What do you consider a binge? Warning: Possible Food Trigger Alert!!
 

"Binge-free for 3 weeks."

"I am not going to binge anymore."

"I have a problem."

I have read these words in various forms throughout this forum, and I have one question. Exactly what is a typical binge like for you? How do you define a binge? I am just curious because I realize that over time, my personal definition of "binge" has changed.

For example, in 2001 I was battling an eating disorder. I would exercise 3-4 times a day and eat 800-1000 calories. I went from a size 10 to a size 4 in no time and was dead set on losing more. I would severely restrict my calories, and every two to three weeks I'd binge. At that time, a binge for me would last an entire day and would include fast food.
I remember once eating:
3 bowls of cereal
Toast
3 sandwiches
A Super Sized McDonald's meal
A McDonald's McShake thing
BAGS of candy (I specifically remember the candy because I drove to SuperWalmart around 11pm and bought the cheapest candy I saw when I first walked in. Crap I would never eat! Candy peanuts, Boston Baked Beans, and that other 2/$1 crap. Blah.)

After a "binge" I would fast fast fast and exercise exercise exercise. Sometimes I would even purge. I was exhausted and finally got out of that **** hole with the help of friends and family.

Now, a binge for me lasts about 30 minutes. Also, you couldn't pay me to eat fast food. It is the lowest quality food and I refuse to put that into my body. Most fast food establishments serve Grade E meat - the lowest grade allowed by the FDA! I won't even have a Diet Coke or salad from a fast food place - I'm sure grease, fat, or calories would sneak in. My definition of binge has changed drastically.
My most recent binge consisted of:
Turkey and cheese sandwich
A pudding cup
A single serving size package of Chips Ahoy cookies
50 grapes
Blah

So I'm just curious, what do you consider a "binge?"

i'd say that the first one you described is definitely a binge.

the second one just sounds like an ordinary meal to me ;) although it would take me longer than 30 minutes to eat all that (but hey i'm a slow eater)

congrats on moving past your ED - it takes a lot of work!!!

this question has been answered before check out http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91435
or maybe use the search button and search in the chicks in control forum for keywords...

A binge for me was anytime that I ate to the point of sickness.....when I was physcially in pain because my stomach was so full and all I wanted to do was lay on the couch or bed and sleep and never get up. It wouldn't matter what I ate, it could have been anything from fast food to ice cream, chips....etc. didnt matter....as long as I was eating and not hungry and I was thouroughly disgusted, uncomfortable and bloated after - THAT was a binge for me.

Thanks for the link...I'll check it out. (I figured the question had been asked and answered...but wasn't sure how to find out. Thanks!)

Yeah, for me, it's eating to the point of feeling uncomfortably full. Or mindlessly eating tons of food when I don't feel hungry just because I want the taste, or whatever.

Like if I buy a bag of miniatures candy and eat the whole bag over the course of an evening? That's a binge.

Or sometimes I have spread-out binges where I graze all afternoon and then wham, I packed away 5000 calories.

When I make no-bake cookies and eat 2 dozen of them in one evening, that is my "binge". I get actually sick at my stomach but still want more. I am fighting not doing this anymore.

Tisha, I know what you mean about the food ordering. I used to go through the drive thru, buy a double quarter lber with cheese, lg. fries, large coke and supersize , you bet. An apple pie and then get a Happy meal for my non-existent child so they wouldn't think it was all for me. Then, hide the sacks while I ran thru Taco Bell to get a lg. beef burrito with sour cream to go with this and take it home , eat all of it and hide the sacks in the outside trash can so no one would know.

I have eaten a whole box of cereal and 2 pints of ice cream in a day, plus other small snacks like Pria bars and sandwiches - THAT is a binge.

Ive done the same thing. Supersize meal from Mickey D's....then some taco's from taco bell and then maybe a blizzard from Dairy queen. Everything would have to be hidden when I went to the subsequent drive through out of embarrasment :o

OMG--I am reading these posts and I feel the exact same way as you guys. I have done all of these these hitting drive-thru after drive-thru. I've also hit the candy at the gas station. King sized candy bars buy one get one free. That was dangerous. I had to pull over into a parking lot and eat all that chocolate and try not to get it on the leather seats of my car. Then I had to worry about throwing away the evidence. What's funny is that I will be doing so good on my diet. I'll think wow I'm finally getting control over my binges and I feel on top of the world and then I find myself eating junk because I'm stressed and the binge can last for days. It is such a depressing cycle.

