EMAIL THREAD why do we binge? ive always had a problem with binging. Everyday i say I'm going to stop but then i still do it. Im still trying to figure out why. and i go on crazy binges too, ill go from one food place to another to another in a row. does anyone else have this problem? and how do you try to stop i need major help! Sat. Dec 27, 3:08pm

I wish I knew. To be honest with you, I really don't binge, like when I was young,but I eat the wrong things. Like I will have a piece of chocolate cake to make me feel better. I use to have 2 or 3 pieces and i weighed at least 70 lbs less. Turning 40 killed me. I wish I could live without sweets! Saturday, December 27, 2008, 5:04 PM

I'm not as serious as you are by going from one food stop to another, but I've had MANY binges in my young life. For me, and probably with you too, I binge to fill voids...due to depression, anxiety, loneliness, etc. It's a short-term fix to numb the pain. However, I've been going to therapy for a few times now, so that's helped some...but I still have a lot more progress to go. The problem I have is finding something else that provides me the same and long term effects what a bing does. Saturday, December 27, 2008, 5:27 PM

I can totally relate to you OP. I once read a book that called that urge the "feast beast" and I thought it fit perfectly. It's like it takes hold and you are posessed until it has finished (which could be days or weeks). I agree with the previous poster that when I am doing it I am either trying to self soothe or fill a void or am looking to eat enough sugar to get me going because I'm just way too exhausted and didn't get enough sleep. Also, when I eat a lot of sugar I get so light headed and "foggy" that it's almost like a number so I don't have to feel whatever it is I am feeling. Anyway, there are groups that you can go to that can give you tools. One of which is Overeaters Anonymous, another is Food Addicts Anonymous. But in my opinion just becoming conscious of what it is you're feeling before you binge is a good start. Awareness plays a huge factor in understanding how to improve the situation. Saturday, December 27, 2008, 5:39 PM

I dont know why I binge either. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure this out because I've read a lot about binging and understand its often about trying to repress feelings. I think mine is a control thing. I'm always trying to do way too much in life, working, school, exercising, etc. I feel the need to be perfect at everything. So when things get stressful food is an area I can let get out of control without letting anyone else down except myself (in my mind). I feel if something has to give I'll let it be my eating because I need to do the best at everything else. Something I feel that has been helpful the last few times I've binged is as I'm eating I tell to myself "this is going to make me unhappy" and "eating this is not going to make me feel better in fact it will probably make me feel worse." I still eat it because the compulsion is really strong and once I've decided to binge theres no real going back. But learning to understand that binging=feeling bad and cementing that idea in my brain sometimes takes the allure away from starting to binge. I think its good just to think about what your feeling when your binging because the tendency is to shut down and think nothing except what else you can put in your mouth. Sunday, December 28, 2008, 1:05 PM

I usually end up overeating becasue I am not really paying attention to the food. I don't even stop to savor every bite. I look down and...poof! It's all done, and my mind turns to wanting more. I'm guessing that just like the previous posters said it's a combination of filling a void and repressing feelings. IIt's like fighting an uphill battle trying to get out of this mindset. Link Sunday, December 28, 2008, 2:30 PM

When the 'feast beast' used to take over I would find myself eating anything and everything - hitting several fast food stops and 7-11 eating everything in sight. This has stopped! In the last six months since really focusing on eating for nutrition the beast has not appeared. Or rather, the couple of times he has I was able to fight him off, or at least minimize the binge. Not even a binge, just a little splurging and quickly over. I know it's because of the nutrition I am eating everyday - my body is getting what it needs so it's not frantically searching for...something! I did grab some ice cream a couple of times, craving the dull, sleepy feeling that ensues - the drug - but that is a separate emotional challenge of mine that I am also overcoming as I work through some grief. The better I eat (mostly plants, no dairy, very little wheat) the better I am able to cope. I highly recommend it :) Nutritional food is like everything else in life, the more you focus on it the more it expands. Sunday, December 28, 2008, 3:45 PM

i cant go a week without the feast beast taking over. my condition was never this bad, just this summer it became a constant sruggle fighting the "feast Beast" and i dont know how to stop. Im going to to therapy to try and see if i can somehow get rid of this problem. Sunday, December 28, 2008, 11:54 PM

I know I read a blog at one point about a girl who used to do that (drive to several drive-thrus in one trip), and then managed to stop, get her diet under control, and lost a ton of weight. I can't think of what blog it is though. I will poke around and see if I can find it. But in short, no, you're not the only one! Monday, December 29, 2008, 4:08 PM

We don't really need to know WHY we binge.. we could work on that forever....we need to learn the skills to help us stop.. its mostly about how we react to our own internal voices.. my recommendation: the book: Beck Diet solution.. it goes with any diet plan.. just concentrates on teaching you the skills to overcome them. - recovered binger Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 10:03 AM

good point, pp. There's no reason to wait until it's all figured out to start enacting change. Recognizing triggers - environment, emotional or otherwise - and either avoiding them or changing how we deal is necessary no matter what. Sometimes we have to behave our way to change vs. figuring it all out first and then doing something about it. Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 10:42 AM

