At what point is eating binging.

I think that's pretty subjective to each person. I mean overall it's eating and drinking an excessive amount of food (in terms of food binging).

But when I first started out, my binges consisted of going to a local chinese place- getting enough food for at least 2 people, and eating it ALL up before my husband got home from school. I'd justify it by saying I deserved a night off from cooking, and so on. I'd "eat through the pain" sometimes- it was ridiculous!

Sometimes after dinner I'd head to 7/11 and get a sandwich, a bag of chips, a brownie, and a slurpee- AND I'd eat it all!

Then as I lost weight I'd feel like I binged if I ate a bag of chips, or a brownie or something. And I mean those aren't binges- but compared to how I eat now- they feel like it. I haven't binged in so long- in fact the other day when I got hungry I ate 1/4 cup of roasted edamame and a small cucumber and I thought to myself that's enough I didn't want to go overboard!

Now if I go to 7/11 with someone I can walk in, not get anything, and leave!

People throw the binge word around a lot when what they really mean is that ate more than tey planned to. Here is the definition of Binge Eating Disorder (from the US Department of Health and Services):

People with binge eating disorder often eat an unusually large amount of food and feel out of control during the binges. Unlike bulimia or anorexia, binge eaters do not throw up their food, exercise a lot, or eat only small amounts of only certain foods. Because of this, binge eaters are often overweight or obese. People with binge eating disorder also may:

* Eat more quickly than usual during binge episodes
* Eat until they are uncomfortably full
* Eat when they are not hungry
* Eat alone because of embarrassment
* Feel disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating

Binging, for me, is the opposite of everything healthy I know about food and consumption. It is like an alcholic going out and getting hammered...drinking way more than they know they should, but feeling unable to stop. Most of the time, when I am binging, I have this little voice inside my head screaming, "What are you doing? Ohmygod, ohmygod, stop stop STOP!" But I keep going.

Usually a binge (for me) starts out as a slip up. I'll eat a mini candy bar and think...well, two won't hurt. Two quickly turns into 10. And then I've set the monster loose and I'm running to McDonalds...then stopping at the gas station for more food...then raiding the fridge.

Binge eating results in a loss of emotional or mental control directly related to the consumption of food. Eating in excess, extremely fast, for no real reason, feeling out of control and disgusted immediately following...that's binging.

For me, I consider a binge something that happens when I eat for the sake of eating. For example, I was really craving a huge, ice-cream covered brownie last night. Instead, I had one bite of the homemade brownies I made and part of a sandwich... (which, for me, was much better than HUGE hunk of brownie and ice cream by far.) So, I beat that craving.

The next day, I didn't just give in to my craving. Instead of just having a huge brownie with ice cream, I had that along with cheese dip, frozen pizza pockets, and BBQ chips. I can tell I'm binging by the mess I make..I've gotten to a point where I don't end up binging until I'm completely sick...but I do prepare the amount of food it would take for me to get that way. I also planned to eat chili...(I took a few bites of my cheesy, gooey, Frito-invested chili and threw it down the sink,) the whole rest of the pan of the brownies (by the time I quit picking at them, I prepared a huge chunk with chocolate chips and tons of ice cream...and I also threw over half of it down the sink,) and I also planned to eat the whole thing of cheese dip. I had a few bites.


Excess for the sake of excess is binging for me. I usually end up laughing hysterically in the process of my eating...and that's kind of a telling sign that something is up. The moment eating becomes this huge, emotional, mental mess....I know that I'm setting myself up for a binge.

I call it a binge when I eat because I'm out of control. Can't make myself stop. Doesn't have to be a huge amount for me, though it is often more than I normally eat.

Wednesday & Thursday both I had what I would call a binge for me.

400 calories on Wed, 500 cals on Thurs. Candy, cookies, party mix, chips, granola bars, mini bagels. All in 15 minutes. Everything I got my hands on I had to eat. I had to remove myself from the kitchen and get on the treadmill to stop the eating. And that was really hard to do. I felt disgusted with myself the rest of the afternoon both days. I hid the paper from my husband. I did feel uncomfortably full. I felt terrible. I'm hoping today is free of this. Don't know what triggered it the last two days, wish I did.

This is argued about on here all of the time!

