Support thread for emotional/binge eaters

[BlackVelveteen]

Thank you.

[vggiegirl]

OK guys I haven't binged since the weekend and I have my WW meeting tonite. I'm really hoping for a lose but not expecting it, since I really didn't start eating right until Monday. I'm still not sure how I feel about WW...it's very restrictive but it may be what I need right now :(

[zoebird]

when my mother and i did WW, i found it really easy to use. are you using the point system?

by keeping a diary and using the point system, i was really motivated to meet the daily goals set out. in no time, both my mother and i met our weight goals. it just takes a bit of persistance.

and here's a 'hint' all the veggies you can eat. green, light, watery veggies. If i wanted to have cake for dinner--and sometimes i do--then i know that breakfast, snacks, and lunches get to be veggies! eating and prepping raw veggie meals or making veggie soups is fun and easy. :)

i know that WW works, and i know that you can do it. Since your splurge seems to be alcohol, definately account for that in your meal planning for the next day. Also, dedicate yourself to alternatives at the bar and the like. For instance, one of my husband's coworkers loves whiskey sours. she usually has them on weekends (4 or 5 on sat and the same on sun). once she went on weight watchers, she would balance her weekly points to allow for these splurges on the weekends. She also decided to cut down to two sours per day/event, and then would have soda water and lemon after that.

there are ways of working with it. you'll figure it out!

[vggiegirl]

Hey Zoe yea I am doing the Flex Points plan. So, I made it to meeting #2 yesterday which in itself is a big accomplishment for me (I tend to give things up easily) I also paid for 10 weeks at a time so now I feel I have to go :)
I only lost 1 lb and I almost cried during the meeting. I walked home from the meeting thinking screw it, I'm going to A. Binge or just B. go to bed hungry. After fighting the binge for a good hour, I had a 1/2 hr of calm where I thought, "well I have points left, but I'm going to not eat and go to bed early" At about 9 I broke down and made a pretty healthy mushroom-potato burrito for 4 pts :) I was actually satisfied and too full to eat the broccoli I was planning to nuke lol.

I feel a lot better this morning and am able to approach my small loss with a clearer head. I had binged majorly this past weekend. I only really started trying to do the program properly on Monday. M-Th = 1lb loss. that's not the end of the world at all.
All I can do is fight my demons this week (binges, alcohol) and work for a stronger loss next Thursday. I already IM'd the boyfriend and said "I know it's Friday but we are not ordering in" :D :bobo:

Oh I wanted to add that I did indeed sign up for the "Stretch and Sculpt" class I was thinking about. BF and I are starting 1/2hr walks, every day, starting Monday and that class will be every Wed starting the 18th. Baby steps :)

[April]

Vggiegirl~ Glad to hear all of these positive things from you! I'm particularly glad you realized that losing 1lb isn't the end of the world. I'd like to emphasize, though, that losing 1lb IS an accomplishment anyway. It's always hard to genuinely gauge weight loss due to water retention and what's in your bowels, etc, but we always hear that losing 1-2 lbs oa week is healthy, and losing more than that is not likely to last. So yeah, like you said, considering your weekend, you're doing great.

I also think it's awesome that you've signed up for the Stretch and Sculpt class and have established a regular walking routing with your boyfriend. Sounds like getting in shape could be fun for you. :bobo:

[CountessKerouac]

Going for long walks with your boyfriend sounds romantic and fun! Go you! :) I am sure you'll do great with the meetings. My cousin is a binge-ish eater and was successful with that program! :) Good luck!

[LoopyGothLou]

hey evry1 i also binge eat lol
I am vege and not vegan so find myself over-eating on chocolate... I need a way to stop myself wanting to eat. I know it is not cos im hungry and therefore must be emotional.
luv lou

[CountessKerouac]

Hey there now, vegans can eat chocolate too! :D

[newtonfld]

Vegan here who has started doing WW again seriously after having regained about 20 lbs in the past year due to my job. But no more excuses! Veggirl-you've got an ally (sp??) here!! :vebo:

[Schoska]

:(
I'm back..
I just can't win..I am caught in a continuos cycle of bingeing, then starving myself. I really f***ing hate it. It makes me feel so tired and ill.
Plus, it means I have no control over my weight - even tho I am excercising I can't shift the weight I have put on...thus I am VERY heavy ( i think I am obese) and because I fear for my health, I panic and thus my eating gets worse.
:sick:

[April]

Schoska~

Have you read any books by Geneen Roth? She writes about compulsive eating from a very realistic point of view, and I've found her books very helpful. I'm posting a link to her website. You can find her books dirt cheap (used) at amazon.com. The only two I haven't read are "Breaking Free from Emotional Eating"( I'm gonna order it tonight) and "The craggy hole in my heart and the cat who fixed it."

http://www.geneenroth.com/book.html

If you decide to buy any of these books, I recommend you start with "When Food is Love" and "Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating". These are not diet books, but they're not "You're fat? So what!", either.



