Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Does anyone have this problem? I am average sized girl. almost 5'8, and around 135. I just moved in with my sister, who looks very much like me. Same dark hair, same height, she just had a baby, but about 10 to 15 pounds skinnier than me. I have always had a love hate relationship with food. I eat pretty healthy. Im vegan, so I dont eat any animal products, but that doesnt stop me from eating a ton. If I am busy and have things to do, I'm good about just eating a snack here and there, but since I've been nanny to her daughter, everytime the baby goes to sleep and I make myself lunch, its like I need to eat more. I make a sandwhich, and eat that, and then make a cup of soup, and eat that, and more and more, even when I am full, its like I am binge eating. I have always been this way, especially when I lived alone. Id get home from work, have a little snack and end up eating two dinners worth of food before it is time for bed! The only time I have not been like this is after a break up when I was so upset I wasnt hungry, or those brief times when I try really hard to excersice and watch my weight. But I always fall back into the same pattern. i want to change it so that I can be at least 5 to 10 pounds less, but it is so hard, as though it is harder to quit than smoking. Anyone have this problem? Is this binge eating? Is it emotional? how do I stop it? Its hard living with a skinny sister and then stuffing your face during the day knowing its not helping... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keenan Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 i'm not an expert w/ this, but i've found that when i go through these phases it helps a lot to make myself cups of green tea to keep my hands and mouth occupied. keeps me hydrated, too! gum chewing is supposed to do the same thing. apparently models chew a pack of sugarless gum a day! (lol, read that while getting a mani/pedi last week, have no idea if it's true.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Keenan, That actually has helped me in the past....When I worked in an office it was hard not to snack all day. It is like I need to constantly keep my mouth occupied and my tastebuds pleased...haha...But when I would occupy myself by sipping tea, I probably helped in cutting out at least one snack I would have scarfed down. The biggest problem is my own self control . Once I eat one thing, even a small taste of it, I keep eating until I am sick from all the food. I often go to bed at night with a belly ache from eating too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSmilingTurnip Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hmmm...have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder? If you are not eating-disordered, ie you feel you *must* eat the food or you will not be ok, then it could be boredom or perhaps letting off stress from rearing children. Children can be VERY stressful and sometimes women find themselves with time for themselves and comfort themselves with food once the chitlins have gone to bed. Sometimes there are certain foods that will *trigger* you...ie some foods that can become addictive. Are there one or two particular types of food that you eat and can't stop eating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost69 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 drink a lot of water. it helps curb appetite a bit and cravings. do you eat really fast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Pretty much any food that tastes good. Im one of those people that have to finish everything on their plate, or I feel uncomfortable...Maybe it was the way I was raised. I think most people have strange relationships with food (am I right),,and have body image issues. I always thought mine was somewhere in the middle. Dont hate my figure, but I'd be much happier with it at 10 pounds less. And with food. I love food. But I do go overboard, and that might be some kind of disorder...Or you are right about the emotional eating. I am nanny to my niece and just moved cross country, I am by myself all day long and its hard not to binge eat...But I have a history of being this way....Do you think I binge eat? Like just this afternoon I made myself a veggie dog sandwhich, and ate it, and then I made another one and put avacado all on it, and then even though I was full I ate a lunna bar....Altogether for lunch that was probably around 800 or 900 calories...And when 3 approaches, Im sure Ill start raiding the fridge again and over eat....Im full right now....Maybe I should see someone about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 yes, I eat fast too...If didnt have a high metabalism I think I could easily be twice the size I am now....But still. Id like to be healthier and be able to control myself....It's funny, but I used to eat more than my boyfriends....Id be the one on the 6th slice of pizza...Gosh, its embarrassing too..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost69 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 it's okay to have a high calorie meal once in a while. the problem is when it's a daily cycle that you really start putting weight on. do you have any exercise routine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost69 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 yes, I eat fast too...If didnt have a high metabalism I think I could easily be twice the size I am now....But still. Id like to be healthier and be able to control myself....It's funny, but I used to eat more than my boyfriends....Id be the one on the 6th slice of pizza...Gosh, its embarrassing too..... slow it down. you will seem much more full faster. i'm getting the impression you literally stuff your face until you are so full you feel sick. yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 ohhh..You made me laugh out loud on that one...I guess I do..Its like I am in a trance from the food and dont realize how full I am till its too late....Oh, I must sound like the biggest pig...But I have to laugh...Usually when I do it the day before, I tell myself the next day to be good to make up for all the eating the day before...But recently I seem to be in a bad