So totally ashamed of myself...

[HeftyHetty]

Yesterday I ate:

Breakfast: fruit and toast
Lunch: Cheese sandwich, salad, fruit
Dinner: pork sausages, sprouts, carrots.

Not too bad, but as well as this I had

A whole tub of Pringles
Half a pizza
Microwave bag of mixed veg
Half a jar Nutella
A whole packet of biscuits
A packet pasta and sauce type thing
3 slices toast with butter
4 biscuits
Butter icing which I made specifically to eat then and there.
3 cans diet coke

I really hate myself right now

I am about a stone overweight and usually eat fairly well but every so often I do this and it takes me days to recover, I feel sick, pale and bloated and spend a few days eating really well as I crave nutrients!

If I weren't overweight I wouldn't worry too much about the odd day indulgence but this is disgusting, I must have eaten thousands of calories and mostly salt, sugar, sweeteners, bad fats.

What can I do to break this habit? Does anyone else do this? I knew it was stupid and I would feel awful afterwards but I felt completely out of control!

Try MyFitnessPal. I find it really helps.

The other thing that has helped is finding a few friends who also want to lose weight and weighing each other each week. Pay a fine if you put on/don't lose, and use the money for a night out after 6 months.

Thanks! I am the only person in my close friendship group who is overweight. I usually eat moderately, not little enough to lose but certainly not this badly, it just takes over sometimes!

I have reposed in chat because I really need a public shaming to snap out of this habit!

Firstly forgive yourself :), tomorrow is another day. Did you watch the diet program on tv the other week , can't remember the name of it but it was really interesting. They looked into the science behind overeating and other things. One thing they discovered was once people had broken their diet they tended to carry on eating as they thought " what the heck , i have broken my diet now so it does not make any difference " Maybe this is what happens with you ?

Just get a friend to weigh you each week then. Its far more embarrassing not losing weight when you weigh in front of friends than somewhere like weight watchers, where they are more interested in taking your money and selling you low cal chocolate and stuff to make even more money "help you lose weight"

OP, did you know there is a binge eating support thread? It's in the Health \ eating disorders section.

^ That's exactly it! I'll have 3 slices of toast and then think, fuckit, might as well eat til I'm ill... Not a good way of thinking though.

Hi there, first of all you should consider changing your username as you must make yourself feel bad every time you log on or leave a message? I know it sounds cheesy but if you think yourself thin and reinforce positive messages about yourself hopefully the weight will start to disappear too? I'm sure you are not as overweight as you claim. You are obviously trying, otherwise you would have had the whole pizza, no vegetables and full fat coke! I used to binge on food I really didn't want (old cheese, cottage cheese, cold roast potatoes) as I would feel too guilty about eating the food I did want (cake or a burger) I would then spend the rest of the day in an orgy of self-loathing (and probably eat the cake too) so I know how you feel. Homeaway said it best, tomorrow is another day, you are not going to gain that much weight from a day's overeating, but you will from a week/month/lifetime. If you feel a need to binge, try doing something else that you enjoy first (watch a film, take a bath, walk the dog) and then the urge might disappear. If you still feel the need, you might just be hungry so make sure you have regular large meals of healthy food. If you still have to binge, choose something like fruit/rice cakes/raisins/no sugar sweets that you like that you can binge on and not rack up 1000s of calories. The other thing that really helped me was doing the 5:2. Yes it is agony on fasting days but at least you can eat what you want on the other days without guilt and you find that you don't want as much anyway. Hope this helps and don't despair!

Thanks all. This is not my usual user name! I am a regular who is generally happy and lighthearted, the other day just got me down.

I don't want to go down the route of 5:2 as I'm not actually unhappy with my weight, 5'8" and about a stone overweight, most of that is boobs so I can carry it off and I normally eat in moderation so don't want to radically change my lifestyle. Like fizzy drinks, I don't like them most of the time but when I'm on a junk binge, they are all I want!

I just feel so awful after these binges, not necessarily/just the calories side but the lack of control, the salt and sugar that makes me feel bloated and lethargic for days, how unhealthy it must be, even if only every few weeks.

I beat myself up but am already starting to feel better, lots of veg and water the past few days has cleared out the system and I am feeling human again.

Next time I must really try and stop myself and see if the craving disappears or it just takes me longer to cave. I seem to have tried everything, I don't understand when day to day I have so much self control, I even gave up smoking a few months ago so I know I have willpower, I just can't find it when I'm rushing round sainsburys like I'm on supermarket sweep!

Must try harder, will do the bath/film/whatever next time and see if I can beat it. If I can't I'll find the binge eating support thread...

You sound so much better! If you gave up smoking recently that's probably why you're finding it difficult as that is hell! Good luck, I'm sure you'll crack it.

Do you know what triggered it?

No idea what triggered it though I never do it when I am working because I can hardly move all day, just sit feeling shit and eating more. But then again it's not boredom as I always have plenty to do and lots of 'hobbies' (I hate that word but it accurately describes things I do!), once I start eating I can't stop.

I think I'm going to blame hormones, even though it doesn't happen at the same time each month...

As you are not loads over weight, I don't actually think you need to diet or get a friend to weigh you or any of that. Your extra stone is probably just down to the binges. They seem extreme, even to me and I've had a diagnosed binge eating disorder!!

I know it sounds lame but next time it starts, I would try and write down what you're thinking, what has happened already that day, how you're feeling and maybe also what you think the consequences of the binge might be. If after doing that, you still feel like eating just do it. Eat your face off but at the end, when the guilt sets in, start writing again. How do you feel now, was it worth it etc. you can come back to this next time a binge starts.

I think dieting would be counter productive for you because restricting food plays right into a bingers hands. Keep eating as you normally do but take control of the binge days. Think about what you're eating, write each item of food down BEFORE you eat it. You can still eat it, just log it first. It just gives you some control back.

I bet if you go two or three months without a binge that extra stone will drop off.

Good luck