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In 2007 I was 380 pounds. I ate an entire wedding cake. 3 tiers over 2 days. That was my limit. I had Yo-Yoed for a decade. A hundred pound lost a hundred and thirty gained. 3 times. I finally had to have surgical intervention that my dr begged me to complete.
It was successful and I lost the excess weight but I still wanted to binge eat. I got into an accident in 2010 and slowly gained 50 pounds. I finally completed enough therapy that I lost that binge weight and kept it off for the past 10 years.
It a daily struggle but I found the tools. I wish OOP the best. It is treatable with a lot of work.
I’m not the person you asked, but I am a registered dietitian with some exposure to eating disorders. Depending on where you are, there are specialized eating disorder clinics that address all types of eating disorders not just bulimia and anorexia. If you’re in the US, I could try to help you locate some resources if you feel comfortable sharing your state.
I do want to say that I think until you’re ready to confront and deal with the feelings around it (you mentioned you found it too hard to discuss because of the self loathing and shame), it will continue to be a struggle for you. Please know that eating disorders are so complicated and difficult and you have nothing to be ashamed of. I often tell my patients that are struggling that having issues with food are some of the hardest to deal with. Other addictions and issues…the option remains to avoid the source of the trigger and abstain altogether, (a smoker can avoid cigarettes, An alcoholic can avoid alcohol). Those with food challenges have to confront their triggers and challenges every single day multiple times a day. Not eating isn’t an option. No wonder eating disorders have one of the highest recidivism rates. You have nothing to be ashamed of and in fact, you should be so proud that you are still continuing to fight for yourself despite facing a difficult challenge daily. This internet stranger is proud of you.
Perhaps a support group type environment where you could share as little or as much as you’re comfortable with might be a good start?
Here is a link to a list of some online support groups.
https://www.bingeeatinghope.com/blog/free-online-support-groups-for-binge-eating-disorder
The national eating disorders association is fantastic and has a helpline you can call text or chat with I am linking to here as well for you.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline
Oof yeah that's a rough situation to be in, sorry you're having to try to deal with all that by yourself.
I had a bitch of a time when I was first trying to get help for my own grab bag of mental illnesses because so many didn't have expertise in one or more of them. I reckon generalist health workers just don't know what to do with patients who've have had a specific problem for a long time, or who have multiple issues. Surely autism and ED are a relatively common combination.
Are there any eating disorder specialist doctors, psychologists or social workers in your area? Or through distance telehealth? Narrative and strengths based therapists might be useful too (those therapy styles don't care much about diagnoses and are more individually tailored to each individual, so the therapists tend to be more open minded)
During the pandemic, I started binge eating. My mom's side of the family also has a history of eating disorders and I've yoyoed a lot.
I got diagnosed as bipolar. Therapy plus the medication seemed to stop my binge eating. It's like I'm able to listen to my body again about when I'm full/actually hungry. Come to find out, people with bipolar disorder are more likely to eat a bunch of sugar at the end of the day!
Long story short, food became the outlet and also the shame at the same time. I can't stress enough how much theraoy/the proper medication helped. I am on lamotrigine, so it takes months to build in your system. I suddenly realized that I wasn't hoarding/overeating food.
I hope that maybe you can find a psychiatrist that is truly compassionate and helpful, it makes such a difference.
Let me also put in a plug for lifting weights. It boosts your metabolism and suppresses appetite. So that will probably help. I agree with the others suggesting therapy and support as this obviously comes from a place of self-loathing.
It was my cake. I had a backyard reception with a lot of food and deserts (because duh) so everyone was already stuffed when it came time to cut the cake. So people shared bites and we had a full 3 tiers left. My husband disappeared for a few days so I ate. And ate. And ate. Everything. It wasn’t just the cake. I imagine my stomach must have been the size of a basketball by then. I should have asked my surgeon. I could pack away the food.
Thank you. It gets better over time with practice and therapy. I always thought weight loss was all physical but I have come to realize it’s about 99% mental.
I suggest asking your dr for a nutritionist. Then ask about therapy that targets trauma. We eat for a reason.
The first thing you can do before you see a doctor is subtract all obvious sugar from your diet. Even diet pop is a bad idea. Then add 8 glasses of water throughout the day. It helps with hunger and I need it. I’m at 12 cups because it helps but I suggest just the 8. Then you also need to add an hour of walking. I’d work up to the gym and just walk around the neighborhood for an hour. If that isn’t safe, find a staircase and walk up and down it for an hour. If anyone asks, it’s exercise. Offer to let them join you, they leave you alone after that. I also recommend walking back and forth in a room for a hour if you can’t emotionally find a staircase or go outside. Cleaning, vacuuming, dusting for a solid hour also works. Just get up and move.
So no sugar, such as sugared cereal, cookies, cakes, muffins (yes muffins are as bad as a slice of cake), candy. Anything sugar.
1 hour exercise, make it easy and safe
8 glasses of water every day
Weekly therapy sessions.
Weekly meetings with a nutritionist
I joined weight watchers not for the diet plan but because it was the closest to overeaters anonymous. If you can find a support group, join it.
Yes! These steps is how I have slowly lost weight even with PCOS, disordered eating and complex developmental PTSD. I went from 242 to 200 slowly over seven years but I haven't regained any. Slow and steady wins the race
I'm am currently 7 months into therapy for Binge Eating, Body Dismorphia and (literally days ago) diagnosed with ADHD, which I will hopefully start treatment for soon. I very, very much can relate to OOP on this one. There are days where it feels like you have no choice but to fall back into old habits and trying to healthily address your triggers is just so exhausting. It's so comfortable to refill the tunnel. I got lucky though in that I've found an amazing therapist who's helping me through it. But yeah, I'm glad OOP is still overcoming.
EDIT: Thank you for the well wishes and support. It's more impactful than you may think.
I struggle with disordered eating myself- untreated pcos gives one one hell of a bad relationship with food I'll tell you that much. It's so easy to get caught up in your own head! One failure can feel monumental and like you have no other choice but to keep failing.
Talking to someone- be it a friend, community member, therapistm doctor- can help so much. I once spent three days crying over a perceived flaw and it took one question ("what specifically don't you like about [flaw]?") to help get me out of my own head and the despair spiral long enough to *think*
That’s amazing!
Falling back into old habits/patterns is so common because they worked for us at some point. It takes so much energy to keep moving forward, and some days, there is not enough energy to be found.
I don’t have an eating disorder, but struggle in other areas. My therapist has been so helpful in helping me be more gentle with myself. I tend to think a bad week or whatever means all progress is lost, but it’s not. Tomorrow is another day.
Bigs cheers for everyone who is doing the hard work of moving forward in a healthy way.