cycle...And I dont exercise enough either....I walk the baby...I keep planning to start exercising more..but havent yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallingAllAngels Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 This does sound like binge eating disorder. The key is NOT to eat your trigger foods. You need to eat some fat, protein and a low glycemic carb. Have you ever been to a nurtionist. And like Ghost said...drink lots of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Actually, I read up alot on food and nutrition and want to go back to school for that thing...I dont know if I have trigger foods...I feel like any food triggers it...I think I know what I should eat and what I have to do..Its just the self control part...But I wasnt sure if this could be diagnosed as binge eating and perhaps I needed more help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost69 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 along with what allie is saying: -drink lots of water. promotes metabolism and can make you feel a bit more full -watch your calorie intake -eat more frequently but smaller portions -get healthy snacks if your fingers are fidgety. things like carrot stick or better yet, celery. you can actually lose more weight eating celery than you get out of it. and it's mostly water based. -sweat it out. get a good 10 minute walk at least once a day. bored? get to it. make sure you walk at a pace you can handle. try and get your heart rate to twice as much when you are resting for the whole 10 minutes. these little things will make you feel a bit more energized than usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallingAllAngels Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Actually, I read up alot on food and nutrition and want to go back to school for that thing...I dont know if I have trigger foods...I feel like any food triggers it...I think I know what I should eat and what I have to do..Its just the self control part...But I wasnt sure if this could be diagnosed as binge eating and perhaps I needed more help... only a dr. or nutrionist can dianosis, but it sounds like it to me. why don't you google it and see what you come up with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Thanks everyone. Does anyone else do this Im wondering? I know with potato chips or something I can keep eating them all, and then feel completely gross after. I guess its a self control thing...Or is something inside me not triggering that I am full? I will have to read up more on it....Its just so hard for me to eat normal sized meals and snacks....ugh..I do try to drink a lot of water, and I think if I started exercising more, it could help with my eating habits....On that note..I think I will go walk the baby around a bit right now....Thanks so much everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallingAllAngels Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 ^Even if you have it, you can beat it. It's just like Anorexia and Bulimia. They are manageable eating disorders. You just need to take control and believe in yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl friend Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hi Yes it could well be binge-eating disorder... But, do you ever force yourself to vomit? Is it a compulsion that you literally have no control over whatsoever? I would encourage you to look into what it could be that the food represents - a way of rewarding yourself? a way of warding off depression? what are you unhappy about? How does your mother fit into all this? Commonly with girls with eating distress related disorders the food can be seen as representing the failed relationship with the mother, the binging as an effort to get that nurturing.. do you wish you were younger? How do you feel? You said something that really stood out for me; you said that you didn't feel like binging when you were unhappy after a break-up. you see when we are unhappy, we don't feel like taking real care of ourselves, as you discovered. But that implies that you see the binging as 'taking proper care of yourself. This is a cycle that needs breaking. How else can you make yourself feel valued and happy? By working out for a good body? I would strongly urge you to see a counsellor or therapist to undercover the issues in your psyche with you, and to help you to understand what is going on here. girl friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSmilingTurnip Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I can't tell you whether you binge eat, you have to ID that for yourself. But you have said several times that you do. If you think you should see someone, if you suspect something is wrong, then you should go check that out. What's the worst that could happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost69 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Thanks everyone. Does anyone else do this Im wondering? I know with potato chips or something I can keep eating them all, and then feel completely gross after. I guess its a self control thing...Or is something inside me not triggering that I am full? I will have to read up more on it....Its just so hard for me to eat normal sized meals and snacks....ugh..I do try to drink a lot of water, and I think if I started exercising more, it could help with my eating habits....On that note..I think I will go walk the baby around a bit right now....Thanks so much everyone! i used to be the same way when i was younger before i really got into fitness. i could sit and eat a whole huge bag of chips before i was sick and had to put them away. you just have to have some self-control. i know easier said than done. but slow down. if you need to keep your hand busy, there are other things to do besides diving them into a bag of chips. drink less soda if you drink soda. stay away from juices made from concentrate. little things stack up weight gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 wow Girl friend..You have some good points I should really think about...All my relationships, including my mother are a bit strained and unhealthy. We have always had a type of love/hate relationship. I do think there is comfort in food, and perhaps it is my subconscious way of taking care of those emotions deep down....That is a way to look at it beyond surface issues..