I have a problem: I can't stop bingeing! I've indulged here and there in the past but this is BAD! I have been cramming myself with fatty, sugary and unhealthy foods all day long for last two weeks and I can't seem to stop. I tell myself that that's it and I'm changing but I keep doing it. I've gained 5 pounds in the last two weeks but that hasn't deterred me so far. I was hoping that maybe someone has had the same experience and could offer me some advice or support. I'm at the end of my rope...
I know how you feel. I just said to someone today, it starts with halloween candy and goes right through New Years Eve. I did really well yesterday and than last night I started with sme chips and than right to the halloween candy.
Hi... as a fellow binger I wanted to let you know what worked for me. Of course it may or may not work for everyone, but it's hard to read posts, knowing how I felt exactly the same way!!! Usually I'd gain 5 lbs in 1 week if not less. Anyways.. there is hope I promise! It's just finding that thing that willl work best for you!
I read the book 'Skinny B****' 2 months ago and it changed my life! I didn't want to buy or read this book because of all the controversy.. it wasn't until I couldn't find any other book in the airport that I decided to get it. Oh my gosh!! I'm SO THANKFUL I read it! I have not binged ONCE since reading it! There is some 'sailor talk' in the book.
As a magazine wrote about the book… “What makes this diet easy to swallow is the book’s tough-love attitude — part best-friend counsel, part drill-sergeant abuse and a dash of sailor mouth, wrapped in a pretty chick-lit package.” I totally agree!
No matter what you do.. trying to find something that will help, is better than giving up. I know you can get over this!
When I went through binge eating treatment, the most helpful thing I learned was to "pause". Right in the middle of a binge, stop and tell yourself that for the next 15 minutes, you will do something else- anything else- I've walked around the block, taken a bath, colored with my 4 year old, read, done laundry, anything- and after that 15 minutes is done, you will give yourself permission to eat more if you feel you need to.
You really need to move away from all/nothing good/bad thinking- which most of us bingers do big time and focus on little things. All of those little things have helped me tremendously.
You are bingeing for a reason, or you wouldn't be doing it. Start to learn about yourself and treat yourself with love and compassion. It is impossible to learn and judge at the same time.
I am in the middle of a seemingly unstoppable binge right now. It feels like it will never end and I just don't know why I do it. Every bite I tell myself to stop it, put down the cookie and walk away but I just keep eating. I wish I knew what triggers me but I don't.
The only thing that seems to work for me is if I get rid of all the junk. If it is in the house. I will eat it. Usually I will walk or exercise before I go to the store to shop for food. Then I feel better about how good I have been and am less likely to bring home junk. Once it is in my fridge or pantry, I have no willpower and it is only a matter of time before I eat it....
I wish I could keep from eating the things I am not supposed to and offer good advice but this area is my weakness....
We all need to move away from the idea that we are "good" or "bad" depending upon how we eat. I'm still learning too, but I'm not what I eat, and any progress I make is good, and I can learn from any mistake or slip.
Would you ever tell a child that they were good or bad for how or what they eat? Of course you wouldn't!
I'm so glad I found this forum. I came home from work yesterday and ate so much ice cream. AS I was eating it, I was telling myself I didn't even want it so why am I eating it? I can't be trusted. I'm cleaning out the cupboards right after I type this. Out of sight, out of mind. Do you guys do this? Trying to talk yourself out of it AS you're doing it? Ugh!
Well I havn't binged for about 6 months after a year-long battle with it.
I'm sitting here with a heck of a lot to lose (still), despite quitting bingeing.
This may seem like a weird point, but sometimes you can stop bingeing and NOT lose anything, or just 3lbs (in my case). It seems ridiculous, I was cutting about 3 x 2,500 cal binges out per week..but yeh.
So looking at it in terms of weight isn't a good idea because you might not lose anything when you stop anyway (major depressant for me). So what works? Thinking of it in terms of HEALTH. I think the reason I have an unhealthy amount of fat around my waist - even though my BMI is 22.6 and seems "fine" - is through all that..sugary fatty binge food? And unless I do something about it, (google hip-waist ratio) I'm at uneccesary risk for heart disease etc and diabetes, and I have PCOS anyway!
