For those people struggling with bingeing, here's how I am recovering from the problem with advice

Hello to all!

I binge. If you are reading this thread, you probably binge too. But I am overcoming this problem day by day, and I know you can too. So here I am to offer my advice and support for anyone and everyone who needs it, just as I have received endless support from you guys too.

Here's a short summary of my binge eating up until now:

My bingeing started in mid December last year. I ate extremely healthy, but was slightly underweight then and decided I needed to gain a little weight. Soon it all spun out of control. I gained the healthy weight back, but the out of control eating did not stop. I started having many family problems, as well as emotional issues to deal with. I would seek comfort in food. If I had just had a fight with my sister, I would reach out for the ice-cream and the PB, using digestives as a spoon and swallow it down, thinking it was comforting. It was the feelings that came afterwards that made it all worse, and to cope with those feelings I would binge again!

It was a horrible cycle and I wanted out.

When you're bingeing these thoughts probably run through your head,

"Oh what the hell, I've already stepped out of line, why not go all out?" *finishes the entire cake*

or "what is another 3 cookies if I've already had 5 which I wasn't supposed to?" *finishes box of cookies*

or "I have a few calories to spare, i'll have a little treat" and as soon as you taste something that tastes TOO good, something delicious, its the start of a binge.

I know that after a binge you make yourself promise that you will never do it again, that those feelings of guilt are not worth it. But right before a binge we magically seem to forget, or ignore, those promises.

I was hopeless, i thought I could never exit this problem. I would think, "tomorow is a new day, no more bingeing", but I would do it anyways. I was desperate as I saw the weight slowly creep on.

But I made a few changes (advice below) and now I'm slowly losing weight, am happy and cheerful, feel alive again and

I do have to point out, my bingeing problem is not cured. But hey, I come from bingeing on 4000-6000 calories worth of crappy unhealthy food EVERY DAY to maybe 2500 calorie binges worth of healthier food a couple times a week! I'm so proud of myself!

So here are the changes I made to my life:

1. First off, many people suggest clearing your house of binge foods. I was and am unable to due so as I live with my parents and sister (until August when I move out!). This was an extra challenge for me, but I think that therapeutically it is good to have some binge foods there, so you actually have to resist the temptation. You see, you are not going to live in a binge food-free household all your life, so you might as well learn to control your urges at the beginning.

2. That said, do substitute some of those binge foods for healthier alternatives! For example:

Phidadelphia cheese--> Light Phidadelphia Cheese

Apples (I binge on apples, lol)--> smaller apples

Whole milk--> Skim milk

White bread--> Brown bread

You get the idea!

3. DO NOT TRY TO COMPENSATE FOR A BINGE! my goodness, you have heard this before and probably felt that "yeah, I can restrict the next day", but believe me when I say that you will not have such strong will power the day after that! It's our body's way of telling us it does not want to starve, so please, my advice is, if you binge, eat your maintenance calories.

If your ultimate goal is to lose weight, you cannot afford to create a deficit if you are coping with a bingeing problem. You have to sort the bingeing out first. Eat maintenance calories until you yourself notice that the bingeing is getting better. Then create SMALL deficits, eg 100 cal deficit for a couple days, then 200 and so on, until you reach the required deficit. Then you will hopefully start shifting some of that weight!

4. IDENTIFY your trigger foods. Mine for example are:

- Chocolate-coated cereal

- Apples and apricots

- Cream cheese

- Jam

- Ice cream

- turkey (i know, i'm weird!)

Soooooo, what I did was substitute my chocolate-coated cereal for all bran, buy only 6 apples per week instead of 40 like I used to, and buy only SINGLE portions of the rest, so once I've binged on them (if I do), it will only escalate to a fraction of the calories.

5. Before I used to binge on chocolate, nuts, cookies, cookie dough, sweets (you get the idea), and I felt like my body needed to have them every day or I would die (exaggerating a little here...lol). But for 1 month i stopped buying chocolate and sweets. Your body gets used to it. It learns it doesn't need it. Now there is chocolate in my house, but when I'm bingeing I just don't go for it, i go grab a piece of toast instead.

Think GET HEALTHY not LOSE WEIGHT

6. IDENTIFY your trigger times! I binge around snack time and after dinner, so try not to feel hungry around those times. Do prepare yourself something sweet that feels like a cheat food, but doesn't ruin the waistline or cause a binge. For example, I like having a yogurt with a little honey, some strawberries and sprinkled chocolate chips and almonds. It is completely delicious and comes to about 200 calories. Experiment and create new combinations!

7. I LOVE and ADORE cooking. My mum is a chef, and so is my grandmother. The food in my house is always amazing, but most of all i love to BAKE. I'm sorry to say that in order to overcome my bingeing I had to stop baking for a month. It was horrible, it was, but for one month I didn't bake a single thing. You know it takes about 21 days to overcome a habit? its true!

Now I have started baking again, but making half the recipe instead. Sometimes I control myself, and others when I binge... well, at least its half the original calories!

I know for sure I have more tips and advice, but I'm running late and have to go now! I will come back and finish this. I just really hope you guys read this, I'm so sorry for making it long and boring, but I just want you to know (and I'm going to use capitals because my bold print-thing isn't working) THAT THERE IS A WAY OUT, THAT THING'S WILL GET SOLVED. NO, YOU ARE NOT DOOMED TO BINGE FOREVER, YOU WILL FEEL HEALTHY AND HAPPY AGAIN. I PROMISSE.

Note: I am not saying I have overcome bingeing (goodness gracious no) I binged on saturday for example, but the thing is, I don't feel guilty after a binge anymore. I aqknowledge the fact that I messed up, and move on. It's not the end of the world. Love yourself. Love life. It's worth it (this comes from someone who sadly fell into depression for a few months, so I know what I'm talking about).

I will be back a bit later to finish up, I hope this makes someone feel better, I really do. I am here if anyone needs to talk =)

How is everyone today?  Haven't seen any new posts.  I have survived the potato chip binging for the moment.