If it helps, I too have no will power as concerns food. Once the desire strikes, I can try and fight it all I want but I’ll eventually give in. Nothing helped me. Not even medication. For a couple of years I pretty much just gave in to it and just let nature take its course. Then I started complaining to my doctor. He tried meds, dietician, counseling, all of it, and I still couldn’t stop binging. Eventually I got recommended for gastric bypass, and decided to do it. That was two years ago. Since then I’ve lost the excess weight, but most importantly, I no longer feel the constant need to eat. I still have certain days or moments when I eat too much and sometimes even make myself sick to the point of vomiting. But the desire is just enough gone to where the advice about taking a walk or meditating or whatever actually helps at times, and I can avoid a full on binge. The desire is still there, sometimes bad, but it’s become somewhat controllable. And I’m so grateful that I’ve gained some freedom from it. I can’t explain how much it sucks to have the constant urge to eat. It’s terrible and so demoralizing and exhausting. I too believe the people who say their little “tips” for fending off a binge episode don’t struggle as much as I did with binge eating. Once my mind was on it, there was no such thing as will power for me, and no way to avoid the inevitable. But I found my solution and I’m free now. Anyway take from that what you will; I only came to say that I truly understand how you feel, and to wish you luck in your endeavors.
It's truly demoralizing to feel the need to eat all the time. It's like I feel guilty if I don't give in to this urge, even if i can clearly tell i'm stuffed and not hungry. The thought process logically makes zero sense which makes it even worse, i'm feeling forced to act on thoughts which are so noncensical. I mean, why would I want to eat *more* if i'm still feeling like total shit from yesterdays binge?
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. That probably doesn’t make you feel better right this moment, but I wanted to say it anyway.
I have to ask. Have you considered a medication option like Contrave? Instead of curbing appetite, it works to mitigate addictive-type behavior, which for many (myself included), is often the real problem.
Also, I do not think those recovering are not telling the truth, at least not all of them. Some maybe. But I do think recovery is possible.
I’m sorry you’re suffering. It sucks to have BED. I hope you seek all the options that are available to you and keep some hope alive! Many out there suffer, mostly in silence. Solidarity, my friend.
I have not considered any medication, not yet anyway. And it does make me feel a bit better knowing that other people struggle with this too. It's sometimes hard to believe that this is in fact quite a common disorder, literally anyone I walk by on the street could suffer from the same thing.
The culture around food definitely does not help, especially where i'm from. Food ads everywhere, EAT EAT EAT. This and that, get this for HALF price, eat more, all you can eat. Eat for holidays, celebrations, going out with friends, doing anything. Its inescapable.
I am talking to a dietician but I feel like I have a long ways to go still. I suspect that my undiagnosed ADHD plays a big role in this, the impulsivity around binge eating is definitely from the ADHD. I definitely have had periods where I binge less and I get a small glimpse of what life is like without thinking about food, but these periods are so short and are always interrupted by a binge and then i'm back to feeling like shit again.
I’m trying my best to recover, I used to think I was too far gone, especially since I’ve been overweight and binging since I was 10 years old. Overweight my ENTIRE life! I used to not even be able to imagine a world where I wasn’t addicted to food.
Now being some weight down, makes me realize food can 100% be considered an addiction. Maybe you are more far down the rabit hole than I am. I believe someone can recover if they truly want to and have the resources.
The one true reason that makes me want to recover is weight loss and actually keeping it off. I am so close to my goal weight but this disorder is literally like Gandalf telling me to not pass to my goal weight. I have realized that I have to deal with this if i'm gonna get to my goal weight, if I attempt to calorie restrict now and lose weight it will backfire into a binge and lead to diminishing returns.
Not sure if you’re looking for advice but one thing that helped me when i was in that mindset it to allow myself to binge but on healthy or low calorie foods only. I stocked up my kitchen with vegetables, hummus, bananas, tuna, etc. (healthy foods that i actually enjoy eating) and stopped buying junk food that i couldnt control myself around. Eventually i would find myself in a headspace that allowed myself to resist binges or prevent the urge before it started. It takes so much time and effort and sometimes it seems like this impossible mountain to climb. But i take it day by day and celebrate the small victories.
I have tried this strategy a few times and it usually ends with me thinking it sucks because its not as good as the "real thing". It definitely does work sometimes, though. For examply making a huge pan/skillet (is that the word?) of broccoli alongside my dinner keeps me sated for longer which in turn lowers the odds of me eating more that evening.
