Binge Eating Disorder?

[xoxoghadxoxo]

Any success stories of people who have overcome it and lost weight? I need some encouragement

[zombfied]

I have definitely not overcome it, but all those good days are better than before with all bad days!! Yeah, just wanted to say you are not alone.

Things I found that helped:
- Planning. Even planning to eat a sandwich (not the healthiest option). Each night if you cant manage for the whole week, plan what you are going to eat that day. Cereal, sandwich, pasta with sauce. Yes a lot of carbs but they are EASY meals (see next point)
- Try not to worry right in this minute about calories, or even healthiness. Try to get into eating three meals a day. I know on my awful days, I eat nothing till around mid afternoon, binge, and then have to eat tea when people are watching and just feel awful. Eating something tends to stop me with the urge binging so much, as Im not in that deperation hunger.
- Once you have three EASY meals in place, you can then look at making them healthier. Proteins fill you up more than carbs do, and once a week try and make ONE change rather than changing everything at once. One week try to make lunches healthier, and once you have handled that, try tea time meals, then try breakfasts (I find the hardest as I just want sugary cereal)
- have a look at what is triggering you. Is it hunger? Family (mine), money, etc etc and see if there is anything you can do about it to make changes. I joined the gym therefore can avoid my mother and even if I am not working out like mad, I am still out of the house doing something, not eating, and not spending money!

I realise that all sounds a bit preachy, and I am not perfect AT ALL, but these are things that have stopped me binging 3000 cals plus every single day, down to once a week or so when stress triggers go mad. Hope that helps a little bit and its a journey hun, wont happen over night but every single day you made a change is a day closer to where you want to be xxx

[wanderlust]

I overcame it, but I'm not entirely sure when it happened or how. My guess is that it was very, very gradual. Somehow I transitioned at some point from binges to just overeating and then very gradually from overeating to only occasional overeating. This will be a bit jumbled most likely.

I think the root of it for me was that there were other things in my life that were making me unhappy and also the binges themselves created such an awful cycle of shame and drowning the shame with food. Eating was also a distraction. I couldn't watch a tv show without eating the whole time. I would sneak food when there was no sneaking necessary just because of situations in my past where food was only available at certain times of the day. I would avoid going to stores because I knew that the cashiers recognized me and knew just how much food I bought and how often. At times, I would grab a handful of dry oatmeal just because no other good food was around and I had the urge to eat. I would eat other people's food and then panic as I realized I couldn't find the food at the grocery store in order to replace it before they realized it was missing. I hid my face in shame when someone would ask "did someone eat my (whatever food) from the fridge? I was saving that!" I would never steal someone's food otherwise and I'm ashamed to say I ever did it.

I'm not sure what tips to give because I'm not entirely sure when I overcame it, so take this with a grain of salt. Here are some things that I think could be helpful.

-Try to turn your really huge binges into smaller ones gradually. There's no need to try and fix everything at once. This will only discourage you. Don't try to go the opposite way and hardly eat anything. You probably know this already, but it will backfire every time.

-What other things in your life are making you unhappy? Try to pinpoint these things and gradually address them. Is it a relationship? Is it a friendship? Some type of other insecurity? It's not going to be easy facing it, but it must be done. If it were easy to face, you wouldn't be turning to food for comfort. I know this from experience.

-Start doing at least a short workout every day regardless of binges. Don't overexercise in order to compensate for calories. I know with a binge it'd be nearly impossible to make up for food with exercise, but it's still a really bad mindset to get into and it's not healthy. Just try to get some kind of exercise in...something that you can feel positive about having done.

-Start finding things in your life that make you feel good and positive and proud and try to do those things more.

-Consider joining an Overeater's Anonymous Group in your local area. I'm not sure if people successfully get through these programs and I don't like how the program is set up (like AA..the 12 step program, I think), but just going to one meeting made me want to cry because I saw all these people who were struggling with the same things as I was. It made me feel not so alone.

