Binging on Atkins

[SelfPeace]

Hey! :wave:

This is my first post, please excuse me if it is scattered.

I am recovering from anorexia/bulimia/compulsive overeating. It depends on which year as to which my symptoms represent. My binging has been getting uncontrollable and REALLY getting me down. I cannot let myself get that down because it leads to very negative roads. So I am beginning the Atkins. My thinking is, I can still binge but I will not gain weight from it. Is this correct? (<--sorry if that is a stupid question) Now please note, my binges are BINGES and occur 6-13 times per week. I am in therapy and all that. I am just struggling.

My long term goal is that through Atkins legalizing my binging, I will desire to binge less. I then will carefully transfer back to my meal plan.

I have another question. For those of you who have lost a significant amount of weight at the get go, is it just water weight? Did your pants get any looser or was it just the scale going down?

Thank you!!! :D

[Wifezilla]

Well, from what other people here with ED's have said, their desire to binge is greatly reduced when they are properly doing Atkins.

Your odds of gaining weight while staying low carb ARE reduced, but depending on your age, it is possible to get a small uptick on the scale if you over indulge.

I am so glad you are here and I am glad you are in therapy. Proper nutrition while avoiding carbs, the right amount of omega 3's (fish oil), a good blood level of vitamin D, and a competent therapist will be a big help.

[SelfPeace]

(((hug))) Wifezilla

thank you for replyin! I am sad to know that i still will gain, i cannot tolerate more weight. i guess my mind was happy to know that i could eat as much as my emotions desire as long as it is low carb. Ugh. not true.
i am glad to hear that others feel their binge urges reduce. that is positive!
thank you again. :)

[jamaicaker]

I too have also struggled with anorexia/compulsive overeating. Excess calories = excess weight, on any diet. I have had a lot of success on Atkins, however i got into the anorexia too much, and eventually went back to binging. If you need anyone to talk to i am here, still struggling, but Atkins did help me a lot with the cravings.

[SelfPeace]

Thank you Jamaicaker!!!!
I am sorry and sad to hear you struggle too. Nobody deserves to struggle.

It really confuses me that binging on atkins (even low carb foods) still means weight gain because i understood that with Atkins calories aren't important.

Well, i guess then my question is answered. So sad. Frusterated/disappointed with myself.

thank you once again!!

[LittleZu]

Calories are to some degree important in any diet. Atkins doesn't focus on calories, but the amount of calories you consume is always going to affect your weight.

I think the main benefit of Atkins to overeaters (not ED folks) is that you are less hungry than on a low cal/low fat diet and you can eat less without feeling hungry.

Emotional eating is a whole other ballpark. You stick with your therapy, hon, I think that will help you the most of all. I also wish you all the best. (and I don't mean to be a downer on Atkins, so by all means try it! Hell, it worked for me and I was a big ol hefty gal! :) )

[helkitteh]

I used to have a huge binge/emotional eating problem too but like most people here I found that moods evened out and cravings were greatly reduced on a lower carb diet. Also, I had to let myself eat in an unrestricted way at the start, because I needed to get my head around the idea that bingeing was unnecessary. Over time, the desire to binge became less and less. Then I was able to start keeping tabs on calories occasionally, without feeling deprived. Now I can calmly watch other people eating sugary desserts knowing full well that my yummy high fat, low carb desserts are waiting for me any time I want them :)

From what I've observed from around the boards, people with a lot of weight to lose seem to be able to eat in an unlimited fashion and still lose weight. Calories tend to increase in importance the closer you get to your goal weight. I also practice intermittent fasting which has, I feel, in conjunction with low carb, changed my abusive relationship with food forever.

Stay with the therapy and give Atkins a shot - don't forget to take measurements as well as your start weight because the scale never tells the whole story. Best of luck!

[Wifezilla]

SelfPeace, one of the people on this forum intentionally over ate while keeping his carbs very low. He did NOT gain weight...but then again...he is younger than me and a male. Results are individual.

That being said, your odds of wanting to binge will be so much lower on low carb. I used to deprive myself for weeks at a time and then tear through 2 boxes of Little Debbies Swiss Rolls. Now if I am hungry, I whip up some cream cheese with unsweetened cocoa, coconut milk, and a little splenda. Half the time I end up feeding a lot of it to my hubby because it satisfies my cravings so quick.

[Finola]

Sadly there is no magic category of foods which will allow us to eat 10,000 calories of it without some effect on our bodies.

That said, I do personally find that the desire to binge eat is dramatically reduced on a low carb diet. I think it should be the only type of diet recommended to those with binge eating issues. If you are already in therapy, this way of eating should complement that very well.

