Binge eating - how to stop

[DoubleBuggyDriver]

I posted the below on General Health a couple of days ago but didn’t get one response so I’m just posting here for traffic.

Not sure if this is the most accurate place to post so apologies if it’s not.

I’m sure I have a binge eating disorder and it’s currently getting out of control. I have no self control and constantly think about food 24/7. I feel so disgusted in myself everytime I’ve binged something but I really struggle to stop. I’ve joined the gym and I manage to go three times a week despite having 2 kids under 18 months. However I just can’t seem to decrease the amount I’m binging.

It’s getting to the point where I’m considering going to the GP but can they actually help? I wondered if anyone else has been through similar and has somehow managed to stop binging? How did you manage it and do you have any tips at all? Thank you

Yes, go to GP. You can be referred for therapy, it's just as important/serious as anorexia/bulimia, and there is support out there.

So I've been stopped almost 3 months now thanks to 12 weeks Saxenda. I used it to kick start weight loss and break the habit.

I went on it for 12 weeks and it stopped my binging almost immediately, stayed on it for 12 weeks then I've been off it now 10/11 weeks and still binge free

I feel like I have broken the habit ..hopefully it stays that way.

@AlmostAJillSandwich I read that you can have therapy but does it actually help? I just can’t think how therapy will make a difference to binge eating but I do want to give it a go

@Indoctro wow that’s amazing to hear. I’ve never heard of Saxenda so that’s great to hear how much it’s helped. Can I ask, when you eat the food that you used to binge eat, do you feel as if you’re totally in control and will only eat what’s needed?

It doesn't even enter into my head. I used to sit and think what I wanted to eat and couldn't get it out my head and then would go hunting in house or drive to shop and buy a pile of junk and eat it all.

I just don't even think about it . It's weird to be honest. I still eat crisps and chocolate etc but just have a bag of crisps at lunch after my sandwich day and then that's it

I think it's like a addiction and every day that passes and I didn't do it , it's got easier and easier and now my body isn't craving it. Because so many weeks have passed . That's all I can think anyway

I bought the Saxenda on private prescription by the way.

Wow @Indoctro that is so amazing to read! The first paragraph is me in a nutshell and I genuinely didn’t think it was possible to ever stop. Did you go through the GP or did some research and then decided to buy Saxenda?

You’ve done so amazing to get to this point, well done!❤️

What time if day did you take the saxenda? I’ve heard about it but a friend of a friend said she had terrible side effects.

No just on line private prescription, it's quite difficult to get on nhs

I was 3 stone over weight (bmi 30) so just made the criteria for private

I'm now bmi 25.5

I've continued to lose weight since being off it too, probably because I no longer binge.

You describe it as a compulsive behaviour / addiction so you either need to get to the route of your compulsive behaviour (therapy) or you might need to replace it with a new addiction. Not an extremely harmful one like heroine but a sustainable one like running, meditation, TIk Tok etc.

You’re absolutely right. I definitely will contact the GP as therapy seems like a great starting point. I definitely need issues that need addressing and it’ll be good to try and figure out the root of the issue

I used to binge, until I was diagnosed as having ADHD. The medication has completely stopped the bingeing, apparently a lot of people with ADHD binge eat. It's to do with having not enough dopamine essentially.

Oh I'm so glad I found this thread. Thank you OP for sharing. Reading everyone's stories has made me stop and think about my binge eating and getting help.

That Saxenda - it's injections. Eek. I was expecting tablets.

And £240 per 6 weeks.

What I did was identify the "trigger" moments and try to avoid them by changing daily routine. Also, by simply not buying stuff in the first place so that there was little in the house to stuff myself with.

I used to eat a lot in the car on the daily commute to/from work (I stopped at garages to buy sandwiches, pies, crisps, etc) on the hour-long drive. I realised the drive was a trigger, so got a job closer to home, so there was less time "on the road" to stop and buy stuff to eat.

When shopping, I used to buy multipacks, thinking I was saving money, but trouble is I'd eat the whole lot in one go, i.e. a 6 pack of crisps or 4 pack of kit-kat etc. So, I stopped buying the multipacks and just bought smaller quantities singly. If there's only one bag of crisps in the house, I'm unlikely to eat it and if I do, it's only 1, not 4 or 6!

For me, that kind of thing really worked. I still binge, but nowhere near as often and generally with a lot less food, just by taking away its easy availability.

Thank you all for the comments. £240 every 6 weeks is just not possible for me! I also hate injections so that won’t work.

I can’t even think of my trigger when it comes to binge eating. I just wake up and go on a hunt to eat anything and everything in the house no matter how full I am already. Not buying multipacks is a good suggestion as I’m likely to leave my house with my two kids just to get some crisps! I’ll be contacting the GP on Monday to see what I can do

I have similar issues and also considering GP as I’m late 30s and worried about long term health impacts.

Re Saxenda..you build up to 3mg over weeks

£55 for one and first one lasts 4 weeks , some people never go above first dose it depends how it works for you. I used a total of 4 pens.

Also I'm awful with needles, I was in a flap doing first one it took me 35 minutes to do it , when I eventually stuck it in my belly I didn't even feel it. It was a dram over nothing. It's the same as a diabetic pen so very tiny and just under skin.

I'm also diagnosed with adhd but I don't take meds. But I agree with previous poster that binge eating and adhd go hand in hand.

I was referred to my local eating disorder clinic and did fortnightly online sessions with them. The clinic recommended a book by Christopher Fairburn called overcoming binge eating, and worked through it with me but you can do it by yourself working through the steps in the book. I can honestly say I don't binge anymore. Its just mind blowing to me, 3 months later

I follow a lass on Instagram called jessijeannn. I struggle on and off and seeing her content has helped. I remember now that I stop when I am full because I feel sick if I don't and I don't like feeling sick. Also nobody is taking the food off me or restricting it so I can have it when I want. It is slowly getting there!

I used to hide wrappers in the bin for fear of being judged. Now I have a few and feel content x

Go to your GP - you have an eating disorder, it’s nothing to be ashamed off, and you are not alone.

BEAT has some useful resources.

A counsellor who has proper ED experience will help (private will be quicker) - it’s also worth trying Over Eaters anonymous especially if you can’t immediately get a counsellor - it will stop you feeling alone and is very supportive. You don’t have to follow all their theories, you can do it your own way,

If you want some OE anon meeting links PM and I can send over

First things first I try my best to not give myself such a hard time. If I’m feeling guilty/shit about it it makes it worse. So a level of acceptance helps.

A few times I have quit sugar (it didn’t last unfortunately) and it was so strange because I went off food entirely, to the point I craved nothing, and purely ate because I had to. I didn’t even enjoy sweet foods, and I ended up eating it again out of obligation, for instance one time was at a birthday party. So I don’t know if that’s a real long term solution to be honest as it’s hard to keep up and so much of our social lives revolve around food.

Another route I’ve taken where any success has been much slower has been intuitive eating. The big difference being I listen precisely to my cravings. So instead of just grabbing anything sweet/salty or whatever I have exactly what I want and tend to feel more satisfied. This way isn’t fool proof and like I say progress is slow but it links back to what I first said about feeling guilty. If I have a binge and make myself feel bad the next day it’s more likely to happen again, and again, and again.

Another pp said having another addiction and that does work too. In fact I was addicted to tiktok for a while and didn’t eat nearly as much but unfortunately that left me with zero attention span and anxiety so it had to go, but it may be able to kick start a new way of eating who knows.