Aw jeez, Megster...

Ya know, for me, it's just a matter of sharing my personal experiences, and if I find something interesting in a book or article or whereever, I'll share that too. We're ALL different. Being obese is not something I would wish on ANYONE. I'm not going to LIE and say that losing weight is a walk in the park - changing established habits and patterns can be really, really hard, to say the least - but at the same time, I get kind of annoyed at the "95% failure" quote that is bandied about, because to me that's a defeatist attitude - I would hate to think that someone would read that statistic (and where it comes from I have NO idea) and say "screw it - why even bother trying, if I'm going to gain it back anyway" and give up? I would think that people trying to overcome a drug or alcohol or tobacco addiction have at least as high or higher failure rate...but they keep trying again. I know quite a few people who worked VERY hard to quit cigarettes - it took them YEARS of quitting and then starting again, repeat, repeat - but eventually they were able to overcome the ciggie monkey.

As you learn more about what works for YOU, what fits into YOUR life, and learn more about nutrition, how exercise works, working on finding new hobbies other than 'recreational eating' then you start succeeding. It's most definitely a LEARNING PROCESS. Heck, I'm STILL learning, the day I stop learning will be the day I cease to exist...science is finding out new things everyday.

And I've said this before - but I want to STRESS it again because I don't think you can stress it enough - Maintenance DOES GET EASIER OVER TIME. Trust me on this...you work on making the right food choices and regular exercise - along with finding other activities to replace 'recreational eating' and they become HABITS, you will have truly made a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. You know, I don't get to watch Oprah since she's on during the day, but I read her magazine, along with bits and pieces of her website - I've been following her weight since the 1980's when she rolled out the wagon of fat - and I am SO impressed. To me, it looks like the tide is turning and we're getting away from the "Lose 40 lbs in 30 days" type of diet (IMO that's why 'diets don't work' - because of the mindset that many of these create, "I'll stay on this diet until I get down to my goal weight, and then I can go back to my usual way of eating" - and many of these diets you see in the rag mags are totally unrealistic), and more towards "a diet for life". I mean let's look at Webster's again for the genesis of the word:

So no matter how we eat - we're on a diet. EVERYONE has a diet, from a week-old breastfeeding baby on up. It's just finding a manner of living - a way to lead your life that is healthy and sustainable for the long term. And at first, that means you have to LEARN about things like nutrition, calories, exercise, and all that stuff, just like when I first started riding hunt seat 4 years ago - I had to learn how to post the trot at the correct diagonal, good posture in the saddle, asking the horse to do what I wanted him to do, collection and impulsion and so on (I'm still learning - I still consider myself a pretty green rider!). That's where doing a 'diet' can help to put you on the path - we are all seeking the same destination but there are many paths - there is no one path right for everyone.

Whew...after that soliloquy time to hoof it over to the gym...I'm sure it will be crowded today as it's Super Bowl later on (our local boy, Tom Brady, is one of the *stars* so I hope that your Philadephians don't mind that I'll be rooting for the Patriots. Besides, I'm a sucker for chin dimples... )

Most of the time when I overeat/binge, it's because I just really like food. I do have one "trigger" that I've recognized, though: free food. Whenever there is food available just for the taking, it's very hard for me to resist. I think it may stem from growing up in a large, relatively poor family, and knowing that if I didn't eat something now, I might not get to eat it (or anything else) later.

Something that has helped somewhat, sometimes, is mentally dividing the food among everyone there so that I can only take "my share" of the food.

Then, of course, there are times (like last night at the Superbowl party) when there is so much more food than everyone could eat that "my share" would just about feed a football team. I tried to pace myself by taking one thing at a time (after the initial plate of food), but I still ended up eating until I felt ill - then ate another cookie or two.

This is a very interesting discussion.

