Hello,
I wanted to start this thread as a way for those of us dealing with binging to support, and encourage each other, share ideas and celebrate our victories in overcoming binging.

If you are feeling like you want to/ or have binged, you are feeling stressed, or whatever, you can post here for encouragement, and help and support.

We can share things that have worked for us. Together we CAN overcome this!!

Hi there Tearose - I am here to join in. Today has gone great - so I have put together a string of good days. This has me feeling excited. Tonight (this is my binge time) I am going to do a chocolate Right Light shake for my "dessert" meal. Then I will be heading upstairs to read in bed and finally sleep. Once I am upstairs, even if I read for a couple of hours, I am out of the danger zone for binging. When I bought this house 5 years ago, I just started out with the idea that food never goes up stairs. I kept the bedroom very sparse and uncluttered. So when I climb those stairs, it is like my mind and body know that eating is done and stress is left downstairs. Some nights I need to climb those stairs much earlier than other nights to turn off the binge urge. Of course, there have been nights that I just wanted to stay up and eat. But more often than not - heading upstairs works for me. Hang in there Tearose - and thank you for starting this thread!
BELIEVE - we can win this one!

Hi there!

I just got home from work. I was so tired and a little grumpy and i really wanted to just buy a pack of cookies but I didn't. I did find asparagus on sale and green beans! So I bought those and some mixed berries then came home and had my next meal on plan.

I got my new protein powder today, cafe mocha flavor, makes me so much happier when my shakes are yummy. I really miss myoplex, but I can't buy anything from the states right now because the exchange rate is ridiculous.

Thats a good idea to have a place you can go where food doesn't. Yay on the string of good days! I like to think of it as getting stronger day by day!

I only have 2 meals left and one is a post workout shake.... but I will remember the binge protocol. I am feeling pretty hungry right now and I still have a ways to go till my next meal.

I am so glad to have your friendship and support! I might have bought those cookies otherwise but I didn't want to have to come in here and say I binged and then have to tell my trainer...ughh *cringe*

Blah the binge feelings are here.
i emailed my trainer, and I know whats triggering this.

A. I have not had any water today, due to a very busy workday.
B. I was exhausted when I got home so I went to sleep for about 3 hours and missed my chance to workout.
C. I had a dream that really brought up some strong emotions, and woke up feeling hopeless and depressed.

I ate on plan all day though, and I am ready with the shake.

here is my binge protocol:

email trainer (this could be a supportive friend too)
have a scoop and a half of whey powder or a meal replacement shake and 1T. of Glutamine
Eat an apple slowly
then have a cup of hot tea

If after all that I still want to eat anything thats not nailed down I can make a huge veggie eggwhite omelet

So thats what I will be doing, I find tough tat I am asking myself if I REALLY need the shake etc. which is good i think. I am not using any old hunger feeling to just eat more.

TeaRose - Good on ya (as they say down there) for having your plan ready. You mentioned in your previous post that you were pretty hungry. For me - that is not a good thing. If I do not get enough in me during the day to ward off hunger, I lose the ability to eat with moderation. Do you think you had enough to eat during the day? Was there enough protein to keep you going?

I hope you made it through! If not, let it go - we have today.

Tearose... good insights and plan for interrupting the binge-monster... I look at him that way sometimes, lots of times, like it is a THING that comes over me, it is not... well it is not ME. But it can affect me a LOT. Planning for foods during binge time works well for me, and there is a suggestion in many of the 12 Step recovery programs like AA that works too, "Do not let youself get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired" and I would add, when you ARE any one of those things, DO the right thing next... hungry- eat, angry- express in writing or to the person or out loud in the privacy of your own home or car!, lonely-connect with another human being, and tired... rest.

You did the right thing yesterday, you were tired, and you rested. Now don't go beating yourself for that, ok? You are taking on this binge-monster head on, and heading him off wherever possible, and what you practice, will grow. Each time you make a healthy choice, the next time, grows more likely.

Hi Wouded and trgaff

I did have my meals spaced properly and with enough protein, the hunger is more emotional then anything. I had some salmon. I was worried would not be good if left till tomorrow, so I had about 5 oz of salmon with 2 corn tortillas, onion and mushroom, a couple slices of avocado and a little low fat feta cheese, I did eat another skinny cow ice cream :S but I did not binge and still it was 6 meals. No workout though, not the best, but way better then it could have been.

