Binge Eating Article--worth reading

[Curvie Girlie]

I admit it, I am an occasional binger. Not to the extreme, I admit. But I have eaten an entire bar of chocolate or a bag of chips before--or almost an entire loaf of Franchese bread Well, turns out that it's not just me--and if you think about it, it is very difficult to get overweight, let alone obese, without binging. So I suspect that many of you may share my affliction. We shall overcome it! But here's an article that I found by chance, in my gym, that gave me some comfort in knowing I'm not the only one--and offers solutions.


Also, if you have helpful comments on the best ways to deal with triggers instead of giving in, I would love to hear it. Also, any interesting stories you'd like to share would also be sweet to hear. And most importantly, share any success stories about how you overcame it

 

[lena410]

well they should have put this forum to their list of places to come to for help. when i was reading this i was eating my 28-years of binging. i started as a baby, and later just had emotions added to it. i was binging all the time. since i'm on this journey i binged on stupid stuff about 3 times well i actually started binging but would manage to stop myself. now i mostly binge on fruits.

what does it for me? well my first instinct is to come here and yell at my "worm" who is whispering all sorts of temptations in my ear. most of the time i manage to shut him up.
the second impulse is to go and work out...doesn't work every time i have to say. i still have to come on here and read someone's diary for inspiration and motivation.
having one-to-one conversations with myself don't really help. i'm still not strong enough to cope with this myself. this forum to me is like learning to ride a bike. at first you need help of someone to push you, then you ride but you still need to feel someone is holding you eventually i will be able to control myself by myself...but lets just take it one step at a time

 

[Curvie Girlie]

Thanks for responding, Lena!

Probably a great way to not binge is to eat more slowly--of course it won't work in certain situations. But there're MAD studies out there that show people consume less calories when they slow down their eating. I eat too fast. I try to slow down, but I cannot when I'm really hungry. And a lot fo the time I'm rushed--in the AM before work, during my lunch break (I WALK to the beach, and when I get back I take my 15 minute break to fix lunch and try to eat it), sheesh, I hardly ever have time to eat slowly.

Anyway, I disagree that "most cravings pass within 15 minutes."

 

[lena410]

yeah me too...i just have other come urges come haha. i tried eating more slowly and it doesn't work when i'm really hungry. my friend told me once to eat like i'm in a really fancy restaurant and people are judging the way i eat. haven't tried it myself but that would only make me nervous, and that's no fun

 

[maleficent]

I'm not sure that binge eating is any different than alcoholism... an alcoholic cannot just have one drink because their brain isn't wired that way - they have an entire bottle of something their brain doesn't understand moderation. it's nto an excuse for the behavior but the recovering alcoholic knows they can't drink. period.

Binge eating isn't much different in some respects, a binge eater doesn't always understand portion size and moderation. However alcohol can be avoided, food - not so much. One fo the best ways to help yourself is to remove some of the temptation.

I don't quite understand the charm of drive thru fast food, so for those that do, I'd say avoid avoid avoid -or go with a kids meal. My binge elements would be really good cheeses or artisan breads - I can't go to the cheese shop aroud the corner from my house and buy a lb of really good cheese... It will be gone in moments - i'll enjoy it immensely but it's too much temptation - I can, however, but a very small piece and also get the same enjoyment out of it. I will still finish the entire piece but it's a lot less damage done...

Removing temptation by not having the big portions of it available, or breaking down big portions immediately into managable chunks (like if i buy a bag of goldfish crackers, I will immediately portion it out in my handy dandy ziplock snack bags) and temptation is gone because my brain now understands and can be satisfied by one portion size -if I don't do that my brain doesn't understand one portion size.

 

[lena410]

i agree with you mal. i guess this is why when i started with this journey i started treating this whole process as an addict would. i know some people who were heroin addicts and lots of emotions involving their craving for drugs reflect my emotions when it comes too food.
off course i can't compare the severity of the addictions...each addiction has its problems, but addictions are in general same...or at least they have the same stages. staying in control and self-discipline is something that i find to be the hardest thing i have to learn.