*sigh* i have done all these things, from fast food to pizza.... but sweets are a big one for me, and i looooove no bake cookies.... I'd do the same thing with a lot of sweets, and eat till i was feeling sick.

heh... i went through a phase of getting those rolls of cookie dough (like chocolate chip cookie dough etc) and i never really made that many cookies :eating2: :o

To me, a binge is not WHAT I eat, but HOW I eat.
Am I eating to nourish my body because I am hungry? Or am I eating in a frantic manner and feeling "out of control"? Do I remember what I ate---that is usually a HUGE clue to me. Am I mindful of the food I eat or mindless?

Of course quantity does count! Eating a "family fun pack" of ANYTHING at one time, is not fun. Eating until I am physically uncomfortable is also a binge.

I've bought a 1/2 gallon of ice cream and eaten it in one day , heck in a few hours, I just kept going back to the freezer. I've done that many times. I think a binge for me is ususally just eating A LOT of the same item. Usually something I've purchased with the intent of eating it all. With the actual INTENT of eating it all. I wonder what makes people do things like that?

I would say a binge is eating way past the point of fullness, but it's also a bit more than that. Sometimes I'll go to an indian buffet with my BF and eat until I'm Ooh-ing and Aah-ing (as in Oooh, that was so good!:) ) but that's not what I'd consider a binge because I don't feel guilty. There's no guilt because I was hungry, it tasted good and it satisfied me. Plus I'll only do that a few times a year.

It's when I eat when I'm not hungry, past the point where it tastes good (sometimes it never even tasted good in the first place), because of emotional reasons. That I would call a binge. Those binges are so unsatisfying:mad:.

When I was a teenager, I would binge at least a few times a week. 1.5L of ice cream was my drug of choice, but often times 5-8 homemade cookies,- I could not have chocolate chips in the house or else I would HAVE to bake cookies. Sometimes I'd plan a binge and buy a lot of different candies and chips in bulk, and eat almost all of it. It kinda makes me sick to think about it.:faint: It got to the point where almost anything could trigger a binge- sometimes I'd binge on 3 or 4 peanut butter jelly sandwiches on weight watchers bread!

I had NO energy- there's very little nutrition in all the stuff I mentioned. I'm sure it worsened my depression greatly.

Man I'm glad I don't do that anymore.

Good discussion - nice to see lots of like-minds sharing experiences

The trouble with bingeing is it is very hard to stop. There's a point near the beginning where you can stop. But once you get further into it the whole experience becomes totally mindless and you just keep gutsing. No matter how sick or how full I feel, and even when I don't like the food, once I reach that point I just have to keep going until it's finished.

I don't even want to say how much I eat when I binge. Truthfully, I'm not sure I could say even if I wanted to. Once I start bingeing I often have no idea what I've eaten!!!

i don't eat that many calories in a day, so if i eat over 200 calories in one sitting thats a binge for me.

Hun, you realise that's not a very healthy attitude, right? If you consider over 200 cals a binge, I think you should reconsider your lifestyle. I realise a binge is different for each of us, but 200 cals is not a binge- it's not even a meal, it's a snack. How many calories do you take in daily? Bingeing is bad, but starving is just as bad if not worse!

Take care of yourself. :hug:

Ummm- I'm no psychologist or food expert on anything expert, but I think it's pretty safe to say that AmberNichole1983 - 200 calories is NOT a binge, but hey I could be wrong, couldn't I - umm probably not.

well I AM a psychologist LOL and I'd have to back up the others... 200 calories is a snack. It might be a binge if you are a rabbit and all you eat are carrots and grass but for an adult that is definitely in snackville.

Amber I'd like to encourage you to "binge" more often. You might also like to visit the Dove webpage and watch some of their videos to see how distorted most people's perception of beauty and size has become.

I don't eat that much, under 500 calories a day. I know all the risks and i know exactly what i'm doing to my body. I admit i have had eating disorders in the past and if want to know whats really going through my head just check out my livejournal. I have been trying to do better though. I eat about 100 calories for breakfast (yogurt, apple, egg whites with salsa, ext..) The i eat about 100 calores for lunch (half a turkey sandwich, some chicken broth or low cal soup, steamed veggies) then i eat a 120 cal chicken breast for dinner. Plus i snack on carrots all day so i'm pretty much always eating. It ends up still being under 500 calories a day though, but i take vitamins and i feel fine.

Well, I see that your extremely low calorie diet has already been discussed extensively in the "How many calories do YOU consume?" thread and I checked out your livejournal. My opinion has already been expressed numerous times so I'll just leave it at that.