After years of analyzing and angsting over why I binge, I have come to the conclusion that, for me, it does have emotional roots, but is sometimes brought on by other things. For me it did stem from a childhood trauma, and I think at the time, that is when I started to self-medicate with food. To try to make the pain go away. Of course that led to me being an overweight child, and all the accompanying teasing that goes with it. More self-medication. I didn't know how to deal with it any other way.

These days it can be brought on by other things. About 10 days before my period I get terrible cravings. Stress, fatigue, hurt feelings, these can all set me off. Some days at work I can hardly wait to get home and dive into the cookie cupboard. I sit there and think about it. I know it is self-sabotage. I know it is hindering my weight loss progress. But, some days, I just can't seem to get past it. Cookies are my biggest problem, but anything sweet/fatty will do.

I am gradually learning to manage this problem, but I am a looong way from being cured. I liked what someone said about being your own BFFL, and caring and nurturing yourself as you would for a dear friend.

Jude -- Cookies were my downfall too... I could eat a whole bag while making supper and then eat supper and then some more for desert... My solution was to stop buying them all together. I haven't bought a bag of cookie for at least 5 years... I have teenagers too! When THEY buy cookies I send them immediately down to the basement where THEY hide them from me. If I happen to come on the hiding spot, THEY have to find another one ... After I got over the cookies I got into the granola bars, sheesh does this never end ?! But I do the same with them, DOWN to the dungeon they go... "Out of sight, OUT of mind !" It's worked for me very very well...

Hi,

Sorry to be so ignorant - but what is Suporbowl and why everybody complains about overeating while it is on... Is it like a lot of food in a big bowl and everybody pigs out? Why is it so national - I see a lot of people recently mention it... Sorry, we do not own a TV, and I do not have time to read newspapers... But is this Superbowl an enough reason to binge?
Thanks, I know I am missing something (not pigging out part for sure...)

LOL Sashenka. Don't worry, you're not missing much. It's when people gather around to take in the Superbowl (the big football game playoff - you know...the sport where a bunch of guys in tight pants pat each other on the fanny? Otherwise, nothing much worth watching). Can't you tell I'm not into sports? LOL Anyway, people will get together, throw a big party, lotsa food and beer, and gather around a (preferably big screen) television and watch the game. Hooping and hollering at the halftime antics when Janet Jackson might reveal all to the world in a another wardrobe malfunctioning moment.

BTW, if anyone really wants to know why Janet's wardrobe malfunctioned, check out this banned Bud Light commercial: http://media2.big-boys.com/bannedsuperbowl.wmv

I count my blessings when I binge these days. My foods of choice used to be caramel Twix, M&Ms with peanuts, Ruffles and French Onion dip, cheese puffs, boston creme donuts, Burger King croisants for breakfast every morning with extra bacon and cheese...if it had sugar or fat or carbs, it was my daily staple. Binging on apples and grapes and cantaloupe doesn't make me feel so bad. Though I did break ranks and had a half of a raspberry filled Krispy Kreme after dinner tonight.

Hello Everyone! I am doing my 24 hour shift again, and just found out that it will be extended 14 more hours because the person that comes to relieve me has the flu! (I sleep about 16 of those hours). thanks to the support of this thread-I did not overeat or binge last saturday, and I am going to repeat this pattern of success today. We are going out to lunch at the mall, and this could definitely be a binge trigger for me. I am going to have as healthy of a meal as possible and let it go.
I am feeling angry that I agreed to stay for more hours, and this is a emotion that is a particular binge trigger for me. The truth is that I do not need to eat over any circumstance in life, I have choice, and I choose to respect my personal boundaries.

courageousincolorado -- Good for you, take those emotions by the horns and run with it... Keep it up!~

Thanks Meg for addressing this issue and to all the contributors who were so honest in their opions. Funny that you should start this discussion because I just talked to my sister about this very thing the other day. (after a binge episode) . I have always been too embarassed to talk about it in public.

