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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask you to help me stop binging?

46 replies

neroforte · 29/06/2021 21:15

i just can’t stop. someone please help me. i know all the advice of eat more protein etc, but i just can’t. i do well at ‘intuitive eating’ for a few days if i’m lucky then start binging again.

OP posts:
Ahwelltoobad · 29/06/2021 21:43
Flowers Maybe try a therapist to find out the reason why you're binging? I kind of do it too, if I have as much as one snack outside my 'meal plan', I just keep going ☹
Xmassprout · 29/06/2021 21:48

Do you know what your triggers are?

For me, boredom and stress are my big triggers. I tend to try and not have junk food in the house. If I dont have easy access to junk, I'm far less likely to have it.

Each evening I also spend time making healthy snacks for the next day. So if I feel like I need to binge, I can at least have healthy food so I don't hate myself so much after.

Ilikecheeseontoast · 29/06/2021 21:50

No help from me sorry as I do it too. I’m either being ‘good’ or eating massive amounts of crap then feeling terrible!

SofiaMichelle · 29/06/2021 21:51

What are you bingeing on?

SwordPlay · 29/06/2021 21:55

If you're going to binge anyway, i.e. you've already made up your mind like "screw this, I'm gonna stuff myself until it hurts" etc, drink as much water as you can handle. at least 2 cups, (before the binge) but the more the better.

You'll still binge but you'll stop sooner, I promise. I've been there.

Then try to incorporate at least 2 litres of water every day. I find that I always overeat when I don't meet that quota. When I do, I'm generally less interested/ obsessed with food. Your stomach is fuller and doesn't send those hunger signals so much.

That's genuinely the only thing that helped me get it better. Still Have not got it fully under control but definitely doing better.

Just start your day with a big bottle of water, then try and drink throughout the day and honestly, you'll still binge but it will be LESS xx

Hope it helps xx

Kanaloa · 29/06/2021 21:55

The only thing that’s helped me is to make sure I can eat plenty. In the past I’ve done diets but I end up binging out of stress. Now I make sure I have lots of fruit and veg to eat if I’m hungry. It seems to remove the feeling of deprivation that leads to the binging. It’s so hard though.

surreygirl1987 · 29/06/2021 22:11

I'm a binger too. I'm all or nothing- either on a diet or eating everything in sight. I hate it.

But here are a few things that help me:

  • not keeping ANY junk food in the house
  • eating regularly (healthy stuff) and meals planning (healthy meals) so I'm never really hungry.
  • after a binge, writing a note to myself so I can reread it when I feel tempted to binge again. Sometimes it stops me.

I do want to get a healthier attitude towards food though. A couple of days ago I managed a couple of pieces of fudge and didn't go mad for it, so that was good!

Rainbowx · 29/06/2021 22:22

I've recently realised I'm a binge eater, today I had 2 pizzas plus loads of other stuff I am contacting therapy for you as I broke down tonight,I cannot do this anymore.i hope you get the support you need x

InterstellarDrifter · 29/06/2021 22:27

I’m a binger too. The only thing that helps me is to not eat any bread/baked goods or sugar at all. It’s amazing how in control I feel and I wonder why I even ever binged.
As soon as I eat just a bit, I’m out of control again and it takes me ages to get back to it.
I feel like I have to treat it like an addiction. Like Alcoholism or something. I should never have bakery items or refined sugar. Ever.

SwordPlay · 29/06/2021 22:31

@surreygirl1987 - great idea about the note to yourself! I'll try that :-)

Definitely agree about not having junk/ trigger foods at home. Never do your shopping when hungry.

Also, it's important to acknowledge that eating disorders often go hand in hand with depression and other psychological issues that you need to address prior to dealing with your ED. (For me personally, its depression, self-sabotage and procrastination that are affecting all areas of my life and have exacerbated my binge eating. As long as those issues are there, the binge eating will be there in some way or another).

Good luck, OP xx

InterstellarDrifter · 29/06/2021 22:35

I’ve bought books and nice tea in the hope that I’ll replace binging with reading and tea drinking Brew

Ostagazuzulum · 29/06/2021 22:39

Sympathies, I'm the same. Sooo hard x

Redyellowpink · 29/06/2021 22:40

Read Brain Over Binge by Kathryn Hansen. It honestly changed my life. I went from binging and purging twice a week to never again.

