Have you binged? page 5

[PaleoPanda]

Getting into calorie counting made me start bingeing. I never ever had a problem with it before. Using My Fitness Pal was just about the worst thing I could have ever done for myself. It's taking time to put it right. Proper nutrition, exercise, getting enough sleep, and quitting on the self-hating.

One thing I did find out later was that a lot of my binge foods were dairy, and I have since discovered an intolerance to the stuff after cutting it out for a month, reintroducing it and experiencing a lot of, ahem, digestive distress. Milk chocolate was a particular binge food, and I always thought it was the sugar, but I think it was actually the milk component.

[VacillateWildly]

I believe binging is about the feelings that come during or after. For me, binge eating is purely emotional, I use food to numb and stuff down feelings. I also restrict food to control my feelings and give a superficial sense of control over my life, which is just an illusion. The food and the binging is just a symptom for me of distorted thinking and mental illness. I'm anorexic but I swing into binge eating after restricting. I'm in a sugar binge at the moment and it's a desperate place to be.

Binging is not about an quantity. I ate 5 cookies last night and felt suicidal afterwards. I'm not sure I've ever eaten until my stomach hurt or I couldn't move, but I would classify my life as ransomed by my binge eating.

It has nothing to do with will-power or weakness. And I do believe in the 'disease' model, if disease means mental illness. Addictions are mental illnesses. I am a recovering alcoholic, clean and sober in AA for over 10 years. I accept my alcoholism as a mental illness and that I can never safely drink again. If I could have one beer (which I have never wanted to, I want to drink beer until I am smashed) then I would not be an alcoholic. There is peace in accepting that. I cannot drink and I strive to stay away from alcohol one day at a time for the rest of my life. Food is tricky, I have to eat. I have been going to OA for some time, but have made little progress over a year. I hate food right now, I hate that I need it and that I cannot control it.

In my opinion, binging is about suffering. A handful of grapes can be a binge if I am restricting. There are some offensive ideas about EDs, addictions and binging on this thread. Good for you if you've never suffered from a mental illness, enjoy your life and your freedom. Maybe best not to judge until you have trodden in the addict's footprints.

[Zach]

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"?

My orthorexia came from an overload of information, not from any psychological fear or emotion. I have also smoked for years and givin it up without a second thought and regularaly drink 2-3 drinks when friends have 10+. So no i honestly dont understand the compulsion. And to be honest at least a percent of people i think actually just have a lack of control that they like to blame on something else to feel better. No doubt thought that some people cannot control it. I saw my step brother spiral out of control with alcohol and grow more and more alike his father who was a horrible person so part of it might be genetics or something too.

I apalogize if my first post came off rude. Thanks for some good answers.

[YogaBare]

at least a percent of people i think actually just have a lack of control that they like to blame on something else to feel better. No doubt thought that some people cannot control it.

DAMN YOU, MOTHERFUCKING DONUTS!!!! It's all your fault for being so darned delicious

That kind of blame?

Seriously though, there's a big difference between habits, dependency and addiction. Habits and dependency are like crutches; addiction is like a cancer rotting you from inside. For most of my twenties I smoked every day, drank, took a lot of drugs. I gave up smoking without even trying, went a year without drinking cos' I just didn't want to (now i'll have a few drinks a week), and got sick of the party scene so stopped taking drugs. Why was it so easy for me to give up those things? I was socially dependent on them, but not addicted to them. Big difference.

I can't speak for every addict in the world, but I think those who know they have a problem only blame themselves, and carry a lot of guilt and self loathing, which continues to fuel the depression (because that's what's lying under the addcition. The addiction is just an escape). And most addicts will tell you that they want to stop, but one can never stop until they face what's hiding beneath the addiction. And that is usually a pretty dark, scarey place, and you're lucky that you don't have that lurking inside you.

Those who don't realise they have a problem are another matter, and maybe your step bro is like this? It makes sense that if you've got an alcoholic in your family that you find people like us frustrating but maybe this thread is shedding some light into it.

[sbhikes]

I think that many alcoholics see it as this: They have incredible willpower. They probably have more willpower than most people. The problem is, willpower isn't how you quit binging on alcohol or on food. Your will is the problem. That's why when they finally accept powerlessness over the problem and completely give up they're finally on the way toward recovery. I don't think everyone has to go to AA to figure this out, either. Some people can just let go and stop trying so hard and the problem just loses its grip on you.

I also agree with you Knifegill that you can be cured. They said the same stuff in Al-Anon, that you have to keep coming back forever because it's like peeling away the onion. After a year I felt completely fixed and I've never been in a relationship with another alcoholic ever again. I don't attract them anymore, either. They can't find in me the thing they need and I can't find in them the thing I need. And I no longer can attend an Al-Anon meeting and feel like I belong there. I still recommend it highly to anyone in need, but I'm just not in need anymore.

[Zach]

Well my bro traded in drinking first for AA meetings and now for skydiving. He has a very addictive personality.

Yea i may get frustrated with what i perceive as weakness. I will try to judge less and understand more.

[serenity]

Ideally yes - someone with a recovered ED would overeat every now and again without spiralling into the cycle of addiction. In an ideal world any recovered addict would be able to overindulge without it becoming a habit.

I don't think that everyone would be able to do that, but I do think that some people can. I believe, from personal experience, that full recovery IS possible. If some people need to permenantly think of themselves as addicts--whether food addicts or [insert your favorite substance] addicts--in order to keep from slipping back into old habits, then that's fine. But I tend to feel that holding on to the "addict" label means that you can never truly move on. I think it's self-defeating--or whatever you call it, the opposite of empowering, I guess--to subscribe to the belief that you can never fully recover.

I was a bulimic for 6 years (from 11 to 17; 11! if you can believe it). I consider myself fully recovered. That doesn't mean that I never binge. I was just saying on another thread that sometimes on a weekend day, I'll consume 3500-4000 calories. That's some serious overeating, but do I ever feel like I'm going to spiral out of control? Nope. Not even close.

[YogaBare]

I don't think that everyone would be able to do that, but I do think that some people can. I believe, from personal experience, that full recovery IS possible. If some people need to permenantly think of themselves as addicts--whether food addicts or [insert your favorite substance] addicts--in order to keep from slipping back into old habits, then that's fine. But I tend to feel that holding on to the "addict" label means that you can never truly move on. I think it's self-defeating--or whatever you call it, the opposite of empowering, I guess--to subscribe to the belief that you can never fully recover.

I agree with you - recovery is totally possible! Congrads on your success

I do think a person needs to accept they have a problem before they can move on.

[ChocoTaco369]

Yes. I have only binged once in my life. It was while I was fully Primal. And it was on beef, lamb, chicken and pork.

The first time I went to Fogo de Chao, the greatest place on Earth, I ate AT LEAST 5 lbs of meat. It was awful. I have never eaten so much food in my entire life. I could not stand up straight. I was in so much pain for about 2 hours. But it was sooooo good. And I did it on purpose.

However, I'd never do it again. It was too painful. Damn meat. It's so addictively delicious.

[sakura_girl]

Yes. I have only binged once in my life. It was while I was fully Primal. And it was on beef, lamb, chicken and pork.

The first time I went to Fogo de Chao, the greatest place on Earth, I ate AT LEAST 5 lbs of meat. It was awful. I have never eaten so much food in my entire life. I could not stand up straight. I was in so much pain for about 2 hours. But it was sooooo good. And I did it on purpose.

However, I'd never do it again. It was too painful. Damn meat. It's so addictively delicious.

lol! I want to go, but I am scared that will happen to me XD