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Bingeing

Old 11-10-2013, 01:49 AM
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Default Bingeing

I am embarrassed to actually admit this, this is the first time I've ever admitted it besides to myself- I binge eat. It is the main culprit in my being overweight. (I am 5'7" & 180 lbs- I look & feel best at 140 lbs) I truly do know how to eat a proper, balanced diet, and how to effectively exercise, but I sabotage all of my efforts with binging. I have been trying to pinpoint WHAT makes me want to binge- foods that taste really good, or have emotional benefits & make me feel good or filled up (especially if I'm filling sad &/or tired), if I'm not busy (I try to keep busy, but then I find myself wanting to eat, even when not hungry, and then I eat too much).... I am truly happy with my life, there is very little that I would change and the things that I would change are being worked on I am not depressed, nor am I unhappy in general (just get a little sad from time to time missing my brother who lives far away and my grandparents who died). I LOVE the holidays, I LOVE to cook & bake, and I am an EXCELLENT cook.... so I think about food & cooking & what would taste good, which means I don't SEE food as JUST fuel, I see it as fun & edible art & for some reason it makes me feel good. I think the very best way for me to not binge aould be to get rid of the foods in my house that I tend to binge on, BUT I want to learn HOW to not binge in the first place! I tend to binge on spaghetti the most (at least 80% of my bingeing is on spaghetti), I think it's because it is a childhood favorite, if very filling & tasty, & fast to make. I almost only binge in the afternoon, 1-3 pm, when I am most tired & my willpower is also lowest. I think that if I could replace the binging with something else at that time that it could help- perhaps having a cup of coffee every afternoon would give me something to look forward to, & help keep me from wanting to binge? All ideas & tips welcome, but please be kind- I have NEVER spoken of this, and am very sore on it.
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Old 11-10-2013, 05:11 AM
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Time management is one solution. If you have lots to do and you've planned your time, you can plan part of that time to be 'meal time.' When you have that 'meal time,' you concentrate all of your control in that time slot and think only about how much you are eating, where and when you are eating and what you are eating. Then make the best choices possible for all of those things.

When your meal time ends (because it was planned), you accomplish whatever is still to be done WITHOUT food, knowing that you have a next meal and you will be sticking to your plan. If you start feeling anxious, then you can 'buy some time' with some hot coffee (stevia, low-fat milk if you're not drinking it black) or even a cup of hot consomme, plain and simple.

That's one suggestion.

Completely different: graze all day. Planning is still key - you can't just eat right through the day, as many calories as you want. But you can have a snack coming up every hour or so, as long as it's a small snack. As long as the calories get counted. As long as your main meals stay small so that you're snacks aren't just calories piled on top of meal calories, making your calorie totals go up.

The problem with both suggestions is that you have to find what works for you and your lifestyle. What works for you and satisfies some needs you have is exactly what you are doing now. So, something has to change - and if you're not a planner, becoming a planner is a big step. If you're not able to control grazing, then making snacks into assets instead of liabilities is going to be difficult.

I'm a binge eater in the sense that I can't eat 1 serving of low-calorie baked chips. I have to eat all 4 servings in the bag until they are gone! In one sitting. But: if you log that nutritional information in your food log, at least you know that this is X percent of what you have available in your calorie bank for the day. You just try to work with what you can handle. In my case, I'm better off not having low-calorie chips in the house. If I do have them and I do eat them, I have to deal with the calorie count and what it means in my day. Sometimes, it doesn't make much of a dent and it's been an affordable luxury. Sometimes, it's just too many extra calories I don't need. Take it day by day.

And oh, yes, I 'eat my feelings.'
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Old 11-10-2013, 01:55 PM
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Thank you SO much! I am going to try out your first suggestion- I am very much a planner, and making a set "meal time", and an END to meal time, may be my ticket to freedom! THANK YOU!
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