How am I ever going to make it?
 

I'm a huge binge eater, for months I've been binging everyday. I don't even consider it a problem really. It's just become the norm to me. One day I went to the store and bought 2 big frozen pizzas, a bag of chips and dip, a box of ice cream sandwiches, a loaf of sweet Italian bread, and a 6 pack of Mountain Dew. I ate all of that in 24 hours. It's been like that everyday. I know it's emotional eating, and I know I've hit rock bottom. I'm at my highest weight ever.

The past few days I've been trying to eat less. This is a log of what I've been eating. Now it's tons of junk food, and my calories are really high. But what's sad is it too so much will power to get down to this level of eating.

7/18/2009
scrambled eggs w/ketchup 500 calories
3 pieces of bacon 150 calories
one coke 140 calories
one coke 140 calories
baked chips 120 calories
lean pizza 350 calories
lots of chips 250 calories
more chips = ( 200
Total: 2200 calories

7/19/2009
sub sandwich and chips 700 calorise
lean cuisine pizza 350 calories
lean cuisine pizza 350 calories
cheeseburger-500 calories
onion rings-400 calories
Total: 2300 calories

7/20/2009
lunch meat turkey 400 calories
steak quesadilla 510
steak quesadilla 510
hamburger 500 calories
small moujntain dew 275 calories
strawberry sundae 500 calories
Total: 2695 calories

This is a huge amount of food, but I've felt so deprived. The sundae was almost the start of a binge, but luckily I was able to stop it. The harm was done though, 500 calories is a meal for most of you.

I eat BIG meals several times a day and feel hungry. All I think about and crave is food.

How am I ever going to get down to 1500-2000 calories?

I feel so discouraged. I hate having an addictive personality.

I do this with everything. I do nothing in moderation.

Aww sweetie. I want to give you a hug. I can totally relate to this. I have easily eaten 2500-3000 calories a day without batting an eye.

I am going to sound strange to you when I say this. But have you tried something like fast 5. I have found the key to not overeating is NOT EATING for a certain period.

On fast 5 I usually start eating 2pm-3pm. You only eat for 5 hours a day. Then you go back to not eating. I will eat from either 2pm-7pm or 3pm-8 pm.

without this plan I would have to meticulously watch my calories. For example. I am using today to up my calories-not doing fast 5-and I've already taken in almost 1000 cs from just breakfast and lunch. Usually on fast-5 I CAN ONLY eat 1200-1350 cs day.

I don't understand WHY it works so well to help the overeating but it does.

I even tried to up my calories while on the plan AND I just can't do it.

it seems radical. But I'm like you an extremist, and we all have to find what works for us. I can handle my tummy growling for a few hours. if you can too, you might want to try it!

Hm see that's the thing... I don't think it is a ton of food. You're filling up on things that are high calorie but not really filling. Chips and soda are sure fire ways to add tons of calories w/o doing anything to fill your hunger. You need larger volume of food per calorie so you don't feel deprived.

It might be easiest for you to ease into things you obviously need lots more veggies and fruit eventually... but it might be easiest for you to try making one change at a time. Maybe this week try cutting out chips and soda?

You obviously DO think its a problem though if you're here talking about it. I understand your pain. My food choices were pretty bad before too. Its taken a long time and I'm still working on changing my choices, but it IS possible to learn new "tricks" so to speak. I'm a hopeless sweet tooth, and I'm managing.

I think the problem might be that the foods you are eating aren't giving your body the nutrition that it needs so you're constantly hungry. The more unenriched carbs or sugar you have, the more your body will crave. Once you start switching over to a healthy diet, one rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains (brown rice has been a LIFESAVER to me), I think your body will start to adjust to the amount of calories you're eating. You can eat tons more food if it's healthy food. Tons.

