December Binge Free Challenge!
 

Here we go! It's a re month and a new chane to get it right! Lets see how many of us can get through December with no (or minimal) binges!

Starting today feeling pretty great and pretty capable of setting some new binge-free records for myself! :) hope everyone has a great and in control holiday season!

I'm no longer worried about bingeing this month, but my goal is to have a little restraint at meals and be eating-until-uncomfortably-full-free! ..except once a week on my indulgence day (;

So I gave in and binged during the week, first time since August! Determined to get back on track and make it even longer than 3 months. BUT, one day at a time :D

17 1/2 hours in and doing ok. Just started outpatient treatment for binge eating disorder this week, and they make you focus on eating regularly to break the binge cycle and not on weight loss, so I'm really uncomfortable with eating more calories. They make lunch for you on Saturdays and it was a lot more food, especially carbs, than I would normally eat. I have gone nearly six days without binging and hope that this program will help me and that I can at least maintain my current weight...:(

I would love to join you guys. I just googled binge free and found this thread, so I signed up. My personal goal is to be binge free in December. Overeating is alright (to a certain extend), but no binges. I am suffering of BED for a long time now and hope that one day I can stop bingeing and also overeating. But one step at a time.

I am still trying to lose weight as well, which is hard. Dieting and bingeing seems to be connected for me.

Today was day one, I ate 3 meals and 2 snacks. The snacks were more than planned and I ate more than I needed, but it was hard to stop. I am happy though. Did not drive to the store and pick up junk food and sticked to my plan.

How did you guys do?

I am up for this! This will be month 3 if I make it through, which is the longest I can ever remember going so to everyone here....
:dust:
A :hug: for encouragement
And a :high: for when we make it through the month!

Tubolard wow congratulations. How did u get so far? Any certain things u did?

Tubolard- great to see you still doing so well! It's very encouraging!

Freebie- welcome! I'm glad you found this site! :) the support here is so incredible- I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. :)

Kittykatfan- keep us piste on how treatment goes. I've been considering it for a while but am always too afraid. I don't know how it all works but I am betting that if you trust the process and follow your program you'll do just fine- good lck and keep us posted!

Mottainai- SO impressed by you every day... Thanks for still checking in :)

I felt really good today- better than I have in a few weeks. Very calm and in control. I hope this feeling continues!!

I'm in! November was a really gnarly month for me, but also a good one. Earlier in the month after a really REALLY awful 2-Day binge I finally 'came out' to my husband and some friends and started talking to a therapist... not about my relapse of BED specifically but just life issues in general.

I did very well after that until Thanksgiving. I didn't binge on that day, but definitely overate which continued on into the weekend. Not huge rapid binges per say, but overeating for sure with bingey moments if that makes sense.

So, my goals are in my signature but I think I'm okay for this month in terms of actual binges. I have one or two big meals planned, but I'm super focused and being able to vocalize my concerns and plans to people in real life is so helpful!

failed today. miserably. :'( its always after I start feeling confident.... here comes tomorrow....

I committed to weighing in every day to try stopping the "I don't care" thoughts that seem to accompany my binges. Well- 4.8 lbs ups this morning and then most I have weighed in two years. I want to cry. This. Has. To. Stop. I just have no idea how.... I feel like something will work for 5-10 days and I think that maybe I've found a solution or at least an improvement... Only to binge again. Feeling a little like a failure this morning- I can't wait until spring comes. Life is just better in the spring. Well- I'm off to get a good workout in- I'm sure that will help me feel marginally better...

If you made it through that, you are amazing- I hope everyone else is happier and healthier than me!

Danzingurl - I'm sorry if you're having to repeat yourself by answering this, but what sorts of things have you tried?

I see a lot of ladies having success after reading "Brain over Binge", talking to a therapist, 'coming clean' to friends and family, etc.

Don't give up just because you gave in. Keep trying things!

Joss- I do want to get my hands on that book- it's actually on my list of things to do today! But as far as things I have tried... Told my DH (but I don't think he really understands completely), journaling, low carb, high carb, coming here, stopping counting calories, meditation, goal setting.... Some things work better than others- I just need to find the right combination maybe...