I believe I binge out of boredom. and I eat to fast, once I get eating fast it's like I can't stop until i've eaten so much I can't stand it. and usually it's an evening thing, leftovers on the stove i'll stand there just eating and eating, it's like.. strange. Friday, January 09, 2009, 4:25 AM

its only evenings for me too...dont know why Friday, January 09, 2009, 9:16 AM

Low status stress? Here is the abstract from the following paper: Quantifying food intake in socially housed monkeys: social status effects on caloric consumption Mark E. Wilson,1,2 Jeff Fisher,1 Andrew Fischer,2 Vanessa Lee,1,3 Ruth B. Harris,2,4 and Timothy J. Bartness2,5 "Obesity results from a number of factors including socio-environmental influences and rodent models show that several different stressors increase the preference for calorically dense foods leading to an obese phenotype. We present here a non-human primate model using socially housed adult female macaques living in long-term stable groups given access to diets of different caloric density. Consumption of a low fat (LFD; 15% of calories from fat) and a high fat diet (HFD; 45% of calories from fat) was quantified by means of a custom-built, automated feeder that dispensed a pellet of food when activated by a radiofrequency chip implanted subcutaneously in the animal’s wrist. Socially subordinate females showed indices of chronic psychological stress having reduced glucocorticoid negative feedback and higher frequencies of anxiety-like behavior. Twenty-four hour intakes of both the LFD and HFD were significantly greater in subordinates than dominates, an effect that persisted whether standard monkey chow (13% of calories from fat) was present or absent. Furthermore, although dominants restricted their food intake to daylight, subordinates continued to feed at night. Total caloric intake was significantly correlated with body weight change. Collectively, these results show that food intake can be reliably quantified in non-human primates living in complex social environments and suggest that socially-subordinate females consume more calories, suggesting this ethologically relevant model may help understand how psychosocial stress changes food preferences and consumption leading to obesity." If you can wade through all that, what they are finding is that the lower-status primates binge at night. SO, maybe we are all looking at causes that are too proximal, and it would help to step back and evaluate how much control we have over our general life situations, and if that degree of control is uncomfortably low, how to take greater charge of the general picture. Link Friday, January 09, 2009, 10:25 AM

I've just been pondering that question after a 4-day binge-fest starting on new year's day. I've read a few books and numerous articles on this subject, and they say that there's an underlying cause that you're not willing to face. I'm making it my focus this year to really analyze myself and find out why I binge and what I can do to prevent it. One of the books that I read is called "Shrink Yourself" by Dr. Roger Gould. I've found some interesting articles on it at his website: http://www.shrinkyourself.com/eec_article_archive.asp There's also an article on it in Prevention: Link Friday, January 09, 2009, 11:33 AM

I like to binge mostly on sweets. I don't really care about other stuff. And I honestly don't feel like I'm filling any void. It's just like a drug--like some would crave caffeine or nicotine or sex. I would eat an entire bag of candy, one right after the other and maybe start a second bag. I would also make frosting to eat if there wasn't anything else in the house. Looking back, I can see this started many years ago when I was in college and had the libery/independence to buy what I wanted. Interestingly enough, I've never really ben overweight, only 10-15 pounds extra, although as I age it's much harder and my binges have become more severe and more often. In the last 4 years I have taken great steps at various times to curb the habit. Sometimes I'll go a few weeks or months and do alright. Other times (like the last 4 months) I'll binge almost daily (at least multiple in a week) and not be able to haul myself out of the rut. As of the new year I am once again embarking on healthier habits. All I can say is that when you eat healthier (and for me eliminate certain foods that trigger my desires) it is easier to fend off the cravings. And if you're able to "splurge" without bingeing, then all the better. Usually after I've been good for a few weeks, I can eat something small and be satisfied. But when I start pushing the envelope on how much I can eat without gaining weight, then I get into serious eating issues. Friday, January 09, 2009, 2:18 PM

I think we binge in response to highly restrictive diets or even the idea of going on a highly restrictive diet. it's probably some sort of survival instinct. We are hardwired to fill up now because either we have just been through lean times or lean times are coming. Friday, January 09, 2009, 6:24 PM

I also have problems with binging. I know that a lot of binging is caused by emotional factors, but it can sometimes be helped through appropriate diet. Eating protein, vegetables, and a small portion of carbs at each meal is really helpful. Combining the foods at each meal helps to keep you satisfied longer so you don't have as many uncontrollable cravings. An overgrowth of candida in your body can also be a large contributing factor to binge eating. Friday, January 09, 2009, 11:29 PM

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To self medicate from stress. Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 1:42 AM

Not sure if this has already been said becuase I didn't have time to read all the posts, but for me what tends to happen is I am really good about a healthy diet for awhile and then I see some sort of delicious, bad for me food and I want it and then feel like I have failed so just keep on eating because it, "doesn't matter now" Another time when I binge is when I have a craving for something in particular like say fried chicken, because I have removed all these things from my house I don't have any good substitutes and will just eat and eat and eat until I have somehow satiated that craving. I have had doctors confirm this. This is what i used to do when I was little which is why I have been overweight my whole life. My parents didn't trust me with the "bad foods" so they would eliminate them form the house and when I had a craving for something sweet I would eat baking chocolate, marazapan, brown sugar, whatever I could find in my mom's bakig cabinate to feed that craving instead of just having a small piece of cake or pie or whatever it was. I know that binging might have underlying emotional side for most people and it might for me too (I am just not realizing it) but for me it is more about food cravings that come from eliminating unhealthy foods from my diet. I have been in a place in my life where I can (honestly) say I was comptely happy with every aspect of my life and still gone on crazy binges after weeks of dieting. Anyone else? Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 2:59 PM

the best way i've ever heard comfort eating described was ''it's like being hugged from the inside''. i can relate to that. Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 3:20 PM

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