Bingeing – better with IF

This topic contains 13 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by Maggie621 9 years, 9 months ago.

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Bingeingqueen

3:09 pm
11 Feb 15
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Hi all,

I have been various weights during my life. My main concern is I am a binger, so I eat an awful lot in one go and if I let myself, I would eat all day. binge whether dieting, eating regular meals, tired, depressed and then sometimes it goes away and I can have a week without bingeing and have no idea why. I have found the only way to help myself is not let myself have limitless supplies of food, so a portioned off “ready made sandwich” say helps me. It’s expensive but I have learnt I can’t have a loaf of bread in the house. Food has always given me a high and that is any carbohydrate so even the healthy stuff… wholegrain bread and oatcakes! On the advice of professionals and having read books, I have tried the three meals a day thing but I always want more. It’s like after breakfast I want more breakfast….

I am looking for advice, over Christmas I was ill. I had flu, and I couldn’t eat. The relief, the feeling of “this is what it is like to feel full” and I lost a few pounds, but my main elation was that I wasn’t seeking a high from food all day long and I actually felt full. So, I wondered if IF may work for me (even though for years fasting has been said to INCREASE bingeing, (btw I think if I were to starve myself I would undoubtedly binge but my elation chamfered the improvement in my mood (despite feeling so ill!)) the fact I wasn’t fussed by food as food was’t an option, I had no appetite was such a nice feeling and I wondered if IF could potentially be a way of managing rather than worsening my binge eating disorder.

I wondered whether anyone has any personal experiences or scientific evidence to back up my new theory… intrigued! PS I meant to say I am not overweight but BMI 25 (so no other eating disorders apart from binge eating- of only I could find a soothing way to live without turning to food)

Maggie621

3:46 pm
11 Feb 15
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I too have suffered from binging for many years, and have eventfully realised it is from habit, not underlying psychological reasons, for comfort etc. I tried the fast diet last year, and for about four months it did control the binging, however old habits die hard. I am not overweight by any means, however fasting twice a week means you do not have to think about food. I did lose approximately seven pounds, although I never weigh myself so cannot be sure. Since 30/1/15 I have been committed to stopping obsessing about food, calories, etc, and so far it has been successful. I find I am not hungry until mid/late afternoon, so do not eat before then think it is good to give your body a rest, however I am no longer attempting to lose weight, life really is too short, and I am eating a ‘normal’ amount of food, I have always eaten proper food, nothing diet, but do sympathise having binge foods on the house can lead to a binge. I suggest you download a book called binge over brain by Kathryn Hanson, it really makes sense, when I first read it I remained binge free for six months and my weight was stable, I think we have to accept this problem may always be in our lives, and may improve for a while however there are ways to control it.

Bingeingqueen

4:01 pm
11 Feb 15
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That is interesting, thank you for taking the time to post Maggie. I am also really pleased that you sound like you have developed what seems like a “calm” relationship with food. I think I have found it hard forcing myself to eat when I think I should, then just thinking about food all day long as I love it, and everyone seems to be offering it and I’m surrounded by it. Why your post is particularly interesting to me, is because, a while ago, I would get up and have a coffee with milk for breakfast and then was very busy until 3pm when I would have lunch (and lunch was a sandwich with whatever filling) I lost a lot of weight and the bingeing stopped – for a while. It’s amazing you stayed binge free for 6 months! I give myself a medal if I manage it for a day.

I find it so hard there isn’t a “right” answer and the medical professional’s advice, i.e. to eat regular meals with snacks hasn’t helped all- in fact aiming for more food makes me more obsessive and seems to open my appetite up more. It seems like a very fine line. Fasting seemed a good idea as the answer would be “no” “not one…” that can, on some days, invariably lead to twenty biscuits. It’s just a resolute no, not eating right now.

Sgain, going back to when I was ill, I crave for that calmness around food. My appetite was low and I ate what I wanted when I wanted- very small amounts, and despite feeling ill, it was a nice feeling. I have binged ever since I was a child, yet my siblings didn’t. I always found food exciting- my mother would say I would sing when I was eating as a baby! I wonder if it is just genetic, my friend had two dogs and the black lab would always want food and would eat until she was sick…. I related to that black lab. If I let myself, I would eat all day.

