Officially, in CC-speak, what is a "BINGE"?

I keep seeing people saying "OMG, I just had a terrible binge!"  Then I read their post, and further down it says that they had an ice cream cone, or a hamburger, or whatever - just one extra thing.  Okay some of the people have eaten a whole box of Cookie Crisp cereal.  Yeah, that's a binge.

 

But to me, just exceeding your goal or eating one high-calorie treat is not really a binge.  I always thought of a binge as emotional, out-of-control eating, where you eat like a day's worth of calories in one sitting and then feel  like crap because of so much impacted food in your gut.

 

Is it right to call eating a bowl of macaroni and cheese or a donut a "binge"?  Where is the line drawn between a minor slip-up and a genuine binge?

Some people call those minor types of things 'binges' but personally it annoys me. I do not tend to binge but I have friends and family that do and it can be truely devastating, not just physically, but mentally. Binging in general is usually linked to deep rooted emotional issues rather than "I really wanted CROUTONS on my salad so I had them oh noes!!!"

 

So yeah. I am not sure what the general consensus on the definition of binging is. 

I'm with ya'll-- if you eat the entire box of girl scout cookies -- that's a binge -- two cookies are not.  If I exceeded my burn by a 1000+ calories that might be a binge (or could be Burger king), but if I exceed my target cals by 200 -- that is not (even if it was past my burn or maintenance)

I don't think it matters how many calories are consumed, or even how much food is consumed. Binging is consuming food in a desperate or uncontrolled fashion when you are not physically hungry. It is a loss of control as opposed to a set amount of food. That being said, 100 calories is not a binge. ever.

when I'm calorie counting i treat myself often, usually once a day, to a small bowl of ice cream, a cookie after dinner, or to a few drinks on the weekend. As long as I count it into my daily calories I don't feel bad about it whatsoever and don't think twice. I only call overeating a binge when I feel that I have completely lost control over what I am putting in my mouth, for whatever reason that may be. It might be a small binge if it's only a couple cookies or whatever, or it might be a huge binge where I eat anything i can get my hands on... it doesn't matter to me if it's 500 calories or 3,000 calories... even if it is small, I still consider it a binge because it has the same underlying emotional trigger that my larger binges do (and the same emotional crash afterward). So I definitely don't consider a simple indulgence the same as a binge, even though I am guilty of both.

Yeah, I agree with above posters. It's the emotional out of control aspect of eating too much. Last week I really wanted a brownie, so I had one. Whatever, no big deal. The problem with that normally is the sugar triggers something and I must have all the brownies. Then, when they're gone, it's on to anything else that happens to be nearby. It's eating until I cannot fit anything else in, until I am in pain and severe discomfort. That's a binge for me. Like 5000 calories, not 500.

An entire loaf of bread, a whole jar of peanut butter, a whole tube of Pilsbury slice n bake? I mean like, after a day's worth of regular eating. This would be considered an official binge, right?

You just made me hungry with that tube of cookie dough comment. . .  :P

imho a binge is a few thousand calories over and above your rec daily intake. otherwise, it's a treat. big or small. a treat, not nec a binge.

Most people on here are ignorant to what a binge really is. I have never personally experienced one, never want to but i have researched eating disorders thoroughly and most people on here do not binge. Binge eating is an EATING DISORDER. I think some people use the term too loosely and naive eyes read what they say and think that eating 2 pieces of pizza is a binge.

From an official point of view; a binge is defined as eating an excessive amount of food within less than 2 hours.
Binges may occur in secret, they may be triggered by stress, and may continue until the person is uncomfortable full.


I do not think of going over your daily calorie quota or having a dessert as a binge.

Original Post by hockeygirl44:

I don't think it matters how many calories are consumed, or even how much food is consumed. Binging is consuming food in a desperate or uncontrolled fashion when you are not physically hungry. It is a loss of control as opposed to a set amount of food. That being said, 100 calories is not a binge. ever.

 Best short description so far I think. It's certainly relative, definitely primarily emotional in content and something I'm fighting off right now by spending time in these forums instead of counting my change and running downstairs to the vending machine. It would only be one item because I cleared out my change purse yesterday, but because it's such a craving I'd still consider it a binge. Here's to hoping I won't have to.

ok...so i have been trying to gain weight for awhile now * i was anorexic and just have trouble keeping the weight on while running track in college * and I eat most of my calories at night. Like i will be at 600 cals before dinner....1200 after dinner. then I am just a night muncher or somethign i dont' know.... I'll eat again at like 9, 11, and midnight. Just things like a bowl of oatmeal, a little ice cream, and then hot chocolate before bed.

 Is this considered binging? I know this is a bad thing if you are trying to lose/maintain, but it can't really be bad if I'm trying to gain right? I am just worried this will grow into a habit once I have reached my optimum weight and I'll just keep eating a bunch at night.

the idea is really to keep track of how many calories you have consumed for the day, and then if you came in under your budget for the day then its a nice idea to reward yourself with a snack. Now, this is not to be confused.  I don't mean that if you are at, or slightly over your budget you can't snack at all, but really the idea is to do it when you feel you deserve to be rewarded for something.  You get a promotion at work, sure have a small bowl of ice cream. But you have to make sure you don't make every tiny victory (like being able to get a taxi instead of having to take a bus, or something small and silly like that) into a reward sized victory.  I totally understand the snacking urge since i'm a college sophomore and i do most of my studying post 9pm.  You have the right idea with oatmeal, since it isn't too bad on calories, but try making it with water instead of milk to cut out some calories and make sure you don't put alot of sugar in it. I love hot chocolate before bed (which is strange b/c i live in hot HOT texas) so one thing that i tried doing was making half a cup of hot chocolate and sitting in bed with it while i read or do whatever else i want to do before bed to unwind. usually when you are already in bed and you are getting drowsy from having warm yummy hot chocolate you don't really want to have to get up to get more, so you aren't as tempted to.  But you want to be careful about drinking it while you do something that will be over at a certain time (like tv) because if you finish before it is over you will definately want to get up and get more. 

One of the more cliche low calorie snacks is no butter no salt popcorn, but i always found that there was just no point to it. 

I do, however, love veggies, so usually if i want a snack i will get a few leaves of lettuce with a little bit of salt, or slice a tomatoe, or (mmm) i love cherry tomatoes.  All of which are under 100 calories for a seemingly large amount. 

It sounds like you get a sweet tooth though, so i would try to find the cups of yogurt that are like 70 cal each because those (if eaten slow) can be very satisfying.  Ice cream (given the right kind) can be ok if it is a small bowl.

Snacking at night is normal, just make sure that you aren't routinely going over your calorie budget by several hundred calories and you should be ok.