I was watching a therapist on television (I suppose that could be the first red flag) and she was talking to someone with binge eating disorder and said that this person should fast for 24 hours, so she could tell what it was like to be actually hungry. I've tried this numerous times but I've only succeeded making through the whole day about once. It always pops in my head when I'm trying to end a binge period...this particular one has been going on 2 years and I'm up 30 pounds...anyway that's just me venting :-) what im really Curious about is how other people who suffer with binge eating/over eating disorders feel about fasting for 24hrs..no longer than that...just to get your body back on track? Has anyone else tried it?
Thanks in advance-Kristen

fasting/starving/etc. even for one day which I did recently for 3 = BINGE. It makes you SO hungry trust me I had my first bad day yesterday. Also personally I find if one get's in a habit of fasting after binging it becomes a coping mechanism and that's bad. At least for me. It leads to relying on it which leads to a lot of emotional issues. Just my opinion.

But then again you are probably saner than me haha. Give it a try and see what happens. But be warned! Starve (Even for one day) often ='s binge!

Hahaha me saner than anyone is such funny thought..I feel totally nuts not quite at rock bottom but close. I just want to be normal with food, people etc...thanks for your input!! I'm honestly already feeling hungry and that's not a good sign haha I think I nix the fasting thought if I have any chance of making it through the night binge free
Thanks again!

Sure if you want to be sure you'll binge again. Mild restriction is what leads most people to have binge urges in the first place, so let's not eat all day and trigger an even bigger one! Yeah...no. And I'm not poking at you, but the lady that said this. Sounds like she has her own issues as people who deal with eating disorders often do.

Sounds like a way to justify/rationalize a massive restriction to lose the binge weight, not to get in touch with the body. I'm sure the body would say, "eat!"

Plus, you will gain even more weight. Your body will think there is no food around and when you do binge (and you will) it will be even more primed for fat storage.

Fasting has never worked well for me. I can barely make it 24 hours, I'm distracted and unproductive, and all I can think about is my next meal. And by the time I break the fast, my willpower has gone AWOL. Unfortunately the boring ol' "slow and steady" yields better results (for me, anyway).

F.

In my experience fasting does not work. What works for me is to stop, get some silence and some forgiveness, calm down, and wait to be hungry again to eat. Then, I eat low carb foods, because I think they diminish cravings. And I stop when I am not hungry any more...
Hope it works for you too!

Actually that's not true. Just saying. That didn't happen to me and I starved for 3 days. I used to be anorexic-I had days where I binged-and that never happened. Infact I LOST more weight. When your body starves it holds on to food and water you take in (NOT fat don't misunderstand) so your weight goes up or stays or doesn't go down as much as should for the amount your eating. So when I ate normal. My body went "Oh okay. This is good. I don't need to hold this stuff anymore I got this other stuff coming back in to me," and it lets go. So I lost 2 extra pounds.

And not everyone binges after fasting. Most do but not all. Sorry just felt the need to say something. I'm like that sometimes lol

I think that would just add to my urge to binge due to all the deprivation I'd feel. I do IF (Intermittent Fasting) but I only fast for 15 hours or so and most of that time, I'm sleeping (or supposed to be anyway). I stop eating at 6 or 7 pm and I don't eat until 10:00 a.m. Then I have something light and await my lunch, which ends up being very satisfying. I like it and it is so far working for me. It's something I think I can do for the rest of my life. In the past, I've always gained back the weight I lost but I'm always hoping that this is the time I can keep it off for good.

Over time when someone restricts, they end up fatter in the long run, not on a day to day basis. Most anorexics end up overweight/obese after a period of starvation that lasts for several months/years due to rebound eating and a slowed metabolism.

The scale is not a good indicator of fat stores and tells you nothing accurate, especially considering the fact that many people fluctuate within 5lbs in one day.

It's completely ridiculous to tell a person with a binge eating problem to restrict. They are asking for a binge. People without a history of restricting, and those who fast every now and then for religious purposes probably won't experience bingeing, but they will probably overeat far more than they would than if they had just eaten normally. The body doesn't take calmly to being starved. Period.

This. Well-fed people without eating disorders do not binge. There is no need to and no reason for the body to want to!

Long-term dieting and caloric restriction or a sense of deprivation are the biggest binge triggers for most people. If you were emotionally stable and had all the food in the world and knew you could eat it, you wouldn't binge.

#1 I didn't get that info from myself I got it from my therapist. #2 I lose half a pound a day. I cut 1500 calories from my diet when I starved for 3 days. I have a really fast metabolism so even if slowed it wouldn't matter. #3 I never told a person with a binge problem to restrict read my post. #4 Yes you are correct. But you are speaking of several several months. I was only anorexic for 3. And this time I only starved 3 days. Those rules do not apply.

I appreciate everyone's opinion and take all into consideration. I love this message board and reading everyone's stories always helps they make me know I'm not alone out there because this disorder, definitely makes me feel alone. Ill post for a few days at a time and stop (ive been a member here since 2008) because without fail someone with a different opinion than mine or someone else's gets negative or starts to sound harsh....I'm done binging I can't do it anymore I'm at my wits end and this message board helps me unimaginably so let's keep all comments and responses optimistic even if you would like to express an opinion different from yours keep it happy and understanding :-) and respect everyone's opinions and remember that everyone's body is different so what works for someone may not work for someone else & vise versa thanks again for all of your opinions on this topic!!!

What you're talking about sounds somewhat similar to intermittent fasting (IF). Although specifics vary, intermittent fasting usually involves fasts of 14-24 hours once or twice a week or once or twice a month. IF is not a diet fad, it's actually scientifically backed and I support it.
As I understand (and correct me if you know this to be incorrect), the body does NOT go into "starvation mode" or start significantly breaking down muscle until after at least 72 hours of complete fasting, i.e. no food whatsoever. You will not suffer any negative long-term effects for a fast of less than three days.
I've been a major emotional eater and binge eater in the past. Emotional stress and feelings of deprivation were the major triggers. Because of this, I no longer count calories - doing so made me feel deprived. Instead I practice portion control, try not to eat calorically-dense foods too often, and record what I eat but not really how much. (If I'm concerned about my calorie intake, I calculate a rough estimate at the end of the day.)
Now, I actually kicked off this weight loss (currently at 23 lbs lost in <7 weeks, after having tried many times before without losing a pound) with a short fast, about 16-17 hours. Sleeping hours are included in that number, so for me, all I had to do was eat dinner a little earlier than usual and then skip breakfast. (This is typical of IF - if you want to go longer, then delay or even skip lunch. Eat a normal dinner. It's not advised to actually go the whole day without food.)
That experience taught me several valuable lessons. It did attune me to the difference between real hunger and psychological desire to eat, and helped me to recognize and plan for emotional eating and binging. But don't worry about trying to make a full 24 hours on your first try - if you are interested, I'd try a 12-16 hour fast. Eat dinner (a slightly larger one than normal, if you want), don't eat any snacks that night, then sleep. Wake up the next day and skip breakfast. You can drink as much as water and unsweetened & dairy-less plain tea and coffee as you like. It's a little uncomfortable, but easily bearable.

Edit: To clarify, I'm not necessarily advocating this as a way to counter the calories of a binge.

Sometimes I end up fasting the day after a binge but it's not to make up for the binge or starve myself. I'm just honestly not very hungry the next day.

This is similar to me too. Often the day after a terrible binge I feel so sick that even trying to drink water makes me gag. I don't force myself to eat, but jut wait until I feel hungry again. Sometimes it's a full 24 hours later, and sometimes not. Really depends on the type of foods I binged on and how severe the binge was.