For some binging means eating two quarts of ice cream a whole cake and still moving on to more food in a small amount of time.

For others it could be eating the whole plate of food even though they are completely full half way in.

For me some days I feel I have "binged" when I ate wayyy to many carbs but I was still close to my caloric goal. I just feel puffy and like I over did it.

Now true bingers argue that my kind of over eating is not binging but it is a personal judgment call

I agree that it's subjective.

To me, it can involve large amounts of food. But now that I'm trying to control my bingeing, I feel it's important to recognize other aspects of it that are outside of the amount. Just because I didn't eat two entire pizzas doesn't mean I didn't binge.

For me the key factor to a binge is being alone. If I am eating for any reason other than hunger and I'm alone, it's a binge. It has to do with the shameful, secretive aspect of it. Eating things and amounts that I would NEVER dream of eating in front of someone else. Before, I wouldn't eat ANYTHING unhealthy in front of others because I was ashamed, then I would come home and eat TONS of unheathy food alone. Now I allow myself small treats, but only in public, because I know that's the only way to control bingeing.

I think it has a lot to do with being honest with yourself. Would you eat this (type of food, quantity of food, etc.) in front of someone else? If no, then don't eat it when you're alone. (Actually, I think this is a good rule to live by in general!)

During my first few binges 8 years ago, when I first started, I would plan it out all day. I used to be extremely strict with myself and was underweight as a result. The binging was a way to let go. In the period of about 3 hours, I could eat maybe half a family sized bag of chips, 2 cups of ice cream, 5 or 6 full size candy bars, a PB&J sandwich, 1 or 2 boxes of girl scout cookies, a box of Ding Dong's or Ho-Ho's, sometimes more if there was anything good around.

I was a freakin MONSTER lol. Thank God my little 13 year old self couldn't drive to McDonalds. I would take laxatives afterwards thinking that would prevent any calories from being absorbed - and that was the fastest 10lbs I've ever gained! But those planned binges turned into a habit. They would start from some kind of food trigger - either not eating all day and letting myself go in the evening, or eating almost perfectly during the day, having a reasonable sweet in the evening, and then binging. For me, a binge means I lose control, I start eating every "bad" thing that's in my house, and I keep justifying it by saying, "It's OK, I'll start fasting tomorrow," or "Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my healthy, thin life." For me, a binge is usually more than 1000 calories consumed very fast... I think the most I've ever consumed was around 4500 calories. Not like I counted frequently, one time I did it just to punish myself.

After I'd binge, I'd have this sense of denial. I would feel bold, powerful. It's usually the next day when I'd feel stupid and weak (usually after I broke my "fast").

This summer was the last time I really binged hard... But really, I don't binge much anymore. I overeat and I cheat on my diet sometimes. Sometimes I feel the urge to binge in the evenings, and for the most part I can talk myself out of it. If there's a food I really, seriously want and it's in my house, I'll try not to eat it, and just when I hear the, "Go on, just binge, and start over tomorrow," voice... I let myself have whatever it is, eat it very slowly, and then try to go to sleep or do something that will keep me extremely focused on something other than eating.

So as you can see... Binging isn't something that people normally do. Even eating a quart of chocolate ice cream after you get dumped doesn't count as a binge (in my opinion). There needs to be a pattern.

I often struggle with this question. But for me I think it's a matter of denial. I know what a binge is when I'm planning one. I buy a ton of food - cookies, ice cream, chips, chinese food.... I'll stop because it's sounding too good. I buy it all and I set my sites on eating all night - unconsciously with a few movies to numb me out completely.

Now, it's less clear for me when i don't plan it or if it's not the same quantity of food. Is it still a binge or am I just over eating? Bare with me here. Like I've been saving my Weight Watchers points so I can eat more at night which is when I tend to want to...numb out more. I'm not going to the store and getting a ton of crappy stuff. But I am saving up points so I can eat more of the "diet" food I have already in one big, giant meal.

OK. I suppose for me it's not a binge because I'm in some control...still. I'm still counting points and I know how much I'm eating. And to some degree, I am ready and willing to stop when I get to a certain number of points. But the behavior is binge-like. It's a binge illusion. I still get a lot of food and the feeling of fullness but I stay in my points range.