As an aside, in all my experience with eating disorders and eating disorder support I have only encountered one person out of hundreds who ate a low carb diet. Every other person had a diet that was almost entirely based on simple carbs, and generally very high in sugars.

I send my best wishes for you to achieve that Self Peace you seek.

[suzanneyea]

I am a former binge eater and bulimic, I now eat zero carbs, basically meat and water. I eat tons, I mean 5 burgers at a time and some steaks. I am super skinny too. I started LC doing Atkins, but never moved past induction level, anything over 10 carbs cause binge cravings for me. I also had to stop the diet soda, the sweet taste triggered an insulin reaction- not good.

[Kendal]

Suzanne... do you eat cheese or mustard or mayo with your burgers? Or just plain burgers? Just curious, because I have huge cravings myself and am wondering how many carbs need to be cut out to stop this.

[Melesana]

You might gain a bit if your binges are very high in calories. And you might have to put up with gaining a bit at first in order to discover that that's the worst a legal-foods binge can do to you on a low-carb diet. Maybe nothing, maybe gain a pound or two that won't stay with you long. Eventually, as you said, you'll notice that binges aren't bad on low-carb, and if you have to binge on legal foods, well, you just do it, and then you just get back on plan. Do the next right thing. You can do it.

Meg

[shellienz]

I am a recovered bulimic, so binging iisnt to much of an issue for me anymore, although I can still comfort eat like any other overweight person. I think you can have hope on a LC approach. You probably could gain weight if you went totally nuts, but I dont think you can binge to great excess on induction. Binging foods, in my experience, are breads, cakes, cookies and junk. I dont think meat and cheese will satisfy any great binging tendancies :)
My advice is stick to induction foods. I think you might quickly begin to see your desire to binge fade. But stay with the therapy ok? :)
good luck, I know it seems impossible, but after over a decade of bad behaviour I was able to come through, and I know you can to :)

[Nancy LC]

I have a tendency to binge too, probably not like some people do, but over eat on things that trigger me. Generally those foods are carby but dairy products do it too. If I stick to paleo foods (veggies, meats, low carb fruits) then my eating is pretty well behaved. I tend to over-do on dairy products and, even if they're very low carb, I will gain on them.

So for me, sticking to Paleo is key to controlling the bingeing and for losing weight.

I think you'll find low carb, especially if you stick to meat and fat for the most part, you'll not really want to binge. Of course, your mileage may vary.

[jschwab]

I can overeat by alot and still lose weight - not sure what constitutes binging and it may be be way more than I could ever get down. I definitely will eat way more calories than most people seem to be able to handle, even on low carb. Alot of it will depend on you and your body. It seems to me that eating disorders might have a huge nutritional deficiency component. You may find that you learn which foods have an opiate and antinutrient effect on you and removing those foods brings you a long way towards a cure and balancing your nutrition.

I wish you alot of luck!

[suzanneyea]

I eat nothing on my burgers, just the meat, no salt or seasonings. I like them very rare too. The no salt thing was really hard at first, but now I cannot tolerate anything with salt, it gives me horrible leg cramps.
Every so often I do use dijon mustard on something, but not a lot.

[Kendal]

I eat nothing on my burgers, just the meat, no salt or seasonings. I like them very rare too. The no salt thing was really hard at first, but now I cannot tolerate anything with salt, it gives me horrible leg cramps.
Every so often I do use dijon mustard on something, but not a lot.

I don't know if you've already told your story and it's listed somewhere, but I'm interested in your story and how you got to this way of eating.

Thanks!

[J-lo carb]

I was just wanting an update. How has Atkins been working? It looks like your first post was on the 16th. If you haven't binged yet, I'd say you're well on your way.

[slimjane11]

Any of you over eaters heard of Candidiasis?? I was anorexic (extremely) for quite some time (about 4+ years) and I couldn't seem to control myself any longer. I began to dream about sugar and carbs...literally. Check out the Candida/yeast section and see if that applies to you.

[namaste87]

Suzanne

I'm curious about no carbing. I am bulimic and when I first started on Atkins I was able to stop binging. I have been having terrible cravings again for sugar and have started binging again. I feel hopeless. I've never heard of anyone at zero carbs. Is that healthy? How do I find out more information? Thank you

[Starina]

Namaste87,
There is a lot of good info here:
http://forum.zeroinginonhealth.com

[namaste87]

Starina

Thank you for the information. I've been reading about so many different food plans lately it's just making my head spin. Trying to find one that will work for me and help me to stop binging/purging.

[Starina]

Namaste, There are quite a few people who healed from their eating disorders on that site. Check it out.

[namaste87]

How do I find that?

[Starina]

:) Go to the forum and read. :) People are very open there.