Do guys binge?

Ok so there are tons of threads on here about bingeing.. and I have noticed that its always women!  In my head I tend to associate the problem as something women do and not men.  Just wondering what you guys think, maybe they just don't talk about because they are embarrassed or it seems unmanly?   Or maybe its just because there aren't a lot of guys on here to begin with, idk, what do you think?  Would love to hear from a guy on the topic!

We absolutely do binge, but I'm sure it's looked at much differently. When girl sbinge it's looked at unhealthy. When a guy binges, he's just...being a guy.

Just my 2 cents at least.

Guys pretty much eat and drink everything in sight all the time so it's hard to tell whether or not they are binging.

However, when a girl eats an oreo shes like, "OMG!!! I just had the worst Binge evvvvver!!"

yeah I guess bingeing is really just how each person defines it for themselves anyways.   So when a guy puts down a pizza and a pitcher of beer while watching the game its just a fri night but in a girls mind if she did it it might be a binge.  

Original Post by morganbclaw:

yeah I guess bingeing is really just how each person defines it for themselves anyways.   So when a guy puts down a pizza and a pitcher of beer while watching the game its just a fri night but in a girls mind if she did it it might be a binge.  

You've got it exactly.  In my life I've never felt the feelings of binge eating.  I don't relate to it.  I understand it, and I'm sorry people get upset about it, but I've never experienced it.

I have however been associated with a feeding frenzy or two!    Like every weekend.  So there you go. 

I've noticed guys can eat a lot of food but they don't seem to get emotional about it, or over-analyse their feelings about food and eating.  They tend to eat in a more instinctive way:  Want a burger and fries and hey, how about a family block of chocolate - throw it down, and don't seem to agonise about it afterwards.  Women tend to have a complicated relationship with eating.

Interestingly, men on restrictive eating plans, for example body builders, often develop binge eating disorder, so they're not immune.

Yep, we binge!  Sometimes its a group binge! All the guys stuffing their faces with nacho cheesies, hot and greasies, and pouring metabolism-killing booze down their throats.  We just don't dwell on it like women do.

  I have outgrown the group binge, but I am still an emotional eater.  It's my mother's fault.  When I was little and upset, my mom would sit me down and say "Let me feed you something, you'll feel better!"

When I have a binge now, I tend beat myself up for a few hours, get over it, and start all over again.  Just one guy's experience....

I guess I do binge. Just never really thought of it like that.  But I guess a weekend full of BBQ, chicken wings, and whiskey could be considered a binge.  I just always considered it hanging out with friends.  I cut back quite a bit though since I started logging all my calories.  

Yup i binge now and then (more often when i am really watching my diet closely). You know you are overeating as you do it and somehow justify each bite as you keep going until you have killed a day or two of work in strange things (chocolate is really easy to do....once ate 2 big bags of chocolate chips....wasnt even enjoying them at the end, but thought "might as well if i already at that many")

Binging is different than just normal over-eating i think. Its something you are aware of and know you shouldnt be doing. Its a strange state of "giving in" and reasoning goes out the window. So many different ways to justify it as you are doing it...but after (and during) you just realize all the hard work you just threw away by eating 3k calories of random crap (once ate a couple loaf of bread... ) Its even worse when you realize you could have just given into the things you REALLY wished you could let youself have...like a huge dinner at your favorite place with dessert (and knowing it would still be under what you just ate).

But, I dont let it affect me too much. I just move on and realize I will need to work harder the next day or two in order to make up for it (purging might get rid of calories, but its unpleasant to do....and seems like dodging responsibility for ones actions).

Its not nearly as common when i lay off watching calories as closely. I overeat on days i feel like it (just on normal food or at dinner, nothing crazy) and kind of half-effort keep an eye on what i eat the other days.