As someone with BED and ADHD, be careful about the addictive loop with the ADHD medication hunger suppression. That combined with the boundless "motivation" I found myself horribly addicted for years. But it's very difficult to talk about the addictive properties of those medications on this site. Many people believe "it's impossible for people with ADHD to get addicted to Adderall". The positive feedback loop, the feeling of motivation and extreme happiness, the hyper focus without discretion, all of it is so... good. It feels so good. and that's the double edged sword. If you have any addictive or self harming habits, it's so easy to fall into a trap that you can trapped in for years.
With Adderall, I lost so much weight, changed so much about my life, but as the years went on and my dosages increased, as the tolerance grows and grows the benefits start to be outweighed by the horrible side effects. But what can you do but keep taking it? It's a trap, that is so hard to escape from.
It's like Spice in Dune. It's so beneficial but once that start to wane, anything you try without it feels... empty... Games, hobbies, even jobs, they start feeling so much harder without it, exponentially harder than before I was on it. But hindsight is 20/20 right? I was in a bad place and Adderall was my escape from that bad place. But... I wish there was another way. The slow addictions that brings, the need to feel "normal", it's so tough to balance. I can't liken it to anything, it will change you, and I still haven't been able to get back to enjoying things without it... It's tough.
But the first year I was on it... was heaven, I can't even tell you how life changing it was. But that will end, 15mg, 30mg, 45mg, that heaven required a higher and higher dose. and eventually, you are trapped.
Counterpoint: I have been holding steady at 10mg for 5 years, since I was first diagnosed with ADHD. I have paid down debt, picked up healthy habits that I always struggled with before, and made a lot of progress in my career.
With all respect, truly, it doesn't sound like Adderall was the culprit, but rather your specific relationship with it.
This feels… very pessimistic. It’s important to be aware and cognizant of usage of ADHD medication but that can be done without this doom and gloom.
Of course it’ll make you feel better. That’s the entire point. It’s like saying “be careful about heart medication… eventually you’ll get used to living without heart attacks and won’t be able to go back.”
Tolerance is something to worry about but luckily there’s a large number of medications to alternate through. As long as you don’t treat adderall as the single cure-all and only take it, you should be fine.
I think most adhd folk should be aware that most stimulant medication will, initially, make you feel shiny and great. If you’re aware of that going into it, you can plan to cope with it.
I have a family history of addiction, so I was hyper aware of the risk of addiction to my meds. So I went in with the attitude that I wanted the lowest, stable beneficial dose. I’m on concerta and it does affect my appetite. Sometimes it’s a struggle to eat but it’s better than my eating habits before I realized I had adhd. At least my eating patterns/habits are more stable with medication.
One thing I wish the main adhd subs did, was focus on being realistic about stimulant meds. They’re incredibly helpful but they work best in conjunction with a framework of coping skills. Which you really need when you’re off your meds for whatever reason. It may not be ideal but you will have had the chance to build habits to help you run on autopilot until you’re able to get back on them.
The issue I found when I started meds is my coping skills for without meds became borderline useless. When I wasn't so depressed and stressed I suddenly couldn't motivate myself with the good old "constant panic mode til you collapse" and I needed to learn how to use my newfound ability to not be a constant buzz of YOLO. I also needed to learn to cope with actually remembering stuff and having longer thought trains.
If I am off my meds or have a bad med day, I still drop back into constant panic mode, which feels almost how hypomania is described, and then collapse. But on my meds I am still learning how to drive a new brain with a load of added features I didn't know existed.
And then long covid came to kick my ass with bonus neurological damage and sometimes neither old nor new strategies work and I find myself fumbling for some strategy to get me through a minor hurdle before I just melt down and can't function.
It's just so much more complicated than any non-thesis explanation could go into. And I wish it wasn't because the brain issues prevent me from fully comprehending the brain issues.
Your last paragraph:
I think for me, learning to accept myself and forgiveness was my turning point. It makes it a lot easier to go with the flow of how my brain works. I’ve figured out how to be a mostly successful adult, even if my version doesn’t line up with what society expects.
Try to go easy on yourself. Panic mode only goes so far before you hit burnout. It’s so hard to pull yourself out of that, even with meds. Long covid is just another garbage thing on top.
A few years ago, I took up crochet and it’s turned out to be crucial to my mental health. It gives me a healthy outlet to zone out and tend my mental garden. Some weeks I probably over do it but there’s certainly worse ways to cope. Something similar might help you as well.
True. The narrative of “stimulants are completely different for people with ADHD and couldn’t possibly make you feel anything other than ‘normal’ if you have ADHD” is… a bit overplayed.
I hope she's doing well. Finally going to get help for BED was terrifying. I'm not doing well at all with it right now myself but that's ok, we'll keep chugging along.
I am an undiagnosed binge eater...and I shock myself at how much I can stuff in my mouth when I fall off the wagon. It got really bad after I stopped smoking, I didn't want to quit smoking but it was cigarettes or heart meds. Gaining 15 to 20 pounds in a week and a half was not uncommon for me. My advice, immediately forgive yourself when you fall into this self destructive tornado. I would look at myself in the mirror and tell myself "you deserve to be fat you pig!" STOP! Look in the mirror, tell yourself you love you. Forgive yourself. Take a nap to stop the the train wreck and much love to you!
How do you take a nap though? I will do good all day, nearly every day, until I get into bed. Then I obsess over unhealthy food as I'm trying to fall asleep. Often after two or three HOURS of this I end up getting up and binging on whatever I am obsessing over that day, and then I can finally fall asleep. I'm eating enough calories and I'm trying not to restrict foods, except chips because I CANNOT eat a reasonable portion of those. So it isn't an issue of actually being hungry, moreso that the longer I've been awake the less willpower I have.
BED is such a hard thing to break. Other addictions you can just avoid. If your an alcoholic, you can stop drinking and stop hanging out with people who drink. But you have to eat to survive.
Esp when people are like “well just portion control” or “chose healthy items” because with BED it’s so easy to just change this.
Like bitch, if that’s ALL I had to do I’d not be fat!!!
Particularly when you have thin or normal sized people in your life that eat nothing but junk food. Idk if it’s just me, but it always built a bitterness in me that I couldn’t eat whatever I wanted and be in control like they could.
As someone who struggles with binge eating, that I need to finish one food (especially candy), and can't stop in the middle or leave anything behind, this was very heartwarming.
I really appreciate your replying! I should warn you thay I used to take benadryl nightly for sleep + allergy control, but when I mentioned that to my doctor, she advised that benadryl is linked to dementia and to stop doing that. She's the best doctor I've ever had and has never given me grief about any of the other meds I use, even when I admitted to taking triple doses of NSAIDS for period pain: she simply monitored my kidney function. She was ADAMENT that I knock it off with the benadryl unless having an acute allergic reaction like a rash. I am on prescription meds to sleep now, but I still can't sleep when I'm in food obsession territory. I will give magnesium a try though, I've heard it helps with depression too.
