You go out and buy groceries, then end up eating about half of them once you get home -- as though something subconsciously were telling you that the food will go bad or not be there if you don't? For me it's almost instinctive, like that primitive part of my brain that still believes we are cavemen and may go without food for weeks on end...

If any of you have this issue, how have you dealt with it? Locking food up? Never buying groceries and only eating out? It's so hard for me.

You know - I didn't realize I had this problem until you mentioned it in the other thread. I'm assuming you suffer for it worse than I do, because it seems to really bother you. But you TOTALLY turned a light bulb on in my head. I didn't even REALIZE it's what I do. But it completely is.

I'm living in the dorms at college - so any groceries I do buy, I divide up as soon as I get home. I make 'snack packs' to get me through eight am classes that last til two pm. More than wanting to eat the groceries, I have a thing about organizing and LOVING to put stuff in bags. I have no idea why.... I sound very OCD right now.. But like, as soon as I get a new lip gloss, I love to get rid of the packaging and put it in my purse. So I guess bagging up my food distracts me from wanting to eat -all- of it.

I totally have that problem... My boyfriend and I will spend $100-150 on groceries, and 2 days later we're like "Why are we out of food?" And we realized that we snacked on it ALL day and night...

So weird...

It's probably a primitive thing... I know that I'm CRAZY about fruit when it gets into the house, and I will eat ALL of it. (then feel fruit-sick..)

YES! I'm a fiend for fruit and also binge on it and get sick...interesting, I've never known anyone else that did that.

Yeah, it does bother me a lot because I know that it's very disordered. I've been known to get home and eat a TV dinner, then all the fruit I bought, plus several meal bars (meant as quick breakfasts), and a bowl of cereal all in the course of about 3 hours.

I will keep eating it even when I feel bloated from it. God, that's so shameful to admit. It's no wonder I've gained 5 lbs since my May honeymoon. That said, I'm down 1 lb today and for the past three days have eaten only 1,200 - 1,400 calories a day. But it's so difficult, I'm determined now though. I just refuse to gain any more, but I dread my next trip to the grocery store.

It's odd, when I was much younger I never ate this way. I was 105 lbs and would work out about 2 hours a day, and I rarely felt hungry. I have this awful suspicion that hormonal birth control plays some part, too (not all, mind you), but when I started I gained 15 lbs. in two months without a dramatic change in eating habits, and within a year I realized that I'd developed a voracious appetite I'd never had before. From that point on, my weight has just crept up. I'm getting off hormones soon though, we'll see what happens then.

I also can binge on fruit (usually oranges and tangerines). I don't eat up all of my food after I grocery shop (unless I'm purposefully buying binge food), because it's all very healthy food I have no urge to binge on, like soups, oatmeal, deli meat, and veggies. But what I do -- because I always want to eat SOMETHING I get from the grocery store is buy something I PLAN on eating right away when I get home. I usually go right before dinner and then come home and make it and eat it. And I usually want to snack on something on the way home from the grocery store too (before the big lifestyle change it would be 3 candy bars), so I usually get a protein bar if I want to, although I rarely do that anymore either.

Maybe you should consider buying lots of "anti-binge" food as I call it. I like the food I have in my apt, but I don't get cravings to binge on it like I do with fattening, sugary foods.

It's funny that you've posted this tonight, because I bought some turkey meatballs, pasta and my favorite sauce because I'm cooking dinner for a date tomorrow -- and I'm tempted to go and cook and eat it now. I normally don't keep pasta in my cupboard, because I will eat it all up if it's there.

BTW to 3FC!

Rachellia, I can absolutely down to the DETAILS relate to your eating pattern when you get home. The quick meals, breakfast bars, cereal, 9 million calories in one sitting, whether you're hungry or not. I think I might actually be lucky in this instance that I'm allergic to fruit, since binging on it makes you feel sick.

Whenever I want to binge or eat, I try to have either low-sugar chocolate non-fat milk with ice, or ice water. The milk I usually drink. The water I usually just eat the ice out of, and pour the water out - but the cold for some reason really makes me almost regret the desire to have something in my mouth just for comfort.

But.. as far as after-shopping binges go - I have no idea... I just know that I get so irritated with all of the 'good stuff' being gone by that night. Blaaaaaahhh..

I hope other people have magic input for this thread.

