I dont know where to start this is the first time ive ever talked about this but heres some background: until i was 12 i was actually underweight and i hated food. when puberty made me gain weight, i freaked out, then accepted i was fat and began binging. As i got older i.tried to lose weight. i bought those thinsation things and would eat the whole box in one day. a few years after that i get to weigh 140 pounds which is way too much for a woman with a very small frame at 5'1". one day i suddenly changed. i dont remember how i did it but i stopped eating almost completely. i developped unhealthy weihht loss tactics and dropped to 110 pounds. i was finally confident, but lost it a couple months later. My binging returned with a vengeance. i started eating those packages of.instant ramen dry. id eat like 8 packages a day, plus 3 meals a day and still want more. now im worse. i dont go an hour without eating. today ive had hashbrowns, 2 cups of yogurt, a banana, a kiwi, a cup of jello, a glass of chocolate milk, 2 special k meal replacemnt shakes, 2 whole sleeves of ritz crackers, 4 slices of sandwich meat; a slice of cheese, a bag of thinsations chocolate popcorn, a bowl of rice noodles, 3 hard candies, and a can of canned crab meat, and 3 skinny cow chocolate popsicles. probably.more i cant remember. ive gained 17 pounds in 2 and a half months! i need help! how can i stop this???

edit: 76 views? please someone..anyone just give me some advice im never not eating

I'm sorry no one has replied to this post. Maybe because we're all looking for answers. Ask yourself why you eat the food. You can write it here if you want to. It's important to know what the food does for you. It makes you feel something that you want to feel. Or it hides something that you don't want to feel. It's important to know what those things are. Other than that, it sounds like you're overthinking and getting anxious a lot. You are only 20lbs away from your goal weight. Keep that in perspective. I have 117lbs to go and many people have more. I'm not saying that your problems are more or less than someone else's but that you're being too hard on yourself. You have to forgive yourself. You have to show kindness and compassion to yourself. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your friends. You wouldn't say "oh you're such a friggin idiot" to your friend. So don't say it to yourself.

mizzstacy - I am no doctor and always hesitate to tell someone what "must be happening to them" because I believe everyone is unique and don't want to impose a solution that may not be the answer. What stands out to me is that you at one time had normal eating, and then the bingeing started after a period of restriction. This seems to suggest the bingeing is likely due to the restriction itself and you are doing reactive eating because you essentially "starved" yourself for a while and put alot of stress on your body and likely also felt deprived psychologically. I know the first knee jerk reaction when you are eating too much or bingeing is to put on even more restraints and restrictions to control it. This may just add to the preocupation with food. So I would suggest to stop any kind of restriction or diet rules, try to put your weight out of your mind for now, and just focus on getting better. You may find once you do this your bingeing may stop after some time. BUT, if you find you continue to binge even after taking away all restrictions (and you should be patient as it will probably take awhile to subside), there could be something else going on and I would really encourage you to see a professional to help sort it out. These things can be so complicated I think and it is tough to sort it out on your own. I would encourage you to do this sooner than later. I could be wrong but it sounds like this is all fairly new to you and that you are young. For me this all started in my early twenties and now I am in my early thirties. I should have gotten help when it began becaue I think for a lot of people, bingeing can become just a "habbit" which can be tough to break, especially when doing it for many years.

I don't really know what to tell you. Perhaps try joining the daily accountability thread and posting everything you eat. Writing down everything you eat (you don't need to track calories) will at least help you realize when you've had enough for the day. It sounds as if this is becoming a habit for you. Try to break it by eating half of something instead of the whole thing.

I think what everyone has said so far is great! I'm an emotional eater and I'm trying to so hard to reward myself with things other then food.
Also, the reason might be more chemical then emotional. You're eating a lot of foods that are not nutrient dense, so you're body isn't getting the nutrients it needs, and is screaming for more food. Try eating more vegetables, whole grains (like rolled oats, brown rice, brown rice pasta) fruits, and healthy fats (like nuts and avocado, but in moderation) and stay away from white sugar! I know it tastes really good, believe me, but the negative side effects of eating sugar go on for a mile. And the worst part is, white sugar leaches vitamins from your body, making you crave more white sugar, and the vicious cycle begins. And if you want something chocolaty, I suggest dark chocolate, since it's healthier for you then milk. And packaged foods are full of sodium, which make you retain water weight and make you feel bloated. So eat clean! I suggest not to eliminate anything from your diet to begin with, but instead add something healthy, like instead of the ice cream, try adding a home-made smoothie or a healthy yogurt. Anyway, just my suggestion! Also, check out thriveforward.com, there are great tips on there!

Hope this helps

I think eating all the fake diet food isn't helping. Tell yourself you can have that stuff after you've eaten some real meals. Eat a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner so you aren't hungry and your body is getting nutrition that it needs- then you won't be able to binge on the other stuff as much. You aren't alone. I've done this kind of thing and worse. I can always tell I'm headed for a binge eating episode when I lose interest in meals and start snacking all day and eating convenience food. You might even try an Atkins induction where you eat as much protein and fat as you want but limit the carbs. That way you could eat anytime you wanted but you wouldn't be getting the sugar highs and lows. It's hard to binge on meat, vegetables, and fat.

