I'm sick of binge eating

Yesterday I ate 4 full bowls of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, half a loaf of rye bread, and a bunch of cheetos. Then I raided the fridge and ate whatever I saw. I had a bowl of rice pudding and made a turkey sandwich. I was so desperate to eat something more that I started eating cold rice with ketchup. Then I also had a heavy dinner. By the end of the day I was feeling bloated and ashamed.

When I do this I feel satisfied but horrible at the same time. I feel ashamed doing it near my family members because they ask me "aren't you on a diet?, why are you eating so much?" so I do it when they're not around. Sometimes I don't care and eat like an animal in front of them. It always feels like there is a monster craving inside of me that just wants to eat everything. I know that I can fit the junk foods that I like to eat into my daily calories but that's just not good enough for me. I want to eat the whole box of cookies or eat the whole bar of chocolate . It just leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I'm just sick of calorie counting. Doing all the calculations and weighing things in front of my family. They think I'm dumb and make fun of me.

I know I can hold myself back but my mind says "but you really really want this so you should have it" and I feel like I'll go crazy if I don't have whatever it is that I want.
Usually I tell myself oh its okay its just a bump in the road i'm still going to end up losing the weight. But I'm never gonna get lower than this if I keep continuing this behavior. It just kills me that I could have been my goal weight today if I had been dieting since the start of the new year.

How do I stop these monster cravings?
EDIT: I have social anxiety and depression. First therapy session is tomorrow.

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I am trying to drink Metamucil when I want something sweet. Only just started so don't really know how it will go but it did help with me wanting dessert tonight......

You need to look at what you are eating as well as how much. Some foods fill me up while others make me hungry again within the hour.

To be honest, I think you might need to see a doctor for your mental health. Binge eating is something alot of people do but it sounds like you are going that step further than most and its really impacting on you emotionally.

I am not the sort of person who can have just 1 cookie or a small slice of cake so I understand where you are coming from but I think your issues are more emotionally based and you need someone to teach you how to identify why you are doing this and how to manage when you want to binge.

Go do something else. Preferably, something that burns calories.

Your diary isn't complete, so no way to tell, but are you over restricting yourself? Why would your family ask if you were on a diet, when you only have 14 pounds to lose?

Address your emotion you're feeling when you do this. Are you lonely? Bored? Depressed? Angry? I eat when I am bored. Wait 15 minutes after completing a meal or snack and see if you are actually hungry. Sip some water or unsweetened tea while you wait. Also, never eat directly out of a container or you have more difficulty maintaining your proportions.

I'm in a similar spot. If anyone has useful help for this dilemma, do let us know.

Binge eating is a mental issue- seek professional help.

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Your diary isn't complete, so no way to tell, but are you over restricting yourself? Why would your family ask if you were on a diet, when you only have 14 pounds to lose?

I'm 18 and still live at home so I have to abide by rules. One rule is that you MUST eat whatever mom cooks. So at the dinner table my parents will tell me to put more on my plate even though I have a normal sized portion and I tell them that I can't I'm trying to lose weight. So when they see me with junk food they say I thought you were dieting why are you eating junk?

I agree. Look into emotional eating. I'm sure your family's reaction to you hurts. Also check into mindful eating. Geneen Roth has good books on emotional eating. Susan Albers wrote a book "Eating Mindfully". Best to you.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing by seeking professional help. Good luck!

rosestring wrote: »

I'm in a similar spot. If anyone has useful help for this dilemma, do let us know.

Lots of useful information above. For me, the binging is a symptom of something bigger. I would (and still on occasion do I admit even though I'm much, much better than I was) binge when I was depressed or anxious about something. There's no simple answer, and there's no quick fix. It's taken me months to somewhat get control of mine. You have to find out why you binge, and then you need to deal with that issue whether it be depression, anxiety, loneliness, etc. If you don't find out the reasons why you binge instead of just saying "I binge" then you will never get control of it and keep the weight off....not for the long term. I know this because I have spent years of my life overweight for exactly this reason.

The macronutrient content of your binge foods are going to make your blood glucose swing all over the place, which might possibly trigger more binge eating in addition to whatever underlying mental or emotional struggle you are going through. I understand where you're coming from as I had/have a similar problem.

Anyone is free to message me if they wish to talk about this.

I'm in the same situation at the moment, half the time I'm strict with my calorie counting but lately I've been binge eating more often than I ever would have before. Apparently binge eating is a disorder and stems from other emotional stuff so maybe it's worth seeing somebody about it. I'm starting counselling soon to deal with that and a bunch of other things, hopefully it works.

For me, conquering binge eating has meant taking things one day at a time. Have you ever had success at losing weight? Do you know what works for you and what sets off a binge? For me, I do have some strategies that I know work. I can't totally deprive myself of healthy carbs (I eat about 100 calories of rice/sweet potato/tortilla/beans at each meal) but I can't really allow myself to eat things like baked goods, cereal, pasta, etc. I feel SO much better after cutting those out of my life -- the horrible binging has largely disappeared, as has the mild anxiety/depression.

Bingeing for me is tied to mindless eating, standing up, eating way too fast. You HAVE to force yourself to sit down and concentrate on each bite, and never eat in front of a screen. This is non-negotiable.

I recommend reading The Beck Diet Solution -- cognitive behavioral therapy for weight loss. It has made a big difference for me.

