I'm having a binge emergency. This is my spot when I feel this way. I'm so glad I can have it. I'm still within my calorie range. I just have a horrible, horrible craving. I want to eat and I feel like I have this terrible itch that I can't scratch. I hope I don't sound like a broken record. My husband is having a similar craving. I'm having that dreaded combination of sleep deprivation and PMS. I wish I didn't have to endure PMS!!! I guess my husband is having sympathy PMS, like how men get sympathy pregnancy weight gain? Anyway, I'm just writing here because of desperation.

I've had gum, I'm too tired to do push ups and crunches. We're watching t.v. and I hate sitting like this in front of the t.v. I think that is kind of a trigger.

You know what? That just gave me an idea! I'm going to get my crochet stuff out! I know it's so silly, but I used to do it a long time ago and I couldn't eat while doing it!

Wish me luck!!! Thanks for listening.

Good luck luckymommy! You can do it -- you're strong! Great idea on the crochet stuff... keeping your hands busy will help a lot

Thanks Skyra! I survived the night!!! I did some crochet and then, I went up to bed. I couldn't fall asleep until past midnight and my son woke me up at 4 a.m., so I might have to post here again tonight! Thanks so much. I would have binged for sure if I hadn't stopped by here.

Hi everyone!

:::waves hello:::

I think I'm a binge eater in "recovery". I used to do a lot of bingeing... I mean... a whole LOT. I would cruise fast food places like crazy, getting different favorite items at each place and think nothing of it. If there was any kind of sweet in the house, I would pick and pick at it until the whole thing was gone. =( But I feel like I've gotten better this year. I think being on Prozac has helped a lot. I can have a bag of cookies sitting there and not eat them now - before it was a compulsion (I HAD to). I can have ice cream sitting in the freezer and not think about it. But even though the binging stopped (for the most part) I still was eating an unhealthy diet - which has very recently changed.

But you know what... I am having cravings. Like... powerful cravings for something specific. I tend to get really grouchy when I don't give in. I've changed my eating habits in the last eleven days... that's when I joined up on this website and started my blog. I have a lot of weight to lose - much of it from times when I did binge. I hope that changing my eating habits doesn't cause me to relapse into binging behavior... I am feeling really antsy today. I want junk food pretty badly. My fridge is stocked with healthy stuff but there is some bad food in the pantry. Ugh. I DONT WANT TO GIVE IN.

I learned that I have hypothyroidism and I'm insulin resistant from PCOS. These are also going to be part of the battle ahead, I'm afraid. So I really, really need to not go back to bingeing.

Hugs all of you who have struggled like I have and are still struggling! I know this recovery process is probably going to be ongoing for the rest of my life... but with a good support system, hopefully I won't go back to the bingeing... especially when I'm feeling the way I am today!

Hi Bridezilla! Welcome!!! You've come to the right place! As you can see, I post here whenever I have those intense cravings.

I was just wondering...would it be possible for you to take out the unhealthy stuff from the pantry and to replace it with healthy options?

I highly recommend having a plan not only for what to do on a regular basis, but also what to do when you have the cravings...intense urges to binge. You can even write out a list and look at it because I find it's hard to think straight when we're in binge mode.

You can definitely do this!!! It's so worth it!!!

Yeah... I'm glad I found this thread. I'm definitely in need of some love and support! Well... today didn't go too badly. I didn't binge. I did have two items today that I shouldn't have - an individual bag of fritos corn chips, and a small piece of brownie... ugh. But other than those two mis steps... did pretty well. I had lots of veggies and a few servings of fruit. Did a salad for lunch and a small hamburger patty with catsup, mixed vegetables, and a tiny bit of mac n cheese for dinner. My calories are going well. I'm recording everything in my fitday page and feeling pretty good about it. Over the last week I've consistently burned 1,000 calories more than I've eaten... some days over 2,000. Yay! And I'm not starved. Although I will say that I was feeling pretty awful earlier today. I slept a lot.