Anyways thanks for the support Joss!

danzigurl- i feel for you. maybe you should take some break from everything, like relaxing day in spa or something with your hubby so you can completely forget about food and exercise ...i think we are all overwhelmed with informations, worrying about every calorie every bite, hours of exercise and figuring how to burn excess calories...it's not normal anymore.
i've been thinking a lot about that and i feel we are missing so much in life, at least i am. i could be doing millions of others things instead of worrying how to loose these damned 20 pounds and avoiding so many events, even moving away just because i feel like a failure for gaining back half of the weight i lost with so much devotion and effort. it has to stop.
i have suffered a great deal for the last two months, but i pushed myself and reached my goals even though i binged all that time to soothe my nerves because i didn't want to bother anyone with my problems. i have finally moved into a new appartment, clean and ok roommates and i got a scolarship and i even stated missing my crazy family. i speak with my mom on a regular basis and can't wait to go home for christmas. life is beautiful now and it all happened in a course of a few days. i told myself that once i reach those goals i will stop binging and start trying to focus on healthy eating instead of eating a bag of cookies for lunch and dinner. the time has finally come. last month i gained about 5-7 pounds and i hope it's mostly water.
tubolard- i wish to have soem of your will power this month ;) you're doing great
november hit us all pretty hard, well at least most of us. i hope december will be kinder to us.

Trying to get back on track. Yesterday I binged pretty bad. At the moment I'm struggling...but I'm back here, and I haven't given in yet.

Good luck everyone!

Hard day today, but I made it through unscathed! First day since my last binge episode (which wasn't too bad, thankfully) on 24 November that I have had that urge. I just acknowledged it, waited it out, and stuck to my plan.

Easier said than done sometimes, right?

Atmos - Good luck to you today! That first day is always the hardest isn't it? I know I always feel like, "Well, the damage is done, I might as well 'finish' it and have everything I want". I'm trying to get out of that mindset because I know how stupid it is!

missunshine - Great suggestions!

Danzingurl - I sincerely hope that one day you do find the right combination... I hope we all do! I have to admit that I have my bad periods but most of the time I don't have an issue with binging and I'm lucky in that regard I suppose. I feel like right now I'm coming out of a bad period and I'll be okay again for a while but regardless I will never give up. Thats one thing I definitely admire about you; you are relentless! Never once have I seen you really get down on yourself or say you don't think you can fight it... you always come back again. :hug: I hope you realize you are an inspiration to a lot of folks.


How is everyone else doing?

Thanks Joss! You are a great inspiration for me- I loved reading your success stories on bodybuilding.com- so thanks for that also!

Atoms- I hope you are doing better and able to eat back on the wagon!

I haven't been able to get "brain over binge" yet, but have been researching it and I really like the way she approaches bingeing- so I'm hoping that those strategies help.

As far as how I'm doing I'm feeling a lot better today. Moving forward :)

Hi there,

I am sorry danzingurl and can totally hear you. I have been bingeing over the weekend, so now it is Dec. 5th and I have already binged twice!!!

I will be going on a long vacation over December/New Year. I have bought "brain over binge" and the book "you are not your brain", which I have read worked even better for a lot of binge eater (Kathryn referenced this book in her own book).

I think the main problem is, that I am restricting calories like crazy to make up for the binge - and then binge again...vicious cycle...

Jossfit - OMG I just checked out your links!!! Amazing!!!

Freebie- well lets get through the rest of December together! ;-) hope you get feeling better soon.

Still binge free and feeling pretty good- I have been trying to apply the "brain over binge" concepts- I think it's a great start but I'll trust myself with it more once I have been successful for a longer time period.

December 5 and still binge free. 10 consecutive days.

I would feel better about it if I hadn't gone to the doctor today. I needed to have an evaluation to verify that I can participate in the eating disorder clinic's exercise program (which is silly since my daily exercise routine is 10x as strenuous as the one at the clinic).

I asked the nurse assistant not to tell me my weight, and she didn't, but after asking me some questions, the doctor was commenting on how it might be my thyroid that is causing weight gain. So I'm assuming a gain, which is depressing.

But what was really depressing is when she was feeling my neck and said really loud, "OHH!" And felt a big lump in my neck. She even used the dreaded word "goiter" :o. She told me I need to have an ultrasound...all I need is cancer :(

So now I'm depressed that I have an eating disorder, I have a growth on my thyroid that could be cancer and/or require surgery, I have to do a mammogram on Friday since I have a family history of breast cancer; and I have to go to a dermatologist the following week to check on some unusual moles on my face (doctor not worried about it but I am).

And I haven't even gone to the gynecologist, which I need to do because of unusual symptoms, so I'm worried about cancer, hysterectomies, etc. oh, and I still have a day job that requires tons of hours but is worse because of the 12 hours/week I do eating disorder therapy.