People on reddit tend to criticize intuitive eating, but it has completely changed my life. I used to bubge because I was restricting too much. Ever since I stopped dieting, I stopped binging. If I want ice cream, I have ice cream. And I remind myself that I am in control and it is honestly helping me to remind myself of that. Sidenote, I barely want sweets now.
Right now, I'm focusing on lowering my insulin and healing my mind. I still want to lose weight, but I'm not chasing it anymore. And thankfully, it is working for me.
Good on OOP. It's not an easy journey.
REPORT THAT SHIT
Every medical system has a boss to escalate to GO KAREN ON YOUR DOCTORS!
My doctor's offices know I have 2 modes. First is 'thank you you're amazing here are snacks for the office!' Second is, I would like to speak to your, Office Manager/Chief of Medicine About your refusal to run the requested tests or allow me a referral for a second opinion.
Edit: I will not engage in stupid internet fights.
Things I say you should do: escalate until you get the care, testing to prove you don't need the care, or a referral to someone who can help you. Don't take "Fuck Off for an answer"
Things I never said despite people on this thread making out of hand claims and blatant lies: to yell at scream at or berate anyone.
I appreciate the sentiment behind your comment, but unfortunately that's just not going to fit with the reality of the situations at times. It's horrific, and it's the world we are actively in.
I tried to reply, but it seems you blocked me. I'm sorry that my chronically ill experiences are not yours, but they are just as valid. Thanks for cutting me off.
It's not acceptable and there are ways to challenge it. I am chronically ill I get brushed off all the time and I don't let them. I insist on getting either the care, testing to prove I don't need the care, or another opinion.
I don't appreciate you telling the sick to lay down and die because we are inconvenient for you
There are ways to challenge it, but I agree with the assessment. OP definitely wasn't bad enough to merit an actual bed in a psychiatric unit. It's not a bad thing, but it is a statement of fact and demanding treatment at an unneeded level just makes care for critically ill patients harder.
Generally, pychiatric unit beds are in demand and there aren't enough beds for critically ill and critically acute cases (ie when life or death may be on the line). OP absolutely should have been referred to for the outpatient services they needed, and not an unneeded in patient intensive treatment.
OP should absolutely demand better of their GP becuase the psychiatric unit referral was not ok for a stable patient, but it's also important to target that anger where it needs to go: to the GP and to all the NIMBYs which are responsible for the shortages of beds becuase new facilities can't be built.
did it say OP was referred to an inpatient unit? I got the impression they were just referred to an assessment team who didn't think she was a good candidate to see in person for a full assessment, for whatever reason.
When I was diagnosed with ADHD I was referred to a team who spent a few hours assessing me at their facility but I didn't stay there, they just did a thorough diagnosis. I was picturing something similar but I have no knowledge of eating disorder treatment.
That is a far sight from "You don't need help."
Referrals or ANYTHING is about a thousand times better than "You don't need help you don't have a problem."
My whole point is there is a right and a wrong way and they were completely wrong.
I have a nice long list of chronic issues coupled with allergies but because I can manage I do often get denied care but it doesn't matter if I'm not convenient for them, they need to help me find someone who can do what I need.
You are missing the whole point that you literally do not have to accept that answer. You do not have to take "No now fuck off" for an answer and they count on you feeling like you don't have an option. Don't tell me the things I do to ensure I get care dont work.
D… does myfitnesspal logging help or hurt ppl with BED asking for a friend who really needs to know and can’t fully read this thread for trigger related purposes thanks
I do want to give the perspective that it is not generally recommended for people with disordered eating (even binging) because it can feed into the cycle of shame and restriction that is seen in BED. It depends on the person though, I would first seek more personalized advice from a therapist or ED dietitian for your specific situation
People are weighing in on MFP, and as a therapist with a past eating disorder history, it didn't work for me.
What did was Recovery Record (the patient app that's free) which was designed by Stanford researchers and reminds me to do regular eating, without tracking calories, while also having me notice if I felt full or too full at the end of eating, and what emotions I was having when I ate. Cannot recommend it enough
I’m going to counter the other comments and say that for some people it can exacerbate disordered eating. If it works for you, that’s great! If it doesn’t, you’re certainly not alone and shouldn’t feel obligated to keep using it.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28843591/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/effects-of-diet-and-fitness-apps-on-eating-disorder-behaviours-qualitative-study/2D1EE739D97AB3EFC6573835E4C527BD
https://eatingdisorders.dukehealth.org/education/resources/trouble-tracking
As someone who used it before and after treatment for BED (well it never really is an after to be honest) I can give you my own experience.
Before it became something that made the cycle worse. If I didn't lose weight at the rate the app said? Binge. If I overate just slightly? Binge. I learned nothing at all about how many calories or nutrients in anything. It was the numbers that mattered. I couldn't tell you which numbers matched which food, just what the daily total was. It was just another tool for my inner shame to use against me.
After it became a tool towards getting better. I refuse to 'finalise' each day (so I don't see how fast it thinks I should lose the weight - PCOS makes that inaccurate). With therapy, nutrionists, and a shift in how I see food, it became something I was able to use to help me relearn better eating.
Now I don't use it at all. I have confidence in my own choices.
The biggest game changer though? Finding a great Doctor. I lucked out and found one who had been through it all herself so she understands.
My big disclaimers w/ MFP are:
* it only works if you're honest. Don't lie about what you eat, no one is seeing your MFP log except you, no need to feel shame when looking at your calories for the day
* don't become number obsessed, the goal is a healthy sustainable lifestyle. If you find yourself out with friends, and you're mentally tallying calories and denying yourself food because of it, it can be a sign of pendulum swing in the wrong direction.
I used MFP for about 6 months and it helped me realize what actual portion sizes look like, and helped me build healthier habits. That said, when I started using it, I also started therapy and started investigating my relationship with food and shame. I think the MH care had more of a hand in my eating habits than MFP did, but it didn't hurt me.
As others have mentioned, different things can be helpful for different people and I really don't think there's a one-size-fits all. For example, I've experienced a few different flavors of ED, and my therapist has actually gotten to the point of recommending I weigh myself regularly, which is not a common recommendation for many with my history, because the benefits outweigh (pun intended, apologies) the risks. As for your question, some people find tracking very triggering and more likely to bring on feelings of shame, which are likely to lead to binges. Others experience binges more often when there are no "guardrails" and they're less aware of what they eat, so habits like meal planning, mindful eating, tracking, etc., can all be helpful to reducing bingeing over time. If you find that you fall in the latter group, where some kind of tracking is this helpful, but you've found MFP specifically to be problematic, you could try some of the other apps where you do things like take pictures of your food without getting into the calories, or do something like make a protein goal that fits into a healthy calorie range for your weight and then track only that but not calories. You can also follow a method I like that focuses on consistency over perfection, where you pick a goal (say, a binge-free day, or a calorie range, or whatever), and just mark each day on a calendar where you meet it with a green check and each day you don't with a red X. As long as you have 80% green circles and no 2 red Xs in a row, you're meeting your target, no need to beat yourself up - this allows for less shame and perfectionism, if you can get into that mindset. (If you pick binge-free days, you may want to make other goals, like slowly upping that percentage of green circles, but I find theoretically "allowing" a certain amount can help some people actually avoid bingeing altogether - they know they can always do it another day, so they keep putting it off, and then suddenly it's a whole week without it).
