I am on the same page as Danzingurl, Leilajay, LockItUp, and LuckyMommy; for me, a binge is the anxious, out of control feeling where I can't eat fast enough and I feel physically ill from the sheer quantity of food I've consumed. I can 'overeat' and be totally okay with that - an indulgent dinner, special occasion treat, etc. - but I'm savoring the food, enjoying the company, and feel satisfied when I'm done.

A binge is something I would be ashamed for other people to see me in the midst of. It's something that is done secretly, alone, and with extreme guilt.

Originally Posted by JossFit:
for me, a binge is the anxious, out of control feeling where I can't eat fast enough and I feel physically ill from the sheer quantity of food I've consumed... It's something that is done secretly, alone, and with extreme guilt.

It's weird. My binges have never had that frantic quality to them, even when they were MASSIVE. I know it sounds strange to say, but they had a certain sophistication, because my goal was to eat all my favourite gourmet foods/dishes in an extended sitting and I did savour the foods. So were they binges at all? I say yes, because of the sheer quantity of food involved (5,000+ cals). They were also conducted in secret; to this day I haven't told anyone IRL about them.

F.

Originally Posted by freelancemomma:
It's weird. My binges have never had that frantic quality to them, even when they were MASSIVE. I know it sounds strange to say, but they had a certain sophistication, because my goal was to eat all my favourite gourmet foods/dishes in an extended sitting and I did savour the foods. So were they binges at all? I say yes, because of the sheer quantity of food involved (5,000+ cals). They were also conducted in secret; to this day I haven't told anyone IRL about them.

F.

Yes I'd call that a binge too. I don't eat frantically either, but I also don't eat large quantities, sure more than I'd like but not massive quantities. Sometimes I prepare a lot to eat but I can't finish it. But that doesn't matter, I still consider it a binge because it's done in secret, it's planned, it's ritualistic and there is terrible guilt and self loathing afterwards.

Originally Posted by KittyKatFan:
Absolutely no judgments here, just curiosity.

I told a coworker a few weeks ago that I had gone on quite a binge over the weekend. She said she had too: she ate ten mini Heath bars. I didn't say it, but I was thinking "you call that a binge??? I call it an appetizer."

But it got me thinking about what really is a binge. In my mind, a binge is eating everything in sight, taking in massive amounts of food to the point where you don't feel well. I'm talking a whole bag of Heath bars, possibly followed by a pizza, or donuts, or something else.

Am I wrong? Is ten mini Heaths really a binge?

I don't think you're wrong, but what you think (me too) a binge is, is in fact an actual Eating Disorder BED, where someone who doesn't usually consume a lot of food on a normal basis and they have an "overly large helping" would consider that a binge.

Am I making sense? See the difference in the definitions?

My binges only last 10 min the most. I eat huge amount of foods in a very short period of time. I never feel ill after the binge, just full... Also my binges only consist of one food, for example: bread with peanut butter, or grape tomatoes, hummus with carrots... things like that. When I binge I can see that I am overeating but I cant stop... its so fast and I also make sure nobody sees me :o

Overeating to me means that I like something that I am eating and I get a second serving even when I am no longer hungry. But I don't eat fast or in secret...

Binging for me is a lot of the above mentioned concepts and i could add "veering" off the course of what i had planned every morning 2 eat not eat and i fail almost 100% of the time

For me personally, my binges, for years, have always VERY the same each time in terms of quantity and type of food. It's very ritualistic and planned out. I get the frantic/compulsive feeling when I'm wrestling with deciding if I want to binge or not, but as soon as I start putting it into action, the binge itself is actually quite controlled in terms of what and how I consume it.

I agree with Nicole. I think 2 serving is pigging out but going beyond that is a binge. Cleaning the cupbords out eatting everything is too. I haven't done anything like that in a very long time but I have (in my lifetime) had many benders like that.

I don't know if it really matters what each of us considers a "binge" -- except in trying to understand what each of us means when that term is used in these forums. I think that what matters is that each of us recognizes that we often engage in eating habits that are counter-productive to our goals of becoming more healthy.

My definition of a binge has changed as my diet has changed. Before going on a weight loss plan, a binge was a daily routine for me. Like others here I could go to multiple drive-thrus and order a smorgasbord of fast food. I could order an extra large pizza and eat at least half of it for dinner... then when my wife went to sleep I would proceed to eat the rest. On a nightly basis I would sit down in front of the TV in the late evening and snack on an entire bag of ______.

