Originally Posted by CurvyReadhead:
You say when your anxiety get out of control, you want more sugar- that is interesting! So you recognize there is something more about your eating! My advice: Instead of cutting food groups out, tune in. What is going on in your body, your mind, when you want to eat? Do you eat because you're bored, scared, distracted? Sit down on a designated spot for EVERY BITE. Put everything on a plate. Celebrate everything you eat. Tune in before, while and after you eat. You seem to eat a lot of small things- what if you try to eat 3-4 bigger meals, so that you get a feeling that you have actually eaten? Nibbling something at the fridge isn't going to give you satisfaction from eating. I could eat all day long too, without second thoughts. But if you wait until you're actually hungry, the food you want is so much better! if you want popcorn or ice cream for dinner, get popcorn or ice cream. Savour it! Soon enough you will be fed up with sugary stuff.
Okay, in a nutshell: 1) Eat when you're physically hungry. Trust me, everything tastes so much better.
2) Eat what you really want.
3) Stop if you're not physically hungry anymore.
4) Ask yourself what is going on when you want to eat although you're not really hungry. Write it down. Distract yourself and do something else, something nice. If the cravings don't go away, eat what you want, but very slowly and really enjoy it!
5) Don't restrict.
6) Tune in.
7) You can't eat your problems away and non-physical hunger can't be satisfied because you're soothing yourself. Acknowldge your problems and tackle them in another way instead of eating them away.

These sound like wonderful habits that a normal person has. I am not a normal person, I am a disordered eater. While the list you wrote is what I hope to live like one day it by no means is something one can just "do."

1. What is physical hunger? Is it a rumble in the tummy? Or is it a set dinner time? Or is it feeling weak and dizzy? For those of us who don't understand hunger or whose hunger signals are out of whack the word hunger might just mean "I'm awake, therefore I want to eat."

2. I really want cheetos.

3. again, stop when physical hunger is over? I didn't recognize physical hunger before I started eating, how do I know when it's over? To me it's usually when I feel sick or the whole bag of cheetos is gone.

4. Let's be real about this. For those of us who use food to cope it's because we've arranged for our brain to check out of what's really going on and instead focus on food. Trying to reverse this process is is not as just wanting to. If only I could.

5. My whole life is about restriction, food is my only indulgence.

6. I tune in to the radio often, I don't know how to tune in to whatever you are refering to tuning into.

7. This is actually quite offensive. The thought that we are eating our way out of problems or soothing ourselves with food makes those of us with disordered eating sound like pathetic weak-willed and stupid people. I may eat when I experience anxiety brought on by my emotions, but I never actively think that eating a cheeseburger will make my emotions go away. I've been to therapists and berated myself enough with guilt to buy into this anymore.

I would say everything is worth a try and no two people are the same. I don't think it's neccessary to throw out CurvyRedheads suggestion. It is the approach I am taking now with my binge eating and it's helping a great deal. I've been binge free more than 3 weeks now. I will say though the first while I felt lost and did do a lot of overeating. It's settled down alot now and I feel freedom. If all else fails, why not give it a try. That's what I did. Took me about 12 years to try this approach though because it didn't seem like it would do any good. I shared wannabeskinnys sentiment until about a month ago. I am still in disbelief actually.

Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny:
5. My whole life is about restriction, food is my only indulgence

I really think this is one of the main reasons I overeat. I am disciplined in many, many aspects of my life---money, work ethic (I admit I'm a workaholic), exercise, etc. Food is a quick indulgence that temporarily makes me feel good. If I could find another quick, low-cost, convenient indulgence that made me feel as good, I would probably not have to constantly battle my temptation to overeat.

Originally Posted by mingming:
That doesn't work for people who have disordered eating who are in the middle of a binge cycle. She's eating uncooked ramen. I've eaten out of the garbage. I've purged in public parking lots and bathrooms. It's a lot bigger problem than just oops, I ate when I wasn't hungry...I better get my intuitive eating book!

I've done all that too. Same with my sister. She recovered through the principles of intuitive eating although she was never aware it was labelled as such and did not read books about it. She basically just forgot about her weight obsession and started eating when she was hungry and ate what she was hungry for. She has not engaged in any bingeing/bulimic activity for several years now. I am attempting my own eating disorder recovery this way now (I have a rather complicated eating disorder history which includes anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, and binge eating disorder) and so far so good. going on a month now without bingeing or obsessing about food. worth a try I'd say :). Honestly, I know the approach seems totally counterintuitive which is why I've always rejected it. But I'm out of ideas now so this is the last one I haven't tried. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though.

