Disordered Eating Support Thread page 2

[Alex Who_else]

if something brings relief....it would be drug, wouldn´t it...if nervousness, stress is supported, enhanced by fluctuating blood sugars....and one would like to calm one down by eating...is this then emotional?...

[Violette_R]

No, I wouldn't say I classify food as a drug. There are plenty of things that aren't drugs that people can be addicted to - gambling, sex, etc. Maybe you could say they have a drug-like effect. IDK. And I wouldn't say it was necessarily food I was addicted to, but bingeing. I read Wasted by Marya Hornbacher, which was her memoir of bulimia and anorexia. It seemed to me that her compulsion to binge/purge, then starve herself was akin to my compulsion to binge. As a result I now view anorexia as another type of addiction - addiction to starving. But I'm hardly an expert.

For me, the bingeing was partly emotional. The physical effects of high-sugar, high-fat foods also played a part in it. Formal recovery programs did f--k all to help. What worked was a combination of changing what in my life was making me so unhappy (so far as I could - some things you just don't have control over) and low-carb eating.

[VacillateWildly]

if something brings relief....it would be drug, wouldn´t it...if nervousness, stress is supported, enhanced by fluctuating blood sugars....and one would like to calm one down by eating...is this then emotional?...

Mmmm....interesting point. I can't pinpoint whether my binge eating is driven by physical or emotional inbalance, perhaps it's both. It seems that sugar triggers a binge for me. Wheat and gluten appear to have an opiate like effect on many people, and I think I can feel that and understand why I crave those foods in a binge. I'm starting to think there are two types of binge triggers for me, one driven by genuine cravings and hunger, and another which is purely a response to an emotional trigger.

[Ayla2010]

I binged for 13 years, every emotion sent me to binge.
I thought id never stop.
Then I discovered primal over a year ago. Binges became less frequent but still happened.
Sometime in the last few months they stopped. Going high fat, low carb really helped. Avoiding all types of sugar helped too. Even fruit.
It was a gradual shift, I am so relieved. It seemed to be a never ending cycle.
Before I stopped, I managed to gain around 20 kg that I had already lost.
High fats really help. There is a thread called eat moar fat you should check out.

[Violette_R]

I experimented with with low-carb, low-fat last year. Massive failure. Express train to binge city. High fat is where it's fat.

[Ayla2010]

Yes high fat just keeps you satisfied for longer. Takes away mega hunger.
If I have sugar, I want more.

[Cheesecake]

Hi all. I struggle with anxiety and depression and unfortunately I tend to use emotional eating as a way of coping. For the last year and a half I had a job that made me quite miserable and I would use the thought of my favorite meal as a way to get me through the day. I'd eat in my car to hide it from my boyfriend and then I'd eat again with him when I got home. I left that horrible job but I still suffer with anxiety and constant longing for unhealthy foods as a way to feel better.

[Violette_R]

Had a no grain, no sugar binge tonight. (Scallops in butter and cream, unsweetened chocolate melted in the microwave and mixed with cream and stevia, bacon cheeseburger without bun or fries.) I'm not thrilled with this behavior but at least I managed to minimize the damage to my body. Progress, not perfection, eh? *sigh*

[sakura_girl]

I binged for 13 years, every emotion sent me to binge.
I thought id never stop.
Then I discovered primal over a year ago. Binges became less frequent but still happened.
Sometime in the last few months they stopped. Going high fat, low carb really helped. Avoiding all types of sugar helped too. Even fruit.
It was a gradual shift, I am so relieved. It seemed to be a never ending cycle.
Before I stopped, I managed to gain around 20 kg that I had already lost.
High fats really help. There is a thread called eat moar fat you should check out.

Kind of similar experience of bingeing for 4 years, although what helped me ease the binges was moar carbs.

The time when I added the most weight on Primal, with increased binges, was when I was eating ultra low carb and way too much butter. I kept having this sense of wanting to eat, but I could only eat butter and high fat meat and unsweetened chocolate. No help for hunger at all. However, that was nearly when I started Primal, so idk if it was the lack of carbs or just weening off of crappy food in general.

Heavily agree on the fact that it is a gradual process. I am now on a few day binges/month spree instead of nearly every other day, and my binges aren't like 4,000 calories/day anymore, but more like 2,500-3,000, with the bulk of it being real food.

[fiercehunter]

I changed my diet over the summer to higher carb and instantly gained 10 lbs. When I got one pound over my weight limit (102) I freaked out and started restricting every other day. I did this till Christmas when I finally realized I can't do what I used to at my age-- I can't live on 1000 calories a day or eat 500 every other day or whatever. My eyebrows are all wonky with the outer thirds missing and I have these little wrinkles around my temples from so much tissue loss........It makes me sad because I realize I'll probably never be below 100 again; I just can't put up with how aging the process of maintaining that weight is.

Since Christmas I've been eating normally every day with a few higher fat and sugar items (Hagen Daazs, which I didn't eat for 15 years) thrown in. I'm happy.