I cleaned out and reorganized the refrigerator today! Yay! I like it. I can see everything clearly and threw out a few no no items. Upon closer inspection the pantry doesn't have anything really noteworthy of stuff I would want to binge on... there are these cookies I hate that my bf loves... a big bowl of candy that my bf likes and I don't (at all). I think the worst thing in there is the large variety of cereals. Some are healthy ones that I bought for myself and some are the sugary variety that my bf eats but I can't really imagine bingeing on cereal! Definitely not my thing. So I think I'm safe-ish. I think the worst thing is when my bf's dad comes home with bad things like cookies/cupcakes/etc... OMG... as I was writing this he came home and handed me a sugar cookie. Ahhhhhhhhh. Its now on my desk and staring at me. Grrrrrr. =(

Binge emergency right now guys... I'm glad I've been here long enough that when I feel an urge to binge, coming here is the first thing I remember to do

Today I was Xmas shopping and feeling really excited about giving people gifts. I don't make a lot of money so it felt really good to be able to buy people things. My dad loves these sampler boxes of chocolate, so I bought him one of those, feeling excited about getting him something he really likes. I didn't even think about the fact that buying them would mean having a box of chocolate sitting in my house for two days.

Now I'm sitting here. All my roommates are in bed, so I'm alone, and the chocolates are sitting in a bag in my room. I keep thinking things like, "If I eat them, I can go buy another one before Christmas. Nobody will even know." Or "I love those chocolates too, it's so unfair that he can have them and I can't." (Even though I know I am CHOOSING not to have the sweets and I'm not a victim or anything, those self-pitying voices are there right now and I have to acknowledge them in order to beat them!)

But I KNOW there are 1200 calories in the box. I KNOW that if I open them up, I WILL eat the whole box. I KNOW that I will feel bloated and upset and it will mean that I've binged 3 days in a row. And yet...

I keep telling myself that I am strong. I am strong... but I'm struggling.

I'd like to start joining in this thread too
I have been having a few binges lately, but they have been of about maybe 800 cals and I've made a point to exercise off the equivalent calories and move on.
The past 2 days have been awful though, and I have no drive to exercise at all, which is senseless as i love running
So hopefully by writing out it'll give me a bit of clarity and the drive to go and exercise, cause goodness knows I need to!

It all started out with 1 large portion of chips for lunch on Saturday, then later I had an attack of the 'You've screwed up already so don't worry...' That evening I ate Turkish delight (Yuck, don't even like the stuff!) Some chocolate biscuits, 4 slices of pizza, 1 slice of cheesecake, half a bag of big doritos, 6 WW cakes and some bread and cheeses.
Then last night I had... 200g white choc, chips, rice, vegetable curry, bombay potato, 4 rolls with cheese and pickle, 200g of honey almonds. This was in within about a 2 hour time frame. In fact I'm probably forgetting a few bits and pieces, but does it really make a difference given the amount of calories it all amounts to anyway! It is still completely shocking/mortifying.

We always have way too much food around at Christmas time
And stupid, half the food there I don't even really like! I don't even get any good feeling from binges anymore, I used to get a very short lived kinda high, but now I just feel horrifically fat and gross

Sorry for the big wall of text, just really needed to vent it all I think. I like to think I can always do everything by myself, but I'm beginning to learn sometimes I need a bit of help too. Thank you for giving me a place to turn to
Good luck to everyone.

Hi Skyra!

How did you do??? I hope you were able to resist the urges. That is SO hard. I know how you feel because I did the SAME thing about 15 years ago! I bought some amazing stuff for a woman at my husband's school who had helped him a lot. It was one of those things where a gift would not have been expected, so I was so tempted to eat the stuff that I ended up eating it! I felt terrible afterwards. As you can see, I've been dealing with this stuff for a long, long time! Anyway, I really hope you were able to resist. It's not easy, but it can be done.

