Posts: 6,727
7/2/09 1:33 P

I may have eaten too much in company but I have never truly binged in front of anyone. I've been single all my life and had a job for several years that gave me a lot of alone time. Even when I was in relationships, I found time to binge, but not like I did/do when on my own. I,too, tend to eat good meals. I choose foods I really like, but they do tend to be on the healthy side. I do not scrimp on calories so I cannot say that my binges are to balance starving myself. For years, I let myself eat whatever I wanted. It did not take away the desire to overeat. I know that facing this non-hunger eating is the key not only to weight loss but to a real sense of peace with food. I don't always keep up with SY but I keep coming back.

current weight: 146.5

185 175.375 165.75 156.125

146.5

Posts: 2,165
6/18/09 3:48 P

thanks for the info, gals

I am doing my best to keep it healthy and stay away from "trigger" foods and monitoring my self talk so that "stuff" doesn't sneak up on me.



Edited by: KENNESAWGIRL733 at: 6/18/2009 (15:48)

Posts: 1,098
6/18/09 2:07 A

Hi! I was a horrible binger. It has been a struggle to become aware. I found taking 5HTP amino acids helped along with starting South Beach Eating plan. Exercise helps immensely.

Pounds lost: 39.5

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Posts: 908
6/17/09 8:53 P

Sydney, Binge eating can be quite the problem, can't it? I catch myself doing it once in a while, still. I AM a grazer though .. and a taster, when I cook. My calories pile up when I take a bite here and there, and its worse at work.

But .. when I was a kid, my job used to be to act as the janitor for my father's pub. In the mornings before school, I would be in there sweeping and mopping, and I had free grazing rights. No, I didn't drink, but dad always had snacks for sale - bags of beer nuts (still love those things), peanuts, popcorn, occasionally chocolates, and all the fountain sodas I wanted. I would NEVER have chowed on that stuff in those quantities, had anyone been watching. I took that secret eating into my dating life - yeah I was one of those annoying dates who acted like she was 'full' but ate a basket of bread or chips when my date went to the men's room (laugh).

The last time I secretly binged was just after Halloween. I was at a friend's house helping her clean after an illness. I found her 'stash' and stuffed my pockets with baby candies. How insane was that? I ended up telling her and we both had a huge laugh and sat on the couch and nibbled them.

The last time I fell off the 'sensible eating' wagon, I found that I could fall into a binge if I got lonesome -- if my husband was working weird hours -- again eating when no one was watching. Maybe the key for me is to never eat anything in private that I wouldn't eat in front of a friend or my husband (laugh).

Best of luck on your journey ... its eye-opening, isn't it?

Pounds lost: 5.5

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Posts: 1,485
6/17/09 1:16 P

Sydney,
I can so relate. I have done a lot of binge eating in my day- mostly hidden. I have learned a lot about the emotional issues that I have stuffed inside and what my triggers are. I can't say I am binge free but I can certainly say they are few and far between. I can much more easily see those things that are starting me down a road I don't want to go. The key now is stopping the car before it goes down that road! Good luck to you on your journey it sounds like you are having good success.

Posts: 2,165
6/17/09 12:20 P

I'm not a grazer, and don't care to eat several times a day - I like 3 - 4 meals max and can easily hold the 300- 400 calories/meal. I occasionally eat too much, but not very often.

My weight gain has been the result of constant binge eating over the years. I can't recall every dieting for more than a few days. Just long enough to drop a few pounds.

But I went to work at a job where I could not be mobile, quit smoking and had a hysterectomy. My skinny days were doomed after that. I began to binge eat and eat in secret - mostly very high calorie, high fat sweets. My pattern was to binge usually once a week on the day my husband, who was a travelling salesman, would leave for the week. 20 years of weekly binges has taken its toll.

Since being on Spark People, in January, I have stuck to a healthy food plan for almost 6 months. I have had one relapse with a sugar binge on May 30th with about 6,000 calories in a 4 hour period. I've started over and have not had a sugar binge for 16 days thus far. My previous record was 129 days. And, every day that I do not binge on sugar is a successful day!



Strange, but since I've quit eating so much sugar, I'm now craving cheese & crackers! The only good thing about that is there are far fewer calories in the cheese I like, than the high-fat, high sugar foods I would binge on. It's not perfect, but better than a sugar binge. and I know that in time, I can let go of that as well.

For today, I am binge free - no sugar, and nothing else I'm binging on either! One day at a time, I'm learning to take it easy on myself and give up using food for comfort.