Binge Eaters - Anyone want to chat/support?

[NannyOldElf]

I'm NannyOldElf and I'm a binge eater.

Today i weight 21 stone. I have a BMI of 46.

Today i have eaten: a sharing size bag of crisps, a tub of ben&jerrys, a packet of biscuits, 4 dairylea dunkers

Im terrified. Of carrying on like this. of stopping. of being out of control.

I'm currently mulling over councelling and/or hypnotherapy.

right now step one is going to my aqua class tonight and working hard. properly sweating in the water hard.

Step 2 is to call a friend and arrange a coffee. i want to tell her what's wrong, to make it real by actually saying outloud to a real person 'i have binge eating disorder'.

Anyone else a binge eater and would like to join for support/chat?

Hi yes and yes.
I’m a chronic binger and got up to 22 stone 7 years ago; I managed to lose half my body weight but post baby depression and bad habits have crept in and I’m back to 16 stone. However I’m determined to beat it again; have you read Brain over binge? It really changed my life last time and I understood my binges were the result of neural connections my brain was used to making and I had to rewire it to make different choices. After the first month I found it plain sailing and had no inclination to binge anymore..I simply ate three times a day and tried to make sure 80 percent was healthy along with walking loads.
I’m determined to do this again we could support each other? I’m on day 5 now this week of not bingeing which is a massive step forward for me after a whole year of non stop

hi myusername wow thats amazing that you managed to loose so much! so encouraging! I have heard that book mentioned so i will be going to order that i think.

I think i need to find something to do when the urge to binge hits. i'm a SAHM which makes things tricky.

It’s honestly doable; I worked out I was eating 6000 calories a day during binges at one point.
I know what you mean about distractions; i’m exactly the same. People always used to say don’t have high fat high sugar food in but then I could easily demolish a loaf of bread as toast or the like. We can do this!

yep, i'm the same. i dont have that stuff in the house as a rule but then will eat bowls of pasta, tins of baked beans, loaves of bread.

well i went to my swim class and i caned it! i am shattered and look like a beetroot. it's a start!

Well done to both of you!

I wouldn’t say I’m that scale but definitely lack control - I’m fine up until about 3pm then just eat eat eat while making kids dinner, bedtime etc. It’s definitely stress eating for me! So hard to stop. So I can’t imagine the challenge of stopping when you actually have binge eating disorder! Good luck to you both. You can do it! I’ve been looking into CBT for overeating but not sure how to go about that - GP? I’m also considering overeaters anonymous but I don’t know if that would be applicable for you guys.
Anyway. Just wanted to wish you luck.

thank you bendy. not to scaremonger but thats how mine started, i hope you can find the strength to control it before it gets as bad as mine.

will be looking into OA tomorroow and have ordered brain over binge which has been recommended.

i eat for all available emotional reasons - sad, happy, crross, lonely and just because i can.

Can I join you?
I have a huge problem with sweets, mainly chocolates. I’m eating probably 2000 calories a day above my regular meals and finding that obviously I then don’t have space for ‘normal’ food.
I feel like such a loser.
I don’t know if it’s boredom or habit or something deeper. I’ve always struggled to control myself with sweet foods, my mum is just the same.
But I’m getting fatter and fatter and hating myself quite a lot for not being able to get this under control.

Somebody on the other thread mentioned some apps which appeal - a way to keep a track of how long since the last binge. I think I’d be motivated by that.

Anwyway thanks for starting the thread. Wanting to change is the first step to changing.

welcome dailymailfuckrightoff the more the merrier!

likewise my mum has also struggled with her weight throughout her life. i dont even want to be 'thin' i just want to be healthy (which for me would be around a size 14-16) based on looking back at photos of me!!

i feel the same, every monday i start a new diet and by lunch time i've binged and by the next week i'm even heavier. and then i get frustrated and depressed and it continues.

i'm going to try to spend a bit of time tomorrow thinking about the deeper 'why' of why i eat like i do.

plan for tomorrow is to actually have breakfast. yummy and filling, i think porridge.

then to keep busy i am making birthday cakes for my godchildren - cakes are baked so nothing for me to eat, i just need to decorate them. that should take most of the morning.

then laundry to sort and fold.

have DD2 at home through this so will be a better parent and actually play with her more.

will make an effort to get out in the garden and play with the other DC when they come home from school.