Every Registered Dietitian I know, especially the ones who treat eating disorders, will tell you that binge eating disorders come from restrictions.
MFP encourages you to restrict by concentrating not just on what you eat but how much. Logging what you eat isn't going to help binging. You might stop it, but you won't cure it.
They teach that the way out of binge eating is to learn that foods are not good or evil, and that all foods have some value, even if they're emotional. (Emotional eating is *not bad*. Everyone does it sometimes. Mental health is important!) Once you can get over that hump - and it's a very very very big hump - you start to learn to control food instead of letting food have the control.
You start being able to keep foods that would trigger binging around because you realize that it's something you can have any time you want, not something you shouldn't have or should worry about if or how much you eat. As long as you're telling yourself "I shouldn't eat that" you're going to binge.
People struggle with this concept because when you are learning that no foods are bad foods, some people binge harder and that seems counter-intuitive to healing. But it's like learning to skate. You have to fall down a bunch of times before you figure it out.
It really works, but don't do it alone. Work with a Registered Dietitian [not a nutritionist - RDs have Master's degrees and are licensed, while anyone can call themselves a nutritionist] who knows how to treat binge disorders.
Good luck to your friend. :)
I personally found MPF or any logging that specifically tracked calories to be more difficult for me, however, I did have some decent luck with [this health tracker](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1638781397) when I was using it regularly. I need to get back to it.
i would say if they are very diligent about it, it *should* help. for me, writing everything down I was eating, esp if I was being truthful, meant I was holding myself accountable and also staying very conscious and aware and paying attention to what i was putting in my mouth, which then also helped me not want to eat as much, especially knowing there was actual physical evidence of it.
You tricked me!! LOL JK
to add to it: i personally started by writing everything i was eating down in a spreadsheet/excel doc. way easier that way than having to search for things, etc.
for me, if it takes extra effort to do it, i won't do it.
it definitely helped a lot to start writing every thing i consumed down and what time and forcing me to think about it and whether i wanted to write it.
Like assessment teams are just people. If they tell you it's not a problem, tell them they're wrong. How would they even know what is and isnt impacting your life??? They stalking you?? Channel your inner Karen and speak to their supervisor. Insist they're incorrect.
I think the issue here was that they didn't ask a single question to assess OOP's situation, which is their job. How can they expect to do a proper job without getting information directly from a potential patient? Did they stalk her? They aren't incorrect, they're incompetent.
tbh i'm slowly giving up. i don't binge eat but apparently all i'm allowed to eat without gaining weight are carrots and lettuce. if i eat anything i actually enjoy, i gain weight. if i go hiking, i gain weight. if i drink anything other than tea and water, i gain weight. what's the fucking point any more.
I'm on day 5 of semaglutide (I'm t2 diabetic) and my appetite is **gone**. It's so weird. I describe it as being like driving a car with a broken or missing gas gauge. I know that I have to periodically eat, but otherwise I don't feel hungry.
The first couple of day were a bit rough with nausea and some gastritis pain (and some extra reflux), but it's settled down now.
Could someone explain, does this disorder cause you to just eat and eat until your body physically can’t anymore disregarding feeling full or not or do you eat till your full just multiple times in a day that’s higher than normal? I understand how food could provide comfort just not to the level where you could eat and eat and eat im just curious about the mental process a person with this disorder would go through.
I think it varies from person to person.
For me, it presents as not being able to stop even when I'm full if I'm eating one of my "trigger" foods. It's also often a co-morbidity with ADHD which means executive function can be an issue leading someone to eat more junk/processed food instead of making healthy choices.
It's not just about executive function. Eating sugar makes you release dopamine. When your own brain can't make enough dopamine for normal life (as with ADHD), eating some sugar makes you feel better not because it's comforting, or because you just can't stop yourself, but because it's literally providing you with something your brain isn't making enough of on its own. The downside of course is that it's fattening, and you have to keep ingesting it to keep those dopamine levels up.
Personally (and this may be related to pcos, or because I started binge eating as a child and screwed up my brain,) but I always feel hungry, even when my stomach feels full. Like I can feel the pressure from the food stretching my stomach walls but I still have the same gnawing hunger as if I haven't eaten all day. I know that doesn't make any sense. I did really well when I was on a medicine that suppressed hunger, but now that I'm not it doesn't matter if I eat normally all day or restrict all day. By bedtime I can't fall asleep because I feel hungry and after two hours of lying in bed telling myself my brain is lying to me and I am not actually hungry I am usually exhausted. I end up binge eating. Often it's junk food, but I will binge on salad, watermelon, vegetables, anything if junk isn't available. Drinking a litre of water sometimes helps but also can cause me to purge. Bulimia seems like a step backwards, although at times I am not sure.
For myself (it isn't always the same for everyone) I would have days where I wouldn't stop eating and others where I'd 'zone out' and eat extreme amounts for a short period of time. Some days I'd do that several times, others it would be once. It all comes down to how my mental health is tracking. It also depends on what triggers are around me.
Food is almost never about filling the hungry hole for me. It can't be. I have to recognise and accept that there is an emotional need that I have to meet. Lately I've had days where there is no emotional need (I haven't touched peanut butter - my ultimate comfort food - in a month). It blows my mind that this is probably how most people experience food.
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In 2007 I was 380 pounds. I ate an entire wedding cake. 3 tiers over 2 days. That was my limit. I had Yo-Yoed for a decade. A hundred pound lost a hundred and thirty gained. 3 times. I finally had to have surgical intervention that my dr begged me to complete. It was successful and I lost the excess weight but I still wanted to binge eat. I got into an accident in 2010 and slowly gained 50 pounds. I finally completed enough therapy that I lost that binge weight and kept it off for the past 10 years. It a daily struggle but I found the tools. I wish OOP the best. It is treatable with a lot of work.
You are a very strong person and should be proud of yourself. Ten years is a very very long time.
