Can't Stop Binging

LegacyUser

Im a woman i my mid 20s and I'm addicted to chocolate/sugar. I eat so well normally during the day, and then I come home and I just feel the need for sugar hit, its not a waning feeling, its an urge it won't leave me alone, it weighs so heavily on my mind, I must have chocolate/sugar, as much of it as possible. Its like my body can't go without it, like I won't survive without it. Today for example I was fine, had a good breakfast, lunch and dinner. And then a pang hit and I couldn't stop being overwhelmed by the feeling, the supreme urge to eat chocolate in any form I could find, and I can never have just a bar, it feels like that is'nt enough I have to engorge myself on the stuff: I went to the shops and in one sitting I ate 3 chocolate bars, a full pack of oreos and a full pack (6) of chocolate rice cakes. If its not something sweet its got to be convenience food instead: a pre prepared wrap, a sushi box, humus (by the tub), I have this panic where I just feel like I'm going to die if I don't over feed myself with the most calorific food possible.


I am miraculously not overweight (but man am I threading the line). How do I get the will power to make this stop? I used to be so healthy with my food choices, just 3 meals a day, mostly vegetables-now I'm a hurricane who sweeps away all the tasty food. Would a nutritionist be advisable or has someone beaten this way of being before and can offer advice?

antix80

I've had about 700 cals of sugar today and burned about 650 cals in the gym...
So, I feel your pain. I've been off the wagon since 1/1 despite a relatively clean xmas

What works best for me..
Go cold turkey.. No sugary snacks except maybe say after dinner on Sunday.
Don't have junkfood in your house.
Make sure to eat proper meals before you're hungry. Prepping (having meals ready in advance) helps with this.
Look out for triggers, such as biscuits with a cup of tea... And maybe switch to black coffee or herbal tea that won't act as a trigger.
Keep busy.
And go to therapy if you can afford it. Sometimes a habit like eating or drinking can stem from another issue. Regardless, it's good to talk to a professional


Just to ad.. Chocolate rice cakes are the worst.. It's like eating popcorn in the cinema.. But covered in chocolate. You're better off eating an animal bar or something. If you really have a craving... Buy 1 animal bar, walk home, and eat it. Don't buy a massive aero for a euro or 2.. You will eat it all! That's the effect of sugar.

I reckon 2 weeks of cold turkey will beat the craving, esp if you can snack on something else like hummus, or sliced apples with peanut butter. Sounds gross but when you beat sugar, savory things become treats.
But.. As soon as you reintroduce sugar, after a few snacks you'll be hooked again.

Agree fully with the cold turkey. Clear your home of all the temptation. It works.

If you can do this - remove all sweets etc from your home - you have an amazing head start over those of us who have kids and thus loads of sweets and the like around us. The pain and headaches will go away. Just stick it out, and start reading up about what this sugar does to your body and energy levels so that your mind becomes repulsed by the idea of eating it.

Also, although you're not even overweight never mind obese I find Jason Fung's Obesity Code to be incredibly enlightening. In particular, his discussion about how fasting is a natural part of human existence and its amazing benefits for the body. His work is largely responsible for the rise in popularity of intermittent fasting, which is now widely accepted by medical experts. Listen to Episode 25: Energy Balance for an idea of the science behind it.

Albhabeth

I disagree with the cold turkey approach. I'm recovering from binge eating disorder and the "othering" of the bad foods was what triggered me most.

Letting cravings build up and get stronger until they overwhelm you is really likely to lead to you losing control and binging.

I found having little bits when I felt like it helped a lot to reduce my cravings for junk food overall and took it's power away. E.g. a biscuit or two with a cup of tea, a dessert watching tv after dinner etc. My sugar cravings were satisfied and just treating junk food like normal food stopped making it so elusive and attractive.

If you're trying to control calories, factor them in to your daily plan to allow them because the 150 or so cals in a couple of biscuits or a small dessert is worth it for your mental health and to avoid scoffing hundreds more of them in a binge.

antix80

[Deleted User] wrote: »

- remove all sweets etc from your home - you have an amazing head start over those of us who have kids and thus loads of sweets and the like around us.

If you've kids at home , all the more reason to banish sugar. You'll find they get enough when they're away from home. When they're 40 and don't have a mouth full of cavities and a constant battle against sugar they might thank you.

Addle

Busy yourself in the evenings OP.

Jenneke87

I understand how you feel, only my vice is junkfood, especially döner meat and chips. Like you, not overweight, but recently I weighed myself and my unhealthy dieet landed me an additional 14 kilo's. The cravings can be maddening! I've been staying away from junk food since the first of this month, but man it is hard, and I'm constantly hungry.