I plan to have salad for lunch with tuna.

i plan to have spaghetti carbonara for dinner but reduce the portion and have salad with it.

my goal tomorrow is not to eat a) bowls of cereal and b) slices of toast which are my normal go-to when no other binge options at home.

DH is taking my wallet so no money to buy more.

right. feeling confident for now.

Hi. I've always had issues with binging. The only time I don't do it in on a low carb diet. I find it hard to stick to for the first 3 or 4 days then suddenly I stop craving food. It's very odd. I guess the sugar addiction thing is real - I don't even like sweet food like chocolate etc but can eat bread, pasta etc like it's going out of fashion. Currently I'm off the low carb thing - was doing well for 4 weeks then stopped due to a holiday and got the carb addiction back into full swing! They are just so bloody tasty. I'm currently 13st 7 so not too bad but way too heavy for my teeny height. Today I ate a ham and cheese sandwich before a gym class then I had a big plate of veg and roast potatoes, a choc ice and if let loose I could eat the contents of the fridge but I am resisting. I'm 40 this year and want to get healthy dammit!

Good luck today all! Small steps one day of not bingeing at a time. Sounds like you’ve got some good plans in place nannyoldelf.

I looked at Overeaters Anonymous but it’s 12 steps and very God-related - as a non-believer I’m not sure how it would work for me which is a shame.

Good luck today! Sounds like a great plan! Unplug and play with your kids 👍🏻👍🏻 How was your porridge? I make mine with mashed half banana for sweetness, 1/3 cup oats, water, berries, topped with a dollop of almond butter and some oat milk if needed. The babies have that too. Delish! Today though I had toast which never starts me in good stead, and I too am decorating cakes this afternoon 😄

Also I’m 15st5 ish (was 16st2 in Feb, did a few weeks of Cambridge diet which got me down to current weight but I don’t really agree with that approach long term). I’ve decided my immediate aim is to get down to 14st-something. Sounds really tiny 🤣 i’ll feel good once I’ve succeeded in that and hopefully that will give me a boost to continue.

Also (sorry) I meant to add to that - I have friends who get exited when they lose 1-3lbs in a week. It is a great loss BUT I find I can lose or gain that in the space of a day, so am I unusual or are they just not weighing themselves enough to see their fluctuations? I know you’re not meant to weigh yourself everyday but when I do it does vary that much (and my scales are very accurate).

thanks myusername

hi titsywoo i'm similar, i can take or leave sweet stuff most of the time but put me near toast, pasta or pastry and i'm all over it.

great start on your weightloss bendy. i know the feeling, diets can be great as a kick start but i really want to fix the deeper issues i have around food.

so i'm back from school run and just sat down with my porridge. i like it plain, half milk half water. should add up to about 300 calories according to the packed. just typing this while it cools.

then onto the cakes. DH has taken my wallet, there is nothing traditionally bingey in the house unless i make a bowl of pasta which i will not do. cake icing isnt one of my poisons so i wont binge on that.

weight loss wise i would like my first target to get under 20 stone. so that is 1st 1lb from where i am now.

Day 1. Step 1. We can do this!

bendy yes i can fluctuate that much in a day which makes it hard to be happy with a 1-2lb loss. measure out 1lb of flour or sugar into a bag - it gives you a tangible idea of what 1lb actually is. i find this can help. and only weight once a week max so you dont see the other fluctuations.

I binge eat too. I’ve only really faced up to it recently during some relationship therapy sessions, where I realised I’ve been binge eating since I was 5 years old :(

Not sure yet how to approach it - i’ve Read a very good book by the man who runs the credo centre in Oxford (and is the CBT approach recommended by the NHS) but the key message is that tackling the binge eating (the first step) won’t necessarily result in weight loss. Yet at nearly 19 stone, weight loss is my absolute priority. Not sure what to do for the best at the moment...

hi daffy i feel the same. weight loss has to be a priority too but i know now that without adddressing the binge issue i will never have sustainable weight loss and the obession with food caused by diets makes my need to binge worse. i'm starting with aiming for 3 meals a day and making them foods i like but dropping the portion and bulking with veg or salad. i'm also allowing myself snacks if i'm hunger but going to aim to have fruit or veg. so not dieting as such but making better choices overall.

right i have finished my porridge. an advantage of it is that its so hot it takes ages to eat so i do actually feel comfortably full.

off to ice some cakes! good luck today people!