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striker17 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I am troubled with the same problem, except I didn't luck out with the high metabolism. I've recently started to take control of my health, and I've come accross a few tricks to help stop it from happening. I never knew that it was an eating disorder or anything, I used some common sense, and am trying to beat it. I do occasionally fall off the wagon, but it's happening less and less. Anyway, here are my tips: 1) Eat something every 3 hours, if there's no scheduled meal, have a snack (It can be healthy or junky, just make sure you portion yourself) even if you aren't hungry. One of my causes for binge eating was that I found that if I was ever a bit hungry, I would start eating, and since I ate fast, I would eat a lot more than necessary before my body had the chance to tell me to back off. This way, you can stop the hunger at its roots by eating before you ever get the urge to binge. 2) Portion control: When you do snack, take a single portion whatever you're eating and put it into a bowl/on a plate if necessary (Handfull of chips, nuts, carrots, whatever) and then take it out of the kitchen before you start to eat. One of my big problems was that if I ate straight out of the bag or container, I would eat far more than one portion because there was no finish line in sight. I found out that if I take out one portion, and then put away the rest, I can still feel satisfied when I finish. Another thing is to eat out of the kitchen, so that when you finish, you aren't surrounded by more food. 3) Always be chewing gum I find that I'm less likely to binge eat if I'm chewing on a piece of gum. If I get the urge, then it's too late, a piece of gum won't do anything, but if I'm already chewing, then more often than not, the urge will never be too strong, and it will dissipate pretty quickly. 4) When drinking water, don't get it from the kitchen. I've found that when I go to get a glass of water, because I was in the kitchen, I would grab a snack, and it would just continue until I had lost control. By drinking water from the bathroom sink, I've found that I never get the urge to snack. If you prefer to drink soda or juice or whatever, you can consider buying a mini-fridge to keep elsewhere (but if it's non-diet drinks, having them within easy access can be almost as bad as binge eating, if not worse) Some willpower, along with the help of these little tricks, can and will help you stop your binge eating. A lot of people are calling it an eating disorder, but I don't know if I would classify it as that, as it's really in a completely different class from bulimia or anorexia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl friend Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 wow Girl friend..You have some good points I should really think about...All my relationships, including my mother are a bit strained and unhealthy. We have always had a type of love/hate relationship. I do think there is comfort in food, and perhaps it is my subconscious way of taking care of those emotions deep down....That is a way to look at it beyond surface issues..... Lol well its not entirely my own idea... i'm a Freudian. Perhaps a bit of therapy with a clinician who takes a psychoanalytical approach would help you to explore these issues, youve already reached out to the approach! g/f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon333 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 thanks striker, thanks girl friend...I think both of your advice combined are really good starts to work towards not eating my way into feeling sick! There is a psychological reason, and then there is the physical things I can do to help...Kinda like quitting smoking....I have to understand the root of why I do this..I think it is somewhat abusive to my body.....And I am never happy with myself when I do do it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSmilingTurnip Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I think that you do not need to see a doctor to get a diagnosis...you can pretty much figure it out yourself. The only problem is that you usually cannot heal it all by yourself. You know whether or not you have a problem with binge eating...you've identified that without a dr's help. Now you just need to find the solution. Doctors cannot solve everything. Binge eating disorders are usually not something that can be managed with drinking more water or chewing gum all the time, since the food / bingeing is the symptom of a larger problem. The larger problem, the problem that you're addressing with the numbing capacity of excess food, that is what must be addressed. The food is a bandaid that is used for soothing purposes. What are you trying to soothe? Look at that, and you may be closer to a solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayar Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I've got this problem. I control it by embracing an intermittent fasting schedule. Since it hasn't ever been proven you're supposed to eat several small meals anyway, and since logic would dictate we're not a grazing species, I've justified this sort of routine. It works for me. I eat one meal a day, as much as I want in an hour. I do generally eat healthy and eat lots of fruits, veggies, healthy meats, etc. But when I have ribs, I eat two sides of 'em. If I have steak I have steak until my belly is full. All in all I still eat less calories than most people. Bingeing itself isn't bad, if it's balanced by fasting. Some call that an eating disorder... Personally I believe that three squares per day is an eating disorder, perpetuated by the various agriculture boards... After all, the wheat board wants you to eat x amount of bread, the dairy board wants you to get your glasses of milk in, and of course if you're going to eat enough meat to feed beef cattle farmers' families, well jee we all need three plus meals a day to fit it all in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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