Ihavethesamedress · 29/06/2021 22:43

You say you're doing intuitive eating, so are you actually dieting and restricting what you eat in an attempt to lose weight?

You need to stop trying to lose weight, stop dieting and actually let your body eat what it wants/needs. You won't lose weight, but you will stop binging. I can guarantee that after actually embracing the process myself.

CheddarGorge · 29/06/2021 22:44

It's so hard I really feel for you. I would say remove all your triggers. The last few weeks Ive been binging on crisps however yesterday I had the last pack and I hadn't ordered any more so today I was stuffed when I went looking for crisps. But it stopped me binging on them.

When you're feeling strong bin everything that could possibly be a trigger... even better, get rid of all convenience foods and only on your next shop order in stuff to make everything from scratch... it makes it so much harder to binge on crap

thecatsthecats · 29/06/2021 22:48

I'm seeing and NHS health coach at the moment, and it's very science based.

Two tips he passed on in the first session were the fact that sleep increases the hunger hormone (so far, so obvious), but secondly that if you eat when you're distracted (by TV or work etc), the fullness hormone doesn't get triggered until a full twenty minutes after you finish watching.

So if you eat whilst doing an activity, you won't feel full until twenty minutes after the activity finishes - instead of twenty minutes after you finish eating.

BonesJones · 29/06/2021 22:49

Listen to a podcast called 'brain over binge'. Total game changer!

Butiwantto · 29/06/2021 22:50

When you binge do you get a craving for anything in particular, or do you just want to eat everything in sight?
I find myself binging if I get a craving for a particular thing but don’t actually eat it - I can shovel anything else down and never feel full! As soon as I eat enough of the food I really want though, the need to keep stuffing myself goes away

CheddarGorge · 29/06/2021 22:51

the fullness hormone doesn't get triggered until a full twenty minutes after you finish watching.

But if the programme was 2 hours long there's no way you could keep eating that long without feeling full

I get that the tv distracts you and you eat more but I just don't think that's true tbh

ThinWomansBrain · 29/06/2021 22:52

find a supportive thread in weight loss that you feel comfortable with, and follow that/post regularly for accountability - or start one.
AIBU probably a bit too fast and furious for longer term support.

Original poster
neroforte · 30/06/2021 01:39

thank you for all the responses i have read all of them and i’ll reply properly tomorrow : )

OP posts:
MorriseysGladioli · 30/06/2021 01:49

You could start a thread for bingers.
A totally honest one, and keep an account of what you eat.
I would join you, as I can eat a huge amount when I'm in binge mode. (All the time!)

ShrikeAttack · 30/06/2021 01:49

Hey @neroforte, I don't binge. I have a very healthy relationship with food. BUT I do have friends who do and there is always some trauma there. It's not the food so much as the feelings around the food.

So maybe don't think about the food as much as what the food is giving you.

I imagine it's used as a calmative. As a way to escape difficult feelings.

No shame. Just an attempt to understand the process of binging.

thecatsthecats · 30/06/2021 10:57

@CheddarGorge

the fullness hormone doesn't get triggered until a full twenty minutes after you finish watching.

But if the programme was 2 hours long there's no way you could keep eating that long without feeling full

I get that the tv distracts you and you eat more but I just don't think that's true tbh

Well you'd best take that up with the researchers.

But to expand, there are physical effects of being full (expansion of stomach) and hormonal. It's the hormonal ones that aren't triggered.

So you eat dinner watching telly. Your body has enough food to be satiated. You don't need any more food. But there's still room in your stomach for more (especially if you've trained it up!). Because the satiety hormone hasn't been triggered yet, you still feel hunger - and keep eating until you feel physical fullness.

nanbread · 30/06/2021 11:05

Don't buy junk food. Cook everything from scratch. Drink 2L of water a day. See a good hypnotherapist who can help you make decisions in the rational part of your brain. Ensure your meals are healthy and filling enough. Go to bed early. Find things to do that you enjoy more than food and make them available.