very very very confused about bingeing and depriving yourself of binge foods

ok. they say that in order not to binge you should not deprive yourself of the foods you love. i love cereal. but it's one of my trigger foods. whenever i eat it, like this morning, it is really hard for me to stop. i just keep eating and eating it. yet if i deprive myself and finally eat it, i do the same thing. my question is how can you not deprive yourself from these kinds of foods and still not binge on them? basically, how can you just stop eating it after like one bowl or something? 

Buy single serving boxes, such as the ones at gas stations?  That would be my only guess if you are having THAT much difficulty sticking to one bowl.  Have you tried just having one bowl and then going about your day?

That's why I stopped eating cold cereal, and replaced it with oatmeal.

It used to take 4-6 servings of cold cereal and 2-3 servings of milk to satisfy me as much as two servings of oatmeal. I will never buy cold cereal again.

Hi,

I binge on cereal too. (and am still struggling with various eating disorders :S) Anyway, not depriving yourself does not mean you go stock up on cereal and eat it whenever you like.

I'd go for the advice on buying small packs. It's not economical, but that's the ONLY way for me. i've come to learnt that even if I tell myself, 'this time, I'll just take a little out of this huge box', it NEVER works. And don't buy too many small packs, all you might rip them all open and binge, haha.

Anyway, the other way would be to stop eating cereal and save it for 'weekends' or a certain number of days a week. In that way, you'd have something to look forward to rather than binge on them.

Personally, I had to stop buying cereals for half a year before I got off bingeing on them. Then I progresse to buying small boxes. After I went back to big boxes, all went haywire!

I agree - buy them one serving at a time, or go to a restaurant where you can order it. And order precisely one. It reduces temptation to go for seconds since you'd have to go right back to the same person.

I've had the same problem. horrible isn't it? feeling out of control.

I went through a pase where I gave up on cereal after a huge binge, threw it all away and just had instant cereal for ages. but then I was home alone one day and binged like mad. so now I don't have the cereal that i LOVE and know I binge on, I have one that I enjoy, but not as much. I could still binge on it but I don't allow myself time, just eat and leave the house. and i try to always be around people so that I can't binge, being alone is one of my worst fears.

hope that sort of helps? sorry if it doesn't.

Sasha xxx

Definition of Binge Eating Disorder

I buy bags of plain puffed wheat;  its only 60 calories for a whole cup.

I adore cereal too, dry, with milk, I could eat it non stop 24 hours a day.  Solution?  DONT buy it!  Just dont.  You know you cannot control yourself with it, so keep it out of the house.

What I do if I do ever buy a box of cereal, (I just love Special K red berry, fruit n yogurt, and the chocolate kind, so I occasionally indulge)  Take zip lock bags, look at the serving size, and portion it out.  For instance, Special K has, I think, 120 calories in one cup.  Take a one cup measuring cup, scoop out one cup of cereal and seal it in the ziplock bag.  This helps me. 

Good luck fellow cereal lover!

Try planning out your day so that you know what you'll be eating for each meal and snack.  If cereal is part of a meal, eat something else first, such as an egg white omelet, that will give you some satisfying protein.  Then pour one bowl of cereal and put everything away before you eat it. 

Don't eat anywhere except the table.  Set a place for yourself with cutlery, a napkin and beverage.  Bring the food to the table and eat.  Do not watch tv or read while you are eating.  When you are done, clear the table and do the dishes, and LEAVE THE KITCHEN.  If you have to, leave the house, until the next meal.

to find more information about binge eating go here http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/article/eati ngdisorders_guide.html

Cereal and bread addicts:  You may want to consider that wheat is actually chemically addictive.

Perhaps there is a *reason* that grains are your downfall.  Don't beat yourself up over your "lack of willpower" until you see what science has to say about the foods that are holding you down.