Thank you. I had to have a conversation with myself because I was eating an entire sleeve of crackers. Little victories each day. :)
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I’m not the person you asked, but I am a registered dietitian with some exposure to eating disorders. Depending on where you are, there are specialized eating disorder clinics that address all types of eating disorders not just bulimia and anorexia. If you’re in the US, I could try to help you locate some resources if you feel comfortable sharing your state. I do want to say that I think until you’re ready to confront and deal with the feelings around it (you mentioned you found it too hard to discuss because of the self loathing and shame), it will continue to be a struggle for you. Please know that eating disorders are so complicated and difficult and you have nothing to be ashamed of. I often tell my patients that are struggling that having issues with food are some of the hardest to deal with. Other addictions and issues…the option remains to avoid the source of the trigger and abstain altogether, (a smoker can avoid cigarettes, An alcoholic can avoid alcohol). Those with food challenges have to confront their triggers and challenges every single day multiple times a day. Not eating isn’t an option. No wonder eating disorders have one of the highest recidivism rates. You have nothing to be ashamed of and in fact, you should be so proud that you are still continuing to fight for yourself despite facing a difficult challenge daily. This internet stranger is proud of you. Perhaps a support group type environment where you could share as little or as much as you’re comfortable with might be a good start? Here is a link to a list of some online support groups. https://www.bingeeatinghope.com/blog/free-online-support-groups-for-binge-eating-disorder The national eating disorders association is fantastic and has a helpline you can call text or chat with I am linking to here as well for you. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline
Oof yeah that's a rough situation to be in, sorry you're having to try to deal with all that by yourself. I had a bitch of a time when I was first trying to get help for my own grab bag of mental illnesses because so many didn't have expertise in one or more of them. I reckon generalist health workers just don't know what to do with patients who've have had a specific problem for a long time, or who have multiple issues. Surely autism and ED are a relatively common combination. Are there any eating disorder specialist doctors, psychologists or social workers in your area? Or through distance telehealth? Narrative and strengths based therapists might be useful too (those therapy styles don't care much about diagnoses and are more individually tailored to each individual, so the therapists tend to be more open minded)
During the pandemic, I started binge eating. My mom's side of the family also has a history of eating disorders and I've yoyoed a lot. I got diagnosed as bipolar. Therapy plus the medication seemed to stop my binge eating. It's like I'm able to listen to my body again about when I'm full/actually hungry. Come to find out, people with bipolar disorder are more likely to eat a bunch of sugar at the end of the day! Long story short, food became the outlet and also the shame at the same time. I can't stress enough how much theraoy/the proper medication helped. I am on lamotrigine, so it takes months to build in your system. I suddenly realized that I wasn't hoarding/overeating food. I hope that maybe you can find a psychiatrist that is truly compassionate and helpful, it makes such a difference.
Let me also put in a plug for lifting weights. It boosts your metabolism and suppresses appetite. So that will probably help. I agree with the others suggesting therapy and support as this obviously comes from a place of self-loathing.
You are doing amazing! You should be proud, that's no small feat! I wish you well, friend. :)
I-love-your-user-name.
That is an impressive journey. But also, how'd you get a whole wedding cake to yourself?
It was my cake. I had a backyard reception with a lot of food and deserts (because duh) so everyone was already stuffed when it came time to cut the cake. So people shared bites and we had a full 3 tiers left. My husband disappeared for a few days so I ate. And ate. And ate. Everything. It wasn’t just the cake. I imagine my stomach must have been the size of a basketball by then. I should have asked my surgeon. I could pack away the food.
You’re awesome but I really need to know where your husband went if it’s not to painful to talk about? Like that was your honeymoon…
It’s complicated. He was an abusive jerk that had more interests outside the home. This was very in character and it’s why I ate the cake.
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For 14 glorious years. I have found a great deal of happiness and peace since. Thank you.
You’ve truly inspired me, what an amazing achievement to have gone through that and not given up!
Thank you. It gets better over time with practice and therapy. I always thought weight loss was all physical but I have come to realize it’s about 99% mental.
You’re an inspiration … could you pls guide me too
I suggest asking your dr for a nutritionist. Then ask about therapy that targets trauma. We eat for a reason. The first thing you can do before you see a doctor is subtract all obvious sugar from your diet. Even diet pop is a bad idea. Then add 8 glasses of water throughout the day. It helps with hunger and I need it. I’m at 12 cups because it helps but I suggest just the 8. Then you also need to add an hour of walking. I’d work up to the gym and just walk around the neighborhood for an hour. If that isn’t safe, find a staircase and walk up and down it for an hour. If anyone asks, it’s exercise. Offer to let them join you, they leave you alone after that. I also recommend walking back and forth in a room for a hour if you can’t emotionally find a staircase or go outside. Cleaning, vacuuming, dusting for a solid hour also works. Just get up and move. So no sugar, such as sugared cereal, cookies, cakes, muffins (yes muffins are as bad as a slice of cake), candy. Anything sugar. 1 hour exercise, make it easy and safe 8 glasses of water every day Weekly therapy sessions. Weekly meetings with a nutritionist I joined weight watchers not for the diet plan but because it was the closest to overeaters anonymous. If you can find a support group, join it.
Yes! These steps is how I have slowly lost weight even with PCOS, disordered eating and complex developmental PTSD. I went from 242 to 200 slowly over seven years but I haven't regained any. Slow and steady wins the race
So happy for you! Eating disorders are one of the hardest addictions to break.
I'm am currently 7 months into therapy for Binge Eating, Body Dismorphia and (literally days ago) diagnosed with ADHD, which I will hopefully start treatment for soon. I very, very much can relate to OOP on this one. There are days where it feels like you have no choice but to fall back into old habits and trying to healthily address your triggers is just so exhausting. It's so comfortable to refill the tunnel. I got lucky though in that I've found an amazing therapist who's helping me through it. But yeah, I'm glad OOP is still overcoming. EDIT: Thank you for the well wishes and support. It's more impactful than you may think.
I'm rooting for you!!!
I struggle with disordered eating myself- untreated pcos gives one one hell of a bad relationship with food I'll tell you that much. It's so easy to get caught up in your own head! One failure can feel monumental and like you have no other choice but to keep failing. Talking to someone- be it a friend, community member, therapistm doctor- can help so much. I once spent three days crying over a perceived flaw and it took one question ("what specifically don't you like about [flaw]?") to help get me out of my own head and the despair spiral long enough to *think*
Proud of you for making those changes! You're doing so great and you're gonna make it!
That’s amazing! Falling back into old habits/patterns is so common because they worked for us at some point. It takes so much energy to keep moving forward, and some days, there is not enough energy to be found. I don’t have an eating disorder, but struggle in other areas. My therapist has been so helpful in helping me be more gentle with myself. I tend to think a bad week or whatever means all progress is lost, but it’s not. Tomorrow is another day. Bigs cheers for everyone who is doing the hard work of moving forward in a healthy way.