Right now I'm dealing with the "Yay! The weight of the world is off of my shoulders! I can pig out now!" syndrome. I'm (nearly) done with school for the semester, so I want to celebrate with crappy food when I'm not legitimately hungry, like it were a reward or a way of celebrating. It's just as frustrating as eating crap when I'm bummed, but at least I'm not bummed. Anyone else ever feel this way?

[Schoska]

thank you April. I will check those books out.
As for eating crap when not bummed... it is great!!!
:)

[Schoska]

oh god :( I have binged all day.
I've had noodles and 2 person's worth of veg, a glass of juice, 2 mugs of tea..
2 slices of toast. 2 cheese and chili sandwiches and 5 pieces of bread with vegan marge. (all brown at least). Then I finished off a bottle of red wine.
I don't know why I carry on sometimes.

[girl2beaver]

Hi everyone -- I just found this thread, and I want to join because I sometimes have problems with binging, emotional eating, eating when I'm bored, etc. Right now my main problem is dried fruit. It's so good, and it's healthy in small quantities, but it sends me no stop signal. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Jinga]

When I have binge problems (ie- eating until I almost puke), I just temporaily ban that food from my home. I can still have that food when I'm in a social situation since I know I will eat in moderation then.

For emotional/boredom eating, I also try to keep a minimal amount of overindulgence foods in my kitchen. When I see a food is becoming a problem, I swap it out with something else.

I'm not sure how much dried fruit you are eating. It may actually be within a healthy realm, but if you feel you are overeating out of emotions rather than true hunger you may want to stop buying the dried fruit (or buy less of it) and stock up on fresh fruits and veggies instead. Fresh produce has a higher water content and lower caloric density. It usually fills you up faster, as well.

[girl2beaver]

When I have binge problems (ie- eating until I almost puke), I just temporaily ban that food from my home. I can still have that food when I'm in a social situation since I know I will eat in moderation then.

For emotional/boredom eating, I also try to keep a minimal amount of overindulgence foods in my kitchen. When I see a food is becoming a problem, I swap it out with something else.

I'm not sure how much dried fruit you are eating. It may actually be within a healthy realm, but if you feel you are overeating out of emotions rather than true hunger you may want to stop buying the dried fruit (or buy less of it) and stock up on fresh fruits and veggies instead. Fresh produce has a higher water content and lower caloric density. It usually fills you up faster, as well.

Good ideas -- thank you, Jinga. :)

[Ntelligentidiot]

I am a compulsive overeater. I can't help it. I mean, I know I'm not hungry, but it seems like the more I eat the more I can't stop eating. When I get home in the afternoon I just eat and eat and eat. I probably eat more then than at my actual regular meals, probably more than breakfast and lunch together! When I see food I just can't stop eating. Sometimes I try to throw it up or exercise a lot. I know I should be eating less, and I really want to. Why can't I just make myself eat normally? I know I can do it, and just walk away from the food and be done with it. So why can't I just stop eating?!?!

[weird2twiggy]

when i'm at school, i used to not eat at all - tha's the first eight hours of each day. then, i wanted to lose a little weight so yoga can be eaier for me, so instead of starving myself the whole day, and then binge eating when i got home, i wanted to start bringing food to school too and balance my food through the whole day so that i dontstarve my body so it won't retain fat. it didnt work out so well, i still binge ate when igot home. it wasnt as severe be as before becuse i wasn't hungry wehn i came home now. i guess it was the habit or something. i find it WAY easier to eat only when i'm hungry when i'm somewhere away from home. i love going to school an library for that reason. i feel better about myself- both phsically and academically. it' perfect!
it's summer break now, so i'm worried about putting on weight.
my advice to you is go somewhere during your day - rediscover the love of reading or something. it's not uncomfortable to be in the library. it's relaxing. just do whatever you want, go wherever you want - and DONT eat for no reason - for example if you take my adviceand go to the movies, for instance, dont get something to munch on while you're there. it's not that hard - you'll be occupied so you won't even think about food as much if at all.
i think everyone eatsmore at home beause that's the comfortplace, wher we can do anything, without anyone watchng/juding. its not necessarily a good thing - so get out of the house! you'll enjoy youself on more then just one level. XD hope it helps at least a little.

