What's the Difference between BED and just Eating a lot

Hi,

So I've been trying to research this on the internet but I can't seem to find any answers. I was wondering if someone could tell me the difference between Binge Eating Disorder and "bingeing" and just plain old liking/loving food and therefore eating a lot?

I'm asking this because over the weekend my family and I went on vacation and we ate at a lot of fast food restaurants and I have been eating a LOT and I'm worried that I may be on the verge of something serious? Here's what I had::

Saturday: Some burger thing at IHOP, see's chocolates (around 7-ish pieces, I couldnt count really b/c I only took bites out of ones that I didn't like, since you can't tell what is in what), a strawberry jam sandwich.

Sunday: 3 bowls of Raisin Bran, 3 doughnuts, see's chocolates (around 10-ish pieces), 1/2 gourmet turkey sandwich, 2 chewy bars, 3 packets of airline peanuts, some wheat thins, 2 bowls of rice w/asian side dishes.

TODAY: 6 bowls of cereal, 1 bowl of rice, a small bag of chips, some other type of chips (less than a small bag of them), about 8 whole wheat/water crackers with cream cheese, a cup of hot chocolate....and its only 11!

BUT the thing is I don't feel guilty/sad/angry/depressed about this. I enjoyed eating all of it and although I feel that my thighs/stomach/butt are a little bigger/flabbier, it doesn't really matter to me, and also none of the stuff I ate was purged I'm saying this b/c I know that a lot of bingeing takes place in private and is done in a mindless/trance-like state and much of the food is purged through vomiting/over-exercising. Although I am full, I am not absolutely STUFFED and busting at the seams, and I'm not uncomfortable to the point that I feel physically sick.

I have a lunch date with a friend in a bit and we are getting gyros. I intend to not eat the rest of the day afterwards, drink a lot of water, and go for a long walk to help with digestion and take it a little easy for the rest of the week. But, does it seem like I have some sort of problem??

My stats: (I'm not trying to lose weight, i wouldn't mind a little gain)

18, female, 5'9, last time I checked (before the weekend) ~128

BED is a compulsion to eat. You just seem to like eating junk food. You might want to try and make your diet more nutritious but otherwise it doesn't sound like you have any kind of bingeing problem.

You're just eating a lot.  That happens quite a lot with junk food.... it contains so little nutrition that you have to eat massive amounts to extract the tiny amount of goodness there is.   Leaving your weight to once side it's not great for your over all health to eat a lot of salty/fatty/sugary junk or skip meals.  Longer-term it's a good idea to try to get into some healthier eating habits.   5-a-day fruit and veg isn't a bad place to start.  With better nutrition and some exercise you'd gain weight healthily.  If you live on bowls of cereal and chocolate etc., you'll just get a terrible complexion, lank hair and fall prey to every cough and cold going.

whew! thanks for the replies guys. I'm glad that it doesn't seem like some sort of eating disorder...but I think I will cut down on the sugary stuff

THANKS! :)

Did you feel out of control while you were eating? Did you feel like you couldn't stop? Did you feel guilty/depressed afterwards (well I guess you already said you didn't)? But basically that's what BED is. So hopefully that helps you out.

well. it doesn't seem to be affecting you since you are underweight.