i think i am a binge eater
 

so,it has come to my attention i may be a binge eater.
any time i buy groceries i catch myself eating a bunch, its usually junk.
i also noticed at night time I'm starving and i eat anything i can, even nobake cookies if i have the ingredients (in which case i eat almost half the batch :( )

sometimes i do these things without thinking.

it was even worse in september when i lost my mamaw.

i am up to 279, this is scary for me. I've never been this big.
now that the weather is cold I'm afraid it will get worse.

we've been having financial issues as well so that stress doesn't help me.

I'm someone who hardly ever eats breakfast, or lunch.
i usually don't want anything.
i also have a hard time eating due to dental issues (and some crappy dental work thats
falling apart) i had 9 teeth removed and all but 4 filled. (5 fillings have gotten damaged)

sorry for rambling, not sure if half of that even made sense

i just don't want to be like this anymore!

help me!

Dear couponmom, I am so sorry you are going thru this and for the loss of your mamaw. How tramatic for you. I am classic what you do eat everything at night and not hungry during the day. I have been fighting this for years. I do well some days then just loose the battle then get back on every single week. The first day is always the hardest and I would encourage you to take small lunch to work, a healthy sandwich or something you like that is healthy and eat it. It will help you be more in control when you get home from work. We are not hungry all day cause we eat enough at night to sustain us.
The mind is such a big battle and on days I do well and eat right I get tempted as I am on my way home or when I get in the house to just eat whatever I want and enjoy it even though I really don't want to and then I will restart tomorrow, well tomorrow sometimes takes 2, 3 or 4 days. We have to change our thinking which I am in the process of doing. I was in the grocery store one day and the thought just hit me, sheesh I can't even manage the food I eat how pathetic. Bit by bit my mind is changing and even though the tempting thought and the whole mind wants to just binge eat WE CAN overcome this. Sometimes I am just working minding my own business and this overwhelming desire consumes me and just wants to eat till I am stuffed, I feel like a drug addict and if I jsut wait and go get some water or even brush my teeth this feeling does go away. My hubbby goes to AA and I have gone with him many times and really love the 12 steps as they also apply to eating it has really helped me to know these steps and apply them to my own situation even though I do not drink my drink is food.
Anyways I will say a little prayer for you and I hope you have a better day! I hope in some small way this helps.

Hi,
Yes, it does sound like you're a binge eater - I've had days like that myself, but not on such a regular basis. After doing a lot of research on it, to me it sounds like a combination physical/psychological problem. We're trying to be in control during the day (little or no breakfast or lunch) but when the evening rolls around and we are the most tired, stress and cravings for carbs are overwhelming and we give in to them, eating everything in site and hating ourselves for it. The best thing that I've found is to reverse our days' eating order: force yourself to eat a substantial, healthy breakfast - make it the largest meal of the day if you can - and also eat a substantial, healthy lunch. When evening rolls around, make sure you eat lots of veggies and a small lean piece of protein, or better yet, soup that fills you up without many cals/fat. Liquids like herbal tea help, too. This cuts that binge craving and will naturally help lost weight. good luck!

thank you both.

i don't know why it never occured to me that this was my problem.
its not a constant thing, but happens at least 2 times a week.
I'm a stay at home mom and i even struggle to make my son his breakfast.
my sleep schedule got messed up and I'm up til 2-4am and i get up around 11 am
i think that hinders me a lot as well.

I'm going to make myself a list of mini goals, and I'm not going to stop til I'm at goal or less.

*anyonehave a good subtitute for sweets when you feel like binge eating?
i need something to satisfy my need at night that can be good for me.

I know breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. But if I eat breakfast, I am actually hungry all day long. For me, it works best to skip breakfast and just eat dinner and supper.

I am sorry to hear that you are having this problem. I've always been a notorious binge eater growing up, but because I was active in sports, my weight typically stayed normal or close to being overweight. Once I moved off to college in 2006, I gained nearly 15+ pounds which was really devastating for me at the time. I really told myself that I had to take control of my eating habits because I remember just sitting around my dorm, bored, and the first thing I'd do is go and eat; and I couldn't stop. To lose it, I did start counting my calories and went through a bout of bulimia which I wouldn't reccommend to anybody. If anything, it made my food control situation much worse and I saw only minor results. A therapist told me to slow down while eating and focus less on the size and more on the taste and to appreciate my meals. When I purged, it was usually around dinner time so I scheduled classes during the evening to help get my mind of food. It has taken a lot of adjustments, ones that really did seem impossible to me in its origins. And I still have an urgency to overeat every so often (i don't think that'll ever go away, food is just too tasty!) but I definitely have settled myself down to an extent where I am now at a healthy weight and rarely relapse with my bulimia. Once I settled down, I could continue a cycle of eating healthy portions and in a way, that egged me on. I saw how satisfied I was with my meal and I didn't feel overstuffed. I've also kept myself busy with school and work over the years and various extracurricular activities to help me stay away from food and think less of it. It's taken me years to indoctrinate this kind of mental ideology, for some, they can pick up on it right away and lose weight really quickly. It is a daunting task and does take readjustments that are hard to challenge. But I do believe of going on your own pace because you, more than anybody else, know your mind and body the best. I hope my story kind of helps, if you need anything just let me know :)

Just have a couple of ideas that could work for your dental problems and help with hunger issues as well -try making hearty vegetable soups with (or without )beans for a feeling of fullness and low calorie content and easy to chew. You can even blend the soup if you need a smoother texture.

You could also make fruit smoothies or cold fruit soups (peach, strawberry -made with low fat yogurt are great) to satisfy your sweet cravings -there are loads of recipes on line for free -the Food network website is great -they break down how long / how difficult the process is and lists the ingredients you'll need -so you can make a list and substitute wherever you like ( I use stevia -a natural sugar substitute instead of sugar -saves so many calories)

Also, as others mentioned, please try eating some breakfast (oatmeal-it's soft) and lunch each day -it's better for your body to have a steady source of fuel all day long -and it may help you to not binge at night.

Good luck!!

You have certainly had a tough time.

It is important that you try and balance your eating and try to break the cycle of emotional eating, sugar buzz that makes you feel good then really low and guilty when it wears off.

Take a look at the costs of the 2 lifestyles you will find eating a balanced diet will help your health and your finances so use that as an incentive as well.

Good luck

If you like chocolate I would recommend Special K's chocolate cereal. It helps me with my sweet cravings at night, maybe it will help you too? I recently came to terms with the fact that I'm a binge eater too and have been for about 9 years, and I'm only 24. I'm ready to get it under control so if you ever want to chat please message me, maybe we could help each other? : )