to ask how to stop binging?

[happylittlefish]

Title says it all really. I have a really unhealthy relationship with food and cannot stop binging. I've gained a stone in a matter of weeks. Someone please help me!

Ah I see, a past or present ED does complicate things further.

I would kindly like to direct you to the website youreatopia.com I think you may find this site very helpful and you would be most welcome there.

That's great op. You just nourished your body with necessary energy (to fuel all important physiological processes in brain and body), some protein, vitamins and minerals, and increased positive mood chemicals (as contradictory as that may sound right now.) Had you not eaten that your body may have already begun secreting stress hormones such as cortisol, and begun lowering good female hormones (progesterone) and thyroid hormone. It is great you ate that rather than starved the body. Tomorrow you will nourish your body again, maybe with more protein next time, or more fructose. Sugar and carbs aren't bad. We need a certain amount of them.

Perhaps you are deficient in a few things without realising, even though you feel your health to be good. You may benefit from 5000iu (even 10,000iu if extremely deficient for a few months) vitamin d3 a day if you get little to no daylight/sunshine. This alone may help improve your mood.

Unfortunately it took me a lot of health problems to realise being healthy was more important than being skinny. I am a much happier person today. I love nourishing my body and stay slim without obsessing over my size anymore - a far cry from where I was as a teenager a decade ago, torturing my mind and body constantly in an attempt to lose weight or just not gain. I don't use the word binge anymore. Eating 3000kcal was obscene for me in the past and would make me cry. Now it is just seen as me helping my body get better, like natures medication. I look and feel better from all the nutrition which is a huge motivator. It didn't happen overnight. But once you begin learning about yourself it's hard not to change tbh.

I really hope you feel better op. I understand how hard the struggle is.

I have also struggled with binge eating in the past. Two of my children have been diagnosed with ADD, essentially ADHD without the hyperactivity, one of the symptoms of it is problems regulating appetite. I have self-diagnosed myself as I score so highly on the assessment tests and def have the appetite probs, might be worth considering for some of you? Helped me to understand that it was not me being weak or having no willpower which helped with the self-loathing!

Thank you very much for all replies 😊 it means a lot.

April, I'll take a look at that website. I am beginning to realise that healthy is better than thin. I am still very slim despite gaining a stone, but I know my health isn't going to be that great. I'm going to come back on here every day with a food/exercise diary and how I felt.
Today I'm not even going to post what I've eaten because its depressing. I feel okay I suppose but quite disappointed. I'll get back on track tomorrow.

Thanks everyone 😊

Watching this...

Keep a diary look at what triggers your Binge eating
Don't have treats or food you binge on in the house.

I second Brain over binge (written by a recovering bulimic). I've found reading that along with Always hungry? by Dr David Ludwig (essentially a high fat low carb meal plan) have really helped me. I'm come to realise my binges aren't about hunger but about refined carbs. I crave refined carbs and then binge. I don't even really consciously do it, it's a cycle of craving/automatic eating (which feels good while it happens)/ feeling awful afterwards. I fell off the LC wagon and went back to my old ways but when I do follow the meal plan I'm so much better and the cravings ease quite quickly.

Thanks Faith 😊 will check it out.
I've done a food plan for tomorrow:

• Scrambled egg on wholemeal toast
• Mixed nuts, raisins, veg sticks, apple
• Hummus & falafel wrap (wholemeal), banana
• Fish fillet, rice & veg

I was anorexic for years, and then bulimic for years. I think stopping the bulimia was harder than the anorexia tbh.

I make sure I eat balanced meals (main and healthy pudding etc), 2 or 3 snacks and don't deny myself anything/restrict food. I make sure my diet includes oils and fats/ seeds/protein as being unbalanced e.g. low fat seems to trigger binging. However, I do put portion limits on things these days. E.g. only eat 1 apple at a time, 1 yoghurt, 2 biscuits as somehow that seems to avoid tipping over the edge. I never, ever buy diet/low fat foods (except diet coke which I really need to give up!)

You can give up binging- you can't give up the urge but you don't have to act on it (an important thing to remember). Also, if you do go over what you think is reasonable and start panicking STOP it doesn't have to turn into a binge. It's ok to overeat occasionally- everyone does it, and don't restrict food to compensate the next day otherwise you get into the binge/starve cycle.

You've probably heard all that before. Are you getting any help at all? I found I got help with anorexia but with bulimia they were a bit like "it's great that you're not anorexic any more" whilst really I felt awful!

This might be too much of a light hearted response, but while you're doing all the other good emotional stuff why not try taking up something like crochet, knitting, doodling. Easy to do in front of the telly and stops you eating, smoking and drinking too much tea because your hands are too full of wool and pointy sticks!

Hi happy.

I would say although your food for the day looks good, if you're anything like me it will encourage you to binge more. 5:2 didn't work for me because I binged on the non-fast days.

Try and concentrate on regulating your eating a bit better before trying to lose weight (sorry if I've made an assumption there). Put a small treat in there - might only be a nice yoghurt or something but if you give yourself permission to eat something you might find you're less likely to completely fall off the wagon and eat everything in sight!

This helps for me anyway. I also do Slimming World and it has really helped me regulate my eating.

Thank you very much danger, queen and Felicia 😊 all your advice is very helpful. I think I'll start knitting/crocheting again like I used to, as I wasn't binging then.
For the time being, I'm focusing on getting healthier and mending my unhealthy relationship with food. I'm not too bothered about losing the weight as I'm still slim, but I'll probably lose it in time anyway.