Definition of binging for me... is when I keep shovelling various and numerous foods-usually fat and sugar laden, into my mouth as quickly as I possibly can (always in private), to the point where I feel sick and sometimes am. Afterwards I feel guilty and sad because I feel like I have let myself down. Talk about self-defeating behaviour

After reading other's posts I have learned,
First... I am not alone nor am I so different that others
Secondly... I need tito examine the whats and why's of binge triggers
Thirdly...Journalling would help me to see if their is a pattern to these binges.

Thank you all for your honesty and sharing, it has made my day and I will bring it up at my next weight watchers meeting and see what kind of response I will get. Maybe there are others that felt as I did, too ashamed to bring it up and ask for advice or help.

Today turned into my binge day cause I gained 2 lbs. at my weighin......I've
shoveled so much "crap" into me that I am literally sick to my stomach......It seems
that when I get unhappy with my weigh in I go crazy.....The past couple days
I've seemed depressed and I guess you could say the bingeing started yesterday
when the bowl of M&M's at work......first i thought I would just have 2 or 3
pieces....next thing you know I was shoveling fist fulls in......Realistically I'm telling myself that today is over an that tomorrow I'm going right back on track but now I
have to get probably 2 + pounds off.............It's not easy and don't think it will
ever get easy......

Cookie -- Don't despair, it gets easier with time... Practice makes perfect , so get back on that wagon and get on with your good habits... Next time, WALK AWAY no RUN AWAY from the bowl of M&M's ... One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, we've all been there, it takes TIME....

Honeyjoe -- Welcome to Maintainers, I read your bio, stick with us you'll see we're all in the same boat...

Hi there, hope everyone is well. Thanks Ilene for the warm welcome. I decided to bring up the issue of binge eating at my WW meeting last Tuesday. You could of heard a pin drop everyone was so quiet. I revealed that I am an occassional binge eater. Although I do not make myself throw up, I consider myself to be a binge eater because of the quanity of food I consume in one sitting. That I sometimes eat until I feel very sick.

Also, I shared some of the various tips and stradiges offered here. The most important factor for me was finding out that I was not alone. No one said anything at the meeting but afterwards one of the maintance members
thanked me for my honesty and courage for bringing up this very senstive issue and confessed she also is a binge eater.
I suggested that she check out this site and perhaps she might like to join in. Thanks again.

Honeyjoe, that's awesome that you brought up the topic of binging in your WW class! Maybe it's the dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about because they think they're the only ones? You are 100% right when you say: The most important factor for me was finding out that I was not alone. Once things are out in the open and we realize that we're NOT alone, it's so much easier to deal with these issues. This group is an invaluable resource for brainstorming ideas and solutions and I hope your fellow member checks us out.

Oh my GOSH, I can't agree more. I truly thought I was alone in this struggle. Now, instead of feeling strange and ashamed, I focus more on coping skills and forgiveness.

I am currently ending the first of two thirteen hour shifts this weekend. I just overate, and it was a binge by most people's standards. However, I wrote down every single bite I ate. I am doing WW, and I ate about 22 pts, which means that I have to be really careful the rest of the week.

The reason I am sharing this is that I do not want to come to work tommorrow with a defeated,negative mindset and do the same thing. My mind is telling me that it is hopeless, why even try to start over.

My most powerful tool is to simplyaccept that I had a lapse in my healthy behavior, and not let it affect my behavior and self-esteem tommorrow. With experience, I have learned to quickly forgive myself for my food related mistakes, treat myself with kindness, and get back on my clean eating plan.

I am starting a relationship with a guy, and do not know how to deal with my emotions around it. I also just found out I was rejected to one of the three doctorate programs I applied to. So, I turned to food to comfort me. In the past, I would use this temporary setback as an excuse to binge for a month!
I can choose to focus on the fact I was asked for interviews at two out of three programs I applied to (it is not uncommon for people to apply to tons of doctorate programs and be rejected from them all!), and that my eating, exercise, and lifestyle is at a more balanced place than it has ever been in my whole life.
Focusing on all the things that are working in my life keeps my mind off of food!