-Try pre-packaging portions. Buy snack bags, sandwich bags, etc. and measure things out ahead of time. Measuring isn't a long-term solution as it can lead to obsessiveness, but it can be very helpful in the short-term. The tricky thing is not just grabbing several of the pre-portioned bags and eating them all at once.

-Find someone to help keep you accountable who will not judge you and who will be there for you through your ups and downs. This could be someone from Overeater's Anonymous or maybe from a community online.

Honestly I think it took getting out of bad relationships and friendships as well as moving away from home for me to overcome it. Those were the things that really triggered me. Those were the things I sought to escape. Also, I keep very little junk food in the house. My husband has also been great support as far as fighting the bad habit of overeating (different than binging, I know). My point is that it's good to have a support system of some type, even if it's embarrassing at times.

I know this probably isn't much help, but I hope it at least serves to show that it can be overcome. Keep your head up. This won't go away in a matter of days or weeks. It takes time and everyone is different with different things that are going to help them. Try to focus on the positive things in your life. Best of luck and I hope you don't feel so alone. xx

[xoxoghadxoxo]

I honestly got emotional reading both of your replies because I could relate so much. I'm going to try and beat this, no matter what. It's at the point where it's ruining my life and my relationships with people so it has to be done. Thank you so much for your advice. I'm going to write it all down and try my best to get through this.

[darianrenay]

Wow, thank you guys so much. I am going through the exact same things as you all are going through. I have gained a ton of the weight I have lost, and I am so upset with myself that I have allowed myself to binge eat and worse than ever. I am in need of encouragement. I hate myself because of it.

[wanderlust]

I honestly got emotional reading both of your replies because I could relate so much. I'm going to try and beat this, no matter what. It's at the point where it's ruining my life and my relationships with people so it has to be done. Thank you so much for your advice. I'm going to write it all down and try my best to get through this.

I'm glad it helped even a little. It can be really comforting to know that you're not alone. You can beat this. Just be patient with yourself.

Wow, thank you guys so much. I am going through the exact same things as you all are going through. I have gained a ton of the weight I have lost, and I am so upset with myself that I have allowed myself to binge eat and worse than ever. I am in need of encouragement. I hate myself because of it.

I have been through the weight loss then gain then loss then gain like crazy in the past. There were underlying issues combined with the method of always trying to eat less than I should have been eating which always ended in eating way more. You can PM if you like. I don't have any magical answer or anything and I don't struggle with it anymore, but I remember the hard times like they were yesterday.

[trolling]

Just your jeez, its not that

[Chiyou]

Just your jeez, its not that

For the sake of your username, I'm not going to take your comment seriously because you're obviously trolling.

However, I'm going to say this anyway...

Binge Eating Disorder is as serious as Anorexia and Bulimia. You don't go telling an anoretic to "just eat" or go telling a bulimic to "just stop vomiting" so you most DEFINITELY do NOT tell people suffering from Binge Eating Disorders to "just stop eating".

If this was reddit and I could downvote you, I would.

Now leave and stop harassing people. You're rude and offensive and your words (even though you're trolling) can really affect someone who is in an emotionally sensitive state.

[wanderlust]

^agreed. I felt addicted. I used it to cope. There's no easy off-switch. People who haven't been through it can never understand it.

[toadstool]

ok this thread is old but, i'm suffering with symptoms like this.... like i will eat a pretty healthy regularly and then all of a sudden i go and buy tons of junk food and eat like all of it in one sitting. i can only do this in private too like i have to hide the eating from other people because it's so embarrassing for me. are you guys diagnosed by a doctor or what?

[loulou]

I told my dr that I have it, and so he then agreed. Mine started out slow and led to bulimia and still battling it. Every day is a new day though!

[jehhknees]

I'm still working on it. It's has got better though, I guess. I went from binging to hardly eating(it works for a day or two but like someone said it backfires every time) right now I'm trying to find the perfect balance.

