Anyone else a binge eater?

[JESW]

I find that I stuff food in my face when I don't even realize it. And it is worse when I am stressed. I can go through a bag of chips, bag of goldfish, couple dishes of ice cream, cookies, etc. without even noticing - and only stop when I feel sick. (uh, not all those things at ONE time...just saying that I can eat large quantities at one time) I feel as if I am hungry ALL the time sometimes. What can be done to help that?? Any ideas?

Jill

 

[Lani]

I've been really bad about going through a whole bag of chips. My favorite is Flamin' Hot Cheetos with lime flavor. Oh, I could eat those everyday!

The best thing I did for myself was go on a low-carb plan that actually prohibited me from eating all those snack foods. I would still occasionally find myself gorging... but on broccolli heads! LOL. And those fill you up fast, believe me.

1) Try not to buy that stuff.

2) If you buy that stuff, buy a SMALL package. When you're done, you're done.

3) Drink PLENTY of water. 64 ounces a day, it will be hard to feel famished. To a certain extent, you FEEL hungry when you're not. And the problem is, chips, Goldfish, and cookies are NOT filling. You need to eat smart and eat foods that will make you feel full, so things like a humongous salad of baby spinach, mushrooms, broccolli, red beans, beet slices, carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sprinkled with sunflower seeds and a healthy dressing like Annie's Goddess dressing, will go a long way to make you feel emotionally full, too!

4) If you HAVE to have them in your house (I have to ask, WHY?), make sure you take time serving yourself. Check the nutritional label and find out how much a serving is. Then measure out a single serving, and put your serving in a bowl or dish. Put the container AWAY (in the pantry or fridge), then take your bowl and eat it at your dining table. Do NOT eat it on the couch watching TV, or in front of your computer monitor. Do NOTHING ELSE while you eat. Take your time to eat, making sure not to take your next bite until your mouth is totally empty. Take breaks by sipping water and rinsing your mouth. Make this a meaningful experience.

5) If you keep going back for seconds, that's not good. Take a Sharpie and mark the day and time you had a serving. And don't cheat! The next time you take a serving, write the date for that, too. So you can track how often you're eating it.

In the end, it's all about self control. For me, it's easiest just not to be tempted. It's a lot easier for me to simply not eat something (esp if it's not in my house), than to just "eat a bit."

 

[Spoisal]

oh yeah - I can relate! I can WAY out-eat my DH & he outweighs me by 50 pounds. I don't get full - I have always had that problem. wish I had an "off switch". Things in my world are either white or black - not much in between. So, when I am at my goal weight, I try to be "white" M-F and then "black" Sat & Sun. It seems to balance out. For the next 12 weeks (oprah's boot camp), I am going to be white - WISH ME LUCK! oh yeah, I agree with the last poster - just try not to have it in the house!

 

[nancyj_pa]

I do so good all day long and, even though I am low carbing, I still feel the need to binge in the evenings. But now I binge on low carb foods like low carb Breyer's ice cream or macadamias. When I realize how many calories I just consumed, I really feel sick. I'm not really hungry...it's just a need and definitely an unnecessary one. I think it's part of the winter doldrums...hibernating and lack of outdoor exercise and sunshine!

Nancy

 

[kayeandjim00]

I can relate to that - I sometimes think I'm missing the "I've Had Enough" that everyone else seems to have. I haven't had enough until I'm sick I will even eat things I don't REALLY want just because they are there. This book is great. She was the SHAPE magazine Weight Loss Diary for a year or so and the book is great as she really deals with binge eating and this book wasn't painting everything in a "rosy - dieting is so easy" type way. She really deals with the issues and ups and downs. It was a book that was comforting to read as I saw glimpses of myself throughout.

 

[plutosmyfav]

Big Time!

For me there are two types of diet sabatage: One, like Kaye said, I just don't get the "had enough" signal to stop so I overeat. The other is the true binge. The whole point is to fall into oblivion by way of stuffing the emotions down with food. To me, that's the real binge eating. I had a really tough year in 2003 and gained over 65 pounds by stuffing it all down with food. I ended up going to Overeater's Anonymous when it got too bad. I learned a lot there and would recommend it if you really are having trouble. I know mine also is triggered by hormones

I think a big part of the weightloss journey is learning to feel the emotions and deal with them so the bag of chips isn't necessary

Sunny

 

[Sandy22]

I can relate...when I'm stressed out to the max or my hormones are raging, I will binge binge binge! Mostly on high carb foods like pizza, fries, bread or chocolate. And I'll eat and eat and eat until I feel sooo sick! But, I'm finding that as the weeks and months go by that I'm staying committed to my eating plan, the binging is happening less frequently and I'll eat much less during a binge. Now, when I'm stressed, I often feel like walking it off instead of eating.

What's really important though is that I used to let a binge ruin my diet and I'd be off plan for months. Now, if I binge, I forgive myself and get right back on track.

 

[chimera]

Add me to the list, too! I'm definitely an emotional eater. I tend to eat when no one's around, then beat myself up about it afterward. Pretty classic binge behavior.

Not eating after 8pm has helped me tremendously. That's one of my bad times. Also, around 3-4 pm. I try to eat fruit now instead. Blueberries really help 'cause they're just like snackin' on M&Ms. I also buy bags of apple slices and the individual servings of fat-free caramel. When the caramel's gone, I just keep eating apples if I'm still feeling snacky.

 

[NYcpa]

I am a binge eater also. Sunday's are the worse because I don't have to work.

I either graze all day or hardly eat anything. I'm not sure which is worse, they both have the sqame effect - SLOW WEIGHTLOSS!!!

Being an empty nester is my only excuse for binging. I know how I should eat but don't have the motivation to cook healthy meals.

 

[wiskband]

I am a super binge eater. I do it late at night too and on my cheat day, I feel I will just eat it all before the day is over so that I can start again tomorrow. Then tomorrow comes and I say to myself, I should have just spread out everything I ate lastnight into a weeks period. BUt for me, everything is black or white, no gray........I am extreme! especially when its binge eating time!


renee