strange binge pattern.. anyone else?
 

Hi all, I'm brand new here! I have been reading through the forum and have found that a lot of people share my mind-set pre and post binge, I had no idea there were so many others out there!
I'm not looking to lose very much weight, but I have been diagnosed with Binge Eating disorder. It has been a major struggle to not gain weight over the past 3 years... but I've just started an anti-depressant that my doctor thinks will help with my compulsive behavior.
Anyhoo, my question is, does anyone else always binge after a certain number of days? I almost always have one binge day after 4 days of eating well. And if I go longer than that, my single binge day will turn into 2 or 3, almost like my mind is making up for the days I didn't binge. Just making it past the 4th day doesn't necessarily benefit me in the long run :halfempty I have tried everything for those "good" days, including allowing myself to eat whatever I want, to counting my calories religiously, and nothing changes. I always get the compulsive, overpowering urge to binge after those 4 days usually. I haven't been able to figure out why I do this, and I was wondering if I wasn't alone in having this strange behavior? I am so ready to figure out the best way to break this pattern.
Thanks guys for listening! :hug:

Yes! this is me :hug: 4 day max then I feel an anxious need to binge. I havent come up with a solution yet sorry, just thought id let you know your not alone :^:

I used to have that binge pattern of "I"ll UNAVOIDABLY binge on week ends". So it'd be, uh, 4-5 days of normal eating, then 2 of bingeing. It was total crap. At some point I had to force myself to consider the why's: why on week ends, and why was I so convinced it was 'unavoidable'. It was a mixture of being the two days of the week when I didn't have work not classes to go to (so I was idle at home), not many friends to see (=feeling lonely), having homework to do but no energy left for it (and in my case I have/had that strange approach of "procrastinating is justified if I'm eating because, hey, I'm *busy* when I'm eating, so I can't work, right?"). Total BS, of course! But if eating disorders prompted rational thoughts in people, it'd be flash news by now.

Does that 4-days pattern correspond to something else in your life, by chance? Something that would unconsciously "justify" you bingeing after that period? Maybe knowing that would help in breaking it.

Mine can fall any day of the week honestly... I can't figure out any sort of reason or coincidence other than my brain thinks I've gone too long without stuffing myself after 4 days.
Right now I have made it through 6 days so my main goal is not to have a super binge any time soon!
It seems so silly that I can't stop this pattern :/
Thanks for your input guys :)

i think that's how it works for a lot of people! looking at my own patterns, it definitely sounds like me. nothing to do but get back on the wagon the next day.

Yep by day 4 I would get that anxious feeling which inevitably ended in a binge. Although sometimes my weight went down a little a couple of days later! I have stopped it by increasing my calories. It has slowed the weight loss for sure but I prefer that, to avoid the panicky feeling and loss of control.