I just wondered if IF might help one appreciate true hunger again. However, although it doesn’t sound like it was the answer for you, to almost sounds like you are semi fasting, or at least eating within a time frame… i.e not eating until noon. Do you find yourself thinking less about food than you would have had you had breakfast or early lunch (question mark)

Thank you for replying.

Ps well done!

Maggie621

5:08 pm
11 Feb 15
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My problems with binging began when I was 19, between then and the ages of 30 I could consume vast amounts of calories, where you are in pain and cannot move, and was on a permanent diet, some times going two,or three weeks without a binge, sometimes binging every other day, there was no pattern to it. For 17 years I binge ate regularly to,some extent, however 7 years ago, I realised I was sick and tired of thinking about food all the time, whatever weight I was I never felt any happier or sadder, it was then I made a conscious effort to just eat normally, and you know what? My weight stabilised at my set point, which I believe to be 10-10.5 stone, bizarrely the weight I was when I commenced my first diet. Since then I have had prolonged periods of eating normally, and never gone back to those very dark days, now I don’t classify myself as a binge eater, but somebody who overeats on occasion, as everybody does. I now firmly believe binge eating is a habit, nothing with stuffing your feelings down, and the first step is to throw away those scales, leading your life by what they say is ludicrous, putting things off before you have lost weight is ludicrous, it does not work. I decided to try the fast diet last year as I felt a little bloated, the weight dropped off quickly for a couple,of weeks, and then stalled, as I believe I had then reached my set point. The FD has made me eat only when I am hungry, for instance I have just eaten today, 430pm, and had nothing solid,since 9pm last night, however I have eaten a normal meal, probs. 800 calories, and will be eating more later. I now know not to be afraid of hunger, you will not faint etc. I can go all day at work and feel fine, eating breakfast seems to fuel my hunger for the rest of the day. I wish I could say I do not now think of food all day, however this is not the case, it takes up a lot of my thoughts, read any newspaper, magazine, it is full of so called celebrities and their weight ‘issues,’ I now try and not read such articles. As regards keeping binge foods in the house, when I really wanted a binge, I would find something, even copious amounts of toast, avoiding binge foods, in my experience, only leads to binging. I now eat a balanced diet, when extensively binging, it was always on sweet foodstuffs, bizarrely, now I rarely have cravings for such food. Believe me, life is too short to be wasting time on this issue, yes, I am really pleased I came across FD, and now feel able to live with my eating habits. Please believe me, I know what you are going through, for years all I wanted to do was eat normally, and now, I say, 90 percent of the time I do, accepting yourself the way you are at present is key. I would recommend trying Fd and would be very interested to see how you get on. Also, throughout all my dark days, I told nobody of this ‘secret’ and still haven’t, apart from on this forum. If you are in this position,,be brave and tell somebody, a friend, relative, partner, and ask them to be your support buddy.

Bingeingqueen

8:33 am
12 Feb 15
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Maggie,

You could be me. I have taken bread from the freezer and eaten a lot… and raided readybrek and weetabix (I don’t even like them much, but when seeking that soothing “high” when “in the mode”. I have found it much easier to not have copious amounts of those foods in the house as I’m not only a binger I just love food, I could snack all day, I am at home quite a lot and I have to be honest with myself, if there is a cake, pack of biscuits, as much as I try – unless I’m feeling highly motivated, determined, happy etc – I will, at some point, raid them. I would love to say I have great self esteem and willpower but I don’t. I have to be honest with myself (so many people on forums and doctors have said it’s all psychological but I’m much better if it’s just not there!) if I want to achieve this I need a plan- and a good one!

Maggie thank you for sharing. I have to say I once told my husband but he said “oh you are slim don’t worry” (I am not slim but not overweight) but I go to great lengths to avoid being obese. It’s not about the weight any more though, my cholesterol is high and food is everywhere. Go to any office and someone has cakes or biscuits for the 3pm snack attack, got to a meeting- there are biscuits, I went to a medical training day and all the reps brought cakes, I go to mother’s get togethers and they always have cake, I meet people for a coffee- it’s usually with a biscuit, we have other children round and they snack a lot so food is always there. For someone like me, my brain thinks of food whenever tired (I have noticed my urge to eat is much worse when I’m very tired, so trying to avoid that helps). It’s not an excuse, and I know certain factors such as those mentioned, stress, exhaustion makes it worse, but I can’t help but think this is something I will also always have- it’s just finding out what is the best way to manage it.