Hi Serendipity! I really hope that posting here will help in itself. Do you have some strategies in place in case you have the urge to binge? For me, counting calories and keeping an online food journal have been a huge help because they don't limit what I eat...but just how much, so I feel more in control of the food than the other way around. There are those times when I feel the urge and it is so overwhelming, that I feel like I will chew off my own foot if I was chained down just so I could reach the food. But, I do have some things in place that have helped a ton. Coming here and posting. CHewing gum. Taking a walk. Doing push ups/crunches. Watching youtube videos that have to do with weight loss or just music that I love and helps me ease the stress a bit. Crochet helps. Painting my nails. Going to my closet and trying on clothes that I hope to fit into soon. Visualizing how I will feel weighing in the next morning if I binged vs. how I would feel if I didn't.

If you do binge, then just move on. It's done and feeling bad/guilty about it is really counterproductive. Drink lots of water, work out and be more active than usual.

Anyway, I hope you're feeling good today.

Thanks luckymommy -- I did resist. Granted, the chocolates are still here and will be until I get home, but the urges aren't as strong now. Resisting once helps me realize I can resist it again.

Well folks, here I am again. I wanna binge. I REALLY want to binge bad. The problem was that I ran out of my calories rather early on and usually, I plan ahead and have plenty of calories in the evening, since that is the time of day I eat the most. Well, today I didn't do what I usually do and I REALLY want to have something. I don't want to even have something all that sinful....it's something I have anyway, but I know if I have it, I'll end up having something else and something else and something else. The weird thing is that I worked out a TON today so I think that there's something about burning all those calories that stimulated my appetite. I don't believe in eating my workouts....so I'm trying not to. Do you know how sick I am? I was thinking of dropping what I"m doing and not posting this at all and just eating. I am going to go and do something else. Not sure what yet. I'm also going to ask my husband to watch me like a hawk to make sure I don't do anything. Ok, I'm going to have some gum! Thanks for listening.

Good luck Luckymommy! When I have an incredible urge to binge I force myself to stay away from the kitchen and take out my watercolours ^_^ Ususally it distracts me long enough for the craving to go~

Um... In the frige there is a block of stilton.
Now I know it's not chocolate, or anything that people might be more inclined to binge on...but it's really...really good stilton. And i want to open it SO BADLY, just to have a tiny slice.
The only thing is, I'll have one slice, and then another, and then another. And I swear that it will ALL be gone in a flash.
So i'm going to stay on my laptop, and distract myself until the craving goes away D:

I hope you made it ok today VeedeValentine. I made it last night, but today, I got on the scale and I'm stuck again. Another plateau. I really don't like those! Well, today I've already had a lot of calories and it's only 3:30 p.m. It's not too many yet, but I am going to really struggle tonight. I might have to post again! I think I"m the most frequent poster here!

Hello all! I am new to this but I wanted to share some things to help you. I am sorry this is so long, but I feel that it is important to share what I know with you.

My name is Susanne, and I have had to start modifying the foods I eat to lose weight that I gained from being on steroids and also from having a broken leg with a non-weight bearing cast for over 12 weeks. My starting weight was 186.6 lbs, I am currently around 166 and my goal is 130-135. I am not going to worry about the number on the scale, but how I look and feel. Weighing for me is only so I can see my progress. I have only had to lose excess weight when I have been placed on steroids for long term treatments, and after the birth of my children, but these tips contributed to my success.

First off, let me say that you may feel like you should be able to control your eating and that you should have greater self-discipline to stick to your diet. But, it’s not that simple. It’s not your fault! There are many strong physiological and psychological triggers that may be contributing to your binge eating episodes. Discovering what your triggers are is the first step to overcoming them.

You should also understand that there are changes in brain chemistry that increase appetite and food cravings. Serotonin levels decrease and neuropeptide Y levels increase—both of these changes increase your appetite dramatically. This may be why binge eating is so common after periods of restrictive eating.

Also, as women we tend to think, "Oh, I ate a cookie, so I have "blown" my diet! I may as well eat the entire box and start over later.

When you let a diet dictate what and how much you should or should not be eating, you lose touch with your internal cues that normally regulate hunger and satiety. This can lead to overeating in the future because you can’t tell when your body is physically full.