Thank you very much for all responses - they are all much appreciated 😊

I'm like you sadly, I binge and I hate myself for it, and my body.

I'll be reading this thread for me too!

But on lighter note, I thought you were talking about the children's TV show Bing... And that annoying phrase they end each episode 'sharing, it's a Bing thing'.

I thought you meant you couldn't stop commentating on your days with 'blah de blah, it's a Bing thing' every few minutes!

FA did it for me. BIG time. I'm so glad I found it.

Like this :)
Warning: images may not reflect actual CBeebies storylines

ah knitting is great because it keeps your fingers busy!

Yes, I'll start knitting again 😊 thanks

Hi miscellaneous 👋 I know how you feel. And yes, I remember that show! "its a bing thing!!" 😂 I used to love it. I haven't binged any more tonight which is good. Feeling more positive now.

"Binging, it's not a HappyLittleFish thing" ... Ok, it's not snappy but you get what I'm trying to do there, right?!

Keeping fingers busy sounds a good idea, Im terrible at knitting though!

Have you tried felting? The needling kind not the messy soap flakes, bubble wrap and water kind, though both are kinda fun, only one can be done curled up on a sofa/ in bed!

Stabbing wool with sharp needles over and over again is very therapeutic :)

I should start it again... I just found this little chap with the beady and affronted eyes! Nothing like being judged and found wanting by a creature with a plaid satchel :) You can make useful things like bags and slippers though if so inclined...

Goes off to find my super sharp barbed needles

Haha 😊

No, I haven't tried felting. May get into it though, thank you for suggesting it. Luckily I'm quite good at things like that, so hopefully the binging should (maybe) stop as I get more into it 😊

the tools I have learnt that work for me are to say 'stop' or 'no thank you' out loud when I'm tipping from fancying a sandwich into bingeing.
Walk out of the kitchen and find a different way to meet my emotional or physical need- phone a friend, go for a walk, go out in the garden, have a rest, have a drink of water, go to the loo. get a hug! For me overeating is often a response to tiredness/ worry/ boredom, as well as the pleasure of eating. If you judge yourself for overeating it can easily trip into a downer and binge.

It sounds as though you have taken control though- you have realised where you were tipping, and reined back to eating food that nourishes you. Congratulations!

Shameless place mark.

Thank you missmayhem 😊 I'll use that tip if I ever get the urge to binge.

Hi Yvaine 👋 how are you?

This might help someone -
I stopped binging when I stopped eating breakfast. Breakfast seems to kick start a drive to overeat and I would battle with it for the rest of the day.
I get through the morning on a couple of hot drinks and lots of water.

I skip breakfast and go straight to lunch which I manage To keep healthy and lowish in carbs. I'm amazingly then more controlled for the rest of the day and eat like a normal person.
I can eat a tiny bit of cake with my tea, snack on fruit and eat a normal size dinner.
Then I have to shut the kitchen and get strict about evening snacking or a plan a small one.

I've read threads on here about this approach and it seems to work for quite a few people.

I've been struggling with Binge Eating Disorder for about four years since I had a breakdown due to my bipolar disorder. I recovered from the breakdown very well but the binge eating continued. I'd read books like the ones suggested and get it under control for a few weeks, maybe even a few months and then it would come back.

I've decided to throw whatever resources and effort it takes at it now to get it sorted as it really impacts me. I put on four stone in six months and haven't shifted it since.

I started counselling to specifically address my eating issues recently and it has really helped...I can definitely feel my attitude to food changing as we address the multiple ways (and deep, unconscious reasons) I relate to food the way that I do.

Hey, I can totally relate. I have binged for years and during most of that time was a normal weight. I then piled on three stone a couple of years ago, possibly due to a more sedentary lifestyle, possibly due to more frequent binges. I can't really compare my binges now to five years ago as I try to block them from my mind. I am now trying to lose the weight, but it's difficult.

In a typical binge, I will have a large takeaway pizza, cookies/brownies/ice cream, fizzy drink, packet of crisps, packet of sweets, pasta, cheese, toast. I can easily eat 4-5,000 calories during a binge day.

The only thing I can say (from my own experience) is DO NOT DO THE 5:2 DIET. Loved it at first and lost about a stone (I was normal weight at the start). After about 6 weeks, it started to majorly fuck with my head and my eating. I would become absolutely ravenous on feed days and would binge uncontrollably. It made my binging so much worse than it had been and the weight went back on within about a week, with more to spare. I felt totally out of control. I have read since then that the diet is not recommended for those with binge eating disorder. For me, the 5:2 was the work of the devil and even now, I think my binges are more frequent to pre-diet.

Sadly I can't offer any genius cure as I am still struggling now. The only thing that seems to help is taking things one day at a time. So in the morning, I tell myself that all I need is to get through that day and I will worry about the rest later. That seems easier than saying 'I will never binge again', because I know that at some point, I will slip up.

Part of my problem is also that I have very black and white thinking and if I had a bite of a cake, say, I would think 'fuck it, I have ruined everything now, so might as well have the whole thing'.

Was also going to say, I was prescribed Prozac (fluoxetine) a couple of years ago, and it is meant to help with binge eating. It did- but only for a few months and then I gained even more weight. Actually, thinking about it, maybe most of my 3st weight gain is due to the prozac, but I have been off the tablets for a year now.