Hi all

I'm Lee and I'm food addict and have binge eating disorder.

Today I have pledged to be abstinent from binge eating, including not eating any sugars or grains.

I have been binge eating since I was 10 years old, mainly sugar based foods, but would binge on anything if sugar was not available . Perceived deprivation of foods is my trigger and recent GI issues have meant a huge amount of foods are now 'off the table' for me, including most veg and all fruit. This has triggered a major flare of binge eating disorder which I have been struggling to control.

I have been trying to follow a low carb, real foods lifestyle for three years now, but am continually being foiled by my food addiction and binge eating issues.

I have decided, that with the help of my friends on this forum, now is the time to tackle this issue head on, to admit I'm a food addict and binge eater, and to work one day at a time for abstinence.

I know there are lots of people out there who suffer from food addiction/binge eating/compulsive eating issues just like me. If anyone wishes to join me in working toward this goal, then this thread will become our support group in helping each other achieve this goal.

Please feel free to join in and post your story or whatever you feel comfortable with and the number of days abstinence you have.

I'm Lee and this is day one for me.

Hi Leemack! I would like to join your group. Binging has been a terrible
habit for me, too. I started yesterday and just barely made it through.
I had peanut butter last night, but kept it to 4 Tablespoons. Maybe not
a good amount for most people, but I've been known to eat half a jar or
more at a time.

I don't understand why this happens.... I liken it to someone on drugs.
It's hard to explain to people who don't binge... My mom is very support
of me, but can't understand why I feel the need to eat a whole package
of biscuits or candy instead of the two or three she will have.

Thanks for starting this group!

I'm Alocin and this is Day 2 for me.

Welcome Alocin, great to have you aboard!

So my plan to help control the binge eating and take back control is taken from a few things, including suggestions from friends on the forum, taken from their plans.

I have an allowed foods list. This list does not include sugar or grains or fruit. (and some other foods that set off GI issues). I have to eat 3 - 4 times a day, of sensible portions of foods from the 'allowed' list. No meal can be more than 60 minutes, and there needs to be at least a 2 hour gap between meals.

I will review my plan after 90 days of abstinence.

Each person's plan needs to be right for them, as our triggers for binge eating or food addiction are all different, but the important thing is to have a framework to work to and to commit to working at it. Please feel free to share your plan to beat binge eating/food addiction with us as we can all learn from each other's approaches to this.

All the best, glad you came!

Caroxx

I know where you're coming from - my husband can just eat a small amount and then stops saying he's full - I find this mind boggling - how can he just eat a few biscuits or one chocolate bar, or half of his takeout food??? He's supportive of me, but like you say, he just doesn't get it. I don't think anyone who doesn't suffer from this can understand the........need, compulsion.....I don't know what to call it, I just know that it is there and it's real, and it comes from my brain and not my stomach.

Hello! I have decided to join as well! While I do not consider myself a "Binge" eater like a lot of folks do. I would say however, that I am addicted to food. I love the taste of it. Its my comfort. I turn to it when I am depressed or just feeling out of sorts. I just recently began to realize that I truly had a problem with my eating and I needed to get it under control. I am a housewife and I lead a very sedentary lifestyle, which is not good either. But I have a 23 year old daughter who has helped to open up my eyes. We live with her and her husband. She is Skinny as a toothpick, weighs all of 120 pounds soaking wet if that. She eats like a mouse. She is always reprimanding me saying she does not see how I can eat that much....etc. She does not mean it in a bad way and she apologizes if I take it wrong. But it has made me feel bad, bad not because she said it, but bad because I allowed myself to get this way in the first place! It was nothing for me to down two Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Texas Toast in one sitting along with a Giant Fountain Soda. That of course is just one thing that I love. I have a problem in that I love the taste of food.
I was pregnant five times and gave birth to three kids. My youngest just turned 20 in March and I never really lost all my baby weight. When I got pregnant with my daughter (my oldest) I weighed 135 pounds and I gained a total of 101 pounds. I weighed 236 when she was born. I weighed 234 when my youngest was born and it never went away. The last time I weighed before beginning this WOE I weighed in at 235, one pound above Delivery Day!! I'm here for the long haul! I need all the support I can get.

Hi

This is also the place for food addicts too - so you're welcome here

If you don't mind sharing, how far along are you in trying to get control of your eating? Do you have a plan that you're using to help?

I have just started back on an eating plan,it has been a couple years since I even tried to do anything at all. Now I am using Atkins Induction as a guideline and also going Gluten Free due to the Stomach Issues and I have tested positive for the HLA DQ 2.5 Gene which makes one susceptible to Celiac. So, given the only treatment for Celiac is going Gluten Free, I decided to do just that and see if my stomach issues let up. Since I began this WOE I have not had any stomach issues! I am on Day 3.

So jealous of your remission of stomach issues hope that happens for me, too!

Hi Lee
What a great thread to start!

Day 171 for me.

Wow, 171 days is fantastic!!! You must be so proud of what you've achieved and what you continue to achieve every day.

Don't feel you have to if you don't want to. But we'd love to hear what happened to make you realise you had this issue and how you've tackled it - but only if you want to share, no pressure

What "happened" to make me realize that I had an issue? That's a good question. One that will need a little reflection. I'll try to put it into an organized written form over the next day or so. Needless to say, it wasn't ONE thing that happened and then I had some golden revelation of self-insight.

I haven't tackled it! I'm one bad day, one weak moment, one bad choice, one bite...... away from waking up that nasty dragon. He stays hibernating in his cave for the most part these days. I expect his life span will be as long as mine :/
Grains and sugar wake him up with a vengeance. So I choose (one meal/snack/bite at a time) not to eat them. If he starts stirring due to emotional issues... I toss him something high fat and tell him to go back to sleep

Like you, I have an "acceptable" foods list. If it calls my name, causes cravings, obsessive thoughts or spikes on the scale..... it's off the list.

I loved sweets, couldn't stop eating them when I started. I would hide them from my family and friends. This time around I bought a hypnosis cd on ebay. It really stops me from eating or even wanting sweets. I tell everyone about this. The guy who made it is Christopher Love, the music is a little weird but it worked for me. I listened every night night for 3 weeks and sometimes during the day when I was really having a craving. Now I only listen once in a while sorta like a refresher. This cd has really changed my life, making my new life style much easier. If I eat something that tastes sweet is really makes me physically sick! I learned pretty fast not to do that again. Hope this post may help someone else.

I can see why you've got 171 days, you have a mindset that we could all benefit from taking notice of.

I like the idea of the nasty, sleeping dragon , puts a good visual on the problem.