Maybe not completely, even just for a stretch of time? How did you do it?
I didn't binge for the first 14 months of my lifestyle change then BAM!, pretty regular binging (once every week to two weeks). Thought I had it figured out and went over 3 weeks without one. But I've now had 2 in the past 5 days. I don't know why after doing so well I had the first one. I think I know why I had the second one. I want to kick these to the curb!
Any accounts of personal experience would be much appreciated. I'm hoping maybe I can glean something from them and use it to help move on binge free / significantly less in frequency. in advance!
I was a binge eater and stress eater for decades.
The best website for all eating disorders including these is www.something-fishy.org
Their forum is amazing.
Hi Manders...I haven't binged since January 3rd which isn't a long time, but it's something for me. I've been a binge eater for almost 10 years (it came and went), but it got really bad for me in December.
I started counting calories on January 3rd and it allows me to feel like I am in control of something. I honestly think that calorie counting is the only reason I am not binging. It is still sooooo hard not to, though. Weekends are really hard for me and I'll fantasize about buying bags of my favorite gummy worms and eating them all in one sitting, or baking cupcakes/cakes and chowing down. The only thing that gets me through is knowing that I'll have to put down how many calories I ate on the calorie sheet that I keep, and I don't want to be jotting down something like cupcakes = 1750 calories for one day. I don't know why it clicked with me this time, but I do wish you much luck...I know how hard this is.
I'm feeling pretty negative these days and I'm not sure I'll ever be free of binging. I went a long time, not 14 months, but maybe 6? without binging. It comes and goes, and it's been here a lot more recently. The feeling is so overwhelming sometimes... I'm pretty sure there's a food addiction involved and right now I'm focusing on taking it one day at a time.
Yes and no. At times when i've been very happy, i've noticed that i barely binge. There was a period about 5-6 years ago when i was extremely happy, and my weight was fine, so i didn't worry much about what i ate. That was probably when i binged the least...but i still binged a little bit. I distinctly remember one day eating an entire Chipotle burrito and then still being hungry and eating 1/3 bag of Lay's Sour Cream and Onion chips. But...i was also really active at the time. That meal may sound disgusting, but i was probably burning all of those calories and more. So i wouldn't even consider that a true binge.
I think you have to ask yourself at those times what caused you to binge- how were you feeling? What had you done that day leading up to the binge?
I read "conquer your food addiction" by Caryl Elrich and found a lot of my overeating was due to habit. I changed my nightly habits and then I also found that one reason I'd binge was cuz I'd eat very little during the day then binge at night from hunger. I started eating MORE during the day and found I wasn't hungry at night anymore.
Then I found that I was eating at night when I was tired also. So I started going to bed earlier. My body would eat for energy so I decided hey if I feel hungry then it must be bedtime. I now go to bed about an hour earlier than I used to. So now I'm not only eatin better I'm sleeping more!
I was a binge eater and stress eater for decades.
The best website for all eating disorders including these is www.something-fishy.org
Their forum is amazing.
I just had a look at their website and I think its fantastic. Just set to work making my "coping bank"what a clever idea!
I'm 2 1/2 week binge free. I've suffered my whole life, but it got really bad just a few months into maintenance. I discovered the IOWL podcast and it has taken me on a very intense emotional journey and what I credit my 2 1/2 weeks to. I've done a couple other things in terms of how I calorie count and how often I eat, but nothing has done what the IOWL podcasts have been able to do for me. I actually feel like it is possible for me to stop binging permanently and that is something I didn't think was possible.
Oh, wow. I've had a tough day today and overcame it. I literally walked across the street to Pick N Save and bought a gallon of ice cream and a whole cake, brought it back to my campus with the intention to binge after an argument with my boyfriend. But after one slice of cake, I said "Enough" and gave all the food away.
Part of it was common sense "I know this is the best thing to do." But I said, "I've been doing so well lately, I don't want to hurt myself, my eating disorder does, but I don't." I didn't say it exactly like that but wanted to give you an idea.... Hope I kinda helped. I understand how you feel, though. I hate relapsing after I've gone binge free after a while. I relapse due to stress, but I'm working on that.
Personally, I think it's dieting that triggers it. I pretty much had this habit under control for years. Then started my plan to lose 100 lbs and still did ok. However now that I'd like to lose 20 lbs more, I have had to cut my calories and now I'm fighting off the binge monster for the first time in years. I've gone back to the calorie level that got me down to 165 and rethinking my plan. The pursuit of an "ideal" weight is not worth the 30+ years of tears I've cried over binging.
caryesings, I think that's very true for a lot of people. The added stress of goal dates, restricted calories, new lows, I think lends itself well to binges.