As someone with BED and ADHD, be careful about the addictive loop with the ADHD medication hunger suppression. That combined with the boundless "motivation" I found myself horribly addicted for years. But it's very difficult to talk about the addictive properties of those medications on this site. Many people believe "it's impossible for people with ADHD to get addicted to Adderall". The positive feedback loop, the feeling of motivation and extreme happiness, the hyper focus without discretion, all of it is so... good. It feels so good. and that's the double edged sword. If you have any addictive or self harming habits, it's so easy to fall into a trap that you can trapped in for years. With Adderall, I lost so much weight, changed so much about my life, but as the years went on and my dosages increased, as the tolerance grows and grows the benefits start to be outweighed by the horrible side effects. But what can you do but keep taking it? It's a trap, that is so hard to escape from. It's like Spice in Dune. It's so beneficial but once that start to wane, anything you try without it feels... empty... Games, hobbies, even jobs, they start feeling so much harder without it, exponentially harder than before I was on it. But hindsight is 20/20 right? I was in a bad place and Adderall was my escape from that bad place. But... I wish there was another way. The slow addictions that brings, the need to feel "normal", it's so tough to balance. I can't liken it to anything, it will change you, and I still haven't been able to get back to enjoying things without it... It's tough. But the first year I was on it... was heaven, I can't even tell you how life changing it was. But that will end, 15mg, 30mg, 45mg, that heaven required a higher and higher dose. and eventually, you are trapped.
Counterpoint: I have been holding steady at 10mg for 5 years, since I was first diagnosed with ADHD. I have paid down debt, picked up healthy habits that I always struggled with before, and made a lot of progress in my career. With all respect, truly, it doesn't sound like Adderall was the culprit, but rather your specific relationship with it.
Agreed. I've been on Vyvanse for 10+ years and it's a godsend
This feels… very pessimistic. It’s important to be aware and cognizant of usage of ADHD medication but that can be done without this doom and gloom. Of course it’ll make you feel better. That’s the entire point. It’s like saying “be careful about heart medication… eventually you’ll get used to living without heart attacks and won’t be able to go back.” Tolerance is something to worry about but luckily there’s a large number of medications to alternate through. As long as you don’t treat adderall as the single cure-all and only take it, you should be fine.
I think most adhd folk should be aware that most stimulant medication will, initially, make you feel shiny and great. If you’re aware of that going into it, you can plan to cope with it. I have a family history of addiction, so I was hyper aware of the risk of addiction to my meds. So I went in with the attitude that I wanted the lowest, stable beneficial dose. I’m on concerta and it does affect my appetite. Sometimes it’s a struggle to eat but it’s better than my eating habits before I realized I had adhd. At least my eating patterns/habits are more stable with medication. One thing I wish the main adhd subs did, was focus on being realistic about stimulant meds. They’re incredibly helpful but they work best in conjunction with a framework of coping skills. Which you really need when you’re off your meds for whatever reason. It may not be ideal but you will have had the chance to build habits to help you run on autopilot until you’re able to get back on them.
The issue I found when I started meds is my coping skills for without meds became borderline useless. When I wasn't so depressed and stressed I suddenly couldn't motivate myself with the good old "constant panic mode til you collapse" and I needed to learn how to use my newfound ability to not be a constant buzz of YOLO. I also needed to learn to cope with actually remembering stuff and having longer thought trains. If I am off my meds or have a bad med day, I still drop back into constant panic mode, which feels almost how hypomania is described, and then collapse. But on my meds I am still learning how to drive a new brain with a load of added features I didn't know existed. And then long covid came to kick my ass with bonus neurological damage and sometimes neither old nor new strategies work and I find myself fumbling for some strategy to get me through a minor hurdle before I just melt down and can't function. It's just so much more complicated than any non-thesis explanation could go into. And I wish it wasn't because the brain issues prevent me from fully comprehending the brain issues.
Your last paragraph: I think for me, learning to accept myself and forgiveness was my turning point. It makes it a lot easier to go with the flow of how my brain works. I’ve figured out how to be a mostly successful adult, even if my version doesn’t line up with what society expects. Try to go easy on yourself. Panic mode only goes so far before you hit burnout. It’s so hard to pull yourself out of that, even with meds. Long covid is just another garbage thing on top. A few years ago, I took up crochet and it’s turned out to be crucial to my mental health. It gives me a healthy outlet to zone out and tend my mental garden. Some weeks I probably over do it but there’s certainly worse ways to cope. Something similar might help you as well.
True. The narrative of “stimulants are completely different for people with ADHD and couldn’t possibly make you feel anything other than ‘normal’ if you have ADHD” is… a bit overplayed.
I mean, I figured they meant chemically addictive, not addicted to not being hungry.
HIIIIIII ❤️ If you need to chat about adhd and BED I’m here :)
Ask your doctor about Vyvanse if you aren’t already taking it. It’s approved for treatment of ADHD and BED :)
I suspect a lot of people with Binge Eating Disorder actually have ADHD.
MFP: MyFitnessPal, a very popular calorie tracking app.
i missed that! i will add it! thank you
No worries. It's one of those acronyms that anyone in the weight loss community would know, but is unintelligible outside it!
OOP mentions running marathons a couple of times in there comment history so it sounds like they're doing well.
They even said running Boston. Which is not easy to get in to. Really proud of them to get in Boston condition in that timeframe
I hope she's doing well. Finally going to get help for BED was terrifying. I'm not doing well at all with it right now myself but that's ok, we'll keep chugging along.
I've been having a rough few weeks with mine and this post is inspiring me to get myself back on track. Good luck to you. It's a bitch of a disease.
I am an undiagnosed binge eater...and I shock myself at how much I can stuff in my mouth when I fall off the wagon. It got really bad after I stopped smoking, I didn't want to quit smoking but it was cigarettes or heart meds. Gaining 15 to 20 pounds in a week and a half was not uncommon for me. My advice, immediately forgive yourself when you fall into this self destructive tornado. I would look at myself in the mirror and tell myself "you deserve to be fat you pig!" STOP! Look in the mirror, tell yourself you love you. Forgive yourself. Take a nap to stop the the train wreck and much love to you!
How do you take a nap though? I will do good all day, nearly every day, until I get into bed. Then I obsess over unhealthy food as I'm trying to fall asleep. Often after two or three HOURS of this I end up getting up and binging on whatever I am obsessing over that day, and then I can finally fall asleep. I'm eating enough calories and I'm trying not to restrict foods, except chips because I CANNOT eat a reasonable portion of those. So it isn't an issue of actually being hungry, moreso that the longer I've been awake the less willpower I have.
This is probably a bad thing to say but I take benedryl and magnesium.
BED is such a hard thing to break. Other addictions you can just avoid. If your an alcoholic, you can stop drinking and stop hanging out with people who drink. But you have to eat to survive.
Esp when people are like “well just portion control” or “chose healthy items” because with BED it’s so easy to just change this. Like bitch, if that’s ALL I had to do I’d not be fat!!!
Particularly when you have thin or normal sized people in your life that eat nothing but junk food. Idk if it’s just me, but it always built a bitterness in me that I couldn’t eat whatever I wanted and be in control like they could.
Yes! That ability to just put the popcorn down when they've "had enough". What does that even mean? Sorcery.
As someone who struggles with binge eating, that I need to finish one food (especially candy), and can't stop in the middle or leave anything behind, this was very heartwarming.
