I ate an extra large Papa John's pizza (original crust) with pepperoni and bacon... by myself. I am a terrible binge eater and don't know what to do to stop. I'm not a BIG person at all. I probably need psychiatric help or something!! I have ALWAYS been like this. And no, I am not depriving myself and then pigging out. I just feel so hungry and cannot STOP. My sister told me that Wellbutrin (an antidepressant) helps with binge eating. I am tempted to try it, because this is not a healthy way to live. Out of control..
Sometimes I feel like it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Somedays it is just hard. But look how far you've come! I think asking about help is a good idea. Check in and give us an update.
just to tell my experience... I used to take Zoloft - it basically took off the highs and the lows, made me feel more even. When I'm feeling even I'm a lot less likely to go out and binge - candy was my weakness. The Zoloft did help with that until I was better able to manage my highs and lows on my own and respond to them in more positive ways. It had some other side effects I didn't like, and sometimes I felt like I was always indifferent to the world around me. Exercise makes me feel more even now than the medicine ever did.
wellbutrin is the same drug that is known as zyban, which helps smokers quit, it can help with cravings for some people. having a good talk with your doc about it may help. I take it for depression, and haven't found it helps me a lot with binge prevention, but each person is different. Hope you have a good doc who will include listening and counselling as part of the whole picture for you, like mine does.
Hey!! Get back on track, really, it's fine if you ate that pizza, it happens, now you can get back on track and I'm sure it won't affect your diet too much.
From my personal experience, before to take any kind of medication, try psychoterapy/counselling, you may need to try a few but in the end you may sort your problems with just that. You can also have it online, just google it.
I've had counselling both in person and online, the fourth person I tried was the right one and it is online, everything is better now.
I was thinking this binge eating is triggered by anxiety. By zoning out and eating the entire pizza, you can ignore your anxiety, or depression. The guilt that you have from the binge also adds to this feeling of anxiety and/or depression.
I would try some self medicine. Look, you've already lost 40 lbs thus far...you're doing great. Keep going. And what I mean by self medicine... find something else to release those emotions, like journaling, exercising...figure out what your triggers are. Bored? Keep busy by finding a new hobby that doesn't involve food. Have a craving for pizza? Ignore it for 10 minutes and it should go away. Still craving pizza? Consider making your own by hand, or look for places where you can buy a personal pan pizza.
One x-l isn't going to to be the end of you. just realize what you did and move on, try to make better choices in the future. And keep going. You're doing great.
First,let me give you a hug Controlling food addiction is pure tough. I was on Wellbrutin and did not do a thing for me.. I deal with mental health and some Phd doctors don't really help on binge eaters. I am now on Zoloft and it helps with my depression, but not my cravings. I am a sweetaholic. Phd doctors tell me to eat fruits, avoid starches/carbs and snack on carrots. My new doctor says and did not change my medication.
I wish you peace to overcome your cravings. In one of my self help books The main reason we binged is FATS= Fear..Ashame..Tension..Stress
I suggest keeping a food journal and along with it write your mood/exercise. Good luck..
I know not all will have the same outcome but I gained 60 pounds on Zoloft. I had no idea at the time it was causing weight gain--just thought it was ONLY my eating.
I would feel bad about wanting to eat then deprive myself and then finally binge.
I realized I had to have a better attitude about this. So if I eat a slice or two of pizza just be like okay yup had some pizza. I'm NOT going to feel guilty, I'm human, I LIKE pizza, and now I'm going to continue with the weight loss.
I found this has really helped me to not binge and it's been like at least a month since I've binged. Now if I eat something I want- I eat it and feel fine. Like yesterday, I made cake for the family and had a piece, it was delicious and I was like I will not feel guilty about this cake- and I don't feel guilty!
I also gained a lot on Wellbutrin.I am just finally starting to take that weight off and I went off meds 2 years ago.No antidepressant will help you lose weight, in my opinion.Some might alter appetite slightly.But binge eating disorder is a whole different beast.Very hard to treat.I would recomend any 12 step program.Look in to OA>I have read some of their books and they are really good.Just my thoughts.
I've never had to go on any antidepressants. My mother did in the past and it is very hard to be able to come off of them once you're on.
Like a few chickies have pointed out, you have already lost 40lbs, you're obviously very successful, just keep sticking with what you're doing and remember that we're human and we like food!
Lilian was on about keeping a food journal, not just of the foods you eat, but how you feel after eating them so you can learn yourself better...
You can do this and from your past record, IMO, you can do it without the aid of drugs..
I know not all will have the same outcome but I gained 60 pounds on Zoloft. I had no idea at the time it was causing weight gain--just thought it was ONLY my eating.
Wow, we're opposite. I lost weight while on Zoloft; all while eating whole pizzas and two liter bottles of Pepsi. By the time I stopped, I weighted 114lb (down from 135lbs).