 Thats normally how things are now aday... slowly gaining 5-10 pounds...then watch calories closely and try to exercise to go back to normal-ish....then lay off the calorie watching again as the weight comes back. I think thats probably the best i could hope for (and what a lot of people find themselves doing once they reach their weight goals). Once you learn how to get rid of weight, its soooooo easy (just kind of annoying)....so putting on a little weight isnt a big deal, just means watching the calories and working out for a couple weeks to a month (and dieting for that long isnt really enough time to trigger any binging for me)....

So....yup....guys binge too. (and i think the idea that most guys just mindlessly eat whatever they want isnt really true... if they have a nice body, they probably put work into it. They either watch their calories or naturally arent prone to eating a bunch and snacking on high calorie foods....or with younger guys, it might be metabolism thing, but then they end up fat later on in life).

my dad is a binge eater deff.  i know it because i wake up first in the morning and see the aftermath and i know he is not happy with it either because he does not like to talk about it.  he told me it came from being poor when he was younger and never knowing what you were going to eat the next day so.... all you can eat buffets anything he would just eat everything at once.  i am worried about him.  but hes a psycatrist i think he is very aware of what he is doing

I think I associate binging with feelings of wanting to stop, or guilt (I've never really binged myself - I used to eat a lot but quite happily, and now I eat less) - and most men I know are quite proud of the amount they are putting away. I can think of five men off the top of my head (two friends, my dad, and both my brothers) who eat sometimes several times a day like they are running a marathon, including the pride for crossing the finishing line.

All of them are very slim, except my older brother, who is fairly normal sized with a bit of a beer gut on him.

My boyfriend certainly does and he hates that he does, as soon as it starts he knows it might get out of hand and sometimes he can stop - others he can't.

Always a pain when I go to the cupboard to get something that the day before there was 5 of but there's now none left but tbh I can be just as bad so it's fun fun in our house! Lol

Yes men binge & overeat...  There are too many extremely fat men in the world to suggest otherwise.  But I think the big difference is that men don't conflate 'eating too much' and 'self-worth' quite the same as some women do.  As optimator88 put it 'I just always considered it hanging out with my friends'... he wasn't wracked with guilt, calling himself an 'emotional eater', worried that he has an eating disorder or thinking he's a bad person.   His next move...  'cut back quite a bit'... and that's a typical male response to the problem.  Essentially, they look less towards heavy psychological solutions and more for practical measures.

I'm conscious that I'm generalising.  But the biggest hurdle with men, in my experience, is getting them to understand that their behaviour is unhealthy and has to change in the first place.  Once they accept that, they're usually quite methodical and focused.   Women are much more willing to think they have a problem (even if they don't, funnily enough)... but are more inclined to see it as beyond their control. 

I agree with pittsburghkid. A lot of men tend to what we would call 'binge' where as to them, other men, and other women it just looks like a typical mans diet. XD If I see a man shoveling down 2 pizzas or whatever I don't look at him and think 'oh he's binging' I just kind of see it as that's how they eat. If that makes sense :S

It's as if it's more acceptable for men to overeat than it is for women.

Its really interesting to read people's experiences with this.  It kind of helps me understand more about my own issues with food.  I guess its all personal characterization of the problem and how you deal with it afterwards.  

YES guys do binge. Like a lot of others have pointed out it isn't viewed that way though due to various gender norms in society. However, I know that after I lost over 100 lbs through a very restrictive diet I went through a HORRIBLE phase of binge eating that can sooo relate to the countless episodes people post about on this forum...I can so relate with so many of the posters (who are predominately women).... I unfortunately have fallen into that mindset that a lot of women fall into in regard to equating self worth with their weight/appearance....and it really sucks b/c my guy friends for the most part totally don't understand where I'm comming from...also I know for  afact that my gender really contributed to a delay in me being diagnosed with an eating problem.... I am much better with all this now and eat/exercise pretty healthy....but I do walk past that mirror still and talk about how I'm "getting fat"....and touching nachos and beer...forget about it lol...I am more of a ice cream and cookie eater when I just broke up with someone hahahah

I don't think I am a "typical" guy with my experiences.....but we're out there!...I think men and distorted eating/body image is unfortunately overlooked often by society, which is truly dangerou