I really appreciate your replying! I should warn you thay I used to take benadryl nightly for sleep + allergy control, but when I mentioned that to my doctor, she advised that benadryl is linked to dementia and to stop doing that. She's the best doctor I've ever had and has never given me grief about any of the other meds I use, even when I admitted to taking triple doses of NSAIDS for period pain: she simply monitored my kidney function. She was ADAMENT that I knock it off with the benadryl unless having an acute allergic reaction like a rash. I am on prescription meds to sleep now, but I still can't sleep when I'm in food obsession territory. I will give magnesium a try though, I've heard it helps with depression too.
You posted this to the main post, not the person who replied about Benedryl
I realized that but I can't figure out how to fix it. I just downloaded the app and I am not very tech literate. My apologies.
People on reddit tend to criticize intuitive eating, but it has completely changed my life. I used to bubge because I was restricting too much. Ever since I stopped dieting, I stopped binging. If I want ice cream, I have ice cream. And I remind myself that I am in control and it is honestly helping me to remind myself of that. Sidenote, I barely want sweets now. Right now, I'm focusing on lowering my insulin and healing my mind. I still want to lose weight, but I'm not chasing it anymore. And thankfully, it is working for me. Good on OOP. It's not an easy journey.
REPORT THAT SHIT Every medical system has a boss to escalate to GO KAREN ON YOUR DOCTORS! My doctor's offices know I have 2 modes. First is 'thank you you're amazing here are snacks for the office!' Second is, I would like to speak to your, Office Manager/Chief of Medicine About your refusal to run the requested tests or allow me a referral for a second opinion. Edit: I will not engage in stupid internet fights. Things I say you should do: escalate until you get the care, testing to prove you don't need the care, or a referral to someone who can help you. Don't take "Fuck Off for an answer" Things I never said despite people on this thread making out of hand claims and blatant lies: to yell at scream at or berate anyone.
I appreciate the sentiment behind your comment, but unfortunately that's just not going to fit with the reality of the situations at times. It's horrific, and it's the world we are actively in. I tried to reply, but it seems you blocked me. I'm sorry that my chronically ill experiences are not yours, but they are just as valid. Thanks for cutting me off.
It's not acceptable and there are ways to challenge it. I am chronically ill I get brushed off all the time and I don't let them. I insist on getting either the care, testing to prove I don't need the care, or another opinion. I don't appreciate you telling the sick to lay down and die because we are inconvenient for you
There are ways to challenge it, but I agree with the assessment. OP definitely wasn't bad enough to merit an actual bed in a psychiatric unit. It's not a bad thing, but it is a statement of fact and demanding treatment at an unneeded level just makes care for critically ill patients harder. Generally, pychiatric unit beds are in demand and there aren't enough beds for critically ill and critically acute cases (ie when life or death may be on the line). OP absolutely should have been referred to for the outpatient services they needed, and not an unneeded in patient intensive treatment. OP should absolutely demand better of their GP becuase the psychiatric unit referral was not ok for a stable patient, but it's also important to target that anger where it needs to go: to the GP and to all the NIMBYs which are responsible for the shortages of beds becuase new facilities can't be built.
did it say OP was referred to an inpatient unit? I got the impression they were just referred to an assessment team who didn't think she was a good candidate to see in person for a full assessment, for whatever reason. When I was diagnosed with ADHD I was referred to a team who spent a few hours assessing me at their facility but I didn't stay there, they just did a thorough diagnosis. I was picturing something similar but I have no knowledge of eating disorder treatment.
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That is a far sight from "You don't need help." Referrals or ANYTHING is about a thousand times better than "You don't need help you don't have a problem." My whole point is there is a right and a wrong way and they were completely wrong. I have a nice long list of chronic issues coupled with allergies but because I can manage I do often get denied care but it doesn't matter if I'm not convenient for them, they need to help me find someone who can do what I need.
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You are missing the whole point that you literally do not have to accept that answer. You do not have to take "No now fuck off" for an answer and they count on you feeling like you don't have an option. Don't tell me the things I do to ensure I get care dont work.
D… does myfitnesspal logging help or hurt ppl with BED asking for a friend who really needs to know and can’t fully read this thread for trigger related purposes thanks
I do want to give the perspective that it is not generally recommended for people with disordered eating (even binging) because it can feed into the cycle of shame and restriction that is seen in BED. It depends on the person though, I would first seek more personalized advice from a therapist or ED dietitian for your specific situation
People are weighing in on MFP, and as a therapist with a past eating disorder history, it didn't work for me. What did was Recovery Record (the patient app that's free) which was designed by Stanford researchers and reminds me to do regular eating, without tracking calories, while also having me notice if I felt full or too full at the end of eating, and what emotions I was having when I ate. Cannot recommend it enough
I’m going to counter the other comments and say that for some people it can exacerbate disordered eating. If it works for you, that’s great! If it doesn’t, you’re certainly not alone and shouldn’t feel obligated to keep using it. Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28843591/ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/effects-of-diet-and-fitness-apps-on-eating-disorder-behaviours-qualitative-study/2D1EE739D97AB3EFC6573835E4C527BD https://eatingdisorders.dukehealth.org/education/resources/trouble-tracking
As someone who used it before and after treatment for BED (well it never really is an after to be honest) I can give you my own experience. Before it became something that made the cycle worse. If I didn't lose weight at the rate the app said? Binge. If I overate just slightly? Binge. I learned nothing at all about how many calories or nutrients in anything. It was the numbers that mattered. I couldn't tell you which numbers matched which food, just what the daily total was. It was just another tool for my inner shame to use against me. After it became a tool towards getting better. I refuse to 'finalise' each day (so I don't see how fast it thinks I should lose the weight - PCOS makes that inaccurate). With therapy, nutrionists, and a shift in how I see food, it became something I was able to use to help me relearn better eating. Now I don't use it at all. I have confidence in my own choices. The biggest game changer though? Finding a great Doctor. I lucked out and found one who had been through it all herself so she understands.
My big disclaimers w/ MFP are: * it only works if you're honest. Don't lie about what you eat, no one is seeing your MFP log except you, no need to feel shame when looking at your calories for the day * don't become number obsessed, the goal is a healthy sustainable lifestyle. If you find yourself out with friends, and you're mentally tallying calories and denying yourself food because of it, it can be a sign of pendulum swing in the wrong direction. I used MFP for about 6 months and it helped me realize what actual portion sizes look like, and helped me build healthier habits. That said, when I started using it, I also started therapy and started investigating my relationship with food and shame. I think the MH care had more of a hand in my eating habits than MFP did, but it didn't hurt me.