Binge eating when food is finally available is also a contributor. After all, your body doesn’t trust that food will be available again later. So, it desperately tries to hoard as much food NOW as it possibly can. If you think of binging at night, try to keep your house free of those tempting items. Buy something healthier to snack on. I am not suggesting that you buy fruits that you don't want, but if you are craving chocolate, try the Snackwells Devils Food cookies instead. Find suitable substitutes that work for you. You need to allow yourself a little "guilty" pleasure every now and then. You can do this.

Losing weight should not about fast weight loss, but healthy weight loss and maintenance. It is a lifestyle change. Don't think of it as dieting. Find a healthy balance of the right foods and then figure out what you need to maintain your current weight, then reduce your intake to smaller portions. This way you lose the weight and you don't feel deprived. I am following a 1200 cal ADA diet and it is working great. DO NOT measure your weight loss against someone else’s. Everyone loses weight at a different pace. Also, do not look at those anorexic models in the magazines, that are often air-brushed and compare yourself to them. That is NOT a realistic goal as perfection is impossible unless you are God.

Keep a diary of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. Read labels so that you know what you are actually taking in. BE HONEST! If you binge ate, write down what you were doing at the time you started i.e. were you watching TV? if so, you may see a habit of doing this every time you watch TV. Maybe the food ads are tempting you, or people are eating on the show/movie you are watching. Again, once you find your triggers, you can help fight them.

You may need to have someone be your accountability person. Do not pick someone who will sugar coat your failures, but don't pick someone who will brow beat you either. You need someone who is supportive but can be firm with you. Try to call that person prior to eating things you shouldn't have. It is NOT healthy when food becomes our main source of relief when we are feeling stressed, depressed, and overwhelmed; and our eating becomes out of control as we desperately attempt to stuff down all our negative emotions and/or numb all our uncomfortable feelings. Consider all the negative unhealthy effects that may result. If you already have someone who is commenting or ridiculing you on what you are eating, then you may not be able to benefit from an accountability partner. For some of you, your parents may have always commented negatively about your food choices. If so, that could have been the start of the path of eating destruction you have taken.
If so, you may still have those feelings of inadequacy, and you may need some counseling if you can't get past it. This is NOT a sign of weakness. To ask for help is a sign of strength.

One of the most significant negative health effect that results from overeating is extreme guilt, self-loathing, disgust, anxiety, and depression that may come after the overeating episode. Many times these feelings are so extreme that you become paralyzed from doing anything (i.e. you can’t study, work, play). You may also isolate yourself from family, friends, and romantic partners--the very people you need most to feel better.

Make realistic goals for yourself, and then when you achieve each milestone, reward yourself. Yes, the weight loss is a reward in and of itself, but you need motivation too. Lets say that you go for a whole week without binging, then treat yourself to something like a manicure.

If you have others in your area that are also working to lose weight, try to make a lunch or dinner date as a group. Instead of going out to eat, each person can take turns fixing healthy meals. This not only reduces temptations, but is alot cheaper. Talk about your successes and struggles (DO NOT call them failures!) To label any break you have had from your endeavor to lose weight as a failure, is to place a negative emotion on it and therefore possibly sabotaging you into thinking that you cannot do it. I do not know how many of you are religious, but I will tell you that Satan wants you to fail! You are better than that. You are a child of God and He loves you and wants you to succeed!

When weighing yourself, remember... the number may fluctuate depending on several things, like when you weigh (try to weigh the same time each time), if you have recently gone to the bathroom or not, the amount of clothes you are wearing (if you can weigh nude, this is the best), if you recently ate, etc. Try to only weigh yourself once a week, this keeps you from getting discouraged if it looks like you have gained a pound or two.

Love yourself! Remember, you are worth the effort, you have value and you are a wonderfully made, unique and beautiful person. You are loved. I will be praying for each of you and if there is anything I can do, please ask.

To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Love to all,

Susanne