You might be stuck in a processed food cycle, it happens to me from time to time. Whenever I eat a crappy processed or fast food it makes me crave more and more and more, and before I know it I've spent 3 full days eating crappy foods. Let's not kid ourselves, these processed foods are loaded with fat, sugar and salt in genius combinations that are engineered to be addictive. These foods have a physiological effect on our bodies. It's important to detox and get fresh fruits and vegetables. The cravings do subside, spend a whole week eating salads and your brain will feel much calmer I promise!

I agree with Wannabeskinny! Ever since I refocused my eating to include as many whole foods as possible and decrease processed food and sugar, I've been more successful with being binge lite. Sugar makes me cray cray - like literally. It's SO hard to limit, but it's worth it to not feel like an addict.

The hardest part is getting off of the cycle. You can do it though!! I don't know if this will help you, but I write. A lot. The more I write down how I'm feeling, the better I feel, especially when I'm coming off of a processed food/sugar binge. Sometimes I will write a paragraph every hour of the day until I get through it - not saying you need to do that, but that's how I cope.

You're a great person. Food is not the enemy! It is fuel and the higher quality fuel you put in, the better results you will receive.

Like many people on this site, I have a binge/over eating problem. I can eat all day long if I allow myself too. I can eat a whole box of whatever without a second thought. I can finish eating and be right back in the kitchen looking to find something else. I can gain an obnoxious amount of weight in a short amount of time.

I have found the cravings and food-obsessiveness go away when I cut out processed foods, especially flours (even whole-wheat), and added sugars. It takes about a week for everything to balance out, for me at least. I can’t say I understand the science behind food and the human body, but I assume these foods spike my blood sugar and the eventual crash leads to insane cravings. It's a vicious cycle if I don't put the brakes on.

I’m doing my best to eat clean and healthy: veggies, fruit, lean meats, seafood, natural starches (beans, quinoa, brown rice, etc.) Basically, if it didn’t from the ground or have a mother than I’m not eating it.

I make all my meals that way I know exactly what is going into them. I keep things like whole-wheat pasta and home-made whole wheat bread to a minimum as they can really throw me off track. I still allow myself treats, but only on the weekends. Last weekend I had an Edy’s single serving ice cream cup and the next day I had an donut while still staying within my calorie range. It’s enough to satisfy, but not set off crazy cravings.

That’s what works for me at least. When it comes down to it you’re going to have to find what work for you. It will take research, trial and error, and a lot of tweaking but you can do it

If you have any questions just let us know. Best of luck!

Word!

About not understanding the science, here is some interesting information. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0zD1...F782316B425249

Thanks Wannabeskinny. I'll have to take a look when I get home

Thank you everyone for the advice! im doing my best to get out of this cycle before i end up seriously overweight. i'll do my best to take this advice to heart. i find that when my anxiety gets out of control, i want sugar more..strange huh?

You say when your anxiety get out of control, you want more sugar- that is interesting! So you recognize there is something more about your eating! My advice: Instead of cutting food groups out, tune in. What is going on in your body, your mind, when you want to eat? Do you eat because you're bored, scared, distracted? Sit down on a designated spot for EVERY BITE. Put everything on a plate. Celebrate everything you eat. Tune in before, while and after you eat. You seem to eat a lot of small things- what if you try to eat 3-4 bigger meals, so that you get a feeling that you have actually eaten? Nibbling something at the fridge isn't going to give you satisfaction from eating. I could eat all day long too, without second thoughts. But if you wait until you're actually hungry, the food you want is so much better! if you want popcorn or ice cream for dinner, get popcorn or ice cream. Savour it! Soon enough you will be fed up with sugary stuff.
Okay, in a nutshell: 1) Eat when you're physically hungry. Trust me, everything tastes so much better.
2) Eat what you really want.
3) Stop if you're not physically hungry anymore.
4) Ask yourself what is going on when you want to eat although you're not really hungry. Write it down. Distract yourself and do something else, something nice. If the cravings don't go away, eat what you want, but very slowly and really enjoy it!
5) Don't restrict.
6) Tune in.
7) You can't eat your problems away and non-physical hunger can't be satisfied because you're soothing yourself. Acknowldge your problems and tackle them in another way instead of eating them away.

That doesn't work for people who have disordered eating who are in the middle of a binge cycle. She's eating uncooked ramen. I've eaten out of the garbage. I've purged in public parking lots and bathrooms. It's a lot bigger problem than just oops, I ate when I wasn't hungry...I better get my intuitive eating book!

mizzstacey- you can try taking 400 mcg of chromium 3 times a day to stabilize blood sugar, and l-glutamine 500-1500 mg 3 times a day when you are in a binge cycle.