It is madness, as I said when I was ill and a family member truly ill with chronic disease I thought how can I be worrying about this… it’s only food right. However, when I have not been mindful, I just think “never mind” I would eat all day. I love food and as I mentioned rarely feel full.

Thank you Maggie for sharing. I also feel the guilt and shame. What I meant to ask you, is the oddest thing I find is that if I wasn’t to eat until I was truly hungry other people would comment- there are the midmorning snacks, the lunchtime with others, the afternoon snack. The odd thing about bingeing is people don’t know and they comment if one was to eat a carrot instead of the slice of cake offered, but if one just ate the cake and asked for another slice, others react like this is “normal and a healthier relationship with food”.

I don’t think my relationship with food is entirely psychological – mine isn’t to do with dieting or being slim, I just love food. I want to be healthy and also recognise true hunger, to eat when hungry and it’s very interesting that you have observed you don’t get hungry until he late afternoon, I am the same but i need a big meal before bed or I can’t sleep, so eating more in the evening I think would work if I am to try the fasting.

I am keen to try it but I do need a very good plan, I think Michael Mosley commented not eh contradictory nature of humans, when, forgive me if I have’t remembered this accurately, when fasting all day if he found a cookie at 11pm he would want to eat it so he had to get his wife to hide them! 🙂

I am keen to accept myself, however, as I mentioned, if I become complacent and just think “this is what I do” and ate to appetite, which I have done, I end up very overweight with permanent stomach ache.

Do you try and include sweet stuff in your every day diet years ago, I was very settled and worked for an restaurant and we had free free bread and cakes each day… I had no guilt, I think I ate more than I should and having it every day didn’t stop me wanting it- I just ate more… I ballooned, I used to find it tough as one or two cakes would satisfy others, I would just eat them all day, I really like cake lol.

It’s fantastic that 90 percent of the time you eat normally now. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about wanting food all day – how can we not, even a non binger or non foodie can become a foodie in our society, in our small local town I can think of 6 cafes and a street of restaurants and everywhere we go food is offered and my experience has been, if I go anywhere people are very kind, but there is always “coffee and cake”!

It’s also odd that I think people have always thought of fasting as being dangerous (I know it can be and the only advice I have ever received regarding bingeing compulsive eating, up to this point has been “have three regular meals and two snacks..” that hasn’t worked for me.

Bingeingqueen

8:34 am
12 Feb 15
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PS I also meant to add, when I was ill and didn’t eat in the morning, I found I could focus on my work so much better…. interesting…

Maggie621

1:04 pm
12 Feb 15
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I have just eaten as I am working all day and will not be back in house until midnight. Indulged in sausage, bacon and mushroom, crusty bread with lurpak and full,fat,Philadelphia, a few years ago this would have been highly dangerous and sent me on a downwards spiral. Over the years I,have worked surrounded by food and used to go home so bloated and full,believe me if I can improve my eating habits anybody can. However yesterday, having finished work and arrived back in house at 10pm felt hungry and ended up,eating four packets of crisps!!!!!! Felt as if I could lose control, but thankfully didn’t. I do feel working regular nine to five hours is helpful in controlling eating habits, however due to circumstances beyond my control I now work mainly late afternoon/nights. As for sweet cravings, I rarely get these, my vices seem to be crisps, pizza, bread, and I’ll be honest I don’t keep pizza in the house, do keep crisps but they don’t last very long. I find with sweet stuff if I have a craving I will buy a small amount, as otherwise the mind set is it is there I need to eat it up and I will start eating healthily again tomorrow. My other,danger area is with alcohol, infact on the occasions where I do now overeat, it is always after binge drinking, if,nothing incupboard I,will raid freezer, the answer may be to give up drinking, but hey, life is way too short. Food seems to be everywhere, magazines, telly, newspapers, and now they tell us full fat milk, butter, cheese etc. is good for us,,it is crazy, my philosophy is eat what you like,,but,not how much you like, everything in moderation. Remember this, it is only you that can put the food in your mouth, nobody is,forcing you, it may temporarily feel better, but the next day after a binge is dreadful, bloatedness, disgust, awful,taste in your mouth, bunged up feeling, clothes too tight, it really is not worth it for a few seconds of pleasure. The funny think is, when binge eating you are not even tasting it, just cramming it in, as much as possible, not even enjoying it. Looking at it in this way, it,really is a crazy habit. I would recommend you try 5-2, I have learned a lot from it.