Great points trgaff!

and definitely wounded I am the same way, if I miss one of my meals its a mess lol. Tomorrow will be better!

Yep - I waited too long for dinner tonight, so had a hard time controlling my portions and turning off the urge to keep eating after I was done. I am also having a hard time not focusing on the calories. It throws me off I think when I start to analyze and think, "well this is 300 at this meal and it should be 200." Self defeating, I'm afraid. Time to turn about those thoughts. I need to just be seeing wholesome, clean protein and whole grain goodness to fuel me. Not adding up and analyzing!

Yes I agree, I am trying t see portion sizes, I have tried the calorie thing, and I think that works well for some people, but it can make others obsess. One of the places I have found most helpful is Skwiggs site, are you familiar with it? I STILL go back and re-read her stuff. In fact I emailed her when I started freaking out a few weeks ago and she is such a wondeful helpful informative person.

Its http://www.skwigg.com

In the end we have this learning curve and road we each have to travel ourselves ...and figure out what things work for us.

Hello guys =) Glad this thread is here and if I may I would like to share the ways I have managed for the most part to avoid my binges. But before I do I also want to say that I love the ideas here about how to deal with them.

One thing I had recently noticed about how I was dealing with my urges was where I use to stand and stare at the fridge not being able to find what I want then ending up stuffing a lot of this and lot of that in my mouth: Now in those times of uncertainty when I know its time to eat but didn't plan on WHAT to eat I have conditioned myself now to grab a glass (I use a 20 oz glass that fits perfect into the water nozzle on the fridge) and I will look into the fridge while I fill that glass with water. Since my hands are full (one on the glass and one holding the door from closing) I cant grab just anything right then. Once the glass is full I shut the fridge and start to drink while I look in the dry cabinets (that's where the kids' snacks are). I kind of slam that glass of water down so I get a touch of that over-full feeling for long enough for me to come to my senses and select the proper things.

The other thing that I have done in regards to where some people count calories and in which I have noticed also helps stave off my binge thoughts is... I have one of those dietary scales. So as either my wife or I cook, I grab a plate, check any packages for unknown serving sizes, grab the measuring cups and measuring spoons and I weigh and measure everything. This MAY sound annoying but I turned it into somewhat of a game... Sometimes I act as if I am a cook at a 5-star restaurant with tight inventory controls but most often I keep in mind that I am taking pictures of a lot of my meals... and I want these meals to be photogenic. The measured and PLACED foods look a lot better on camera than the guessed and thrown foods...

So far, not counting Free Days, I have not had a total binge. In fact I think the closest to a binge I had was yesterday I had 3 slices of toast with my scrambled eggs that my wife mis-mixed the egg white / whole egg ratio with.

The link is THAT meal and the rest of the day - note what I even did while I was at my parents.Hopefully this helps a little - i know the ideas you have all already posted have given me some other methods on how I can trick myself if my current games don't work. I could go on about this more but I am very tired right now and may end up side-tracked.

Have a great day you guys and happy Transforming! =-)

This thread is amazing, Tearose! Thanks again for starting it.

You all have contributed such wonderful insight and methods for us to manage bingeing. I also have the worst time when I've gotten too hungry, am too tired, or too lonely, or too angry.

While the toughest, by far, is dealing with anger (figuring out to express it), I'm trying my best to manage not getting too hungry, tired, or lonely. I try not to leave the house, if I think I might be pushing the next meal time, without a back up (protein bar, snacks, etc.). Otherwise, if I come home tired AND hungry, it's just harder.

We can change this!

Diane

Hi,
This is a great thread! Thank you!
Here are some of my current strategies to prevent bingeing:

1) Keep known binge/trigger foods out of my apartment-- this is a must, if the item is there, in a moment of weakness I will eventually grab it. I had to admit this to myself that I was simply powerless over these certain items.
2) Since I don't have a kitchen with a door that I can close, when I am done with my meal I place a scented candle in the middle of the table, take a whiff of it and turn off the kitchen light. This seems to be working.
3) If I am getting that anxious feeling that leads to bingeing I try to sit with my thoughts and figure out what is going on. Yes this one takes effort, but it does work.
4) Get enough rest and generally take care of myself
5) I am taking pictures of everything I eat during the day and I just don't want to have to take one of a binge--That alone is a powerful deterrent!

I admit that it is still a day to day battle, but there are days when it feels easier and I will stop and realize that I am not having binge thoughts. So there is hope!