For me a binge is not only about quantity but quality of food.
I might make a nice healthy evening meal but then eat it with 3-4 pieces of bread laden with butter.
Or eat fish and chips and bread and butter ( a real kiwi thing to do)
Sometimes it can even be making a nice healthy salad and then pouring half a bottle of dressing onto it.
I can happily eat 2 chocolate bars at a time.
My biggest problem is that when I binge it's always high fat low fibre food that just sits on my waistline.

more on bingeing
 

:D Well said! Although it is hard to see anyone eating 500 calories a day and saying nothing.

Chaarli - I see what you're getting at with healthy vs unhealthy but I have binged on very healthy food. Like masses of veges dipped in hummus or feta dip and it's been healthy but totally insane out of control eating.

The real key with bingeing is that it is an "out of control" behaviour and you feel unable to stop yourself;)

Newbie Here! Got a question...
 

:?: Just curious, what are some helpful ideas that some of you use to curb the binges? I have some powerful urges that can make me feel sick if I don't indulge them. (headaches, anger, fatigue, etc.)

OMG I am so glad I checked this thread out. I have gone to the point to where I will be in a hotel room (I travel alot) and I'll order Chinese which of course includes Crab Ragoon, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Shrimp Lo Mein then when they knock on the door to deliver I will ask my non existant person in my room (loud enough for the delivery guy to hear) "Where did you put the money, oh never mind I see it." So he will not think all the food is for me.

It is hard to believe I used to do that. It is so embarassing.

Deanna2006 - It is hard some times, I usually try to do some sort of exercise because then I am more apt to want to stay on my healthier food because I hate to exercise and to waste it by binging afterword makes me control it a little better. There are times where I will be pacing the floor wanting to binge and I just have to get away, going for a walk. Going shopping to a store that does NOT have food...my favorites Goodies, Kohls and NEVER to store inside a mall. You can look at all the cute clothes you can buy when you quit the binging and lose weight. I also will leave money and credit cards at home and just take my license and just drive. (If I don't have money I can't stop at the Fast Food joints) Basically I try to do anything possible to remove myself from the situation otherwise the food you are thinking about binging on will continue to call your name. I think you just have to take it one urge at a time for me once I controlled it a few times it gave me more strength the next time. Currently I have not allowed myself to binge for 3 months and it is hard but so liberating to know the food no longer controls me, I control it! Best of luck, it is possible just hang in there!

Val that is hilarious!!!

I used to go to different shops to buy my "treats". I'd go and buy a few packets of something then finish it and still be hungry so I'd go to another store and buy the same things over again hehe

Val one more question - did you stop eating your trigger foods or can you now eat them in moderation?

Ladies, I have done the drive-thru act to. I know McDonalds is horrid, but I'd get a double quarter pounder meal and then get the happy meal...and then a sunday and an apple pie.

My problem was with what I bought in the grocery store. I'd buy our dinners and stuff for the house and then I'd buy hords of little debbies and sugar wafers...If my fiance was home, I'd leave the bad food in the car until he left or went to bed. Then I'd hide the bad food and just binge on it. Sometimes he'd find a box and I'd spill one of the many lies to cover it up.. Like "Oh, I brought the box home from work..it only had one left on it and I wanted the coupon."

One time, when my fiance and I were living with his parents, I stopped at the grocery store a couple of blocks from the house on the way home from work and bought sugar wafers. I ate the whole package in a space of 10 minutes. :mad:

Ice cream, cookies, little debbies...and anything sweet triggers binges. If I don't see them or smell them I don't think about it. But when I know the sugar is there and available to me it's all I can think about. I can't have "just one" piece of candy or what have you. Once I take the first bite, it's over. I can't control the desire for sugar. :(

Sweat Pea - I still try to avoid my trigger foods as much as possible. But I have been following my own version of the Rice Diet Solution (no it is not just rice) which greatly reduces your sodium and sugar intake and deals more with the "whole" foods and this has been a Godsend within about 2 weeks of sticking with the Rice Diet it has almost completely diminished my cravings it is great, my stomach also never growls anymore which it used to do even though I was eating tons of food. My sister got me started on it, she has lost over 75 pounds in about 6 months. She follows it to the letter though, I travel 5 days a week so it makes it a little harder I had to make some minor adjustments to the plan to work with that. Check it out the next time you are looking for a change.