mighty

1:49 pm
12 Feb 15
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Dear Bingequeen and Maggie, I have just decided to give the 5-2 a go…I have been contemplating it for some time as many people I know have had success with it. I haven’t until now because I just didn’t want to try another diet. Diets for me feel dangerous because I have to think about food! And I don’t think there are any seconds in the day where I am not already consumed by the thought of food! I have had an obsession with food for as long as I can remember and feel very sad and always guilty that I can’t control the temptation to think about food let alone binge. It is rarely related to hunger. I won’t go into details of my struggles to date because I feel both your entries have already covered those issues in my life very well. The only thing I would like to add, is that I find my food thoughts become even more intense when I am premenstrual. What I really wanted to say was that a few weeks ago I watched the Horizon programme, ‘What’s the Right Diet for You?’ and for the first time in my life I felt that someone understood me. I am a Constant Craver. I am obsessed with food! I love cooking it, eating it, smelling it, looking at it, gifting it and recieving it. It is literally a love language for me. The unhealthy part of this obsession is the guilt that comes along with it. It feels wrong to be obsessed by it. It felt like I was not mentally strong enough to not be consumed by these thoughts and feelings but the programme showed me that it is genetic and I can see that this is true in many of my family members in previous generations and even in one of my four children now. The programme suggested that the IF diet was the best diet for Constant Cravers and so after much contemplation I have decided I will give it a try because I was convinced by the study. Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts. I would very much like to hear how you get on in future. Many blessings on your journeys. x

Maggie621

1:02 am
13 Feb 15
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Mighty
I know the feeling well and believe I too am a constant craver, I never seem to feel full and spend most day thinking about food. I do recommend if, and as I stated earlier it helped me for about four,months before I began over eating again, remember this is not a diet, only two days a week where you don’t need to think,and obsess over food. ,today, I have had a long shift at work and not eaten anything nutritious, feel now as if I could binge, but know it is not worth it, I will only feel worse in the morning. Let me know how you get on, forums are really helpful and a way to encourage each other.

SAMM

2:38 am
13 Feb 15
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One that helped me early on was to have a cut off time. Wether it was a fast day or feed day. After 7pm I would only drink teas. I also stuggle with the thinking habit of eating at specific times even though I wasn’t hungry. I started fasting and felt hungry more often, but on the feed days I had did have binge tendencies.
What ive came with is the understanding that I can use intermittent fasting as diet skill. It wasn’t as important in the beginning that i was binging on feed days as it was empowering to be fasting 2-3 times a week.
I was a carb eater and soda soft drink drinker.
I came across some info on probiotics and learned also about prebiotic foods. My understanding is sometimes our gut flora bacteria can breakdown carbs more better. Typically with less water.
The issue and I’m just guessing at it because I’m not expert or a professional. Is that when the gut flora is poor it can effect nutrition uptake. And since the probiotics that thrive at breaking down carbohydrates are typically the survivors. It can become a vicious cycle of carb cravings and soda drinking. This in my opinion makes for a need to also binge to get the nutrients . But that’s just a guess.
i go on probiotics for 6 weeks 2-3 time a year in the last two years. It may just be a coincidence but binging isnt a habit of mine anymore unless it’s a holiday feast. Over a period of two years I’ve improved my diet slowly , and the more nutrition dense foods i eat the less I have for cravings anything.

after two years of intermittent fasting ive been shocked at little food i actually need. I mean to say i ve gotten used to hunger pangs. And have found that if i allow myself to eat a huge bowl of say spaghetti.
I get the same full feeling wether i eat the whole bowl or guess at the calories and just eat estimated 500 calories and then wait twenty minutes.
My sense of being full is very slow. It works just fine but i have to wait for it.
Its been my habit to keep shoveling it in . So over the past two years I’ve been slowly changing my portion sizes and avoiding the starchy foods.
best wishes everyone.

Bingeingqueen

9:16 am
14 Feb 15
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Samm, that’s a really encouraging post, thank you for sharing.

