Have you binged? page 4

[sakura_girl]

I have binged VERY BADLY several times up til recently. This involves feeling so nauseous, with stomach literally hurting from so much food, but still searching for food to eat and eating when there is a little trickle room left over. The first time this happened it was ~2500 calories, when I was a 107 pound weakling. Second, to somewhere around 10th time it happened, it was ~3500 calories, when I was around 120-130 pounds. I binged once or twice afterward, where I ate over 4000 calories and around my current weight, 150-160 pounds.

But now, I have done a 36 hour IF where I eat 5000 calories afterward and feel fine

[JoanieL]

For me, at least one difference between a binge and overeating is one of control. Thanksgiving and other holidays are ones where some of us plan to overeat, and even plan to eat foods we don't keep in our homes anymore. Some of us even have a plan for when that day is over; IF, go back to normal PB eating, etc. Some do a fast before the day. We enjoy this day, aware that we are in control and will flip off the food as party switch tomorrow.

I think a binge arises from an emotional something we don't acknowledge. A hurt, emotional pain, self-loathing, etc. We cook more spaghetti than one person should ever eat and cover it with butter and salt. We hit a drugstore and buy bags of candy and eat them before the day is out. We don't enjoy these. They are rarely about anything healthy, and like alcohol or drugs, we haven't addressed the issue and are fully aware that it will happen again.

Anyway, just my POV. Overeating isn't a bad thing, especially if balanced with days of undereating (in a healthy adult). Bingeing, like blackout drinking or cutting, releases endorphins, but the crash is miserable.

ETA: Knifegill, I have a friend who quit drinking without meetings, etc. He just knew that kind of "therapy" wasn't for him. He hasn't been sober as long as you, but I'm fairly sure he's sober for good. One day he said he wasn't going to drink any more, and he didn't. As a note, he'd been drunk almost daily for over seven years prior to that day.

[Zach]

Isnt this just being weak willed? I mean does something literally take over your body and force food down your throat? Im seriously asking here. I have never understood compulsions like this when you have the ability to stop at any time. Even things like smoking and drinking, seems just like a weakness but that is atleast a drug. Is there actually a psychological reason why some people cant stop eating or are they just caving in to their own weak will?

Not trying to rile anyone, just wondering what you all that have had it happen think.

[Ayla2010]

Isnt this just being weak willed? I mean does something literally take over your body and force food down your throat? Im seriously asking here. I have never understood compulsions like this when you have the ability to stop at any time. Even things like smoking and drinking, seems just like a weakness but that is atleast a drug. Is there actually a psychological reason why some people cant stop eating or are they just caving in to their own weak will?

Not trying to rile anyone, just wondering what you all that have had it happen think.

No. You don't understand so don't try.

[Ayla2010]

Yes it is like something takes over you.
Its not a weakness, its just something, I can't explain it. But I have stopped doing it now, but when I tried in the past it was not possible to stop.

[Drumroll]

Isnt this just being weak willed? I mean does something literally take over your body and force food down your throat? Im seriously asking here. I have never understood compulsions like this when you have the ability to stop at any time. Even things like smoking and drinking, seems just like a weakness but that is atleast a drug. Is there actually a psychological reason why some people cant stop eating or are they just caving in to their own weak will?

Not trying to rile anyone, just wondering what you all that have had it happen think.

Food can have effects similar to drugs, such as how wheat can bind to opioid receptors and stimulate over consumption. This can cause you to overeat, even when you know you have already had enough. Sugar can have a similar effect on some people. Think how many people can react to dried fruit like it is crack. You know you have had enough, but you must have more anyway.

Also, emotional issues can trigger binging. If you have unresolved psychological problems and emotional problems due to past events, you can turn to food as a way to kill the pain and you just keep eating and eating even though you have already eaten our fill. You are full, but the pain you are suffering from is still there, so you continue to dull the pain by continuing to eat and eat and eat.

If the still doesn't help you get it, then I suggest you not try because as you mentioned, you could easily rile up some intense emotions by saying the wrong things.

[JoanieL]

Because I'm tougher on myself than anyone on the planet has ever been to me, I have to say that at least a component is weak willed. But then again, I don't think addictions should be classified as diseases. I have my addictions and if I accept the disease model, then I not only give myself an out, but I accept a weakness of my spirit and will that I'm reluctant to do.

That said, no one is perfect, and the road to success is rarely a straight line. People shouldn't hate themselves when they fall off any wagon. They should (mentally) brush themselves off and climb back on. Failure is thinking, "Crap, I ate a bag of candy. I might as well give up and eat candy all month." Successful is thinking, "That bag of candy is gonna set me back. I'll walk an extra 15 minutes a day this month, or maybe forever because it's good for me."

[YogaBare]

Food can have effects similar to drugs, such as how wheat can bind to opioid receptors and stimulate over consumption. This can cause you to overeat, even when you know you have already had enough. Sugar can have a similar effect on some people. Think how many people can react to dried fruit like it is crack. You know you have had enough, but you must have more anyway.

Also, emotional issues can trigger binging. If you have unresolved psychological problems and emotional problems due to past events, you can turn to food as a way to kill the pain and you just keep eating and eating even though you have already eaten our fill. You are full, but the pain you are suffering from is still there, so you continue to dull the pain by continuing to eat and eat and eat.

If the still doesn't help you get it, then I suggest you not try because as you mentioned, you could easily rile up some intense emotions by saying the wrong things.

Good answer.

Zach, tbh out of all people I'm really surprised that you would say something like that. Considering how often you mention orthorexia I would have thought you understood that obsession drives a lot of dietary choices. Orthorexia and binging are the opposite sides of the same coin - one is about having control, the other is about losing it.

Out of interest, would you tell someone who was depressed that they just need to "think positive"?

[YogaBare]

I don't think addictions should be classified as diseases. I have my addictions and if I accept the disease model, then I not only give myself an out, but I accept a weakness of my spirit and will that I'm reluctant to do

I totally agree - they are not diseases. An addiction is the way deeply sensitive people cope with their feelings of self hatred. Less sensitive people deal with their uncomfortable emotions by projecting out into the world (ie. going around being jerks).

[sjmc]

I think one necessary but not sufficient condition for binge eating is being alone. At least, you would be an interesting social specimen if you could achieve that truly out-of-control feeling with other people present.

We can check our intuitions on this with competitive eaters. Ridiculous quantity to time ratio of food ingested, but zero negative emotional attachment and the intention is actually to share and celebrate the experience. My guess is most of you don't want to call that a binge.

On the other end though -- an anorexic perceiving a small amount of food as a binge -- I don't think that's properly called a binge. An objectively large amount of food being consumed is another precondition, and while "large" is vague, you at least have to define it relative to objective stats about the person, and not relative to their own disordered perceptions. (At least I think we wouldn't want to say that the anorexic who feels out-of-control eating a handful of saltines actually has binge-eating disorder)