I have noticed I am not interested in binging since I decided to give the scale a break. I've definitely not "overcome" it though. Probably won't ever fully, but what I can do is try not to put myself in situations where binging is easy or tempting.
Goals are definitely a trigger for me. I keep telling myself I'm not going to set any time limits on myself, but then I start doing well and think maybe just a reasonable goal...
But even reasonable goals cause me to panic. I don't really know why, because logically I know one or even two or three bad days won't completely ruin a goal I have set months down the road. But it still starts alarm bells in my head and puts me in a mindset of restrict or binge. I feel like even being on plan isn't good enough because I have to "make up" for the binge. What I don't understand is I can reason with myself logically why all of this isn't true, believe it, and then still feel panicked.
Hopefully I learn from this and never set rigid goals/dates again.
With help from BF, the worst stuff stays out of the house. Not that it matters all the time
I get a lot more sleep. A LOT more.
I've eliminated a LOT of stress from my life - I take fewer courses than recommended, I work a job I like though the pay isn't all that great.
I drink way more water, way less coffee. I have less anxiety.
I stopped/consume much less dairy and bread/pasta; I realise those things trigger overeating and cravings in me.
When I'm hungry, I eat a whole meal. I stopped snacks and mini-meals.
I eat a little dark chocolate and some almonds every day Self-deprivation makes me crazy.
I started meditating. I don't always like it, and I often find it irritating, but I honestly notice the difference when I stop meditating. So much more anxiety!
I need routines. I make to do lists, have standard morning habits. Idle-time in front of the computer, for example, is one of my hardest times. I keep myself busy. I keep by hands and mouth busy with tea, gum (lots of gum!)
While I haven't lost all my weight, it has helped me stabilize it. I realised my anxiety problems were the issue- that I was dealing by eating. I feel much happier now, though I don't know if I'll always be able to shelter myself from stress this much.
i can manage a month or so between binges, and with a consious effort it seems I can fend off those biggies that send me spiralling
The other night I was angry (pms) and feeling like just burying myself in food, so I grabbed some sugar free gum and chewed ferousisly and probably looked like an idiot. but i got through, got to bed that night binge free and woke up the next morning on track and feeling great for not collapsing.
It's not something where I just woke up one morning, said, "From now on, I won't binge. I'm in complete control." And kicked it, just like that, by applying something I read in someone's post or in a five bullet-point article in a magazine.
For me, anyway, it wasn't so easy. I sought professional help. I worked at it. I needed to; I was not functioning fully. I had to set aside the time & the money, or I would have eventually become incapacitated.
Rather than typing this all out, all over again, this is from my post in response to someone asking on Feb. 11th if any of the others had seen a therapist about this issue:
Quote:
Originally Posted by saef
Yes, and yes.
What I remember is that it was hard work.
First, there was immediate relief in early visits, because I wasn't trying to hold the whole mess inside myself anymore. And I finally got outside confirmation from a professional, that yes, it was a mess, it wasn't just me creating drama or being sensitive. (Accusations that followed me when family got uncomfortable.) I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to feel that kind of relief again, as there was no Internet then, no forums for anonymously sharing, so I really was all bottled up & feeling very alone & singularly weird.
Then, I realized quickly that the warm feeling from therapy wore off, and I was capable of bingeing afterward anyway. So, the disappointment, and then a ramp-up period during which I had to learn how to really work the therapy, which meant talking about what I didn't want to, and keeping myself talking when I was squirming & even I could see how unflattering or irrational what I was saying was. In particular, to keep talking when I wanted to go silent. I had to offer it all up & had to continually remind myself it wasn't worth my money or time unless we really "went there." Some sessions were brilliant, but sometimes they disappointed me.
Also, there was the homework part, about applying what I'd learned in my everyday life, since much of it was behavioral therapy.
What didn't help me is that for a long time I resisted a lot of the therapist's suggestions, in the beginning because, in my particular disorder, I punished myself & tried to exercise off the binges by overexercising & restricting. I stopped overexercising & restricting before I stopped bingeing. That meant I gained weight for a while there, which was horrifying to me. But it was part of the process.
Also I am at peace with two things:
- I cannot lose another 20 vanity pounds. Well, I could, but I won't. The cost of that is such a restricted, closely monitored life that it makes me deeply unhappy, and I will not risk my psychological health just to achieve a "dream" weight.
- The human body -- my human body -- is not perfectible. Mine will never be all I want it to be. I can modify it, to some extent; I can make it healthier, more muscular. But it is not completely malleable like clay & cannot be, by my poor puny will, made into what it has no genetic potential to be. Holding myself to certain standards is completely unrealistic & a sure road to insanity.
I am a work in progress, always trying to attain greater self-acceptance & peace of mind, but those two things, I know in my heart & soul. And it helps me to remember them.
Have you overcome binging?
in advance!