Sorry for throwing everything out there; just feeling worried and very alone. I'm so isolated that I don't even know if I have someone I could ask to drop me off/pick me up if I need biopsies or surgery. I thought 2013 would be a good year, but I fear that it will start out being pretty rotten.

Just a quick note;

I posted this elsewhere yesterday, but it was a mini 'ah-ha' moment for me and I thought I'd share;

"OK Feathers - serious moment here so please pardon me if this comes off super melodramatic; I had a realization a bit earlier that just might save my sanity right now!

I posted about having some cravings yesterday, but nothing super intense or unmanageable. I finished out the day on plan as I had intended... no big deal. Well today that afternoon urge hit me again, and this time it was a lot more intense than yesterday but I still did not give in and stuff my face with crap. I refuse! I did find it necessary to kill some time by getting my nails done... I find that it's a bit of a treat, and more importantly I physically CAN'T eat when I'm getting my nails done! haha

Anyway, when I got home I was fine having a cup of tea and going about my routine of preparing dinner and my meals for tomorrow. I went to log my dinner in my food diary and that's when I started to look back at it and noticed something; I have been struggling since the beginning of September with my eating, and as I looked back over the time from then until now it dawned on me that the longest I have gone since 1 September without a binge/refeed/treat night/etc. was 10 days. In August I went a good 3 weeks or so, but 10 days was the longest since then, which I did a few times. Yesterday was my 10th day 'on plan' and today was of course the 11th.

Um, pattern much?? NO WONDER I started getting cravings yesterday! I've conditioned my body over the past several months to have a huge food fest at a maximum of 10 days on plan. Holy crap! I know it's not some huge revelation but it helps me to see that I'm not just going bat-$hit crazy, but that there is indeed some sort of physiological aspect taking place.

Just that bit of knowledge really helped me and I think it will continue to help me battle cravings and get over this hump. It's a small thing, but it's actually quite significant to me."

Kittykatfan- my heart goes out to you, what a stressful situation. I don't really have any fantastic words of advice but you are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that everything works out and things start to turn around. If nothing else, I know you have a lot of cheerleaders here on 3fc. Please keep us posted.

Jossfit- it's just a bad habit, isn't it? I don't know why reading that a few days ago was such an epiphany.. But you're exactly right! It's just a pattern of behavior that we have gotten comfortable with.

I'm feeling pretty great today- hopeful and ready to kick this in the butt. :P plus, talking to DH reminded me that I have already taken a huge step in no longer purging... It's been almost a year. If I can conquer that, I can conquer this too. Thanks to everyone for all of the support- it's more helpful to me than you can imagine!!

Danzingurl and Freebie - Thank you for the compliments!

Danzingurl, I honestly think that little realization that for ME, and perhaps for some others too, it really IS just a habit has kept me on track the past few days. It's been nice to have a little extra 'something' to fall back on when the afternoon craving hits. I simply tell myself (over and over and over again if I need to) that I conditioned myself over the past couple of months to expect a binge right about now so I just have to hang tight and condition myself OUT of it.

It's hard going at times but eventually the urge passes and I am glad that I stuck it out and put another day behind me.

KittyKatFan - I can understand where you are right now with all the medical issues; I too am experiencing my fair share, but am happy to report that I'm now on the tail end of most of it. I know that the extra stress of it contributed to my lax attitude about my diet over the past couple of months but in retrospect binging only added more stress.

I had a brush with skin cancer (in remission now), extremely bad plantar faciitis (treatment for that is going well), a metatarsil cuneform extotosis of my left foot (treatment is also going well and I may not have to have surgery as originally planned) and my gastritis is under control as long as I continue to eat well, workout, and get plenty of rest.

My point is that even if things get worse before they get better, they WILL get better. It can be so hard to stay on plan with a diet and/or workout program when your health seems to be in limbo, but doing so only helps whereas binging only hurts. Good luck!

danzingurl - Glad you're feeling well the past couple days, and keep it up!

JossFit - Thank you for your encouragement and all you post. You're a huge inspiration for initial and continued success as well as being supportive to us all.

kittykatfan - I can't say anything more than has already been said, except that I feel for you and best of luck. We can't be there for you physically, but we're surely here for you emotionally.