Original Post by lalce1:

YES guys do binge. Like a lot of others have pointed out it isn't viewed that way though due to various gender norms in society. However, I know that after I lost over 100 lbs through a very restrictive diet I went through a HORRIBLE phase of binge eating that can sooo relate to the countless episodes people post about on this forum...I can so relate with so many of the posters (who are predominately women).... I unfortunately have fallen into that mindset that a lot of women fall into in regard to equating self worth with their weight/appearance....and it really sucks b/c my guy friends for the most part totally don't understand where I'm comming from...also I know for  afact that my gender really contributed to a delay in me being diagnosed with an eating problem.... I am much better with all this now and eat/exercise pretty healthy....but I do walk past that mirror still and talk about how I'm "getting fat"....and touching nachos and beer...forget about it lol...I am more of a ice cream and cookie eater when I just broke up with someone hahahah

I don't think I am a "typical" guy with my experiences.....but we're out there!...I think men and distorted eating/body image is unfortunately overlooked often by society, which is truly dangerou

Good post lalce1.  First of all, guys are guys and women are women.  Just because a man has a binge thing doesn't make him any less of a man.  I was thinking about this last night in the car coming home from pizza (as a result of thinking about this thread). 

I could barely finish my last piece of pizza in the restaurant, I had to wait a few minutes to get into the proper mental state to finally eat it because I was already totally stuffed lol!  Sort of like Cool Hand Luke with the eggs.  The thing is, I walked into that pizza place knowing I was going to eat a lot.  I'd already accepted it.

It's not that I don't feel guilt, or don't have a conscience, or don't care, or have a better mental attitude - it's none of that.  I think the difference is that I really don't care about food.  Sure I love to cook and I love to eat, but food has very little value and importance to me.  I never think about eating food, it's never in my thoughts - and if food is in my thoughts it's only thinking about what I'll do for dinner or a fun food for the weekend.

So right there is the difference.  Importance.  Importance of food.  People with a binge problem have food as a big part of their lives.  Many of these people get comfort from food.  Food addiction.  ED.  I know nothing about regarding research, but one thing is for sure, all these people on this forum who place food in such importance should definitely be on a plan to learn as much about it as they can, preferably by making appointments for counseling, but if that's not possible researching relentlessly on the Internet. 

Support groups are fine, Calorie Count is a support group and it's a great website, but every person that reads this post with a binge  problem knows they need more than commiserating with someone else with the same problem.

You want action!  lol.  And so I have a proposition.  Let's find one binge person and put them on the "Warrior" diet for a week and see what happens. 

The "Warrior" diet is not eating all day and then eating one meal at night.  Let's see if not eating all day changes someone's perception of food, and makes it more of a life thing (we need food to live) rather than a comfort thing.

And don't give me grief about not eating all day is unhealthy.  I have doctor friends and no one knows.  Save your vast internet knowledge for someone that gives a rip about what you post.

So, I need a guinea pig, er, volunteer.  You can have coffee in the morning, creamers with a few carbs and calories are fine.  One hard boiled egg in the morning at most, only if you really are hungry.

Any takers?  Andy binge eaters that want to try this for 7 days?

Coffee and one boiled egg in the morning, no food all day, you can't eat until dinner and then you can eat until you go to bed.  Those are the rules.

Maybe one person will have the nerve to try it, and maybe in the process become less dependent on food.  Or maybe they'll binge worse because they waited all day to eat and ended up gaining weight for the week.  Fine, if that happens don't do it next week.   We don't know, that's why it's an experiment.

At the very least, what do you guys think?  What would happen?

It is a good concept to get a binge eater to become more aware of the fact that food is fuel, fuel that you CAN enjoy, but something that should only be consumed when you need it.

Not eating until dinner is not the ONLY way to make a binge eater aware of their natural hunger…

Isn’t just eating normal meals during the day when you are hungry the same thing? You wait until you ate hungry until eating? That would be a more balanced approach to it rather then going to the extreme of only one meal a day!

