So, I came to the realization that I binge...i eat a lot more than I should and it is mostly crap..I eat even if I'm not hungry...I eat when I'm stressed. Tonight I ate junk and I feel like going to the supermarket to buy healthy foods...the problem is that whenever I buy something I like (laughing cow wedges, olives, salmon or whatever) I can't stop at eating one or two or whatever the serving size is..can't stop at two servings, 3 etc....if i but humus, I eat the whole thing at once.

How do I stop?? How do I gain control??!

Hi Lucia,

A lot of us suffer that nightmare. I can be really good all day, all week. Then, it's as if a switch in my head is turned on. If I say to myself that I'm only going to have a little tiny bit, before you know it, I've eaten a huge amount. I find that I either have to get the scales and the cal. counter out and tell myself I can have this much and NO MORE or I just have to do without. I can do without just fine, it's the little bit that turns into a bigger bit. For me, I have to learn to live without it, no cheating no sneaks. Really, for me (as I do have a fair bit of weight to lose) I have to do it boots and all - no half attempts. Early forties and fat is not a good place to be. I want to reclaim my life and if that means choc and cake and junk food free so be it. It's a small price to pay. I actually feel better without it.

Made a Lemon and Date slice for my kids morning tea for school. It was an adlib affair. Looked great, smelled good too. Could only ask if it was all right. They and hubby both liked it but I can't allow myself to have some or I'll want more. Bit like addicitons, I'm afraid. Just have to look at what your eating.

Perhaps planning everything you will be eating in a day and writing it down (how much/how many etc) then tick it off as you eat it, I dunno I just think that may help you stick to it

Its a shame that food, as well as being something we can become addicted too is at the same time something we actually need to survive!

I ,too have this problem. I think it is all a mind thing. We have to just say we are,not going to binge,and stick to it.Really make up our mind,and try to stay motivated.Motivation is the key. I didn't learn that yet. I stay motivated,but not long enough.

Lucia,
I think we're all in the same boat. I find the best thing to do is to avoid my trigger foods at all costs. I need to stay away from sugar and for the most part, I do really well. And occassionally, I'll eat a few lollies which turns into many many more.

If food happens to be your trigger- just whatever is lying around- then do something that makes you not think about food: I read or write because it takes a lot of concentration- I read all 4 Twilight books in 5 days because I was home all day and didn't want to gorge. Someone said journalling helps and it'll help you identify your triggers.

In order to gain more control, every time you pick something up at the market, ask yourself this question: If I eat it, will I binge on it? If the answer is yes, then put it back- and don't lie to yourself and say "no"- you'll only be disappointed when you do binge! Willpower is a huge factor in weight loss! And like any other thing you do to lose weight, you have to nurture the discipline to do it.

:hugs: You can do this. Easy peasy.

Is it certain foods that are a trigger or all foods?

Is it a certain time of the day that its limited to?

Usually most people have a window during which the "Danger Zone" hits. For me, nightime after work mindless snacking is the problem so I know that I have to:

a) have eaten enough during the day so I dont get home and am starving
b) am extra vigilant at night time

Sometimes just walking into a different room in the house is enough to shut it off. Or popping in some Crest whitening strips after dinner.

The other trick I have used in the past when there was just ONE thing I would overeat (peanut butter say) is that I would just plan to have some at the same time every day . . . that way I got through the night cos I knew breakfast would include peanut butter on toast.

And when all that fails, put on your TIGHTEST pair of jeans (I call mine my hysterectomy jeans bcos they are so bloody tight that it feels like my uterus is going to fly out at any minute when I put them on). I guarantee I am not looking for ANY extra food while parading around the house in them!!!!

In all seriousness though, there are times when none of that works and its VERY hard to go through that . . . in those moments I just do what I can to be as conscious as possible of what I am doing.

All I know is that the longer you resist the easier it does get.

I agree, if you plan out your day you will be a much healthier eater. Make mini packs of nuts or bring an apple in your bag.

yeah, I understand what you mean about overdoing the portions... so what I do is think about how much money I'm spending on that food. it adds up, doesn't it? adds up about 3x more when you're binging, rather than eating, your food.

I also think about how I'll feel after I eat all those portions. am I going to be happier? no, because then I'll start feeling guilty about what I just did, and that'll trigger more binging, etc. I'm not a fan of the domino-effect, so I put down the extra stuff I was going to eat and say "no, this means I'll have some left over for when I want some at a later date."