@Jpye-I would be very careful with antidepressants. Although the Zoloft led to weightloss in my case, it gave me a host of other scary problems like constant yawning even when I wasn't tired and shivers, also constantly.
Like someone said above... I really think weight loss (and life) can seriously be a series of 2 steps forward, and 1 step back, then 3 steps forward, and 2 steps back, etc. It has for me, for sure! The point is though, in the end, to come out ahead.
Like you can see from people above.... everything's different for everyone! What may work for A might not work for B, what C does doesn't work for either. You can only try and see what happens... but by all means, do your research and be prepared to make changes and tweaks.
Good luck chica! Quit beating yourself up so much... you're only human. And you're definitely trying and doing a good job of it... much more than a lot of people can say!!!
I used to binge and with time, some tricks, and some prayers -- I am doing very well now.
#1 Trick ~ TRY TO LIMIT THE DAMAGE -- (this may not be conventional, but it worked for me) ~ when you feel a binge coming on, ie pizza ... only buy a SMALL SIZE. No matter what you binge on, try to get only a smaller size. X-large is huge, so try downsizing to medium, then small, and so on.
#2 Trick ~ don't have things in the house that you know you cannot resist ie, I discovered that if I have even something like chocolate chip granola bars in my house, I will eat them all (and I'm not usually a SWEETS kind of person although cookies are a problem for me). When DH wants his chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, we only buy 1 dozen or less from the bakery.
#3 Trick ~ whenever my DH or I want a treat of any kind now, we get something in a SMALL SIZE OR JUST ONE SERVING. We have discovered that there are certain things that we won't binge on like Vanilla Ice Cream (so we upped that to Vanilla Bean Premium with no problems), mini-puddings, sugarfree puddings, nofat/no sugar added Yogurts like SOURCE or SILHOUETTE Cherry Yogurt (they have many flavors).
#4 Trick ~ We deny ourselves nothing BUT I measure everything! And I fill up on low-cal foods like roasted veggies, lean meats, soups, and salads; this trick from the VOLUMETRICS Plan helped me a lot.
#5 Trick ~ we still eat our favorite foods and meals but have healthized them and downsized our plates and bowls. We eat 'quality' foods; and I also take vitamin and mineral supplements every day to make sure I am getting all my nutrients in.
#6 Trick ~ we eat every 2-3 hours; this tip alone has helped me immeasurably; not only have my blood sugar levels normalized, but now I don't feel so deprived.
#7 Trick ~ we have found yummy & healthier substitutes for the foods we absolutely love (we have pizza, but we have 2 mini-ones @ 180 calories each. Sometimes, I add some mushrooms and olives as they are very low in calories).
#8 Trick ~ DISTRACTION -- this is a very important strategy when I am feeling stressed or upset. I write poems and songs; read uplifting books; listen to my favorite music; rock in my rocking chair; read the bible and meditate on PSALMS; memorize scriptures; sings uplifting songs; play my piano or organ (I taught myself to play again to busy my hands and mind); work in my garden; write letters; journal; do crossword puzzles every day and searchawords, and so forth (whatever you like to do).
#9 Trick ~ KEEP AS BUSY AS YOU CAN -- find some new hobbies, take a class, volunteer, get a part-time job, join some clubs, go to church, go for a walk, take up gardening, join a gym, learn to play an instrument (really helps), learn a new dance, etc. Just keep BUSY, BUSY, BUSY ...
#10 Trick ~ if you feel it would be helpful, get some counselling to deal with issues that may be leading you to binge (like hurts from your past or even now like issues with family or co-workers). Sometimes a good look at your life alone is enuff, like someone else mentioned. I had to take a look at some of the personal relationships I was in (some friends and family were negative and mean to us; so we have chosen to LIMIT our contact with them).
These things take time; I still make mistakes now and then, but not very often anymore. Step by step, using these tips through trial and error, I have made huge progress over time. I am still tweaking and looking for more ways all the time ~ this is a journey, more like a marathon than a sprint. We just need to be patient and kind to ourselves.
Hope something here can help you in some way ...
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 06-03-2009 at 12:50 PM.
My best advice is to maybe eat a little more during the day so you won't binge. Maybe it would be a good idea to talk to someone about it, because that does sound like disordered eating. I used to binge too. But something just snapped inside me one day and I don't do it anymore. I might overindulge, but I don't binge like I used to.
The thing is, people forget that bingeing is an eating disorder. They remember anorexia and bulemia, but don't consider regular bingeing to be disordered eating. So I think talking to a psychiatrist/psychologist would really help you discover the root of your problem, and then go from there.
The first step is coming here. You're so brave for being honest with yourself. I don't have that kind of courage. But the first step of recovery is admitting you have a problem. And that's the bravest and most difficult step.
I ate an extra large pizza...