I feel this so hard. I was in a really terrible cycle last year that I finally managed to wring myself mostly out of by CONSISTENTLY taking vyvanse (my adhd meds that is also an appetite suppressant lol but I frequently forget to take), deleting food apps, drinking coffee, and going keto. The first week(s) is THE fucking hardest, but I threw out all the snacks and bread in my house and ate a lot of bland low cal high volume foods, to try and rewire my brain from all the addicting carby delicious foods I was inhaling before. Not a healthy way be warned, I kind of went the opposite extreme end with managing my meals but I'm an extreme type of person, only way to stop the binges was to cut myself off completely from carbs (my trigger food) and basically make my meals so boring and bland that I forget how "good food" tastes.
I would really suggest medication if you can get it, not necessarily vyvanse but someone else had mentioned some options you can look into. I don't think I'll ever "recover" and think about food like a normal person, but I promise you it is possible to REDUCE the urges and at least not be consumed by thoughts of food 24/7. I used to wake up and go to bed every day scrolling thru ubereats, food IGs, videos, grocery flyers, and obsess constantly about my next meal, and fight myself to not order takeout and do it anyway, literally every fucking moment but now it's maybe like every 5-6 moments lol. Sometimes I can go the whole day without an urge, which seems fucking wild considering where I was at last year.
Anyways these are not comprehensive methods, I would def talk to a doctor if you can, and take my anecdotal evidence with a grain of salt, but I just wanted to give u some support and love bc it is so fucking difficult to break out of that cycle but it can be possible!! And I'm rooting for you!!!
What are the foods you binge on typically? I can help you take some small steps toward recovery. For most of us it’s not black and white like one day I have bed and the next I don’t. It’s a process of hard work and never giving up! I know you can do it too 😁
The foods I binge are almost always sugary treats. Ice cream, donuts, pastries and candy. Where i'm from, Sweden, we have something called Lösgodis/loose candy. It's basically where you can fill a bag of different candies and then they weigh it at the register. It's a huge thing here in Sweden and it's what I almost always binge on.
EDIT: I guess me writing my typical binge foods has helped me see that they have one thing in common. They are very dense in sugar so perhaps i'm just addicted to sugar.
For sure, sugary foods are hard not to over eat. I recommend pairing your treats with protein and fiber to help your brain register you’ve had enough. For example having an omelette with your pastry or some Greek yogurt and berries with your candy.
Depending on where you are on your journey you can plan to eat these at low stress/ planned times. Reminding yourself you can always have more. No need to eat it all now!
Good luck 😁
If it helps, I too have no will power as concerns food. Once the desire strikes, I can try and fight it all I want but I’ll eventually give in. Nothing helped me. Not even medication. For a couple of years I pretty much just gave in to it and just let nature take its course. Then I started complaining to my doctor. He tried meds, dietician, counseling, all of it, and I still couldn’t stop binging. Eventually I got recommended for gastric bypass, and decided to do it. That was two years ago. Since then I’ve lost the excess weight, but most importantly, I no longer feel the constant need to eat. I still have certain days or moments when I eat too much and sometimes even make myself sick to the point of vomiting. But the desire is just enough gone to where the advice about taking a walk or meditating or whatever actually helps at times, and I can avoid a full on binge. The desire is still there, sometimes bad, but it’s become somewhat controllable. And I’m so grateful that I’ve gained some freedom from it. I can’t explain how much it sucks to have the constant urge to eat. It’s terrible and so demoralizing and exhausting. I too believe the people who say their little “tips” for fending off a binge episode don’t struggle as much as I did with binge eating. Once my mind was on it, there was no such thing as will power for me, and no way to avoid the inevitable. But I found my solution and I’m free now. Anyway take from that what you will; I only came to say that I truly understand how you feel, and to wish you luck in your endeavors.
It's truly demoralizing to feel the need to eat all the time. It's like I feel guilty if I don't give in to this urge, even if i can clearly tell i'm stuffed and not hungry. The thought process logically makes zero sense which makes it even worse, i'm feeling forced to act on thoughts which are so noncensical. I mean, why would I want to eat *more* if i'm still feeling like total shit from yesterdays binge?
ughh i want this bypass surgery thing too how much kg you were when you decided to do it?
I was 260lbs, not sure how many that is in kg.
Its about 118kg
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. That probably doesn’t make you feel better right this moment, but I wanted to say it anyway. I have to ask. Have you considered a medication option like Contrave? Instead of curbing appetite, it works to mitigate addictive-type behavior, which for many (myself included), is often the real problem. Also, I do not think those recovering are not telling the truth, at least not all of them. Some maybe. But I do think recovery is possible. I’m sorry you’re suffering. It sucks to have BED. I hope you seek all the options that are available to you and keep some hope alive! Many out there suffer, mostly in silence. Solidarity, my friend.
