeks of weight loss. today is day 1 and im hoping to make it to 14 this time, because i got to 13 last time and then the 3 days of bingeing started.

i just saw this group and i fit right into it.  i eat really healthy in general but can't stop eating when i'm satisfied, or even when i'm full... and then i feel so sick.  ugggh.  i already won't let myself buy a tub of icecream or a pie from the store...i'd eat it until it is gone.   i need to change my habits and i think that joining this group will help.  :)  i can't lose ANY weight because of my overeating.  the one night i had to stop eating at 7 pm (fasting for blood work the next morning) I went to bed a bit hungry and woke up lighter!  i wish i could do this everynight, but i always eat right up until i go to bed.    i actually dreamt about food that night too.  i think i'm obsessed.  'get in maaaa belly!' should be the quote that describes me with food.  :(

havasmile, risabelle, sunnybra, welcome! we are a great, supportive group! read through, if you haven't already. Post as often as you need to...we all learn from one another and are very grateful to alexw for starting this post!

liora! great to hear it didn't turn in to a binge...hang onto that feeling! That is a sign that you can swing this behavior in the right direction!

rampant! glad to hear you will go talk w/a counselor! Support is a wonderful thing and the more we all get in life (in ALL our endeavors) the more likely we'll get the results we want! let us know how things work out. And, if the first counselor is not a comfortable fit...don't be afraid to look further for someone more suitable!

jolie! 2 pounds is not 20...remember that you have some recent accomplishments, too. Don't just focus on the negative. You are young enough that I can tell you that as you age, most of your friends will get more stable, so your friendships will get more stable, too. BUT, the key is for you to get that stability yourself so that even tho your friends/the world are/is going through so much, you will be able to find your center. That means you'll be able to be kind and compassionate w/o empathizing so much that you jump into chow-hound mode. lol we might as well develop a sense of humor about it now because you are already overcoming this behavior! I can see it!

keep posting everybody. We are one great group and support is so important to success!

alexw and kikbox...I think I'm going to wrap up day 4 fine but only because I was SOOO busy that I couldn't overeat! Hey, I take whatever tools I can get hold of! :  )

please...BINGE is practically my middle name these past couple months. ive tried to start not binging yesterday...and succeeded...until today. i went over my calories by about 300-400 today :( and when i went to the gym it was horrendous! i felt so lazy. tomorrow will be a busy day but i'll be with my closest friends/family who are all health freaks and i love it! hopefully they can aid my motivation to stop binging!

i just finished day 3! yeah, i went over my calorie limit, but not by a huge amount, and only because i was starving by the end of the day. i even warded off a binge! i guess the past three days being binge-free have cooled my ardor for sweets. i ate a cookie and didn't want another! i did have a piece of toast, though, because i was actually hungry. sometimes it's a really good feeling to be hungry but see nothing in your kitchen that you really want. makes me feel like i conquered food, if just for the moment.

my boyfriend, meanwhile, chowed down on cookies, sweettarts, scrambled eggs, and toast. and he didn't gain a pound, i'm sure.

Binge free day 1! - Started off with a trip to the gym, 30 minutes on the rower - go me!! longest row ever.

Liora, no, I don't have access to a counsellor, but I think that they are non-judgemental outsiders with either experience or years of education about the subject - that's what I've found here.  :o)

I think that I've identified here something in the very early stages that could devleop into something bigger if I don't control it now, so that's what I'm doing - I'm a sensible person, with enough understanding of why I have these feelings then I'll beat it.  Well done on your non-binge!!

Sharonclaire, you;re so right, we should concentrate on the positives and realise that even when we slip a little it isn't the end of the world.

Got some instant apple tea from whittards in front of me at the moment - lush.

Have a good day everyone.

Hi everyone,

This is exactly the post I needed! I am also pretty healthy in my meal choices everyday. The problem is the after-dinner snack...that just keeps going! I don't know if I'm eating as a stress relief after the day or what, but it just doesn't stop! My portion control is completely nonexistant come 7pm.

I want to overhaul my eating schedule entirely. I need to start eating breakfast, have something more substantial for lunch, and quit it after 8pm.

I am so ready to change it up! (Especially with summer coming up...)

crystar, i know exactly how you feel. what IS it about the after-dinner snack(s)? is it because you're really hardcore restricting yourself during the day? sometimes they say that's the reason for losing it at night.

i've found that just going through your cabinets and throwing out (yes, i know it's wasteful, but theoretically it's a one-time thing, and a binger's gotta do what a binger's gotta do) anything that you would eat in addition to your lone after-dinner snack can help. then you feel less likely to eat anything because you know you have to eat it for a meal or a predetermined snack later. that's why i plan meals meticulously and try to only buy groceries for the current week (except for my boyfriend's stuff - he buys that, and i can't really control his penchant for cookies and cereal).

anyway, sounds like most people on here are doing pretty well, but naturally we all slip from time to time. part of being human is giving in to that brownie sundae every once in a while.

day 4!

hey guys, I messed up both days I was with my bestfriend. But I got back on track yesterday, and I'm on day 2. I found out I have acid reflux disease, so that is the cause of my stomach aches. :/ oh well. Good luck everyone!

kae, hi! it helps to have a name for what ails you! you'll be able to overcome it. you sort of expected that you'd overdo w/your girlfriend, so don't be too disappointed...those habits are twice as hard to change when they involve others! glad you are back on it!

all the newbies! chat away! this is how the rest of us started finding our way out!

alexw and kikbox...I am still in and plan on being in until 5/1!!! :  )

oh boy did I have a bad day yesterday

I had yogurt and cereal then had a pb honey sandwhich, a chicken sandwhich, a tuna wrap, 1/2 a cinnimon bun, a donut, went to my friends had 2 fresh white buns by themselves, another sandwhich, a bunch of jelly bellies, about 10 chocolate kisses, 2 other chocolate stick things, 2 pot of gold chocolates, a granola bar, some crackers with cheese, 4 werthers, and probably some more I forgot.

karliann, that litany sounds about right! That's what makes you a Member Of The Tribe! But, if you are going to hang out here you'll want to focus on the tools for overcoming this behavior rather than always running through the grocery list.

If you want to overcome this behavior start by reading back through this chat for solutions we're all finding/advice we are all giving one another. Then start slowly by finding one self-defeating thing or another that you can get control of/deny. Control only has to happen one session at a time for you to claim it and feel successful. The more times you get control and are able to turn your bad habits into healthy habits...the better you will feel!

Take care and keep posting!

The one thing that is saving me from overeating is that it's finally spring and I am out of the house more. Yea for spring! :  )

I have to say it is really comforting to know there are many other people that experience this too.  Its really a secret for me, so having you all makes me feel better. 

The past two nights were bad.  It really has to do with stress right now.  I am finishing my master's, working, and training for a triathlon.  With the exception of the training there is little I get to do for myself, and I let myself go when I get to let my hair down. 

Thanks for the book suggestions risabelle, I'm going to check them out.