Beth

Quote:

Originally Posted by baron Hi, This is a great thread! Thank you! Here are some of my current strategies to prevent bingeing: 1) Keep known binge/trigger foods out of my apartment-- this is a must, if the item is there, in a moment of weakness I will eventually grab it. I had to admit this to myself that I was simply powerless over these certain items. 2) Since I don't have a kitchen with a door that I can close, when I am done with my meal I place a scented candle in the middle of the table, take a whiff of it and turn off the kitchen light. This seems to be working. 3) If I am getting that anxious feeling that leads to bingeing I try to sit with my thoughts and figure out what is going on. Yes this one takes effort, but it does work. 4) Get enough rest and generally take care of myself 5) I am taking pictures of everything I eat during the day and I just don't want to have to take one of a binge--That alone is a powerful deterrent! I admit that it is still a day to day battle, but there are days when it feels easier and I will stop and realize that I am not having binge thoughts. So there is hope! Beth

Great ideas, Beth! The thought of trying to snap pictures of what I am eating if I am in full binge mode is hilarious - I would be snapping shots, one after the other. Whoaaa, baby. Fortunately, I have strayed a little to the right or a little to the left, but have not hit a full-blown binge. So all is good. Today is my free day, so my meal planning is a little loose, but I really do not have the urge at this point to run into the kitchen and do any "make up eating" of things I might have missed during the week.

Thanks WoundedWarrior--it sounds like you are doing good! I personally cannot have a free day where I eat any trigger/binge foods. So mine is a relaxed day too--I eat good food but maybe not on such a strict schedule.
Have a great weekend!
Beth

Great thoughts guys!

I woke up yesterday after a nap STARVING I was thinking of all kinds of yummy things ten I remembered the protocol, made myself a big shake and ate an apple and I was good! another binge averted.

Great job, Tearose! I really overdid it yesterday on my free day. I was okay up to dinner. We went to a local restaurant, where I ate a little too much. Unbelievably, this seemed to set me up to keep eating all evening. It seems strange to me that my tummy being overly full would trigger binge mode, but it did.

This week, I think I need to watch my portion sizes more closely as I am not seeing much in the way of physical change, and then on my free day - I need to proceed with caution so I do not trigger myself into binge mode.

Excellent work and ideas guys- my free day starts in about 25 hours... I can't wait for it but at the same time since I had a great run today I kind of don't want it to come so soon =)

Wow! This is a great way to help each other. I have learned that this is not my body and I don't have a right to abuse it by eating beyond what my body calls for. I have also learned that anytime I turn to food instead of God [for any reason] it is not pleasing to Him and I hinder my blessings and answered prayers. When I want to eat and I am not hungry, I call out to Him and run to His word. [I am not 100% successful yet, but I take one eating occasion at a time]. Please let me know how I can be an encouragement to you!

Hello fellow bingers!

I am so glad to have found this thread! I'm still trying to figure out how to dela with the Binge Monster (love that term!). One thing I'm trying is to let myself have a treat if I REALLY want it - if I get the shakes and feel that anxiety. I try to talk myself into something else - perhaps a baby-sized ice cream cone or maybe a rite lite with some ice cream in it or something. Whatever...afterward I pat myself on the back and tell myself that I did a good job and look at what I did right the rest of the day and MOVE ON! For me, it's the all or nothing thinking that makes a binge happen. I've also decided not to have a free day - I did once and it set off a 3-day super-binge that led to me quitting the last challenge! I'm taking baby steps and trying to figure the Binge Monster out so I can tame him!

I love the idea of a binge protocol...that may be what I'm doing with my questions...I think I'll start with a big glass of water then check to see if I still want something! I'll also ask myself what's REALLY going on when I get the shakes...

GREAT IDEAS!

It's nice to "talk" with others that get it! It's not about the food!!!

Liz

For me the shakes comes when my blood sugar drops too far - most typically this happens when I am unable to eat on time or if a previous meal was smaller than it should have been. The one thing I make a point of doing, especially in times of the shakes is eat slower, ONLY the planned amount BUT make the following meal still at the planned time...
It looks like maybe... Eat at 12:00p..... realize at 4:30 I missed my 3:00p meal so I eat what was planned for 3:00 but very slow... then I force the 6:00p meal as planned at the planned 6:00p time... for me the slower eating lessens the shakes and eating on planned time for the next prevents the urges and shakes for returning

Hope this might help someone =)