[weird2twiggy]

another thing that might really help is fitday.com

you imput all of your foods, and it has the calorie / fat, complete nutrition contents of most fruit/veggies, so yo can keep track of what you eat really easily.

[girl2beaver]

I am a compulsive overeater. I can't help it. I mean, I know I'm not hungry, but it seems like the more I eat the more I can't stop eating. When I get home in the afternoon I just eat and eat and eat. I probably eat more then than at my actual regular meals, probably more than breakfast and lunch together! When I see food I just can't stop eating. Sometimes I try to throw it up or exercise a lot. I know I should be eating less, and I really want to. Why can't I just make myself eat normally? I know I can do it, and just walk away from the food and be done with it. So why can't I just stop eating?!?!

I have similar problems. For the last few months, I've just been letting myself eat, but now I'm really trying to be better. The following things have helped me:
1) Not having food at my disposal. For example, I only take enough food to school for lunch and a mid-morning snack.
2) Finding something else to do. If I want a snack but I know I don't need one, I listen to music instead.
3) Trying not to associate food with other activities. My main problem is that I like to eat in the car. I've been trying to have interesting conversations with the driver so that I won't be bored and want to put food in my mouth.

The other thing is that you can't beat yourself up. You should be firm (meaning that you should not let yourself splurge every day), but you can't hate yourself for overeating, and throwing up is NOT a good idea. Good luck, and I know you can do it. :hug:

[April]

Hey Everyone~

I wanted to check in because while I've been doing ok lately, I've really had strong urges to binge. I've been fantasizing about going mad with a bunch of cheese and crackers and salt 'n vinegar chips. I'm vegan, though. I know the urges are stress related- I'm in a new relationship, and it's long distance, so it has an extra element of frustration. It's as though I see eating a bunch of cheese as some way for me to rebel and therefore express myself. It's silly, though, as I know it'll get me no where and I won't feel any better for it. I don't really have a purpose with this post other than getting this off my shoulders. I hope everyone is doing well.

[CountessKerouac]

I haven't been doing so well in this department lately. :cry: It's not with everything though. Like, I can see a bag of chips and not care and have no desire to eat any of it, but if I see peanut butter or chocolate...I have to eat at least 1,000 calories worth of it. I am not making myself sick (as in, not full-out binges like I used to have), but this will cause weight gain if I don't stop it. I won't let myself have nut butters or chocolate for months at a time because I am so afraid of binging, but then when I do allow myself to have it, I go insane. I mean INSANE. I think it's due to the fact that these are my "forbiddon foods". I am sick of the peanut butter though, so I don't think it'll be a problem anymore.

Two weeks ago, I actually made myself throw up twice after binging on a jar of peanut butter. But, I won't be doing that ever again. It wasn't pleasant, of course. And I thought "what the f*** am I doing?" and vowed not to do it again. I don't know what I was thinking.

Aside from peanut butter and chocolate...I'm okay. I eat normally aside from those things. What is wrong with me????

[NDvegan85]

CK, I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble. :hug: Are you eating enough calories in general? Specifically, enough fat? Like 25-30% of your diet on a daily basis? I notice in the IAT! thread that you eat a lot of fruits and veggies, which is good, but your body needs fat to run on too, and chocolate and PB are good sources of that. So maybe you are just having cravings for that? Just a thought.

And as for this throwing up, I was bulimic for a long time, and it started out very innocently, so just be careful with that, and if it gets to be a recurring pattern, get some help please. Take care!

[meatless]

*sigh*

I'm on like my 8th batch (batch = 8-14) of homemade cinnamon buns in about three weeks. I have shared some of them, but I really feel like I can't stop sometimes. And other times they're all I can think about. Sad and pathetic. :(

On the up side, this binge has provoked me into exercise again. :)

[meatless]

I should add that before that, it was pan after pan of peanut butter rice krispie treats.

and before that apple crisp.

Before that, chocolate cake

eta: all of these things are vegan.