It’s also good to hear that this seems to be a long term strategy for you. I personally need food before bed or I just can’t sleep, and I think I may find it easier to have an “eating window” even on non fast days (potentially). I love the idea of recognising true hunger, I am ashamed to say, during the day I rarely feel that stomach growl, because I have always eaten, whether I am full because snacks or a meal… that old mantra of 3 meals and 2 snacks maybe not the way to go for me. I think, I may like to eat all my kcal in one go- which almost sounds like a binge- but as I mentioned I am a constant craver and could just snack all day if I et myself, but I also have this issue that I feel true hunger more in the evenings before bed. My mother said I used to wake in the night hungry as a child and she would give me weetabix! I am also an evening person so I think this may suit me better, but has gone against all the healthy eating advice in the timing of meals presented to me by HCPs- which just hasn’t worked.

Another fear I have, and your post perhaps alleviates this fear somewhat, is this theory that has been in the press recently that we all have a weight “set point: so I am fearful, I may lose the weight, put in all that effort, and then just go back to being food crazy and get back to the weight my body wants to be at- I am not trying to abstain from responsibility but I am trying to stay motivated and find a life long plan! Not something for just a few months.

Dd you find it tempting to just eat and break your fast on fast days I have read here, some have found fast days easier because food was not an option (I am presuming that is why they found it easier).

I would like to get to where you are- to recognising when I am full, to recognising what portion would fall me up. If someone, at the moment, gives me a mountain of pasta- or a a loaf of bread- I would just keep going. I logically know I shouldn’t but if I let myself, or I am very tired, stressed I would just keep going. I would also snack all day – I do, but I try to ensure it’s veggies and fruit, but my worry is my lack of “feeling full” sensation- also to overcome that “just eating it because it’s there and I’m tired, and I feel at the time, it may improve my mood”- I have digressed slightly. However, I’m excited by the prospect of doing this, after reading posts like yours and watching the programme that suggested fasting may work for “constant cravers”

Thank you again Samm

Bingeingqueen

9:21 am
14 Feb 15
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Mighty,

Forgive me for saying this but I think we are not he same page with regards to food. I always cheer up when I see it! It’s like a big hug and for me, I have become dependant on it for more than just “nutritional needs”. I have also been like this for as long as I can remember.

However, what does encourage me, which sounds so awful, was at Christmas being il and not hungry and having to fast for an operation, I almost felt relieved, like I could get on with other stuff rather than worrying about what I eat all the time, or what I can eat next. The next step is working out how to do it. I’m often around young children and I provide meals for my husband and child too.

Mighty. thank you for sharing, and I owed love to hear how you get on too. I am trying to decide which will be the best day to start it this week, and how I will manage any potential obstacles … i.e coffee morning (always cake), children’s party and eating out with friends….

Might please keep us posted. xx

Bingeingqueen

9:26 am
14 Feb 15
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Maggie,

Your posts are so encouraging too. I would have eaten the whole packet of flour tortillas if I was very tired and in a “not bothered mood”. The idea of making it into a meal, and it sounds like you were mindful about it, despite your body feeling full of adrenalin and seeking a “quick fix” I will be very satisfied if I can get to this stage, like you. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. To not binge just for the sake of it, to recognise you may need something but to take the time and make yourself something nutritious you enjoy- sounds brilliant. As a bingeing compulsive snacker type this is great news.

Thank you too for sharing.

Ps to all- sorry about my brain dump today! I think I am just trying to get my head round whether this will work for me and how to do it. I want a long term plan and maybe, just maybe, this will be something we can achieve for life. I am very realistic in that I will never be a take it or leave i type, but if I can improve my relationship with food, and lower cholesterol, become healthier- this would be amazing. Also, all that not snacking will help me achieve more!

Maggie621

2:52 pm
14 Feb 15
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Bingeing queen
I found only eating at tea-time, once a day best for me. I would have coffee through the day, meal at tea time then maybe a snack before bed, most days I was eating more than 500cals, props about 700, but the weight still dropped off. The hunger does not get worse through the day, it flows and ebbs,,infact by the time I had my meal I certainly wasn’t starving. Did try no solids one day, but by seven pm I give in as really did feel ravenous, morning after a fast do not feel hunger, wouldn’t eat till at least 1pm. I overrate slightly On Thursday night, but yesterday didn’t eat as much, keeping my weight steady in this way,reacting naturally to my body, some days I need more food, some days less, feel really positive now, and relieved, believe me you can get to this point, where overeating will,not,lead to a full scale binge.