Well, while I don't buy things like chips, ice cream, or soda (I've always loathed soda, I'm a water-only person), and I've learned to control myself with carbs a little better by not buying bread AT ALL (I could eat a loaf of white in a day), I still find myself binging on everything from healthy foods like fresh fruit, bland protein meal bars, unsalted nuts, meat substitutes (I'm a vegetarian) and whole grain cereal, to things like those 100 calorie Oreo packs (I'll eat the whole boxfull). Yet when I deny myself ANYTHING chocolatey or sweet, I'll get almost unbearable cravings for it to the point where I literally salivate uncontrollably when I think of it.

Thanks for the welcome though!

Yeah, I'm not sure why that is -- perhaps all the fiber? But my binge fruits tend to be things like berries, peaches, pomegranates, and kiwis...not super-high fiber fruit like apples. I don't know, but man, that wrecks your intestines.

I've also found that I binge on cashews and pistachios, too -- and I mean the unsalted kind. So even with healthy food, I binge -- which is bothersome.

Do you have any foods that you just won't binge on? Maybe something you like okay, but can't eat a lot of it in one sitting? Something too rich, bland, just okay tasting? I can keep bananas around, and it seems I just can't bring myself to eat more than two, even when I'm in a bingey mood. There's just some foods I have no desire to binge on. I guess sometimes they are too rich or too bland for my palate. And those are what I keep around. I know peanut butter is a huge binge food for some people, but I can keep a jar around because I can't eat more than a couple of bites. Eggs are another one for me. Veggies are too. I LOVE peas, but I can only eat a can at a time. And sometimes I have a hard time finishing the can.

I've been on my weight loss journey for three years now, and it's only been recently that my chocolate/sweet cravings have gone away. I know longer have that "need" to have something sweet after I eat a meal. Even when I'm bingeing, I don't care to eat something sweet afterward. I used to eat chocolate every day (and lots of it at that) and then I still would crave it after I started dieting. I can be around it now and not want any at all. But it took three years of reprogramming and not giving into the cravings.

Aghh! I just deleted everything I said just before hitting reply. Anyway, my issue is that while there are some select foods I don't binge on (and eggs and veggies are among them). many foods I need to be healthy I do, basically any source of protein or fruit -- thought I find that's a little better now by buying frozen fruit and making my own low-cal. smoothies.

Still, it's really depressing to hear about how long it took you to overcome chocolate cravings. Up until the past few days I was eating several servings of chocolate a day. I'm already craving it like mad and I dread my next trip to the gas station where the Reese's cups will be calling my name...

How about switching to protein and fruits that you like just okay? I know that isn't any fun, but it's what I've pretty much done. My favorite fruits are strawberries and citrus, but I keep neither around for the fear of eating them all up in one day. Other fruits, like frozen tropical fruits and pineapple, I like, but really have no desire to eat a lot of them. I don't know about protein, I have yogurt, which I again like okay, but have never binged on. I have turkey too, and I've never been a huge meat fan, unless it's hamburgers or hot dogs, steaks -- well, I guess I like high calorie, fattening meats a lot, but lean meats I can take or leave. Maybe you can try a new meat substitute? Maybe try beans? What about soups? I have heaps of cans of soups in my cupboard. And there's lots of great tasting vegetarian ones.


Don't be depressed about how long it took *me* to overcome my cravings. It could take you a few months. We are all different. And they lessened each month, and to a point where they were very controllable early on after I started my diet. It just took three years for them to become non-existent. I think after the first few weeks, I was no longer craving chocolate on an every day basis (along with fast food) and then I would still have cravings at times, but they were much more manageable after those first few weeks. I gave in sometimes, and other times, I didn't. I'm not saying it took 3 years for the cravings to lessen, once you get it out of your system, and your body/mind becomes used to not having it every day, it becomes much easier.

It's so weird, and I think it has something to do with being the child of a depression-era mom and having this "fear of lack" thing going on, every day.

I come home from the market and it's like I've gone to Disneyland! Look at all of the coooooooooool toys! Look at all of the great rides! Ooooooooh, I can have it allllllllll! Yay, me! That sort of thing.

Even as I'm indulging, I'll say, "Girl! Stop! You know this food will be here when you come back into the room tomorrow. It's NOT going to go away!"

I've even tried the "shop every day" trick, so that I never bring home loads of cool treats (and "treats" can be defined as a dozen eggs, in this mindset, understand) and don't have that "hurry up, eat it, enjoy it, bask in it," dialogue.

It's a big part of why I chose a home-delivery service for my current diet plan. It's not a "be all, end all" solution, but it helps keep me from the "just got home, look at all the cool stuff I've got, let's sample some of each of it right now" routine somewhat.

*sigh*

I remain a work in progress!