[cuddlzandhugz]

Stuffing food in my mouth so fast I don't even taste it.

Obsessing about a particular food, then sneaking into the kitchen and eating it.

Eating 5 or 6 different foods one after the other, directly from their container (cereals, ice cream, maple syrup, crackers, cheese and chocolate often find their way into my mouth in no particular order).

Realising I went to the kitchen and ate something without even being aware I was doing it.

Basically, any food I eat outside of mealtimes that isn't planned or that after eating it I just feel like having more and more.

[ddc]

I consider all of those bingey. I have been home from work for less than one hour and have consumed: a cup of red grapes (I started out with good intentions), 5 doughnut holes, 4 handfuls of frito scoops, and a package of m&m's. I feel sick

[leah_0600]

When i eat without even thinking of acklowledging what i'm doing... usually when i'm in front of the telly. It's only after that i've realised what i've actually done and how much i've eaten.

For me, it's eating without thinking.

[searsha]

Emotional eating. Eating to block how I’m feeling, sometimes subconsciously, but often fully aware of what I am doing, but powerless to stop.

I relate to most of what’s been shared above – this is a great thread – so full of truth and wisdom – which is wonderful because I need to look this stuff straight down the barrel if I am to keep on keeping on!

I know INTUITIVELY when I’m binge eating. It’s not always about the 10 tons of chocolate and the pizza combined with the Chinese takeaway and the leftover fried food for breakfast, although that type of bingeing was part of my life and the cost was far too high.

I’ve binged on one small piece of chocolate cake. Stuffed it down guiltily and felt full of shame afterwards.

Stuffing food in fast. Eating alone in a secretive way. Big difference between that and eating a good meal in blessed peace.

Yet on other occasions, in recovery, I’ve had a medium sized slice of cake which really truly was just that – an occasional treat. I’ve eaten it, enjoyed it, half wished there was more, but was able to get up from that table and get on with my day. My peace of mind was not disturbed and there was sanity at play.

So my definition of a binge is tied up with motivation, balance, and as has been shared here already, it’s about inner honesty.

[Ann72]

I couldn't agree more. I do know when I'm bingeing intuitively. Something just doesn't feel quite right. One can binge on massive quantities of fast food or even on fruit. It's all in the intention. Whenever I'm eating to fill an emotional/spiritual void and not to satisfy my hunger or conscious desires, that is bingeing.