I'm better than I was a month ago in terms of my eating and binging. The last couple days have been a bit tough. Wednesday was just a general overeating I WANT FOOD day, it didn't have the emotional background and toll of my general binging. I also did exercise that day so I was generally pleased. Yesterday was a full on binge though. Not as bad as in the past, since I can't physically fit it all in now, but I've been talking to family this week and basically got confirmation last night that my grandpa won't make it through the winter. I keep trying to tell myself that he's 89, we knew it was coming as he's been slowing down, blah blah blah, but the stress/saddness of it got to me last night and I just wanted to escape for a bit. I'm going to try to deal with it in a more positive way tonight...I'm not going out with any of my friends so I'll be home alone. Maybe it's a kickboxing day...

Hi, mind if I join the thread?

I've been doing really well for not bingeing. So proud of myself! I honestly cannot tell you how long I've ever gone without a binge because my eating habits were just awful for many years. However, I'm tracking my progress, and I'm sticking to my eating plan. I've had a few extras here and there, but they were calculated (and approx 100-200 cals) and not what I would consider a binge.

I'm almost done with my 2nd week of being binge free and on an eating plan. My main goal was to stop eating so much in the evening. And while I've accomplished that, I don't feel the need to binge - which is a weird feeling. I used to eat for comfort, and now the comfort is in my eating plan.

It shows me that this is a manageable lifestyle change rather than a tough-through-it-for-a-few-months kinda thing.

Wishing everyone luck with their fitness plans :)

i binged today. :( i was feeling sick, my throat felt sore and my period is missing again. next week i'm going home and i wanted to lose a few pounds before leaving but instead i gained 0.o it's like my mind and body don't want me to lose any weight. after holidays i'm gonna sign up for a new gym and start working out more. but i feel so embarassed cause girls here are so skinny. :/

Joss- that brain over binge book has been wonderful- everything she talks about rings so true for me.

missunshine- I hope you start to feel better soon! are there any at-home workouts you might be more comfortable with? My gym is really intimidating over in the weight room so I am a lot better off doing that at home and then just running at the gym when I cant go outside-- I hope you find something that works for you!

Coffeeshopgirl- welcome! :) I hope your eating plan continues to work for you :)

I'm definitely doing this. I usually make tons and tons of christmas cookies and cake (I'm a pastry chef) but this year I have decided to forego that. I am sure there will come a time when I have the will power to bake and not binge, but I'm not tempting myself right now.

Thanks for the support. I got the ultrasound for my thyroid today and will probably get results next week. I'm very happy I had a clear mammogram, since my mom died from breast cancer. Such an evil disease. I am getting some moles checked out soon, and early next year I guess I will have to make a dreaded visit to a gynecologist. I just want no cancer. I can handle everything else, but the C word is terrifying.

Still binge free for nearly two weeks. I have been so busy at work that I don't have time to think about binging, but I also think that I have already been helped by the therapy sessions. A totally different way of thinking about food, but I am starting to feel confident. And when you have text and phone support from a counselor into the wee hours of the morning, I feel pretty good that I can stay binge free for a while. At least until my next vacation, just around the corner. But I will try to follow the new plan and see if I am successful.

I would like to join everyone here! I just signed up at this place and this is my first post (I really should get over to the intro thread...)

So far I haven't binged in December. I have several therapists I can talk to now plus a friend and some family members who support me, so that's good.

I also try to eat enough healthy fats (especially coconut oil) and that helps my cravings. But only if I don't have wheat or any refined grains, and no sugar. It was hard to get into that way of eating, I'm still figuring it out....I had supermassive cravings at first that my friend (and coconut oil and therapy) helped with.

So!! There are a lot of holidays this month for a lot of people and a lot of goodies being sold everywhere regardless of what you celebrate or even if you celebrate at all! So, I figure it's nice to have some accountability with people somewhere! So, hi everyone! :)

KittyKatFan - Good job on being binge free for 2 weeks! Sometimes being busy helps us ward off the cravings. Also, hoping the health issues turn up with good news. Keep us posted, k?

Isadore - Awesome for having no binges this month! Sounds like you have a good support system. It's also nice to have someone you can call for immediate help. Keep up the good work!

So, it's the weekend of my wedding and then I'm off for a week for my honeymoon. We're eating down the food in the refrigerator, so staying on plan is a challenge right now.