Hi I am with you all. At a stage now where I need to tackle this as it's making feel really ill. I binge when I am happy, sad, lonely, low - I never get hungry as I never get to that stage, always full and feeling sick. I lost my Dad at an early age due to heart disease - I can't do that to my kids!!

I'm 5ft 2 and 13st 5lb and suffer with hyper mobile joints which can no longer take the strain of excess weight. It physically hurts to move at the moment.

I did really well on a low carb diet, another one who found the first week hard but then had no appetite at all. I lost motivation as I lost no weight but I also didn't have any joint pain or binging. That to me in itself should have been enough. Four weeks back on the carbs and I have binged everyday. I feel awful and in such pain.

I know where my binging has stemmed from too, poor childhood meaning food was sometime scarce. There were also never any treats etc so when I started earning my own money I would buy all the things I felt deprived of as a child it's just carried on from there!

I have lost and gained stones over the years but am officially at my heaviest now - I have to deal with this now!

Going to give 5:2 a bash - am ok til I eat so on the 500 cal days I won't eat. Will use protein shakes (good quality ones!) and coffee to get me through. Then on 'normal' days it will be back to the low carb plan I was following. First 500 day is today, why put it off!! I have lots to do to keep me distracted which should help!

Will read through this post properly later when I have time to digest things looking forward to sharing the journey with likeminded people! Just wanted to jump in before I lost my nerve

Can I join? I suspect that I am a binge eater. I find that if I give in and start then I can't stop. It's all or nothing for me. I can do long periods of being sensible ..but one mouthful that I know I shouldn't have and it just sets me off into a massive binge. It's a real problem 😟

Placemarking to join later! Great thread.

hi coffee goodfortune and california

coffee its a good start that you know where your habits started, hopefully you can start working through the issues that stemmed from there. i'm not sure where mine started - possibly bullying through school? 5:2 is going to be my choice too but i'm going to try this week to just eat normally and then see if i feel up to bringing in a fast day next week. baby steps.

gooffortune i can be like that too, all downhill from that first mouthful.

So i have put the base layer of icing on my cakes. said no very firmly to myself when i wanted some toast as i wasnt really hungry. I have filled a 1.5l bottle with squash and put in the fridge, aiming to up my water intake to help with hunger. going to drink another glass now and see if i can hold out til 12.30/1pm for dinner.

off to do the next layer of icing.

Stay strong everyone!

Failed the 500 - weather is beyond ridiculously warm here today and I have a physical job. Was shaking by the time I had finished so have had to have a (carb free) meal.

Baby steps indeed! I always want results for yesterday but need to remind myself it took time to gain weight and bad habits .... it will take time to change and lose!

Aiming for 500 days on a Monday and Thursday plans permitting. Kids break up here tomorrow, I work term time so I break up tomorrow too so looking forward to a break!

I have found my people! Will be back later

Hi all. I want to join in! I've lost over 4st and kept it off for 6mths but constantly battle the urge to binge. To be honest, I'm miserable. Slim, yeah, but obsessed with calorie counting, grieving for the foods I'm not eating, fighting off urges all the time. I decided to try desperately to "control " this and have at least 10 good days then rewarding myself with a feast. This is horrific and abnormal but worked during my weight loss and is still working. So, last week, within one hour and after a normal days intake of 1450 cals, I recorded eating: 4 Twix, 2 Ripples, 3 Alpen, 2 penguins, 2 x toast with jam, butter x peanut butter, packet Doritos, packet cheese and onion, sharing bag of giant buttons, 5 tiny bars of green and blacks, a stale custard doughnut rescued from the bin, 100g bar of Lindt and a large bag of marsh mallows. I then fell asleep! Family say have a little bit of chocolate every day then you won't crave it but I honestly don't know how to have a little bit of chocolate. It's all or nothing and I've been like this since I was a child. I'm now 52.