But now that I have been on a diet plan, I know I can't do any of that anymore. So, my definition of "binge" has changed to include instances of over-eating that are far less serious than what I used to engage in routinely. For example, now binging includes eating way more than my 1 oz serving of almonds ... or eating my serving of almonds right after I eat my protein bar supplement (because the snack should be either / or)... or any sort of compulsive eating that I find myself doing, even if it is on relatively healthy foods. I had to shift my definition of binging so that I don't veer off course. Because while the foods I'm eating now aren't the junk I used to eat, and the quantities are not nearly as big as I would scarf down before, they are enough to keep me from staying on track on my diet plan.

For me personally I define a "Binge" as anytime I eat without control, and am not hungry and just keep eating. It is sually a very emotional thing. I am trying to stuff anger or sadness or "self-worthlessness" down with twinkies or ice cream or chips or cookie dough...or what ever. Sometimes a "Binge" lasts a few minutes, sometimes hours.

I have done very well not Binging for the past 6 months. This past weekend I felt the urge, but I did not give in. Although I did eat nearly a whole a bag of baby carrots, no dip yesterday afternoon. I finally told myself..."Okay you REALLY think you NEED to stuff yourself, then do it in the least damaging way!" So glad I didn't turn to ice cream or chips!!

Originally Posted by KateB:
For me personally I define a "Binge" as anytime I eat without control, and am not hungry and just keep eating. It is sually a very emotional thing. I am trying to stuff anger or sadness or "self-worthlessness" down with twinkies or ice cream or chips or cookie dough...or what ever. Sometimes a "Binge" lasts a few minutes, sometimes hours.

I have done very well not Binging for the past 6 months. This past weekend I felt the urge, but I did not give in. Although I did eat nearly a whole a bag of baby carrots, no dip yesterday afternoon. I finally told myself..."Okay you REALLY think you NEED to stuff yourself, then do it in the least damaging way!" So glad I didn't turn to ice cream or chips!!

I agree with you 100%. For me, I didn't need any reason to binge. Binging was my everyday habit when I sat in front of the TV late at night. Now, I try not to binge, but if I do, -- like you -- I try to limit it to something far less damaging, like veggies. A funny thing happened though. When I limit my binging to healthy things like veggies, I don't find myself doing it! Its funny how I won't eat healthy things when I'm not hungry... but I can have no problem raiding the fridge and/or pantry for junk food even when I'm not hungry.

Binge (my version) = the entire time you are doing it (if you are thinking) I REALLY shouldn't be doing this. No matter what it is wether it's one doughnut or 15 mini candybars . I had one this past weekend & it made NO sense (they usually don't) I even ate banana pudding... something I normally don't even like ( the whip creme got me). :?:

I simply consider a total loss of control. Where I might be double well and then something catches my eye and I literally can not stop myself from eating and after I've eaten it my mind is racing for other things to eat that I have been avoiding. I might go to the store and get a bunch of junk food I've been craving and just eat it all at once.

I know they say to avoid binges don't cut out junk food but sometimes I just can not justify the calories. I might eat a serving of Doritos and be okay, but 400 calorie donuts? That's often an entire meal for me. For some reason when a binge comes on it's like, I look at that donut and something in my brain snaps. I can feel it happen.

Before I know it I've eaten not one but four donuts, drank a big glass of regular soda, chowed down on some pizza and am feeling sick on the couch, trying to pull it together.

I would also be another person who believes mostly binges are to do with feelings. When I'm just out of control and feeling awful and just eating away and won't stop.

To put it into quantity, I would be talking like 2 bars of chocolate, couple of packet of crisps, jellies or some other form of sugar sweets. It doesn't take a lot of food to make me full. I get full easily. I would get full probably after the first bar of chocolate but will just keep on going which goes back to how I'm feeling and when I'm at the point that I...just...can't...stop.

Originally Posted by joefla70:
I don't know if it really matters what each of us considers a "binge" -- except in trying to understand what each of us means when that term is used in these forums. I think that what matters is that each of us recognizes that we often engage in eating habits that are counter-productive to our goals of becoming more healthy.

...
But now that I have been on a diet plan, I know I can't do any of that anymore. So, my definition of "binge" has changed to include instances of over-eating that are far less serious than what I used to engage in routinely. For example, now binging includes eating way more than my 1 oz serving of almonds ... or eating my serving of almonds right after I eat my protein bar supplement (because the snack should be either / or)... or any sort of compulsive eating that I find myself doing, even if it is on relatively healthy foods. I had to shift my definition of binging so that I don't veer off course. Because while the foods I'm eating now aren't the junk I used to eat, and the quantities are not nearly as big as I would scarf down before, they are enough to keep me from staying on track on my diet plan.

While I don't disagree with you, I do think that thinking like this gets us in the habit of thinking there are good foods and there are bad foods and virtually no food is a bad food (unless it's sugar, which is pure evil). Part of overcoming my eating disorder is realizing that food is not the enemy.