Anyway, one day at a time. Literally. Don't deprive yourself of healthy fats and carbs, or take your calories too low. Always sit and eat. Learn how to distract yourself. Once you have some success, you can figure out what works for you. You have to learn that you can be hungry after a meal and not need more. The feeling passes.

Good luck to you.

I wanted to add that the best advice in The Beck Diet Solution is to truly congratulate yourself after each half-pound loss. You don't really realize how much you beat yourself up for binge eating until you have honestly told yourself what a rock star you are for losing each half-pound. It's very eye-opening.

I think it really helps to have a reasonable calorie goal in the first place. Cutting too hard will make anyone hungry and perhaps struggle with cravings. Then, with a reasonable intake level, the nutritional content of what you eat can further promote feeling satisfied, like Merci said. Once you get the calorie and macronutrient numbers worked out, it's largely mental.

Maybe try eating at maintenance with decent macros for a couple weeks? If the cravings subside, then you can work on small changes that you can do consistently. I'm a big believer in the power of small acts done consistently. If you find yourself still struggling mentally at maintenance, then you will know you have an underlying issue that needs resolution to get the results you want. Best to you!

greena wrote: »

For me, conquering binge eating has meant taking things one day at a time. Have you ever had success at losing weight? Do you know what works for you and what sets off a binge? For me, I do have some strategies that I know work. I can't totally deprive myself of healthy carbs (I eat about 100 calories of rice/sweet potato/tortilla/beans at each meal) but I can't really allow myself to eat things like baked goods, cereal, pasta, etc. I feel SO much better after cutting those out of my life -- the horrible binging has largely disappeared, as has the mild anxiety/depression.

Bingeing for me is tied to mindless eating, standing up, eating way too fast. You HAVE to force yourself to sit down and concentrate on each bite, and never eat in front of a screen. This is non-negotiable.

I recommend reading The Beck Diet Solution -- cognitive behavioral therapy for weight loss. It has made a big difference for me.

Anyway, one day at a time. Literally. Don't deprive yourself of healthy fats and carbs, or take your calories too low. Always sit and eat. Learn how to distract yourself. Once you have some success, you can figure out what works for you. You have to learn that you can be hungry after a meal and not need more. The feeling passes.

Good luck to you.

Yep I went down from 123 pounds to where I am now at 112. Lowest was 108. It happened over the course of a year. At one point I had completely stopped eating junk food and stopped craving it all. But that was a long time ago. Thanks for the advice. I'm always eating while watching shows on netflix.

If you have access to therapy or treatment, it could be very helpful. Just remember, eating disorders are not your fault, but you can take steps to overcome them. There are many tools to help. Here are a few:

1. Plan. Nothing beats a good plan to avoid binging.
2. Don't let yourself get too hungry
3. Give yourself rewards for every hour that you don't binge. Keep track using tick marks
4. Put distance between you and your binge foods.
5. Use implementation intentions as a means to achieve your goal. (You can google this)
6. Plan safe treats so you don't feel deprived
7. Consider adjusting your carbohydrate intake to see if that impacts your cravings
8. Identify the danger zones for binging and look at ways to avoid them.
9. Use the acronym H.A.L.T (hungry, angry, lonely, or tired) to identify what you might be feeling.
10. Do what you can to reduce stress!

Keep working at it! You can overcome this!

I've never posted on the forum but I saw the title on the side tab and checked it out since I can relate. It is quite literally--from my understanding--an addiction of sorts. It's satisfying because of the endorphin rush and functions similar to a drug high.

If only drug hangovers were accompanied with the levels of regret and lowered esteem that a binge is. But the above poster is correct, professional help is probably the best course of action. I also know how trite and moronic some of the "practical" advice is that people give out who have never dealt with anything like anxiety, depression, or binge eating. Nonetheless, I've managed to cope with it and maintain a fairly low bodyfat percentage while partaking in moderate binges on weekly or biweekly occasions.

The first is to control it to an extent. This means identifying the emotional factors that cause you to binge eat and trying to work your way around them. Anyone with anxiety knows how much things can be over thought. So when you realize that you've just spent the last 20 minutes in a mind battle brooding over some damn calories it's best to realize you're doing it, look up, and do something else. In treating it similar to a drug addiction, the most effective method for me is to not even have the kind of food that prompts a binge to be on the premises, or even to distance yourself from people who can enable. Bodybuilders do the same thing, so you're not alone. You can also nip it in the butt in a way. Often we eat way past the point of satiety and think, 'well, I f&cked up now, no point in stopping at this point.' That is fundamentally very stupid thinking. Lastly, it might be good to just make peace with where you're at. Binge eating disorder is often preceded by a very restrictive diet. Getting down this low may just produce too great of hunger pangs to ignore.

Hopefully this helps, and of course take it with a grain of salt because those are just tips that help me, whilst trying to avoid idiotic advice like, 'go do something that burns calories'. Try and not identify with anxieties or depression. Best of luck, keep us/me updated if you can; I've never had the gall (social anxiety too) or financial priorities to seek professional help for this.

Thank you all for the replies. I read them all and will attempt to use these tips. I'm going to head off to bed now as an attempt to fix my sleep schedule. I'm super nervous about therapy tomorrow and I'm probably going to cry while its happening lol. I used to go to therapy last summer but my relationship with food was never brought up for some reason. I'll make sure to mention it tomorrow.

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