Binges getting worse.....

My binges are getting worse and worse.... and its happening more and more frequently.

Today at 3am I woke up and ate for 2 hours.... ate a whole box of cereal, a litre of milk, yogurt, etc.

And just right now, before bed, I just ate like 7 pieces of bread after dinner with tons of jam, mayo, ketchup, butter, etc. cheese, fudge, etc... basically anything I could get my hands on
(I wasn't even hungry! But I was just bored and kept thinking about food, so I just got frustrated and gave in and went to eat and eat of course, this frustrates me even more now) 

I stopped buying foods that I really like cause I'll definitely binge on them, but than I still binge on foods that I don't like as much too.

I just dont know what to do  anymore...! I can't seem to stop binging!!

A lot of the time binge eating revolves around a preoccupation with food. The more we think about food the more we fixate and the more we tend to rebel against the notion of this annoying fixation… we just go “ stuff it, I am sick of thinking about food, and then binge eating is the result of being annoyed at thinking about food!

People with a history of both restriction and obesity have usually gone through a period where they thought about food far too much, therefore even when you are overcoming a food related issue, people still cannot just simply stop thinking about food

Have you ever experienced a food related issue where you thought about food a lot/ if you have, it is likely that you will still think about food more then people who have not experienced such issues.

Once you give tell me a little more about your situation might be able to say more. All I can add, is that if the urges to binge when your not hungry can be prevented, however, if you think about food a lot you may just be sick of thinking about it and therefore just get so fed up that you binge, due to being sick of thinking about the food so much.

Also, make sure you are getting a good balance of protein/fat/carbohydrates. You may already know this, but if your not fueling your body properly then binging is a common outcome!

You must feel awful after those two binges! You poor thing, I am sorry to hear you are having problems binging, it is okay, remember the very next meal after each binge makes a big difference - you can binge all day, but next normal meal you have is the start of a normal healthy plan; you can stop the binge pattern and start to eat more normal meals then you do the “ binges” and over time all you need to do is keep on going day after day, one day at a time, and the normal meals accumulate and it is very possible to do this and make your binges a minority/occasional thing.

Most binge eaters that stop binging will have a binge very occasionally, even once every few months, but it is okay at this point, once you eat normally more often than you binge, having one binge will be so isolated that it will not feel as bad!

The longer you can eat normally, the more momentum you will have to continue this happier way of life!

WELL DONE for coming on here ! Posting this message shows that you won’t accept binging as part pf your life, and that it is not good enough for you! You want and deserve to feel better so you have come on here instead of brushing away the problem! You are upset and you want to do something about it.  proactive people are inspiring!

How much are you trying to eat during the day?

I used to suffer from anorexia, with chronic binging because I was starving myself. I haven't binged in over a year which is great, but only because I addressed the way I was eating.

Gosh I woke up at 5am and went to binge again. I wasn't hungry... but I guess I just didn't know what else to do cause I was so frustrated about my past binges, so I went to eat.
I finished the rest of the loaf of bread and even started eating mayo by itself.
Ew, I'm so disgusted.

I've never eaten more calories in the past 24 hours than in my life. I think it must be near 10,000 calories, and its not even on foods I really like :(

Thank you for your very sympathetic message personaltrainer... you're right, i shouldn't accept binging as a normal cycle of my life, even though its starting to feel this way. At this point, I'm almost ready to completely give up and just accept it as an everyday thing.... but you're right, I shouldn't, I deserve better.

You do deserve better!  Have you considered seeking therapy?  I know it has a really negative stigma but it sounds like your binging is bigger than you, talking to a professional who deals with eating disorders might really help. 

Hang in there, hun, we're rooting for ya!

Karen

You sound bored...... get out of the house, go for a walk, read a book, take a bath with aromatherapy oils find a tv show you like - get the box set and watch one episode when you are thinkking about binging. Just thinking I'm going to stop thinking about food now won't work.

Binging is an addiction and you have to treat it like one, when I gave up smoking I had to plan to, I had to plan what I would do when I wanted one, I had to want to stop more than I wanted that cigarette. You need a list of reasons why you are going to stop and positive addictions to replace the bad ones with.

You know you might binge so have salad and fruit around, I mean if it was just lettuce how bad could it be. Or try to make the binge something that's effort to make and only make a small portion like cooking a small portion of oatmeal with 1%milk on the stove, add a tiny pinch of salt at the beginning and adding a few raisins at the end it is warm filling comforting the making takes as long as the eating and it really isn't all that bad for you. Never keep left overs; if you binge on half a loaf have sliced bread frozen so you have to get out a couple of slices and wait for them to defrost to use them. Most of all stay strong... you'll get there one day if you keep trying.