Your body needs to reset. Sugar is highly addictive, so it's no wonder that the urge is almost impossible to resist. Maybe it's better to slowly move away from it rather than going cold turkey, to avoid having those crashes. Then slowly you can find better alternatives for the surgery versions that your eating. Also, occupy yourself! I've started doing yoga and it really helps when all I wanna do is go online and order a heap of my favorite junk. You can beat this and your body will thank you for it!

radiotrickster

Could have written this myself, OP. I used to struggle a lot with binge eating as a teenager and still can as an adult, not that I tell people about it. I tried to tell an adult I trusted about it as a teen and they laughed at me when I said I thought I was addicted to sugar.

I find now I mainly use chocolate as a tool to comfort eat. The evenings for me when I’m home alone can be quite quiet, which leads to my mind wandering to places that make me a bit stressed out and can trigger a lot of chocolate eating.

Have you considered therapy? I need to get back at it but I’ve put it off for a while now. I think it would be helpful to find out what’s making you binge and to help you develop other coping skills.

Another couple of things that help me (not sure if they’ll help you but worth a shot):

Sometimes I’m actually really thirsty when I want chocolate. If I drink a glass or two of water, I’ll find the urge to eat chocolate might go (only sometimes).

Back when I went to the gym regularly, I found that exercising staved off the need for chocolate. I had been going to chocolate for a release of endorphins but the gym was giving me that naturally. I ate only one or two bars a week at that point (down from a few bars and share bags a week). Once I started losing weight, feeing more confident and overall good about myself, I found it easier to stop eating junk food altogether because I wanted to keep feeling good about myself and became committed to eating healthily.

Something I’ve always meant to do but never did – write down what you’re thinking about, what you’re doing and the time when you go to binge. It’ll help you get an idea of what might be causing it or any patterns in place.

And importantly – talk to your GP. I haven’t managed to do this in a while but they can point you in the right direction of any supports in the area (there are support groups out there for this, as embarrassing as it might feel to admit to losing control when binging).

Posting here is a sign that you want help or want to change I think, OP. Best of luck with the journey ahead!

HildaOgdenx

As mentioned in your OP, I agree with seeking professional help.
Do some research for reputable clinics/ practitioners, perhaps have a chat with your GP, and I agree with the suggestion of therapy also.

All the best.

LegacyUser

HildaOgdenx wrote: »

As mentioned in your OP, I agree with seeking professional help.
Do some research for reputable clinics/ practitioners, perhaps have a chat with your GP, and I agree with the suggestion of therapy also.

+ 1 this OP. You can go cold turkey, remove sweets from the house etc etc but it will only be a short term fix and you'll find yourself getting overwhelmed and you'll end up binging on chocolate you'll feel even more guilty like you've failed. Short term tricks aren't looking at the root issue so until you do that you'll be stuck in cycle of getting better then falling off the wagon so to speak.

IvoryTower

I feel your pain op. At the moment I would eat at least a share bag worth every night. I eat it cause i like the taste of it and clearly addicted to sugar/choc, I'm not sure what therapy or a gp can do for that? I have good patches where I work really hard and can go a month without binging before I slide back into it. I train every day so it's not noticeable either which Is probably part of the problem, I would likely be more motivated if I did put on weight

LolaJJ

Hey OP

I suffered from Binge Eating disorder in my twenties. I also purged....

Like you it was all junk, sweets, chocolate, biscuits....

I ended up in treatment and have almost a decade of recovery now following an inpatient stint.

I don't necessarily agree with Cold-Turkey either. Sometimes it's easier to cimb a hill than a mountain and it's about progress not perfection.

Anywho, here's what worked and still works for me!

Figure out how many calories you should be eating every day, there's lots of apps and websites that will do this for you. Whatever you need to maintain your current weight.

A lot of the time, binging, esp on sugar can be down to hunger as you're not eating enough in your main meals (and if you are not gaining weight then this could be why)

Try to plan your food each day and make sure that you are eating the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight.

Things I have found - Carbohydrates are digested like sugar, eating these in the morning as the main source of food will give you an energy burst and make you crave sugar, make you hungry. (This is my interpretation, anyone who is actually qualified in this stuff might explain it better) you can still have these foods but make sure you are getting a decent amount of protein, unsaturated fat and also fiber.

This should keep you satiated and make your cravings easier to manage, they will eventually get less and less

If you need a treat then factor one in to your calories, there's lots of lower calorie chocolate bars. If I got a craving I used to say "I'll have it tomorrow if I still wanted" and then I'd say the same thing to myself again the next day, and sometimes I went ahead and had it but eventually the want started to evapourate.

If you slip and have 3 club bars then that's not a failure, you have to look at the bigger picture and be kind to yourself for the progress you have made. Everyone messes up diets....don't make rules for yourself just take it one day at a time. There are good days and bad days, there are no "Good foods" and "Bad Foods" Think about nourishing your body and make that your priority.

I highly recommend reading a book called "Just Eat it" by Laura Thomas.

Good luck

santana75

Op you should read monica selles book "Getting a grip on my body". What you're going through sounds remarkably like she went through. She came out the other side so I reckon its worth reading that book, might be of some help to you.