I don't know what goes through your head, but you should start paying attention. you'll learn a lot about what you do, what you eat, and why you do it. it's helped me a lot, and I've been free of binging for about two weeks or a little more.

It helps me to portion out my food before I eat it. My biggest problem is coming home starving, grabbing a container of nuts and throwing them in my mouth. A serving of nuts is like 30 and I will pop 5 in my mouth at a time.

BUT... if I count out 20 or 30 ahead of time and put the container away before I start eating them, often I can hold out with a single serving and feel okay. Or I will reach for something healthy-ish that I don't like to overeat, like a banana. I'd rather eat 70-90 calories extra of banana then let myself stop eating nuts on my own (200-300 calories later).

My mom's weekend activites (even still) are going to the grocery store and then portioning out what she bought into baggies or containers... almost everything--fruit, nuts, snacks, etc. She'll cook a bunch of meals like pasta and freeze it in small containers. My mother's kitchen is one big portion-size storage space. I used to think it was a little too OCD but now I'm really trying to get into this habit. It's a little strange to buy a box of crackers and reportion them all into single serving baggies but... I guess for overeaters like me, it's a single serving baggie or it's the whole box!

These are all wonderful suggestions!! Love it! Danni, simply love you writting about your hysterectomy jeans! I too own a pair of those! Aggiemay, also I never thought about the money I have wasted on junk. All these suggestions are wonderful!
I am sorry to say I do not remember who gave this suggestion to me, it was some smart person on these forums but theyb suggested I keep my hands occupied. They suggested I paint my nails. I do the whole thing, cuticle treatment, base coat, two coats of polish, and top coat. This takes some time and really helps.
Sometimes I go sit on my balcony there is no food out there and I dont go in until I feel more in control.

Danni is right. It does get easier.

I have times now where I just want to gorge still. Here is stuff I have done/am doing.

If I find a binge on certain stuff that is high calorie or even moderate, I get it out of the house. I don't bring it back in. It's gone.

I try to find foods that are extremely low calorie but satisfying to me. Two that come to mind for me is smashed cauliflower loaded with spray butter and Shiratake noodles (40 calories for the entire bag). If I binge I can use these without doing damage. The noodles I will drown in broth/fat-free cream cheese warmed together.

Anyway, hope it helps. Another thing too that works is going for some exercise. It helps me sometimes.

Scarlet I have thought of writing a book called the "Hysterectomy Jeans Diet", it would consist of one paragrah:

"Put on tightest jeans. Watch out for uterus flying out. Go and see what food is enticing to you now . . . "

ha! None!

Its so weird how most of this stuff does get easier with time and practice . . . its as though the more you do it the more you flex those resistance muscles and the less of an allure that naughty snacks hold. But as Thighs Be Gone said, some times I (still) just want huge portions of food. Sometimes I give in. I try not to judge myself when that happens and just journal afterwards and hope that something is triggered so that I can use it the next time.

One thing that I have realised is that I dont always have to understand WHY if I can stop the behaviour - as the momentum of that small win of NOT over-eating is often enough to fuel me. And lets face it . . . I spent a loooot of years thinking but its only the doing that has truly helped.

I find for me that once I have the urge to eat something it totally consumes my brain. I cannot stop thinking about it until I eat it. It can be so frustrating.

Lately, I've just been trying to eliminate everything and eat a small amount of dark chocolate and some good peanut butter or some chocolate pudding or some hot chocolate and that seems to satisfy me. Before, I would not eat it and then after several days of avoiding things binge terribly now I've just decided to find something healthy and go with it!

Lots of great advice on here...thanks!

Faith

It's so funny, how this topic comes up so much. Do you know that humans are predisposed to bingeing? Think of this, are ancestors were out in the wild...sometimes they would not eat for 2 days, when they had a kill..they binged. When they found a berry bush they binged. They ate until their guts were full and then they went off...not knowing where or when their next meal would be.

I believe bingeing in our day and age is stress related, it is a control issue, and it is driven by hormones. I also think that bingeing is from an overabundance of non quality empty food. Fat is more satisfying--but we are told don't eat fat--it's bad for you. What's really bad is not having enough fatty acids in your diet. When the ingredients on your food have more altered food substances than natural food you have a problem.

I don't believe in diet food--even hate it. How is a low fat, low carb yogurt better than an apple? That's not to say a yogurt sweetened only with natural fruit wouldn't be good.

i think , dare I say, the low fat, low carb, diet industry is to blame for the increase in obesity in this nation.