I posted about a week ago and got amazing feedback from so many different people! I'm already starting to LOVE this website. The support I receive is just lovely.
It's almost like I mentally convince myself it's okay and just eat everything I want. I go into my kitchen, open up the fridge and pantry, and binge eat. I know how bad it is and yet I still continue to do it.
But today is a new day. Slowly but surely, I want to change my life for the better. I will no longer eat without thinking about the consequences. At 18 years old and 260 lbs, I'm finally seeing that I need to make a serious change in my life.
Yeah! Gotta love that positive attitude! Keep that up, and you certainly will lose your extra weight and sustain a change.
It won't be fast, it won't be easy, but if it was, everyone would do it! You have amazing strength to realize this goal, just as all of us on here have. And by joining forces, we'll get there.
You can do it, you can change! I was a binge eater too, and though it took a lot of work, I have not had a binge in... well, so long I can't even remember. More than a year, or two. The key is to never give up. When you slip up, keep going.
I also was a binge eater, and the beast can be tamed. I'm not at the point in my life where I can safely say I've slayed that "dragon", and I'm not sure if there ever will be, but I work diligently to keep it at bay.
There are 2 books that helped me enormously on my journey. One is The End of Overeating by Kessler and the other is The Beck Diet Solution by Dr. Judith Beck (no connection with my user name, it's must my nickname and was chosen long before I found Dr. Judith Beck). The Kessler book talks about how addictive food is and how the food industry knows this. It helped me understand that I had a real addiction and it wasn't just my own craziness that had me eating until I would burst. The Beck book is not a diet book at all. She gets to the psychological reasons that people overeat/binge and helps to train the brain to eat in a healthy manner (I was highly doubtful of this sort of thing, but was desperate, and I'm now convinced!). The links are below; maybe they'll help you also.
Good for you. I think it's important to realize that you WILL be giving up something, and face that head-on. Stay conscious of the fact that you've chosen to trade the short-term pleasure of eating your fill of whatever you want for the deeper satisfaction of better health and body confidence. It's not always easy, but it's well worth it.
I also suggest you figure out an eating plan that doesn't leave you too hungry. Occasional mild hunger is fine, but you don't want to be ravenous (and thus more vulnerable to temptation).
If binge eating was only a habit it would not be so difficult to be free of it. It is an addiction. Just like binge drinking or binge shopping is not just a habit. Addictions come from some psychological place. I believe that addictions can be healed with a lot of work. Sure we can give up bingeing but most of us go back to it at some point. I believe because we want to control it with dieting or whatever rather then healing the wounds that led to the addiction in the first place. But yes I sure do believe healing can occur. I am a work in progress and doing plenty of work to heal.
What is working for me is therapy with a good psychiatrist.
I binge & overeat. Time to make a change!
Good luck!
goodluck you can do it!