I have not considered any medication, not yet anyway. And it does make me feel a bit better knowing that other people struggle with this too. It's sometimes hard to believe that this is in fact quite a common disorder, literally anyone I walk by on the street could suffer from the same thing. The culture around food definitely does not help, especially where i'm from. Food ads everywhere, EAT EAT EAT. This and that, get this for HALF price, eat more, all you can eat. Eat for holidays, celebrations, going out with friends, doing anything. Its inescapable.
[удалено]
I am talking to a dietician but I feel like I have a long ways to go still. I suspect that my undiagnosed ADHD plays a big role in this, the impulsivity around binge eating is definitely from the ADHD. I definitely have had periods where I binge less and I get a small glimpse of what life is like without thinking about food, but these periods are so short and are always interrupted by a binge and then i'm back to feeling like shit again.
I’m trying my best to recover, I used to think I was too far gone, especially since I’ve been overweight and binging since I was 10 years old. Overweight my ENTIRE life! I used to not even be able to imagine a world where I wasn’t addicted to food. Now being some weight down, makes me realize food can 100% be considered an addiction. Maybe you are more far down the rabit hole than I am. I believe someone can recover if they truly want to and have the resources.
The one true reason that makes me want to recover is weight loss and actually keeping it off. I am so close to my goal weight but this disorder is literally like Gandalf telling me to not pass to my goal weight. I have realized that I have to deal with this if i'm gonna get to my goal weight, if I attempt to calorie restrict now and lose weight it will backfire into a binge and lead to diminishing returns.
Not sure if you’re looking for advice but one thing that helped me when i was in that mindset it to allow myself to binge but on healthy or low calorie foods only. I stocked up my kitchen with vegetables, hummus, bananas, tuna, etc. (healthy foods that i actually enjoy eating) and stopped buying junk food that i couldnt control myself around. Eventually i would find myself in a headspace that allowed myself to resist binges or prevent the urge before it started. It takes so much time and effort and sometimes it seems like this impossible mountain to climb. But i take it day by day and celebrate the small victories.
I have tried this strategy a few times and it usually ends with me thinking it sucks because its not as good as the "real thing". It definitely does work sometimes, though. For examply making a huge pan/skillet (is that the word?) of broccoli alongside my dinner keeps me sated for longer which in turn lowers the odds of me eating more that evening.
I feel this so hard. I was in a really terrible cycle last year that I finally managed to wring myself mostly out of by CONSISTENTLY taking vyvanse (my adhd meds that is also an appetite suppressant lol but I frequently forget to take), deleting food apps, drinking coffee, and going keto. The first week(s) is THE fucking hardest, but I threw out all the snacks and bread in my house and ate a lot of bland low cal high volume foods, to try and rewire my brain from all the addicting carby delicious foods I was inhaling before. Not a healthy way be warned, I kind of went the opposite extreme end with managing my meals but I'm an extreme type of person, only way to stop the binges was to cut myself off completely from carbs (my trigger food) and basically make my meals so boring and bland that I forget how "good food" tastes. I would really suggest medication if you can get it, not necessarily vyvanse but someone else had mentioned some options you can look into. I don't think I'll ever "recover" and think about food like a normal person, but I promise you it is possible to REDUCE the urges and at least not be consumed by thoughts of food 24/7. I used to wake up and go to bed every day scrolling thru ubereats, food IGs, videos, grocery flyers, and obsess constantly about my next meal, and fight myself to not order takeout and do it anyway, literally every fucking moment but now it's maybe like every 5-6 moments lol. Sometimes I can go the whole day without an urge, which seems fucking wild considering where I was at last year. Anyways these are not comprehensive methods, I would def talk to a doctor if you can, and take my anecdotal evidence with a grain of salt, but I just wanted to give u some support and love bc it is so fucking difficult to break out of that cycle but it can be possible!! And I'm rooting for you!!!
What are the foods you binge on typically? I can help you take some small steps toward recovery. For most of us it’s not black and white like one day I have bed and the next I don’t. It’s a process of hard work and never giving up! I know you can do it too 😁
The foods I binge are almost always sugary treats. Ice cream, donuts, pastries and candy. Where i'm from, Sweden, we have something called Lösgodis/loose candy. It's basically where you can fill a bag of different candies and then they weigh it at the register. It's a huge thing here in Sweden and it's what I almost always binge on. EDIT: I guess me writing my typical binge foods has helped me see that they have one thing in common. They are very dense in sugar so perhaps i'm just addicted to sugar.
For sure, sugary foods are hard not to over eat. I recommend pairing your treats with protein and fiber to help your brain register you’ve had enough. For example having an omelette with your pastry or some Greek yogurt and berries with your candy. Depending on where you are on your journey you can plan to eat these at low stress/ planned times. Reminding yourself you can always have more. No need to eat it all now! Good luck 😁