I've been kind of stressed out the last couple of days, and I'm really using food to stuff down feelings. So far it's low-cal stuff, like baby carrots, pickles, sugar-free, 8-calorie candies, and 10-calorie Jell-O. Now I have that panicky "never enough" feeling about eating. I feel like a junkie. I guess this is what they call a "dry drunk" in AA, since I'm not actually over-eating calorie-wise, but I am acting out. It makes me think of something someone said in a memoir: A junkie knows if there's coke in the house, and they know exactly how much, and they can't rest until it's all gone.

Wow, I like that memoir quote. It certainly describes me and a certain box of something in my cupboard last night.

I hope you are feeling better soon... can you find any other ways to deal with your stress, like going for a walk, calling a friend, reading a book? It may be helpful. =)

I'd say as long as you are on calorie then you aren't really binging, just eating what you need to eat

Sometimes I feel like I'm eating a lot since I don't eat pre-packaged food like I used to- but then I know that I'm just eating the right amount since I track my calories diligently daily and never go over

Wow, this could be me! Only I've been overeating BAD stuff!

Thanks, all, for your kind words. Tonight I watched a movie, which took my mind off eating for a while.

I have found recently that when Im stressed, if Im home alone and bored, I eat a lot too....junk stuff. So, I started using the computer more, like writing on here and writing my blog and it really helps me take my mind of eating. Also, exercise is a great motivator too to avoid overeating. I have found that if I go out for a walk or to the gym for an hour I feel energy more to do stuff around the house like laundry and dishes, and then I dont eat.

Hope that helps a little.... Its still going to be a struggle though. You can do it!

I respectfully disagree. Losing weight by eating empty calories will just lead to regain later. It's unhealthy. It also causes cravings.

Trying looking at something like Volumetrics. Or a higher protein diet to make you feel more satisfied and full. Also try filling that void with something positive. Call a friend to catch up or send a handwritten note. Or a hobby or cleaning out a closet or junk drawer.

That's some good advice. Today I found myself trying to figure out how many 10-calorie Jell-O's I could eat, if that's all I ate all day, so I could binge, but not go over 800 calories. (The answer is 80 :-/) I think in AA they call that stinkin' thinkin'.

Um......800 calories total for the day? If so, that will trigger binging in and of itself being so low.

Why are you only eating 800 calories? No wonder you are "binging." You should be eating more like 1200 a day...

sweetie..you will be hungreeeee on only 800 cs a day. The only way I recommend this is if you follow it up with a high cal day the next day. There is nothing wrong with a VLCD. for a very short period of time. even for damage control. But don't do it everyday...

I did my first "low calorie binging" the other night when I was stressed. I did not know how to feel about it either. In a way I was proud because I did not eat all the terrible things that I would typically eat, but I also know that it is something I need to get a handle on. For now though I am just taking it as a step in the right direction.....

This is a very interesting question, and not so long ago I would have thought it ok to "binge" if you stayed under calories. But as I continue this journey, I have come to believe that actions and habits are the keys to not just weight loss but weight maintenance.

So ... in that light ... the "binge" mentality is something that I suspect you should nip in the bud.

This link is to a recent post by Lori Bell, a 3FC chick who has lost a huge amount of weight and is keeping it off. Even though she was responding to someone who had a high-calorie binge, I think the thought process is the same and it might apply here. Hope this helps, writing these things out helps me too.

Wow, that is a GREAT quote. describes perfectly how I feel about what's in my kitchen.

The thing about bingeing is, the food just TASTES so freakin' good, doesn't it?

I remember reading a quote from Liz Taylor and her overeating, she was saying how her "tastebuds get in an uproar"--I thought that was great.