As a former binger, it could actually hinder some people because a lot of bingers are actually already IN that cycle of binging and restricting; they binge and then they will starve until they can’t take it any more

So, a lot of bingers are ALREADY doing the “ warrior” diet on the days they don’t binge, and that is WHY they keep binging, because they allow themselves to get VERY hungry and then they cannot control themselves once they do eat!

Intentionally depriving your body can make a lot of people think about food MORE then usual and this is the worst thing for a binge eater to do! The hungrier they get through out the day, the more they are likely to think about food

Getting a binge eater to restrict all day will likely make them very hungry as the day goes by, which will make them think about food even more, and being preoccupied with food is known to cause binges.

SO, that is my experience with binging!

personaltrainer87, good post.  You'd know better than I because you've evidently gone through it yourself or have firsthand knowledge of someone that has.

You mention eating when you're hungry, which I agree with, but I'm not hungry all day.  So for me it's not fasting.  I haven't eaten all day most of my life so it's not a "diet," it's something that's comfortable to me and has been normal.

I also suspect that what some people call "hunger" is actually "craving."  I know if I eat carbs, I want more carbs - and it's definitely not hunger I feel, it's wanting, a desire, which is not the same thing as when I'm hungry.   

I wonder what would happen to a hypothetical binge person if they did did try it.  Obviously there would be a poor result if not eating lunch created a cycle of night binges, but I have a hunch they'd have a tendency to put the fork down at night when they felt full, the same as they would at any other meal, and overall they'd lose weight - perhaps simply because they have two less meals, two less chances, to eat too much.

This post is going to be WAYYYY OF TOPIC but it relates to both MEN and WOMEN binge eaters in regards to hunger, and may be helpful for some people

The thing I have learnt from my experience, is that a lot of people ARE in fact hungry, but they just cannot recognize their hunger signals!

What does it feel like to feel hungry? It would be different for each person! We all have different bodies after all!

For me, I never have a strong physical feeling of hunger, my stomach does not feel much differently through out the day and I cannot eat a thing all day and my stomach will still feel the same

I rely on other signals, such as feeling like a specific food

For example, I have carbohydrates for breakfast ( no protein, as I don’t mix proteins and starches at the same time!) so by lunch time, my body will crave protein, and I will start to feel like the actual food my body wants, in this case, protein.

So when I start to salivate and crave a certain food, and I know it has been 4 hours since my last meal, and if it makes sense ( like if I have not had any protein that day, and I am craving protein 5 hours after I eat carbohydrates for breakfast) then I know I am “hungry”

The type of hunger I feel just happens to come in the form of a “ craving”, instead of a physical feeling in my stomach!

I know if I have not eaten any protein all day and I crave it, that it is not just simply a craving, and that my body DOES actually need it!

Also, when my body needs food, it affects my concentration and I just feel like the food will make me feel more “ on the ball” and able to communicate with people better and study harder and etc.

I just do not get a strong physical feeling of hunger in my stomach, and I think that a lot of binge eaters do not recognize when they physically need food, so they feel like they are eating when they are not hungry not matter what, therefore it may encourage them to binge if they feel like they can “ never just eat when they are hungry” any way.

They MAY feel hungry after restricting for a day AFTER a binge, but that is because hunger becomes more apparent the longer you go with out food, so if they ate regular meals, they may not ever think they “ feel” hungry, when in reality, they should either try to learn to recognize their bodies own unique feelings of hunger, OR, they should start to eat every 5 hours, at least 3 times a day ANY way, regardless of hunger.

Yes, guys do binge. I am a guy and I binge. For me, a binge is not just overeating, but when I am eating and I feel like I cannot stop. I don't feel like I am in control when I binge. Also, I usually eat really fast and zone out when I binge. So basically what I guess I'm trying to say is that just because a guy can down a whole pizza, I don't think that necessarily constitutes a binge unless he feels out of control doing it. I've always felt that overeating and binging are two similar but also different things if that makes any sense.