How to Stop Binging

[lovehoney]

I have a problem with binge eating. I usually eat pretty healthy, too much but pretty healthy. The bigger problem is I will eat great for awhile and then I get into a binging mode. I will eat tons of stuff. This week the problem was those darn girl scout cookies.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop the binging?

My weight is so high. I need to lose about 801bs. I just added the DIS WISH to my siggie and would love to lose some weight before my trip in late May.

 

[fofinia]

I'm not sure if this will help. But I try to not tell myself that I CAN'T have something. What I usually do is say to myself- "Ok, you just need to eat good today and not have any sweets (that's my thing) til after dinner." And so after dinner i allow myself one thing. It has to be something small so as not to undo the whole day. and if I'm going to be satisfied with something small; it has to be something that really hits the spot.

So for me it is candy. And the type varies. But for instance, I like tootsie rolls. But a couple tootsie rolls is not enough. So I can not keep tootsies in the house. Because once I start I can't stop. But for a while the Reeses nutrageous funsize bars were doing it for me. So I would allow myself one or two per night (I'm doing WW so i would preplan the points for them into my day) And I could actually stop at just one or two. But now those don't do it. So the other day i tried a godiva dk chocolate bar. And that worked. It was very rich and I got full and sick of it quicker. And it hit the spot for me.

Thus what works for me is learning what things are truly going to hit the spot and keeping them on hand in small portions. And promising myself I can have one everyday. And for me I have to wait to have a snack till after dinner. If I have a snack earlier I will still want a snack after dinner too. And i won't lose weight if I snack multiple times a day.

Don't get me wrong, my plan is by no way fool proof. And I do binge sometimes. Distraction is good too. A lot of times coming on here and reading other people's successes or struggles motivates me to be more positive. Actually you helped me tonight. I was going to go and have some more candy that I don't have the points for. And now I think I'll be able to resist it. So if something is going to call to you don't keep it within reach/or in the house. (that's something my WW leader says.)

Good luck. Hope that helps.

 

[Stacerita]

I have major issues with binging. And what I do to help is to not keep my trigger foods in the house. Because once I start, its too hard for me to stop. And if I do have the trigger foods here, I make sure its very small amount and I don't let the left overs sit around for a long time to tempt me. Keeping healthy foods to grab when hunger hits and never letting myself get to the point of "starvng" also works for me. I do have the occassional binge, but its not like it used to be.

I would also look into whats the reasons behind the binge. Mine is stress. I work on the stress and keep it low, and that helps me out.

 

[natenapril]

Mani binging is my downfall. I also need to lose alot of weight. However, if I have had a rough night up with the kids I can't stay out of the snacks But I am trying to work on this.
I finally threw the cake away that I kept getting into. Yes it was wasteful but man it felt good

 

[kaysmommie]

Girl scout cookies are very addicting, i did not buy any this year because the scale is mostly going up. Idon't want the temptation of eating the whole box. I do better if I keep junk pretty much out of the house. for the kids I buy serving size portions of cookies and crackers and fruit snacks, mostly stuff I don't like.

 

[denecarter]

I've been a binge eater for years... and a closet eater, too (eat where other people can't see me... like stopping by McD on way to/from grocery store). This is stupid, but I "tried" bulimia in college (other girls were doing it) and it turned I was great at the bingeing... lousy at the purging. That also started my eating where people coldn't see me.

Knock on wood, I haven't been on a binge in a couple of months and I think these are the reasons:
1) for the first time in my life I am keeping a food journal... and I often stop to think if I really want to write something down enough to eat it
2) I keep my food journal in my training file at the YMCA... and my trainer has access to the file and looks over stuff with me every couple of weeks... I've hidden stuff from my parents and daughter before, so they wouldn't work, but I feel accountable to my trainer
3) I eat all day... every three hours when possible, and I pretty much limit myself to one serving of whatever I'm having because I know I'll be eating again soon
4) I've been exercising regularly and a lot (see exercise challenges in siggie). The exercise makes me feel better, I'm in the whole "enorphin" zone.
5) exercising and spending a fair amount of timeat the gym keeps me away from the house in the evening where I tend to just sit and watch tv and get bored and eat
6) I read and post fairly regularly to a particular post on this board (Disappearing Peeps)... in them I have people who understand my problems and don't "enable" me... I also feel accountable to them

Anyway... that's what is working for me right now... YMMV.

 

[nbodyhome]

There are certain things I can't have in the house. Girl Scout cookies aren't something I binge on, not sure why - so I can have those around the house and just have one or two thin mints. There are items - like Oreos, or sugar wafers, which can't enter the front door.

For me, I eat a LOT. I eat essentially 6 times a day, plus I may have something like a Motts Healthy Harvest applesauce or a piece of fruit in between (usually in the late afternoon or a few hours after dinner - I don't eat extra stuff all day long!) And I have a little bit of junk food - like the thin mints. It is very unusual for me to binge now, I don't like the feeling of an overstuffed tummy. The worst thing is - once or twice a month, when I feel like a bottomless pit. It doesn't matter what I feed it, it will still feel empty. I have to be really double careful of eating well on those days.

 

[lovehoney]

Thanks for all of the great advice and information. It makes me realize I am not alone. The Dis is fantastic!

With your help I made some new anti-binge guidelines for myself:

• The girl scouts can have the money, but the cookies are not coming home with me. I will give them away immediately or just let the girl scouts keep them.
  
• I am going to keep healthy snacks around the house. I like grapes, cantaloupe, apple sauce and raisins. I will start with those foods.
  
• I need to prevent trigger foods from coming into the house. Do not buy them, do not bring them home, or throw them out. I do buy some snacks for my kids but there are plenty they like that are not trigger foods for me.
  
• When feeling low - go to the gym, take a walk or log on to the DIS. I tend to binge when I'm depressed and stressed. I need to identify these feelings and do something about them before they become a binge.

I hope these new guidelines will help prevent future binges.

 

[nbodyhome]

For applesauce, I really recommend Motts Healthy Harvest! No extra sugar, but they come in a lot of yummy flavors!

I hope you do well! It took a while for me to be more normal in eating - testing what could come in the house and what had to stay out. And I still find new things occasionally which are bingeworthy!