Just a few suggestions, and you can take them with a grain of salt.
Try eating 5-6 small meals a day.
Take a multivitamin every day.
Drink lots of water (start small if you don't usually drink a lot).
Start adding some fruits and veggies into your diet.
Switch to diet soda (there's 555 calories saved from your above meals)
Switch to baked chips (i know they're not as good :( )

You can do this. Just take every day at a time, and start small. If you need anything, pm me. xoxo

I know it's hard to stop binge eating. It's not about hunger it's just a compulsion. I've eaten til it hurts, not that undo the top button uncomfortable, but seriously seriously HURTS. I've eaten until my body physically can not hold the food in and I vomit. Binge eating is not just overeating and it's a heck of a lot harder to kick. For me, the thing that allowed me to binge eat was keeping it a secret. I was so ashamed of it. I felt like people could look at me and just know what i'd just eaten. That i'm not a normal fat person, I'm seriously f***ed up. I couldn't stand people knowing how disgusting I was. So I used that to quit! I started just by telling my friends that i'm a binge eater and what that entails. Now, I keep myself accountable. If I binge, i HAVE to tell my friends afterwards. More often than not, the fear of owning up to that keeps me from binging. Of course it doesn't always stop me. If i binge anyways then I just have to get over it ASAP. If I dwell over it I'm wasting time. Just get back on track afterwards. Go right back to counting your calories/points/whatever you do, and get back in the gym.

Oh, and the more successful you are in your weight loss the less you want to binge anyhow. So just push through it. Binging comes from a place of pain. Losing weight makes you happy! Happy people just don't binge eat

Could you have a food addiction?

I started reading this:

Conquer Your Food Addiction : The Ehrlich 8-Step Program for Permanent Weight Loss by Caryl Ehrlich

It's really helped me to stop snacking and binging so much. I like how it goes more into psychological issues rather than saying "here eat like this."

Hey Cherryblossom.

Kudos and props to you for being honest about your intake and your feelings. I don't think there is anyone here that doesn't understand where you are coming from.

I love huge quantities of food too. I have found some things though that "do the trick" and are doable calorie wise--even in huge portions.

1. Smashed cauliflower with onions and plenty of spray "butter"--150 calories for medium head

2. Shiratake noodles with cheese sauce---two whole bags with sauce for under 150 calories

3. An unreal amount of every veggie under the sun, onions, egg whites, sliced tomatoes and salsa--calorie count depends on how big it gets--but I would bet you will get tired of eating before it is bad for you

I am sure others here might have some ideas but these are my favorites.

I also have spent many hours asking myself, "what am I really hungry for??" Meaning--it really isn't the food--something else is missing--I am spending even more time discovering what those things are instead only contemplating the question

I hope something here is helpful to you. You can do this thing. I get it. I understand.

p.s. CLEAN OUT YOUR ENVIRONMENT! You know you are a binge eater. PLAN for that! Do not let yourself bring mass quantities of garbage into your home. Make a deal with yourself and stick to it. About a year ago I made a deal with myself to have NO MORE FOOD RUNS! I plan, I shop, I bring things home that are the right for my body. I will not let myself stoop down to allow a food run. What I really need is right here under my roof--thank dear God in heaven.

Also wanted to mention--you will find if you fuel your body with the right things, the cravings greatly lessen. I know binging isn't always about cravings. But FYI.

Have you ever tried a low carb lifestyle? I don't mean you have to strictly follow a plan like Atkins but maybe look at reducing your carb intake. My husband and I did this almost 6 months ago and have lost all of our excess (beyond normal range) weight and feel so much better. One benefit of this way of eating was that my sugar cravings disappeared when I cut out the white flour, pasta, breads, etc... I was a sugar addict and used to eat entire bags of sugar coated candies and then lie about it, LOL

Make up your mind that you want to lose weight for yourself and no other reason. You have recognized your food issues. You need to come up with a plan that works for you and your lifestyle. Do some research on the internet. Consider what you will be willing to give up. Again make up your mind you are ready and then jump in and don't look back, if you have a bad day don't give up. The weight will come off, you will start to eat healthier and try some exercise and you will see the cravings decrease and the binges become extinct.

Watch portion sizes, weigh and measure foods. Count calories, realize what you are consuming and figure out what you need to change. You will figure it out

Nothing taste as good as thin is going to feel!!!

So what is the difference between binge eating and overeating??