What, do you suppose, causes binge eating? How can it be stopped?

Binge eating has been a problem for me off and on for over forty years.  I've tried many strategies and interventions, still it can take over my life for days or weeks at a time.  Of course that means weight gain, poorer health, moodiness.  I can be "good all day" at work, then "lose it"  all evenings, weekends, and holidays.  I'm not an alcoholic, but it sounds like a similar pattern, I think.  I did try OA years ago, if you're wondering, not to mention WW, TOPS, a million "experts'" books, yet I haven't given up.  "Try til you die" can't be a bad motto. Presently I am seeing a counselor, again with high hopes.

Now I'm asking anyone who wants to respond those two questions above.  The breadth of the internet connection is a new factor, uninvented and unavailable in my past attempts to take control of my behavior; I happen to think your collective wisdom and encouragement helps maybe more than any other community has.  So, what do  think causes binging?  How can we deal it? 

Thanks for considering this one more time.

I have BED and I believe that I do know my cause.

See I'm depressed. In the past year I have dealt with moving to college, gain friends, losing friends, a terrible break up, and the divorce of my parents. I pretty much couldn't handle everything so I fell into a depression.

I hate feeling sad because I know that these things aren't so bad. I mean I have a roof over my head and I do have a lot going for me, so knowing that I am depressed for stupid reasons makes me more depressed and self-loathing.

When I binge (and by binge I mean 5,000-10,000 calories in a couple hours) the pain distracts me from my real life and real problems. For me its not the comfort of the food, its the pain that I am going for. The best way to describe binging for me is the same explanation for why people cut themselves; its an outlet to turn mental pain into physical pain.

I would tell you how I deal, but I haven't quite figured that out yet. I know I just need to deal with whats really bothering me.

I find that I binge if I undereat.  Like you said, you can go all day being good and blow it in the evenings.  The experts will say that's because you didn't eat enough during the day.  Spread your calories out more evenly.  It seems hard in the beginning, but I've found the bigger breakfast I eat, the less hungry I am in front of the TV at night. 

Good luck, love your body, eat when hungry and stop when you feel 80% full.   And remember, food is not the enemy - it is our fuel and life force - so enjoy it - just within moderation.

Sometimes when I still want to eat, I'll drink a huge glass of water, gulp it down - wait 5 minutes and see if I'm really still hungry - 1/2 the time, I'm so full from the water that I'm done eating!  :)

I think I binge because I find food, and eating, comforting. I don't know why-- I didn't grow up in a family where this was encouraged. When I'm upset or bored or lonely, I turn to food, and when a little doesn't help, I eat a lot. Also, I suffer from all or nothing thinking. If I slip a little, I figure everything is ruined and allow myself to binge. 

There are so many reasons why people binge.  Here are mine.

The biggest reason: Low Blood Sugar.  What I thought for years was poor self control, poor willpower turned out to be low blood sugar and my body's response to feed, feed, feed.

Feeling l deserved it, "I've been good".  Solution for me: non-food rewards.

"If not now then when?"  Before it made me have to have it now.  Now I schedule it out into the future - no matter how bad it is, I schedule it for later.

"Everybody else gets to", combination of wanting to fit in to the group, keep up with the group eating or just plain jealousy because I want to eat it too.  I don't have a solution for this yet, except that I do try to participate but not all the time or participate but less.

Comfort when sad or depressed.  Solution for me: comfort myself some other way - non-food rewards, retail therapy (maybe not the best transfer of addiction), 94% fat free popcorn, skipping chores/obligations for "me" time -OR- exercise to get those happy brain chemicals pumping.

I think the best way to stop binging is to brainstorm why.  For awhile I kept a "binge log".  I recorded every binge, why it was a binge, what my motivation to binge was, and what I should do if the situation came up again.  I tried to keep it really non-blaming and come up with solutions that I felt I could actually do. 

Good luck with your binge eating!!  I hope you find relief soon.

I binge too.  It's gotten better but just when I think I've overcome it, it rears its ugly head.  It makes me feel pathetic, disgusting, and unclean.  Sometimes I wish I were an alcoholic instead because at leas they're somewhat glamorized in the media (the cool girl that just can't stop being the life of the party).

And it's really easy to say that you should just eat a little bit and then go for a walk when you get the urge.  But there's this mindset you get into when you are bingeing that I can't explain.  I can't even imagine it when I'm not bingeing.  But when I'm in the middle of it it's totally different.  I really feel that I cannot stop.

So, I don't know what the solution is.  For me, it tends not to happen if I keep busy, don't overeat during the day, have plenty of protein and water, workout regularly and stay out of my house.

