Former binge eater looking to eat better
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Anonymous
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I've gone two months without bingeing, and am 12 pounds into a 100 pound weight loss goal. For the last two months I have let myself eat in moderation whatever I liked - just so long as I wasn't eating in place of feeling or dealing with an emotion. Two other emotionally eating friends are joining me in weight loss and I think I'm ready to eat even fewer sweets and refined carbs (several family members have done very well on various reduced carb lifestyles, and for several years).
The problem is that every other time in my history of being overweight/obese, when I've tried to cut back, I have gotten crazy and really overeaten sweets and crap. If you were an emotional eater, how did you make the transition to better foods without relapsing on bingeing? |
Anonymous
| Congratulations, OP. I am also a binge-eater (I have BED, or Binge Eating Disorder) and the key to not relapsing is to not deprive yourself of any foods. Do not do this all or nothing way of eating or thinking. To really combat BED, you should eat in moderation anything you want. You will find that you may not WANT the sweets/carbs more often and instead of obsessing about that, just go with it. As you continue to eat when you're hungry and most importantly, stop when you're body has had enough (just below being full), and not denying yourself specific foods, you'll no longer crave the sweets/carbs. |
Anonymous
| I recommend some therapy - CBT in particular - to help you identify where your emotions/thoughts/actions are going wrong. They will help you come up with strategies to help you change your thinking and your habits. |
Anonymous
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Try adding healthy things to your diet rather than focusing on removing foods. Focus on one small change each week instead of trying to overhaul everything at once (e.g., add 8 glasses of water every day the first week, the second week try adding a salad every day, etc). It is important to get out of an "all or nothing" mindset.
Some resources I find helpful: http://jillfit.com/2013/05/02/quit-deprive-binge-cycle/ http://jillfit.com/2013/04/02/the-now-approach/ http://jillfit.com/2013/03/03/eat-more-veggies/ http://jillfit.com/2012/12/06/sugar-addiction/ http://jillfit.com/2012/11/08/the-5-phases-of-successful-dieting/ http://jillfit.com/2012/10/15/12-habits-lean-people/ Good luck, OP. |
Anonymous
| OP, get the app myfitnesspal on your iphone, record what you eat, and add your two weight loss friends as your buddies. Recording and broadcasting what you are eating will reduce the probability of binge. |
Anonymous
| Keep busy and take up hobbies that get you moving. If you exercise, you'll feel better about yourself and will be less likely to do destructive things like binge eating. You'll also have less time to sit around and eat |
Anonymous
| Don't try to cut out sweets. Slowly reduce them, replace them with healthier versions, etc. If you turn them in to forbidden fruit, you're more likely to overeat. If you just make the rest of your diet healthier, your craving for them will naturally go down. |
Anonymous
OP again - making my diet healthier is what I am trying to do and part of that is eating fewer sweets, which is by definition, restrictive. Nothing is off limits, but every other time I've tried to reduce my sweets intake, it goes fine for a bit and them I'm like a crazy person who has been denied something for too long. Have any former bingers found ways to improve their diet without making themselves nuts? |
Anonymous
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First, don't give up sweets. I'm paleo and still eat chocolate! Second, eat really good sweets and enjoy them. That makes it easier to eat fewer sweets.....
Add lots of veggies and good fat: butter, olive oil, avocado, nut oils----and you won't get super hungry or feel deprived. |
Anonymous
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First, congratulations on your weightloss and desire to eat better! That's huge, and should not be underestimated.
I'm about 30 lbs overweight, and started working out bigtime in early February. Losing weight has always been a struggle, and exercising plus a diet change is often overwhelming, and doesn't last long. I read an article a few months ago, that encouraged people to "do one at a time" - either add exercise and eat the same, or don't add an exercise routeine and change your diet. For me, the former is SO much easier. Being able to exercise and eat whatever, is much more enjoyable. So I've been hitting the gym 4-5 days a week, every week. What I've noticed as the weeks and months go on by, is that naturally, I don't feel like eating as much and don't feel like binging - and I did used to binge. I don't require myself to stay without a certain calorie range, but not binging makes it easier for me to exercise and work out. I don't feel as sick by stuffing myself. And while I do indulge, it seems to naturally be less. I'm not making a concerted effort in cutting back. If you can, I would try and include an exercise regimen and hold yourself to it. Do one thing at a time. Things will seem less insurmountable that way, and even better if you can get your pals on board. |
Anonymous
| NP here. Thanks for the awesome advice; I need it, too! |
Anonymous
Not the OP, but when I track my food, I binge more 
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Anonymous
| Overeaters anonymous has a lot of support for binge eaters. |
Anonymous
Have you heard of overeaters anonymous? It's a 12 step program patterned after that of AA. The local website is oa-dcmetro.org and national it is oa.org. |
Anonymous
Me too. Recording what I eat means thinking about food constantly which means eating food constantly. |