Originally Posted by veggiedaze:
I would say everything is worth a try and no two people are the same. I don't think it's neccessary to throw out CurvyRedheads suggestion. It is the approach I am taking now with my binge eating and it's helping a great deal. I've been binge free more than 3 weeks now. I will say though the first while I felt lost and did do a lot of overeating. It's settled down alot now and I feel freedom. If all else fails, why not give it a try. That's what I did. Took me about 12 years to try this approach though because it didn't seem like it would do any good. I shared wannabeskinnys sentiment until about a month ago. I am still in disbelief actually.

I didn't say throw it out. But for some of us who read those suggestions it's just no possible. It makes no sense to me and I can't get there just by wishing myself there, sorry.

Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny:
I didn't say throw it out. But for some of us who read those suggestions it's just no possible. It makes no sense to me and I can't get there just by wishing myself there, sorry.

Wannabeskinny, i'm with you on having doubts as to whether intuitive eating will work. I'm giving it a chance, but i'm not so sure. I've been doing it for about a week (though i've done it in the past for a lot longer)...and so far, i'm not binging, but only because i'm still eating the same number of calories as i would in a binge, but just spread throughout the day. So i wouldn't really say it's working...so far...but it's way too early to say. The thing is (correct me if i'm wrong but) the people here who say intuitive eating worked for them, were never overweight in the first place. For those of us who are overweight (i'm only a little overweight, but i am), intuitive eating might make us just continue down the path of overweight-ness.

I would have to agree that I doubt intuitive eating is a weight loss solution and it would be likely some people will gain weight . I think it's a good thing to try for someone who is caught up in the ravages of a restrict/binge eating disorder cycle. Like magical said above, intuitive eating principles helped her stop bingeing and reestablish a more normal relationship with food and now she's hoping maybe she can apply some rules to achieve her weight loss goal without crossing the line into crazytown. I mean, we all know that all diets work for weight loss, but what's the point when you binge back all your progress week after week? I would say rebuild your relationship with food, stop bingeing, and then once you are stable give weight loss another go with a healthier mind.

I agree with some of the other posters. Processed food leads to more processed food. Do you take multivitamins or anything?

After almost 40 years of bingeing and feeling a freak for it, I think I am in control now, and have been for more than a year. It happened almost by chance, but when I noticed what I was doing was working, I kept doing it.
First of all and not to offend anyone, I acknowledge that bingeing is extremely difficult to dominate, and that we are all different, so what works for one may not work for someone else.
Looking back on "the way it happened", I did this:
1- I attempted to feel less stressed. To do that, I thought a lot about what I felt and why I felt that way. I tried to work on the reasons why I felt anxious, frustrated, frightened, etc. This went on for several months before my eating started to change.
2- I bought healthier foods and started to eat as much as I wanted, but fewer and fewer processed food. This I did for a month, I think.
3- As I started to feel so much better -calmer, healthier- I was ready to cut down on sugar, so I tried not to eat sugar or flour. One, two more months like this. By then I noticed I was not bingeing, and was really surprised and happy. I discovered this web site and started to read about what other people say of bingeing, and understood I was going through some kind of transformation.
4- Once I felt in control, I started to count calories. Lost the weight I wanted to lose and started maintenance. All this process took around a year.
5- I discovered physical activity. I had never been able to stick to any program, but now I jog twice a week, around 3 miles each time. I am amazed at how happy that makes me, much happier than what bingeing used to make me.
6- I would like to lose a couple of pounds more, but now I accept my body, my weaknesses, by fears. I know my limits but I also know I can do lots of things I never thought I would accomplish.
I tell you all this because it took me almost 40 years to get here. I remember overeating at the age of 8, sneak eating by that age too. I am 48 now, and I hope younger people don't suffer this long to get out of the cycle.
My advice: start by understanding your feelings, then get clean (less processed food), then cut down on carbs, then on calories. Love yourselves, forgive yourselves.
Healing takes a lot of time, so start soon and be patient.