I wish you the best of luck.  I really hate having these urges and I hate giving into them.  Just know there are other people just like you out here!

tmck-- a binge log is a really good idea.  I've never thought of that before.

whooshi, bingeing is an impulse behaviour.  your analogy to alcoholism is a good one; substance abuse and self-harm behaviours like cutting are also impulsive (versus restricting and over-exercising, which tend to be compulsive).  you'll probably always be an impulsive person, but finding new ways to direct that energy may help.

i've also heard a lot of people describe going into a mild dissociative state when they binge, which means that once you start, it's really hard to stop, because you're disconnected. 

i don't know exactly what all this means in terms of stopping, except that impulses are temporary.  so - delay.  rather than telling yourself that you can't do it, tell yourself that you'll do it later.  then go do something else.  chances are, the impulse will dissipate.

I binge too. This is new for me and I noticed in the past 5 months since living on my own, starting a new job, having a bunch more responsibilities and stressors that I come home and that box of Trix is MINE.

I'm just starting to read up and learn what causes me to binge. Mine is mainly stress/anxiety/depression. .

I bought stickers for my calendar and each day I succeed without binging, I add one. Sounds lame and cheesy I know. I am focusing on the control and mindset when I am eating, opposed to how many calories I am consuming. Less stress! So far I have 2 stickers on my calendar. This is all new for me.

But if you haven't done so already, I  suggest picking a book up on binging. I bought 'binge no more' but I don't really suggest it all that much. There's gotta be better books than this one. I'm looking for something new.

Good luck with finding the cause of your binging. Everyone is different.

Binge eating. I haven't done that in over a year now. I had to get down to the root of why I was binge eating, and I notice that alot of emotions was wrapped up into the why of it all.. When I am stressing.. I wouldn't binge eat, but I would eat, just not as much.. When I was mad, pissed, sad, and scared.. I would just eat out of control knowing that was the only thing I could do at the time. Not dealing with the problem would send me into a binge.. When I started to deal with the problems head on.. I notice.. I stopped.. It's like trapping something you want to let out, so to control the thoughts of letting it out.. Eating becomes the next best thing. I never would binge on good days or good moods, just the bad ones.  Normally when someone has pissed me off, or when I couldn't control something. I could control the amount of food that was going into my mouth, but the thing of it was... I coudn't stop it once I started.
I am going to eat this, because this will make me feel better.. Not feeling better yet. Have a little more.. I would eat until I was in pain. The more I had of it.. Some where the guilt or the anger I was having would go into.. Why did I just do that? Not only that.. Sometimes, it would go into a binge as long as 2 to 3 days, because I didn't want to deal with the problem. As long as I was eating my mind would be on eating, and not the reason of why I was eating. Not only that. I was okay. I had depression, and I was on Zoloft, and I got off of that.. That wasn't helping the binge eating at all. My doctor told me to do this for a week, and with that.. That's where I had learn why I would binge eat, and when it would come on.. If someone pissed me off. I was eating.. If I was scared of something. I would start to eat. If I was stressing.. I would eat a little, but not as much. When I was happy.. I had to remind myself to eat. He said, every time you go and eat something out of cycle.. Like your normal food times.. Write down your reason why.. What made you do this. It wasn't low blood sugar.. That's not my reason why. My reason why was.. I couldn't control what was going on.. Like stand and take account for what ever action was in motion. Now.. When some one piss me off. I tell them there are wrong. I don't go on and on about what I should have done as I eat plate after plate of this and that. When I would feel scared about something.. I would get my note pad out and write down how I felt, and work it out like a math problem.. Until the binge moment would pass.. Not only that.. Getting a good book helps to. That's how you stop it. You find out what brings them on, and you find other ways to control them. I had all the test done, on blood levels, thyroid, and everything checked out with me. The only thing that was wrong with me was.. I didn't know how to deal with bad issues at hand. I had to learn how to deal with things, and get it off my chest before I put 5 pounds of weight on my behind. So if you are going to someone about this.. Ask them could you be eating to control emotions. Some emotions you have can be as deep as child hood.. Mines was, and I had to go to a psychiatrist. My doctor asked me to go see one, and I did.. It helped me work out a lot of problems.  

I binge eat when I'm lonely, depressed, angry, when I hate myself, when I want to reward myself, when everything feels like it's spinning out of control, boredom, pms,  or I haven't ate enough for the day and wait too long to eat.

I'm still dealing with it, so what I do is keep a food journal and hold myself accountable for what I'm eating. Even if I overeat. And I put down what I was going through that day if it applies.

I'm finding that when I am circling the kitchen for something to eat and I'm not feeling true hunger, I go hop on the treadmill and it gives me an outlet. Sometimes I feel better, or alot of emotions comes out and I cry while I walk. By the time I'm done walking, I don't feel like eating everything I can find. I generally feel a little hungry for a snack so I have one.

I also think that when I haven't had enough protein, and too many starchy things I tend to crave more food.

I think for me, I have used food as an outlet for many things over the years. I didn't come to this weight by dealing with my emotions. So I'm sort of stuck now facing them! One day at a time.