I see the word binge thrown around like it's nothing around here, and I know I use it, possibly excessively, also.

Sometimes I see "Omg, I binged so bad last night, I had TWO slices of pizza and half a cookie last night!" But to me, that is not a binge. I can *certainly* understand the guilt and frustration and other emotional feelings one might feel after eating two slices of pizza and half a cookie that was not planned, I am not trying to belittle it. But that, to me, is not a binge.

In my opinion, the clinical definition of binge is going into that desperate out of control feeding frenzy mode and systematically inhaling several thousand calories in a very short period of time. Eating an entire bag of fun-size candy bars and an entire pizza in one sitting (I have done this). In order for it to be a "binge," it requires a certain mindset and behavior (hoarding and hiding food, stuffing it down all at once, etc). When I'm bingeing, I'm not myself. I swear, it's almost an out of body experience. My hands shake as I fumble with wrappers or getting a next serving, I feel nervous as if I might get caught, I don't focus on anything but eating.

This is NOT the same as overeating or going off plan for a day. I'm quite able to eat massively more than my on-plan calories just by recreationally casually eating. I can eat thousands and thousands of calories in a day just by not caring and eating what I want. Snacking during the day, going out to dinner and eating whatever I want, getting dessert, drinking. And I usually call these off-plan days "binges," but in reality, they are not.

So for those of you who have an issue with what you call "binges," what does that word mean to you. Is there a difference between having a lapse of judgement and control and eating an off plan food and regretting it later (two slices of pizza and half a cookie), having a general off plan day, and a legit binge?

I was asking almost the same question a couple of days ago. I think binging is different from person to person. For me it would be eating junk food even though I had decided in advance not to do it, or eating out of boredom (usually when I ate out of boredom it would be soda or chocolate or whatever so for me that would be binging)..I look at off-plan days as something you decided in advance..like "I will have some soda and chocolate this Saturday".
But I definately understand what you mean.

Binging for me is when I am stuffing myself with food and I know that's bad but I can't control myself. As soon as I finish one thing my mind is racing to what I can eat next and that is all I think about. I will eat food for example I know belongs to my sister when normally I respect other's boundaries.

a binge to me is when I just have an urge to eat without any physiological need and nothing will satisfy the hunger. Yet I keep eating.

Binge to me is buying my trigger foods then eating all of them until they are gone (large chips with dip in one sitting) That is my biggest downfall & once they are in the house, I just have to eat them all.
Also I feel bingeing would be when you sneak food you know you should not have.

my definition is similar to cherry pie's. i wondered about this myself the last few days. i'm not sure i ever had a traditional binge as the original post describes. what i used to do seems to be a fine line between overeating and going way over board past being full. so what i do now is focus on stopping when i'm full. then the only time i go past 'full', in pain is if i'm in that unstable emotional state shoving it in or when i'm sick. i have a really hard time defining hunger when i have any respiratory symptoms. the drainage seems to make me think i'm hungry, really physically hungry almost constantly. so i'm still working on how define it during sickness. is it still a binge then? not sure. sometimes, i have success with drinking lemon green tea. there's so much lemon in it, it's more like lemonade than tea. i can drink it without any sweetener. i guess when i'm sick without lemon i'm up a creek. that's how i felt last time i was sick. eating almost all the crackers. feeling like i can't stop.

if sneaking food is binging, then i have years that was most of what i ate. i NEVER binge in front of people. and all those times i ate most of a pot of spagetti noodles or whatever the dish was, for the whole family. i would never have eaten it in front of my dh. in the kitchen alone, while he's at work. sometimes each time of day is it's own trigger.

For me, when I say binge, I mean that I ate *junk* (candy, baked goods, chips) when I intended not to AND when I was eating I could not make myself stop despite being aware that I wanted to stop. My mind goes into obsessive mode and I can't stop thinking about eating the food and can't stop my body from eating the food.

Here is my response from a previous thread:

"Bingeing to me has more to do with the "how" than the "what", although it is oftentimes the case that consuming certain types of foods trigger binge eating. For me, a binge is consuming large amounts in a short amount ot time with the feeling of being out-of-control. It isn't a large meal or big dessert that I chose to eat, it is raiding my house & eating little bits (or lots of bits) of everything, regadless of how full I am. Typically, though, my binges consist of high sugar & high fat foods."

Of course now that I have said that, my therapist just pointed out to me how very in-control I am during my binges. And she's right, because I am carefully adding it all up as I go - - and I log every stinkin' bite. So I guess the feeling of out of control is just that, a feeling. In reality, it is pretty measured/calculated and at some point, we all give ourselves permission to go there.

Regardless, it is definitely NOT simply over-eating or going off-plan. I have had plenty of those days, too. But I'm talking about consuming abnormal amounts of food in very short time frames, by myself (in secret, all evidence banished), to the point of typically almost getting sick. I'm not proud of it, but there you go.

