Just when I think I have it under control it sneaks up on me and I can't break away from it. I do so well for so long...then one day....BOOM...I get hit by it. It makes me sooo angry and sad.
Anyone experience binge eating...? How do you control it ?

You might want to check out Chicks in Control section on this board. There a lot of binge eaters on there.

I feel like I've told my story 1,000 times on 3FC and y'all are bored with it.

I have binge eating disorder & I cannot control what I eat. I have no control over certain foods or ways of eating. I tried every possible way to "have my cake and eat it too." Never worked.

I've almost completely cut out my binge foods in my diet altogether. I might have a bite of someone's dessert or a tiny piece of bread or 3 almonds, but only if I am out with people and can't run home to binge. For the most part, I don't eat bread, sugar, or nuts. I also have cut out some lo cal stuff like Crystal Light and sugar free popsicles. I overate that stuff and it actually led me to binges.

And I never snack. Never, ever, ever, ever. Snacking is simply an excuse to eat a moderate portion & then 15 minutes later go into a full blown binge. Giving up snacking has been the miracle solution for me. I have lost 20 pounds in about three months as a result.

And food is no longer the focus of my life.

Sometimes the simplest solution is not always the easiest. Pick the solution that makes you cringe and say, "I could never give that up. I could never do that."

Good luck finding your own personal solution. It may take time.

Edit: I have a correction. Lately, I'll allow myself to snack when I have a veggie craving. I'll eat some raw lettuce or spinach with pepper or hot sauce as seasoning. (I know this sounds crazy, a veggie craving, but I swear I'm having them).

Indeed......binge eating and compulsive overeating.

It's a daily struggle, however it gets better with time. There are certainly days when I feel like I've completely failed because of a binge, the trick is being able to pick the pieces and carry on and not let one binge turn into a string of 20 binges.

Definitely check out the chicks in control section.

Tuesday night this week, I was doing laundry. I put my wet clothes in the dryer, pushed the power button, and NOTHING happened. Such a little thing just sent me off the deep end (PMS is getting blamed). During my temper tantrum, I proceeded to walk out to the kitchen and start eating crackers. I knew what I was doing and knew I was going to be in trouble if I didn't stop, but I couldn't stop it. I literally threw my sneakers on and RAN, yes, ran from the house and walked as fast as I could until the urge went away. I was panicky the entire time. It was like someone else had taken over my body.

What I learned from the experience...next time I get started on a binge, I've got to find enough strength and determination from deep inside me to simply get the heck out of the kitchen and away from all the food. I didn't die because I didn't eat myself sick that night. It's okay to have a meltdown every now and again, but I've got to take control over it.

My advice to you, Platinum, is to move on. Don't beat yourself up about what happened and try harder the next time to beat it. Eventually, you'll find what triggers the off button. It may be an hour of strenuous walking or a phone call to a friend or a visit to a neighbor. If I, one of the weakest, self-control lacking members of the human race, can run away from food, so can you.

What is really helping me is don’t wait until I get too hungry. Now , I eat every 2-3 hr , usually it is fruit or salad or slice of chicken ( btw, 1 hard boiled egg do wonders to my appetite). If I ignore the “signal” my body gives me and don’t snack on something when I feel a little hungry , I come home from work and OMG , I am glued to fridge for couple of hours and good luck telling me I had enough food!

Also, I brush my teeth around 7 pm and it is helps me do not crave the food after that…go figure.

Don’t be too upset with yourself…loosing weight it’s not that easy and requires tons of patience .

I'm a librarian, so here are a couple of book recommendations!

The first is The End of Overeating by David Kessler. That book got me to direct some of my anger at a food industry gone mad, that is so focused on profit that they design foods to be addictive to susceptible people like us. At the end he suggests using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques like rule-making. That led me to make two rules that stopped my bingeing behavior cold turkey -- No eating anything purchased from the gas station or drug store AND No eating in the car.

The other recommendations are the books by Judith Beck (The Beck Diet Solution and The Complete Beck Diet for Life). They are both based on CBT. The first book helps you follow any diet and the second has a healthy diet in it. If you try and like the Beck books, there's a group of us using them every day down in the Diets section of 3FC.

I hear you on the binging! I am usually pretty good three weeks out of the month. When PMS hits, I could eat a horse, then go back for seconds LOL. I really feel out of control sometimes but it's getting better. For myself, I haven't really conquered the binging altogether but I have learned to substitute low calorie foods that don't do so much damage. I always keep chopped veggies, sugar free candy and home made crystal light popsicles on hand. I can "binge" for less than 100 calories if I really need to. Part of the process is stopping to ask yourself why you are eating and really making an effort to do something else. Tell yourself, if you still feel like you need something after doing an activity for 30 minutes, you can choose one or two low calorie snacks to help you through. The other part of the process, for me, was learning to forgive myself for a binge. All is not lost after one binge. Consider it a learning experience and look ahead to days with better choices. Try to discover what set you off that time and avoid it next time. I know its not that easy, trust me I know! In time you may find yourself making better choices. celebrate those victories (not with food of course LOL ) For me, binging is a learned behavior that needs to be unlearned. It takes time, discipline, and some "mind tricks" to learn better behaviors.
Hugs
Amanda

This is so true! In order to be on track I have had to totally cut out breads, sugars, snacks etc because I know that if I have one bad thing it will affect me for days or even weeks! It's like it pushes the first domino in a long line and everything spirals out of control! I have had to treat giving up snacks like giving up smoking or a drug addiction because at the end of the day...that's what it is, an addiction.

Thanks for sharing with me everyone ! I feel better today and am keeping myself busy so that it doesn't happen. It will take me some time to find a solution that works for me but I'll just take it one day at a time and today what works is cleaning out my garage ! At least my garage will be super clean!! Thanks again for sharing...this site and the people are it are great.

have you tried the skinny cow ice creams? They come prepackaged in single servings that are only about 150 calories. They are my little life savers when I feel like I must have ice cream.

Sounds to me like you're controlling it just great!!! Congrats on finding what worked for you!

I binge sometimes - and it's for usually no other reason than "Man this tastes SO GOOD" - but most often it's due to "TOM" (I hate tom!) I have not yet found the trick that works for me. I've tried cutting out my favorite "binge-type" foods, I've tried just two or three bites then walk away, tried not having it (whatever food "it" is) in the house, tried a lower-calorie version of "it", etc. Right when I think I've conquered my binge-problem, WHAM-O! - I'm binging. The last time was last month's TOM... I ate two bags of single-serving cookies, three coke floats, and half a pizza. UGH.

But I ain't never give'n up!