After 16 months since changing my lifestyle, I thought I had the binges kicked. I was WRONG. Friday was DH's birthday and I baked a chocolate cake. I ate 2 pieces in front of him. But, when I went to clean the kitchen and put it away, I ate 2 more pieces, licked the knife and sucked the chocolate off all 42 candles. Now is that sick or what? It just tasted like the best Da@@ cake I ever had in my life. Now I'm guzzling water and pounding the treadmill even more. I sent the leftover cake (what little was left after I got through) to work with him the next morning. I know without any doubt that I could easily have eaten that whole cake.

this is really interesting

val - is that white or brown rice?

lilybelle - i know a lot of people have trigger foods that they feel they have to resist their entire life. i don't want to live that way but after reading your account maybe it's the only solution :D for now i will keep working towards moderation but i know that once i get sugar in my system it is hard to stop. when i am balanced i can but the rest of the time hmmmmm

Lily, I have a sour milk chocolate cake that I can't leave alone. I haven't made it in a long time.

Hmm, a typical binge for me will consist of:
Cholate Bars - 3 or more
Cheese, sometimes up to half a brick
Ice Cream, usually heaping and covered in chocolate/strawberry syrup
Melted Cheese Bread
A couple of ice cream drumsticks (whatever was left in the box)
Rice Crispy Squares
Cookies, up to half a box or more.

Literally, anything sweet or cheesy that I could get my hands on. And I was a big hider. My DF would be saving something for himself for a later date, like a chocolate bar, and I would eat it, then run out and by him a new one, eat that one, then have to run out again (and I don't drive!). There was just too much stress and hiding and lying involved :(

Sweat Pea - It isn't just Rice that is just the name they have for it. Many years ago it was started with only rice so I guess they just kept the name. I think their web sit is Ricedietsolution.com but I'm not sure you can do a google search and find it if not. If you look for the book it is a hardback and it has a blue cover and is called Rice Diet Solution I can't remember the Dr.'s name who was the author. But one meal I do eat alot because I love it is Success Whole grain Brown Rice (1 bag of boil in the bag type) this makes about 2 cups of prepared rice which is a giant plateful and I add 4 tablespoons of Desert Pepper brand Peach Mango Salsa. This salsa is great and it only has 25mg of sodium per 2 TBS compared to most I found that have between 200 and 300mg of sodium. But for the huge plate of food which is usually not all eaten it has 330 calories, 2g fat, 4g fiber and only 50mg of sodium. The average of the little frozen dinners I have in the freezer are about 220 - 270 cal, 5-7g fat, 4g fiber and about 550-700mg of sodium. and you only get a little bit of food. So thats one of my favorite meals.

it's definitely an ongoing battle to manage food and eat in moderation. it's not like you can flick a switch and suddenly change. even if you are good for weeks or months or even years it is easy to get back off track

val thanks for the info. i do remember having brown rice as a breakfast at one stage. it has a nice nutty flavour and you can add a few raisins or sultanas or a bit of honey but it's pretty nice. might have to do some research as i need to widen my meal choices. i'm eating all the same stuff each day at the mo

A binge for me is all about the circumstances. I only binge while alone, at home or in the car or if I'm traveling by myself. I think it is something about "no one will know" and then later when my diet isn't working I can say see...nothing works for me. I've been convinced that it is something I'm doing to sabatosh myself, just not sure why.

I'm somewhat confused by the food trigger? Do people have a certain foods that causes them to binge. Like they can't eat them or they'll fall into a bindge. I always assumed binges were more emotionally driven and there might be certain foods that one is drawn to. Now I'm wondering if there is something in my diet that causes me to go for a binge at first alone opportunity.

When I used to go to school two hours away from home, I was so upset that I would eat whole boxes of cereal, even dry if I didn't have any milk, and as soon as my roommates/suitemates left, I would go into stealth mode and steal their food...this was my lowest point ever. I would eat bags of cookies and candy and pop tarts and homeade goodies their moms sent them...it was horrible. Then I would bury the evidence in the trash so the wrappers weren't on top. And by that time, I was so mad at myself I would lay in bed and cry because my stomach hurt so much that all I could do was fall asleep. Then I would wake up, feel better, and do it later again that night because of some other thing that triggered it. Now, sometimes I will start to binge, on WW or Cocoavia chocolates, but other than that we really don't have anything bad or even processed in the house. It also helps to keep recipes and even products on hand that seem like "bad" foods but aren't...like Annie's EasyMac...obviously not considered actual health food...but wayyy better for you than KraftCrap. Oh, and being vegetarian, because there really isn't that much to eat at the 24 hour McD's drivethrough at 2 in the morning for you. ;)