**Hugs** V

Hi, I just want to let you know that you're not alone. I have actually stayed up all night eating til it's time for school the next day. I understand how upsetting and painful it is. And after all those binges, I would try to restrict for the rest of the day. But it never worked because I would start the cycle again and binge while everyone else is sleeping.

I don't have an exact solution, but I think you should eat fuller meals in the daytime. And have plently of healthy snacks around when you're feeling hungry. Maybe read a book before bed so that you can sleep easier? Or when you're bored, try knitting/beading/crafts?

I really hope you can find a way to stop this. I'm struggling too.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will keep them all in mind and try anything.

Its really disrupting my sleep as well, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep until I let myself binge for several hours in the kitchen. Again this past night, I wokeup at 2am and binged for 2 hours and than went back to bed.

And I ate before going to bed too, to make sure I wouldn't wake up being hungry.

I'm thinking of trying sleeping pills tonight... it might give me one night's good sleep.... i know that its not a cure.... but hopefully i can start by breaking the 'binge cycle' thats been going on for the past 2 weeks.

I have a problem with night eating too!

I seldom binge, but automatically wake up at 2 - 4 am and eat something. I do not binge, but I just have 100g of smoked salmon, or a small handful of nuts, or a large apple, or something.

It is an annoying habit I got into, I forgot when and why but now I CANNOT break the habit!

I go to bed and I always think about how badly need to just IGNORE my urge to eat something at 2 - 4 am, because the only way to break a habit is to just stop doing it until my body learns to sleep through it.

I have/had insomnia and the pain of insomnia was so great (it hurt my eyes staying awake) that I would go and have a snack to take my mind off the pain I was in; so now I cannot stop… I think that is where my habit started, of night eating.

By the way, no I do not do it because I am hungry.

It does not cause me to gain weight, because my over all calories for each day are normal, it is just a pain in the @ss because my body will ALWAYS wake up around that time because it expects me to eat something.

I want to stop. However, I have stopped putting pressure on myself, and telling myself I MUST stop tonight, because when I don’t succeed it can lead to a binge due to the disappointment I feel.

Once again its 6am and I'm hanging around CC feeling guilty. Even with a sleeping pill, I woke up and binged. Even if I manage to distract myself during the day, at the night, it gets me when I'm weak and half sleepy.

Sigh, I don't know what to do. I think I'll see a different family doctor tomorrow, but I'm really not sure what anyone can do for me :( but I have to try, cause I can't keep living like this. Even though I'm starting to 'normalize the abnormal'.

What time did you wake up and binge? 6am is normal for a lot of people - it is a normal time to eat breakfast for some people!

You are only making yourself feel like you have failed if you put pressure on yourself to 100% completely stop your night eating. Trust me, I have been in that position and it only makes you want to binge more then ever; if you tell yourself you HAVE to stop eating at night and you do not succeed, then you will feel like you have failed and feel like binging.

I have an idea (for both of us!) why don’t we put something healthy, such as a small apple, or a few nuts next to our bed/on our bedside tables. That way, when we inevitably wake up, we will have a small controlled snack, so we will not be eating too much; you may not feel as bad if you do no “ damage” to your diet.

If you can wake up and only have a small handful of nuts, or a small piece of fruit, instead of a binge or instead of something too big, then you may feel much better if you manage to have a small and controlled snack reach time you wake up.

Now, once you start feeling BETTER about eating at night, you will then be more ready to try to STOP eating at night altogether!

In my opinion, you are setting yourself up to fail if your aim is to just STOP eating at night/early morning. Instead, why don’t you set a more realistic goal, such as having a low calorie snack next to your bed.

My advice is to start to try and escape the feelings of guilt associated with your inability to stop eating at night, by accepting that you will eat something, but making the food a low calorie healthy snack.

I advise that you learn to at night without feeling guilty, and THAN try to stop doing it altogether.

Instead of going from eating at night/feeling guilty/and/or binging to trying to go cold turkey and stopping, you can go from where you currently are, to learning to have a smaller snack without any feeling of guilt, and THEN to going cold turkey and trying to STOP.

I am going through a similar thing, I eat 2 - 4 am no matter how much I eat during the day, I even have a snack after dinner but it still does not stop my body from waking up to eat!

i find the best thing for me is to keep busy. I have to go to work, or go ont he computer or do something otherwise i find that i will start eating whatever is in my house. If you wake up in the middle of the night craving something chew some gum and go on the computer or do something to keep yourself busy. Try not to buy your trigger foods. I know for me, i cannot buy sugary cereal or the whole box will be gone. good luck!