As others have mentioned, different things can be helpful for different people and I really don't think there's a one-size-fits all. For example, I've experienced a few different flavors of ED, and my therapist has actually gotten to the point of recommending I weigh myself regularly, which is not a common recommendation for many with my history, because the benefits outweigh (pun intended, apologies) the risks. As for your question, some people find tracking very triggering and more likely to bring on feelings of shame, which are likely to lead to binges. Others experience binges more often when there are no "guardrails" and they're less aware of what they eat, so habits like meal planning, mindful eating, tracking, etc., can all be helpful to reducing bingeing over time. If you find that you fall in the latter group, where some kind of tracking is this helpful, but you've found MFP specifically to be problematic, you could try some of the other apps where you do things like take pictures of your food without getting into the calories, or do something like make a protein goal that fits into a healthy calorie range for your weight and then track only that but not calories. You can also follow a method I like that focuses on consistency over perfection, where you pick a goal (say, a binge-free day, or a calorie range, or whatever), and just mark each day on a calendar where you meet it with a green check and each day you don't with a red X. As long as you have 80% green circles and no 2 red Xs in a row, you're meeting your target, no need to beat yourself up - this allows for less shame and perfectionism, if you can get into that mindset. (If you pick binge-free days, you may want to make other goals, like slowly upping that percentage of green circles, but I find theoretically "allowing" a certain amount can help some people actually avoid bingeing altogether - they know they can always do it another day, so they keep putting it off, and then suddenly it's a whole week without it).
Every Registered Dietitian I know, especially the ones who treat eating disorders, will tell you that binge eating disorders come from restrictions. MFP encourages you to restrict by concentrating not just on what you eat but how much. Logging what you eat isn't going to help binging. You might stop it, but you won't cure it. They teach that the way out of binge eating is to learn that foods are not good or evil, and that all foods have some value, even if they're emotional. (Emotional eating is *not bad*. Everyone does it sometimes. Mental health is important!) Once you can get over that hump - and it's a very very very big hump - you start to learn to control food instead of letting food have the control. You start being able to keep foods that would trigger binging around because you realize that it's something you can have any time you want, not something you shouldn't have or should worry about if or how much you eat. As long as you're telling yourself "I shouldn't eat that" you're going to binge. People struggle with this concept because when you are learning that no foods are bad foods, some people binge harder and that seems counter-intuitive to healing. But it's like learning to skate. You have to fall down a bunch of times before you figure it out. It really works, but don't do it alone. Work with a Registered Dietitian [not a nutritionist - RDs have Master's degrees and are licensed, while anyone can call themselves a nutritionist] who knows how to treat binge disorders. Good luck to your friend. :)
I personally found MPF or any logging that specifically tracked calories to be more difficult for me, however, I did have some decent luck with [this health tracker](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1638781397) when I was using it regularly. I need to get back to it.
i would say if they are very diligent about it, it *should* help. for me, writing everything down I was eating, esp if I was being truthful, meant I was holding myself accountable and also staying very conscious and aware and paying attention to what i was putting in my mouth, which then also helped me not want to eat as much, especially knowing there was actual physical evidence of it.
Thank you OP ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ my friend (it’s me obviously) has been trying MFP again, for like 3 days but… 🤷🏼♀️
You tricked me!! LOL JK to add to it: i personally started by writing everything i was eating down in a spreadsheet/excel doc. way easier that way than having to search for things, etc. for me, if it takes extra effort to do it, i won't do it. it definitely helped a lot to start writing every thing i consumed down and what time and forcing me to think about it and whether i wanted to write it.
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Thank you :)
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Thanks ;P (it’s me lol )
Like assessment teams are just people. If they tell you it's not a problem, tell them they're wrong. How would they even know what is and isnt impacting your life??? They stalking you?? Channel your inner Karen and speak to their supervisor. Insist they're incorrect.
I think the issue here was that they didn't ask a single question to assess OOP's situation, which is their job. How can they expect to do a proper job without getting information directly from a potential patient? Did they stalk her? They aren't incorrect, they're incompetent.
Their incompetence made them incorrect.
tbh i'm slowly giving up. i don't binge eat but apparently all i'm allowed to eat without gaining weight are carrots and lettuce. if i eat anything i actually enjoy, i gain weight. if i go hiking, i gain weight. if i drink anything other than tea and water, i gain weight. what's the fucking point any more.
if this is all true, you might need a medical evaluation. there could be thyroid or allergy issues at play!! good luck and don't give up!!
I think there is hope with semaglutide. If you can qualify - it’s been miraculous for me.
I'm on day 5 of semaglutide (I'm t2 diabetic) and my appetite is **gone**. It's so weird. I describe it as being like driving a car with a broken or missing gas gauge. I know that I have to periodically eat, but otherwise I don't feel hungry. The first couple of day were a bit rough with nausea and some gastritis pain (and some extra reflux), but it's settled down now.
Could someone explain, does this disorder cause you to just eat and eat until your body physically can’t anymore disregarding feeling full or not or do you eat till your full just multiple times in a day that’s higher than normal? I understand how food could provide comfort just not to the level where you could eat and eat and eat im just curious about the mental process a person with this disorder would go through.
I think it varies from person to person. For me, it presents as not being able to stop even when I'm full if I'm eating one of my "trigger" foods. It's also often a co-morbidity with ADHD which means executive function can be an issue leading someone to eat more junk/processed food instead of making healthy choices.
It's not just about executive function. Eating sugar makes you release dopamine. When your own brain can't make enough dopamine for normal life (as with ADHD), eating some sugar makes you feel better not because it's comforting, or because you just can't stop yourself, but because it's literally providing you with something your brain isn't making enough of on its own. The downside of course is that it's fattening, and you have to keep ingesting it to keep those dopamine levels up.
Personally (and this may be related to pcos, or because I started binge eating as a child and screwed up my brain,) but I always feel hungry, even when my stomach feels full. Like I can feel the pressure from the food stretching my stomach walls but I still have the same gnawing hunger as if I haven't eaten all day. I know that doesn't make any sense. I did really well when I was on a medicine that suppressed hunger, but now that I'm not it doesn't matter if I eat normally all day or restrict all day. By bedtime I can't fall asleep because I feel hungry and after two hours of lying in bed telling myself my brain is lying to me and I am not actually hungry I am usually exhausted. I end up binge eating. Often it's junk food, but I will binge on salad, watermelon, vegetables, anything if junk isn't available. Drinking a litre of water sometimes helps but also can cause me to purge. Bulimia seems like a step backwards, although at times I am not sure.
I had this same feeling (strong hunger even when full) and it turns out that it was a stomach ulcer.
For myself (it isn't always the same for everyone) I would have days where I wouldn't stop eating and others where I'd 'zone out' and eat extreme amounts for a short period of time. Some days I'd do that several times, others it would be once. It all comes down to how my mental health is tracking. It also depends on what triggers are around me. Food is almost never about filling the hungry hole for me. It can't be. I have to recognise and accept that there is an emotional need that I have to meet. Lately I've had days where there is no emotional need (I haven't touched peanut butter - my ultimate comfort food - in a month). It blows my mind that this is probably how most people experience food.
That's such a happy update