[catcherintherye]

I developed a binge eating habit living away from home and not having access to a stove. I bought snacks and binged on them. Ate a whole loaf of bread, a whole bag of chips mindlessly. I also went through a short bout of bullimia. I'd order pizza, eat the whole thing, get consumed by guilt and throw it all up. I caught myself early and slowly started to develop a good relationship with food.
1. Portion control is really important. Find ways to enforce it. Eat out of the same plate, bowl everyday. Do not watch tv, look at your phone or read a book when you are eating. Be mindful of the eating process. Eat smaller morsels. Feel your jaw grinding the food and the saliva mixing with it. Be aware of the way you are eating. I hope this makes sense. Do NOT take second helpings.
2. Plan. Plan. Plan your meals. Be involved in the process of buying food. Even growing if you can. Educate yourself. Browse grocery stores, read labels. Look up nutrition content.
3. Try to cook/make your own meals as much as possible. I know this is impractical but it is vital of you want to overcome your eating disorder. Make some meals for the whole week - crock pot dinners, salads. You can even freeze burritos for lunch.
4. Avoid eating out. Restaurants are designed to overfeed you. Portions are huge, calories are astronomical. If you must go to a restaurant, eat at home so when you go to the restaurant, you can eat a soup or a salad.
5. Keep temptation at bay. Don't buy anything that you know will trigger bingeing - chips, donuts, cookies, anything high is sugar or salt.
6. Boredom and anxiety are the biggest triggers of bingeing. This part is the hardest - don't eat when you are emotional. Understand and try to recollect the feeling of guilt and shame from your last binge. You don't want to do that to your body.
7. Allow yourself to cheat. Don't deprive or you will set yourself up for a binge explosion. Eat a donut once in a while.
8. Exercise: This will help you control your emotions and strengthen your will. Once you start working hard to achieve a fit body, you will be inclined to not ruin it.

[Guest]

I've probably had binge eating disorder since I was 11 years old. I am 32 years old now. Like one of the posters above, my BED has morphed into bulimia. I have no other advice than; DO NOT have weight loss surgery! It solves nothing, and can possibly leave you even more unhealthy. This is my personal experience. You do lose weight, but all of the underlying issues that lead to an eating disorder in the first place, will still be there.

[white trash sparkles]

I had this for years. What probably caused was the fact that my mother would not allow me to eat junk food or anything remotely unhealthy and I was severely deprived. I wasn't even allowed to go trick or treating, have candy in my christmas or stocking or have cake on my birthday. When it was 12 I started stealing money from my mothers purse and going to school to buy those "fundraising chocolate bars". I remember buying six and bingeing on them in the bathroom. All my bingeing was done in secret away from my mother and when I got the opportunity to eat would I wanted I went crazy with food.

I think as I got into my 20's and went off on my own the desire to do it for the most part went away as there was no one restricting me anymore.

[Fruitbatz2]

I used to binge as a teen and gained like 20 pounds. Mostly because I was constantly anxious and tired, I hated school. I would only get like 4 hours of sleep every night. For some reason being so sleep deprived sent me binging like crazy. Im always hungrier when im really tired. It's odd. I read somewhere it's a real thing, that being sleep deprived makes you feel hungry more often
my tips:
-get as much sleep as possible. If you have insomnia issues at all, try to change them. Simple stuff like using a sleep mask to block out light or drinking chamomile tea helps me sometimes.
-take vitamin D (if you don't get out in the sun) it helps with hormone problems and anxiety and depression, which should in turn, help with any emotional eating
-take a multivitamin
- try to plan your meals. Make sure you get full at each meal but not full to the point of discomfort. I also find that a handful of nuts or string cheese is a great snack to stay full throughout the day. Its all about moderation and not waiting too long to eat, because waiting hours and hours to eat until you're basically starving can send you into a binge

That's all I really have. Like someone else said just start slowly. Don't put too much pressure on yourself if you screw up.