I know its hard, just saying that focus on health not weight was the turning point for me. And now I've gotta tackle the fat..
I have been a frugal momma for sooo long but I had to break the habit of buying huge amounts of everything and keeping it in the kitchen. You know ... buy a case of this and a huge sack of that because it's cheaper? But it's not easier on the pocketbook if I eat it all at night after my family goes to bed.
I do still buy nice meats and proteins and keep them in the freezer But I go to the grocer probably every other day and buy nice vegetables.
I walk so I can only buy what I can carry. (not always but most often)
I have containers of chopped salad fixin's in the fridge.
If it's calorie dense, I don't buy too much. For instance ... I wouldn't buy a pound of walnuts at a time.
There are no chips, cookies, cakes or ice cream in my house.
I never go through a drive thru.
If I think I might walk to a convenience store in the evening, I put my pyjamas on. I'm not going to a store in my pyjamas.
I'm sure others have more tricks. Let's hear them.
I am lucky because I am not a binger but the thread just caught my eye as I got to the main page of 3FC where you see all the forums and the last post in each.
The more I exercise, the more disciplined I am in terms of eating. It's like my brain realizes how much effort I put into getting into shape and it does not allow me to buy stuff that I should not be eating. Just to make myself clear, I will say that I would have absolutely no problem inhaling a whole bag of jelly beans (especially if they are on the tart side). When I have that stuff on hand, then it is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE not to start eating it ..... and this is the kind of stuff that does not allow to stop ..... it's like potato chips, you can't have just one.
So if you can, stop yourself from buying it. Or, if you already must (I realize that to change one's behaviour is difficult) buy only 1 bag of whatever it is you are buying. LIke Susan, I don't buy chips, cookise, cakes, ice cream, popcorn, nachos, .... any of the stuff that seems to be calling your name from across 2 rooms away.
What do buy, for those times when I absolutely have to nibble on something , are dried apricots, almonds, keshu nuts, trail mix, etc. That usually satisfies my craving for something sweet and even if my self-control "drops to lower levels", so to speak, at least that stuff is healthier than Reese cups or what not.
Emily, I hear you. I have had an initial loss, and now went back up a lb.
So I have to do more. I think exercise will help you alot, try pilates, its been great. Everyone tells me I look like I'm losing lots of weight, but I am just firming up, toning.
Good luck,
fatmad
I know exactly what you're going through. For weeks I'd binge on ice creams and sweets and simply tell myself that tomorrow is another day. But i also binged then too. It wasnt until I went shopping did I realize that I needed to lose weight.
Long post short, I think what helped me was finding yummy alternatives. Like lean cusines, the skinny cow, smart ones, weight watchers, 100 calorie packs. And if I was really desperate for a cola fix, I'd replace a calorie pack with a little 100 calorie can of pepsi.
I firmly believe this is not about WILLpower, it is about YOUpower. Empowering yourself to take care of yourself. You may be using food for a reason, a substitute for something. You may be using food to take care of other needs at the expense of your health. Take care of those needs themselves instead of smothering them with food. If you aren't going to binge, then what ARE you going to do? Give yourself the power to take care of yourself without the binge.
I used to do some pretty serious binges. I no longer binge, although I'm sometimes still tempted, but I feel comfortable having "bad" food in my home.
Try this: When you feel a binge coming on, or in the middle of a binge, stop and say out loud, "I am going to binge/I am on a binge because I feel/want/wish/don't want/fear ..." Whatever applies. If you don't want to say it out loud immediately, write it down and read it out loud to yourself later. If you can't think of the reason that you are or are going to binge, just keep talking or writing until something comes out. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to shout, shout. Consider what has happened to you recently that may have contributed to your current situation.
Ask yourself: How will eating this food make my problem better?
Good point, at one stage of my life I did 1 hr of yoga in the mornings before school (!)..i was fourteen then, and anorexic.
But despite my being very unhealthy then, I took away from that that a) lost of exercise and b) low-processed-food/low-fat diet WORKS. Like WHOA! Of course I don't want to warp it into a mental illness ever again, but it STARTED as really healthy! (Lost 40 + lbs then..sigh)
I don't know how to stop bingeing!
