[thatmainchick]

Today I was writing a journal for my blog and i ended up talking about binging.

I am starting to worry about this problem and I want to solve it before my weight gets any higher. How do you work through binge eating?

[LemonZest]

I'm struggling through bulimia right now (started treatment about two months ago) and I have managed to cut down to minor binges a couple times a week from doing it atleast once per day. I eat small meals often, plan them out carefully (I.E. I'm going to eat an apple and a yogurt cup at 3:45) and try to adhere to that plan. I also get busy immediately after eating so that my mind's shifted from food.

[ShanIAm]

What I had to do was remove myself from my binging environment which was my bedroom after work. But I also had to find something to expell all those emotions (frustration, depression, anxiety, sadness, etc) I was bottling up so I joined a gym. And I hate to admit this but after I got home from the gym (around 8pm) I would take something to help me go to sleep. Not all the time.....just on the nights when binge thoughts were getting the best of me. I had to sleep my way through it. Oh, and I am not advocating this by the way. I know it was very unhealthy! But the best thing I did was start a low carb diet and that helped with cravings big time! I also implemented my own aversion therapy by placing a mirror in front of me as I binged. No matter how good that food tasted I disgusted myself by watching it happen. An image that is forever burned into my memory.

I am 7 months out but I still struggle with binging thoughts sometimes on weekends because I can't spend that much time at the gym. But I don't give in anymore!

To give you an idea as how bad my binging got, my lowest moment was this time last year. In my job it is mandatory to take off a consecutive week off from work. I was depressed and embarressed about my weight and didn't want to see my family or friends. So on the Friday before vacation I purchased over $300 worth of food from the grocery store and 3 chinese food combo meals and camped out inside my house eating for 9 days straight. I ate no less than 5,000 calories a day.

I am glad you are recognizing this unhealthy behavior before it gets harder and harder to reverse. It's going to take work but I have no doubt that you will get this under control provided your resolve stays strong. You've come to the right place for support and lots of hugs!

[LataJones]

How do you work through binge eating appears to be the question. For me, it's changing how I view food. No good, no bad. It's just food. And when I take away the guilt, I take away food's power.

Good luck on your journey.

[thatmainchick]

Bulimia is a scary thing to me. I have had a few experiences where I binged and felt so guilty I tried to purge it out but my body just refused to let me. it is like something was keeping it in my stomach so I gave up on doing that when i felt miserable about my behavior. Lemon zest I am glad to here you are doing so well with your diet and controlling how you are eating so that you are not doing it everyday anymore.

I am paying a lot more attention to my eating since becoming apart of this forum and I am finding that I am binging everyday. sometimes I don't eat as much as others but I will try to eat a normal portion and even if I am not hungry I will keep eating more till I am over full. On the bright side though cause I am watching my carbs and I don't want to go over a certain amount I think I will be able to bring this under control with time.

ShanIAm I totally understand what you mean buy struggling with binging thoughts. one issue I have is not sleeping at night. I have a tendancy as a result to be up at 2 or 3 am eating junk. I will even make runs to the corner gas station and buy junk food and be up. I know you were mentioning having to sleep through your binging. It actually made me consider using a sleep aid in the evenings to force myself to go to bed. I know you mentioned it not being healthy but it is something I also never considered doing. I think binge eating when everyone goes to bed has to be just as bad or worse than taking something to make me sleep. so I actually did try it last night.

That is the first time I have gone to bed before 12am in a long time so thank you for the suggestion.

Lata jones: Thank you for the encouragement. I am so tired of feeling like I am not the one in control of my life. All these outside forces putting pressure on my to be what I am not and then trying to cope with it through food. I want to win this fight.