This is me, also. I don't log my binge days, but I'm very strategic about it. Once it's been established that I'm bingeing that day (a feeling of "eh, today is spoiled, it's hopeless for today, might as well eat everything"), then I'm on edge for the rest of the day. I calculate when I can sneak bites, when nobody's looking, when everyone is out of the room and they won't hear the wrappers crinkling, where I can hide wrappers and other evidence, how I can sneak away to eat more, what my alibi was for having to go to the kitchen again, etc. And I feel anxious, touchy, on edge, and obsessive because that whole day I can think of nothing else but getting the next bite. If I'm home by myself, I still have the jittery restless obsessed feeling, but it's more of a ravage through the fridge, eat, go sit down, get anxious, ravage through the cupboards, eat, go sit down, get anxious, etc. Or I'll go get a whole pizza, or a whole Chinese buffet to go box, or huge meal from a fast food place, etc and bring it back to binge. Still in that anxious heart-racing desperate mindset.

On the other hand, just plain overeating is totally different for me. In fact, I plan about one day a month to have an indulgent day where I just don't worry about calories. I'll go to my favorite restaurant and maybe get frozen yogurt afterwards and just not worry about it. But even though I go over my daily calories on those days just because of the food that I'm eating, I have no desperation to consume everything. I sit with my friends or my fiance and enjoy my treat food and I don't feel compelled to sneak every last bite.

Fortunately, I'm lucky in that I find it very easy to get back on plan the next day. After a planned indulgent day or even after a binge. I'm usually excited to go to bed and wake up in the morning and be on plan. I genuinely honestly prefer to be on plan, even though I miss some foods and carelessly eating whatever I want. I feel better on plan and I feel content and in control as opposed to guilty and regretful. But I do have an unfortunate all-is-lost mentality and that's usually what leads to my binges. Metaphorically, I'll trip on the stairs and instead of standing up and brushing myself off, I throw myself down the rest of the flights. If I have one minor lapse in judgement and eat an unplanned cookie, for example, maybe 100calories I hadn't planned...I get that "all is lost for the day" feeling and end up bingeing and going over by a couple thousand for the day.

These are rare instances for me, thank goodness, but the fact that they happen at all deserves some kind of reflection

For me, a binge is defined by two factors. (1) The amount and quality of the food and (2) the manner in which those foods are consumed.

Number Two is the big one for me. When I binge, the food is consumed in mindless frenzied abandon. I pretty much forget all table manners when binging. It's downright disgusting, really.

I've learned to control my binging by recognizing that my eating is slipping towards that style. I get up from the table, I walk away, I throw out the food. I force myself to STOP before it gets ugly.

I've been Binge Free since June 19!

Ok, I'm usually an all or nothing person. So once I eat something off plan then I spin out of control. A binge is when I eat anything in sight just for the sake of eating. I eat so much my belly hurts and will not stop until the day is over.
It makes me sick thinking about it cause the next day I feel awful. I am bloated and my whole body literally hurts.
That to me is a binge. Loosing control - eating a lot - and not stopping until I can't breathe.

Here is the definition from my Therapist's website:

It has been estimated that 2 - 5 percent experience binge-eating disorder in a 6-month period. Symptoms of binge-eating disorder include:

* recurrent episodes of binge eating, characterized by eating an excessive amount of food within a discrete period of time and by a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode

* the binge-eating episodes are associated with at least 3 of the following: eating much more rapidly than normal; eating until feeling uncomfortably full; eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry; eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating; feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating

* marked distress about the binge-eating behavior

* the binge eating occurs, on average, at least 2 days a week for 6 months

* the binge eating is not associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging, fasting, excessive exercise)

People with binge-eating disorder are very distressed by their frequent episodes of out-of-control eating. The main difference in eating pattern between Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa is that individuals with binge-eating disorder do not purge excess calories following a binge. Many with the disorder are overweight for their age and height and have struggled with their weight for some time. Feelings of self-disgust and shame are also associated with this eating pattern.

I know it by my feelings, and not by the type of food or amount of food consumed.

I have to use that barometer, because I've recovered to a great extent and no longer binge in a way that fits the classic definition that HappytoBe has provided in her post from her therapist's website.

Instead, I start to skid into it, bring myself to consciousness, and recover.

If I'm jittery, particularly; if my mind shuts off; if I'm doing that hand-to-mouth thing too quickly; if I leave a food, then return to it, then leave it & want to return to it again; if I become fixated, like I'm staring at it, in its display case, or while someone is eating it; if I really want to be alone with it & do things with it (ha!), then something's wrong.

Then I need to pull myself into awareness & STOP THE BEHAVIOR. Leave the house or the store. Call a friend. Sit on my hands, writhe & whimper like an addict in the throes of withdrawal. Whatever.

But anyway it begins with a feeling, and so it's easy to differentiate, because I don't get like that always. The other thing is, it's only somewhat predictable. It can happen in the middle of meal, with friends around. I can also start to binge on healthy foods.