Calling any recovered EDs - I need som help with binge-fast-binge cycle page 5

[JackieKessler]

Dexy, something that I've tried -- successfully -- in the past two days is making the decision not to eat after 8 pm. That's when I usually binge like crazy. I haven't said, "No more chocolate/fruit/wine/nuts/etc. because I binge on these things," but instead limit (slightly) when I should have them. So far, so good. I've also been logging my food/drink/exercise on LoseIt to keep me honest. And I'm feeling positive.

So maybe this is another tactic to try: if you have a certain time when you're more prone to binging, decide not to eat during that particular window.

[BestBetter]

Even though I clearly have a long history of binging (which fortunately now is in 'remission'), for some reason this urge was never triggered by IFing for me. However, what was really detrimental for me was doing two weeks of Ultimate Diet 2.0 - which has you eat at a 50% caloric deficit for 5 days, normal calories for 1 day, with essentially an all-day food bender where I was aiming for about 200% of my daily calories, no fat and 800+ carbs.

Eating on a 50% (or more) deficit for me was about 750 calories per day, which could only be accomplished by the strictest measuring - I even got so ridiculous as to weigh the ROSEMARY SPRIGS I was adding to my turkey breast. Since my personality can lean towards the OCD end of life if I let it, this obsessive weighing and measuring really fed the militant calorienazi side of me, and one engaged, was very difficult to erradicate.

This experience was really humbling, because I had been so sure that my binging was a thing of the past, and all it took was 2 weeks of this cycle to completely throw me back into the old patterns of obsessively planning my 'binge' day while allowing myself the barest bones of survival in terms of food. It took me several MONTHS to get back to a healthy place again, which I accomplished by:

1) Not weighing myself on the scale AT ALL. Not even just once.
2) Not weighing my food to portion it out (unless I needed to weigh raw ingredients for cooking purposes)
3) Constantly reminding myself that I was focusing on my physical and mental health, weight loss could wait until later.
4) Trying to take pleasure in as many things as I could so that my pleasure didn't solely come from fantasizing about a binge.
5) If I felt likely to binge, making sure I wasn't alone or with access (money, availability) until i was strong enough again to resist on my own.

Now, months later, I'm back to a good place where the thought of binging rarely occurs, and when it does, I can talk myself out of it and use my coping techniques. But damn, it really is a lifelong battle. I'm just a better fighter now.

[fiercehunter]

Nut butter! Nuts! These are LETHAL. They should be sold from behind the counter with warning labels. They derail me with their little fatty crunch.

Enjoy Ireland...I know it well. Thanks for clarifying, yes, I too have a things for 'sweets'. I had grapefruit tonight but only because I bought it a week ago and I couldn't stand the thought of throwing it out.

Yes, filled with PUFAs, do not buy. You are better off eating a carton of Hagen Daazs.

[JackieKessler]

You are better off eating a carton of Hagen Daazs.

Not when you're prone to binging.

Something that helps me with nuts is keeping in mind that a serving size is one closed fist's worth of nuts. This helps me keep it real, and lets me savor one nut at a time, knowing that this is the correct portion.

[sakura_girl]

As a former ED binger (still binger, but I do it with IFing and training, without ED tendencies), all I can say to you is to 1) reduce the amount of stress in your life as much as possible, 2) be as Primal as you can be, but don't sweat the small stuff (do not count calories or weigh yourself, but strive to eat as much meat as you can), and 3) give it lots of TIME. I gained a few pounds this way, but at least I am back to being healthy, and I am already losing the fat that I gained from previously overeating on slightly-less-than Primal foods from chocolate relapses.

[BestBetter]

Yes, filled with PUFAs, do not buy. You are better off eating a carton of Hagen Daazs.

Can you stop telling everyone on every thread to eat Hagen Daaz. It's getting incredibly irritating.

And maybe try reading some of the posts before butting in with your unhelpful suggestions that rarely have anything to do with what is being discussed. Obnoxious.

[perfexionist]

Yes, filled with PUFAs, do not buy. You are better off eating a carton of Hagen Daazs.

Some PUFAs, when sourced naturally (i.e. from nuts) and kept in moderation, are not going to kill you. Eating a handful of nuts is certainly not the same as eating a carton of Hagen Daazs. That's a bit of an extreme comparison, no?

[BestBetter]

Being primal can cause bingeing because it restricts whole food groups...I have read opinions from different "experts" that restricting whole food groups causes you to fixate and binge on them, and I know it does for me. I eat everything I want, but in moderation.

I actually think the exact opposite of this is true - at least for me. I was a binge-eater decades before ever hearing about primal/paleo (I'm 33, and this has been an issue for me since childhood.) In fact, going paleo/primal was what allowed me to be able to 'reprogram' my brain and conquer my ED because it's a framework for making healthy lifestyle choices that offers a lot of flexibility (I'm thinking of macro flexibility here.)

For me, having a deeper understanding of how modern, western processed foods negatively impact my physical and mental health has been invaluable in my commitment to improve my health. It's not that I CAN'T eat gluten, dairy, omega 6 crap oils, grains, etc... it's that I don't WANT to put those things in my body anymore.

[Gadsie]

Can you stop telling everyone on every thread to eat Hagen Daaz. It's getting incredibly irritating.

And maybe try reading some of the posts before butting in with your unhelpful suggestions that rarely have anything to do with what is being discussed. Obnoxious.

Nah, she made me enjoy life again by eating haagen dazs

[AndreaC]

Thanks for all the discussion on this thread. I'm recently realizing (admitting) that I have issues with binge/purge and all your thoughts have been very helpful.