Binge eating disorder

[Zeus35]

Does anyone suffer from binge eating disorder? If so how do you deal with it or how did you overcome it?

I really struggle with it. So I've recently started buying fruit and when I'm hungry just eating that until I'm no longer hungry. Fruit I like not boring fruit. I also eat low calorie meals now too.

 

[ColorlessTrees]

I don't have a solution for myself, and I've tried just about everything, but here are some tips I've gathered in my time dealing with it and from other people:

The biggest one is probably to identify the cause, if it's emotional, but insulin resistance is a relatively common cause for insatiable hunger and thus bingeing. I only bring this up because mine is influenced by the latter.

If you can't control the binge, choosing lower calorie or at least "healthier" foods is a good way to minimize harm. Fruit is definitely better than other stuff.

-Sleep earlier if you're a night eater.
-Brushing your teeth instead so there's less incentive to eat and undo that, I guess?
-Distraction is hard, but a pretty good one when it works.
-Eating at maintenance instead of focusing on weight loss if that's an issue, and eating nutritious meals would help with sugar cravings eventually. Even just taking foods you like and finding a way to work vegetables in or as a side is a start, but I'm terrible at suggestions because my diet is chronically fucked.
-Keeping trigger foods out of the house
-Making a list of the benefits of not bingeing vs giving in
-Drink something flavored or chew gum
-gEt tHeRaPy

I've also heard that Vyvanse is approved to treat BED, at least in the US. Might be more effective than these.

Mostly useless tips, perhaps you've already heard them, but hopefully you can get something out of this. Either way I hear you and binge eating is a hell I wish on no one.

 

[Laggy]

I suffer from this and I haven't figured out any solution. I'm thinking I just need to die. But lots of people do manage to control themselves and take care of themselves. In the past, I could get healthy for a few months at a time and I'd have more energy and be less miserable. But I was hungry constantly, and would inevitably eventually give in and start overeating again. Every time I gave up, my eating habits would become worse than ever, and my weight would reach a new high. I haven't tried to be healthy in a long time because I'm just not willing to be that hungry anymore.

I also tried Vyvanse and it was like *magic* for three weeks, I didn't care whether I ate or not. Then it quit working and my dosage was already maxed out, so I had to quit it.

 

[Julgran]

Does anyone suffer from binge eating disorder? If so how do you deal with it or how did you overcome it?

I really struggle with it. So I've recently started buying fruit and when I'm hungry just eating that until I'm no longer hungry. Fruit I like not boring fruit. I also eat low calorie meals now too.

You could try starting every day by eating three eggs - that may make you feel completely stuffed, and then you will feel less willing to eat additional food or snacks.

I have been over-eating for a year now, and have gained many kilos, but the reason for it hasn't been that I have been hungry or lusting for the good taste, but because I have used it as a crutch, and I also thought that if I will end my life some time soon, I might as well enjoy the time until then by eating what I want. However, it has gotten to the point that I have been eating food or snacks and thought to myself "What am I doing? I don't even enjoy the taste of this food or snack right now, so why do I keep eating?"

 

[Zeus35]

You could try starting every day by eating three eggs - that may make you feel completely stuffed, and then you will feel less willing to eat additional food or snacks.

I have been over-eating for a year now, and have gained many kilos, but the reason for it hasn't been that I have been hungry or lusting for the good taste, but because I have used it as a crutch, and I also thought that if I will end my life some time soon, I might as well enjoy the time until then by eating what I want. However, it has gotten to the point that I have been eating food or snacks and thought to myself "What am I doing? I don't even enjoy the taste of this food or snack right now, so why do I keep eating?"

I have aspergers so it's difficult changing what I usually eat. So I binge on unhealthy things because I struggle to change what I eat

 

[Julgran]

I have aspergers so it's difficult changing what I usually eat. So I binge on unhealthy things because I struggle to change what I eat

I see! Do you think that you could just try a different for one day, just to see how it feels? I can imagine that it's harder than it sounds, though.

 

[nys]

I don't have experience with binge eating disorder so what I'm going to say probably won't work, but whenever I'm hungry but don't want to eat, like because of a diet or something, I just keep drinking water, and I drink more and more until I'm full from the water and it's physically impossible for me to eat food without pain. I guess you could eat a healthy amount of food and then binge drink water until you can't physically eat anymore. I don't know if this will work though because again, I have no experience with this and I'm not a professional. I hope you find a solution

 

[theboy]

Not exactly but if I have binge. It is part of eating disorders

 

[Lullaby]

Wellbutrin has been helping me with this, at least when I can remember to take it. It gives me a lot of energy, which also suppresses my appetite. When I'm on it, I never eat when I'm bored or sad.

But otherwise, I try to have an eating schedule and drink as much water as I can, to help curb the cravings. I also eat a lot of fruit too and other light snacks just in case I do get those urges.

I went from purging to binging, so I'm trying to overcome this as well.

 

[Sulyya]

I guess bumping this to vent without making a new thread, and I like the previous posts here.

A few years ago I had what I think was a mini stroke (shocking feeling in the brain waking me up, numbness in the left half of my body which faded over months but still reappears depending on what I eat). Occurred after binging a package of cookies late before bed. More to get into on it, but not related here. I've also thought that dying this way might be alright because heart issues from diet is pretty common method of death I think. I'm not even obese, just negatively affected in that way physically by bad foods, and mentally at the weakness for eating them. It's just that good tasting things are a crutch I suppose, to try making myself momentarily happy, even with the certainty that I'll feel worse afterward.

 

[archiemex]

I also suffer from binge eating disorder. when i was younger i frequently got made fun of by my relatives and friends for being skinny (even though i was average weight). so then i started eating and eating to gain weight and never did. i would always force myself to eat even when i wasn't hungry and would cry if i threw up because i thought i lost a bunch of calories. now i have a somewhat healthy diet and work out so I'm not super skinny. but i have stomach issues because of the binge eating and poor diet. and i still occasionally binge eat when i stressed.

 

[thankyou]

Does anyone suffer from binge eating disorder? If so how do you deal with it or how did you overcome it?

I really struggle with it. So I've recently started buying fruit and when I'm hungry just eating that until I'm no longer hungry. Fruit I like not boring fruit. I also eat low calorie meals now too.

I had terrible binge eating for years to the point I almost unalived myself. The root causes were untreated Adhd and an ex who would control what I ate. What cured my binge eating was a combination of medication (Wellbutrin and other stimulants) and leaving that partner. I was on the medication for years and now I've been off of it for a year and no binge eating.

Sorry you're going through this. Maybe give medication a try? And if that's not available to you, maybe caffeine and other appetite suppressants?