Last night, the hubby-to-be wanted a pizza, so I had 1 small piece and then decided to make a healthy snack to avoid eating more pizza. This morning, we went out to brunch and I got a soup and salad combo. Decided to grab a few snacks to last until Wednesday (when we leave) in order to save money on eating out. The soup I had today for brunch motivated me to make a beef barley veggie soup which is delicious; however, I ate 2 bowls of it and got a tummy ache.

This made me realize 2 things: 1. I didn't eat enough today, which was the reason I was so hungry (instead of overeating because of X, Y, Z reasons), and 2. if I do overeat, I get a tummy ache because I'm not used to eating that much in one sitting anymore.

I'm happy that in 2 weeks of committing to an eating plan I have noticed changes like this in my body. Also happy that I decided to get a few snacks because I just can't go off my smaller-meals-and-snacks type of eating. I'm feeling enough discomfort from today. Glad I made a healthier choice.

Hope everyone is doing well :dancer:

I've just felt like sitting around on my bum and eating all day every day since classes have stopped and exams have started at my university (last week). I only have to make it through to Thursday, and I'm trying to take it one day at a time. The weather is cold and gray and with no structure to my days, I feel like I am on the verge of binging! But I am trying to tell myself how HORRIBLE I always feel after I binge and so far that has caused me to snack a little and just force myself to stop. usually but leaving my room so I can't eat anymore, but hey it's something :P

Tonight was my "cheat" meal where I had a delicious curry noodle soup and summer rolls from a local asian restaurant. Gonna get back on track tomorrow but not restrict too too much or else I think I will binge. Lots of careful snacks I guess are key!

I'm gonna try to eat a lot of protein in hopes that will help but I swear at this point I'd binge on celery...

Kittykatfan- happy to hear the good news!

Isadore- Welcome and congratulations on a good December so far! :)

Alisapearl- I hope you do ok through the night! I hate the cold yucky weather- everything seems harder during this season for me!

Coffeeshopgirl- congratulations on the wedding! Enjoy every second of it!

Today makes 6 days for me. Woo hoo! I ate a little more than I had planned to for the day but only ate to maintenance and I was eating because I was truly hungry, not to binge- so I'm feeling very successful. I have been trying to separate my binges from my "true" self, and although I had a few moments of "feeling the urge" today- I didn't act on it- I just kind of acknowledged it, and chose to ignore it. I'm feeling like a gold medalist ;-) super happy that I didn't binge and even happier that I was able to get over the binge feelings much more quickly and easily than normal. :)

hope everyone is doing alright! I just got through day 7! Hoping this being binge-free starts to "pay off" on the scale and my clothes soon... I'm a few pounds up from my "happy weight"...

Good luck to y'all, as for me my finals are killing me slowly, sometimes I felt so stress that I just want to eat a whole peanut butter can, *sigh*

Danzingurl - Awesome job! I'm hanging in there too (on day 16 now I believe) and my weight is way up and doing crazy things too. You know what though? I don't care! :) I haven't binged since the end of November and I don't intend to this month, which was my primary goal.

ugogirl - Hang in there hun... just remember that binging will only continue to add to that stress! Take a few minutes to get up and stretch, do some yoga, take a walk, or if you can... treat yourself to a manicure or pedicure. RELAX! :D

Hope everyone else is doing okay!

Hi everyone! Popping in here. (:

I ended up not being as successful as anticipated. Binge two loooong days in a row Friday and Saturday. I know what went wrong- combination of a little too much restriction, feeling the deprivation of knowing my eating routine will be limited in the coming weeks, and a whole lot of stress and anxiety over school and my body and this trip just made me snap and WANT to give into those urges and not even care!

I'm back up now though and feeling kind of "reset." I'm working on getting a handle on my overly obsessiveness with my body and also working through whether or not my "refeeds" are also just a product of binge brain urges and could be discontinued.

Actually, I am not sure if this is good positive thinking or if it might be just a disordered thought process, but looking back at my binge break I'm not even seeing it as all that negative: it served its purpose as a distraction and relaxation during a stressful time, and my body is at a point where it could take a few pounds weight gain that came with it okay.

ANYWAY I'm leaving for Japan tonight!! I'm actually looking forward to the chance for a month of forced no-bingeing and no binge-esque eating either, and also much reduced chance for any kind of restriction or diet/weight-loss eating. My goal is simply "normal:" eat what I want, not too much, and not stressing over it. I expect I may overeat sometimes, but I just want to prevent it from getting binge-y. I know I'm in control and always have a choice to stop eating!

Will report back sometime again. Love to all of you guys. You are all amazing and strong!!