binge eater

i'm a binge eater and i can't seem to stop myself from eating. when i'm not eating i feel depressed, tired and anxious. i feel sick and guilty about my binging but feeling bad just makes me reach for the chocolates again. here's my food diary for the last two days, judge for yourselves:

thursday

breakfast
blueberry pancakes with maple syrup
hash brown
egg on toast
sausage
bacon

mid-morning snack
coffee with milk and sugar
walkers sensation crisps
2 plums
cookies

lunch
pizza
garlic bread
tomato soup
breadsticks
apple
ice-cream

snack
bagel with smoked salmon
4 biscuits
fruit bread

dinner
prawn starter
spaghetti bolognaise
greek salad
2 bread rolls
orange
plum
apple pie
jelly

after dinner
chocolate
cheese and crackers
caramel cream

late-night snack
ham and cheese toasted sandwich
ginger cake with ice-cream

today
breakfast
cereal
toast with butter and jam
waffle
chocolate croissant
sausage

snack
strawberry frappucino
cheesecake

lunch
2 baked potatoes with spaghetti hoops, cheese and baked beans
one chicken fillet
2 bread rolls
mushroom soup
chips
orange
blueberry muffin
shortbread

snack
grapes
croissant
2 slices of chocolate cake
danish pastry

dinner
doritos
asparagus with ham
chicken curry
rice
broccoli
melon
chocolate brownie
flapjack

after dinner
cheese and crackers
chocolate
ice-cream

i think i'm overeating and i feel so sick and disgusted with myself but i just can't stop. any advice. i'm not sure if i'm overweight or a healthy weight. i am 5' 4" and weigh 180 pounds. is that overweight? i feel very fat and uncomfortable with myself.

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Reply 1

james101

Thats probaly what i need to be eating, im 6ft 2 and weigh almost 11 stone.

Reply 2

Miss Blue

If you're not sure what your weight range is, have a check with the BMI index.

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm

its not a perfect system, as it doesn't test body fat percentage, or account for the extra weight of muscle, but it should give you an idea.

Reply 3

Miss Blue

hmm, i think the beeb do a more relevant one. sorry about double posting!:embarasse

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml

Reply 4

kate86

I eat that much stuff! Ive got an insanely huge appetite, and not much will power to resist it! Iv always been like this and you food diet looks about as large as mine!Luckily at the moment im getting away with it,iv stayed the same weight since i was about 14 (9st 3, 5ft 6). But knowing that it will all catch up with me soon is quite worrying. Especially when i see people i avnt seen for a few years who were skinny at school but have piled it on now!
Bt i bloody love food, and for now at least all is ok!

Reply 5

habosh

try to eat more fruits, like whenever you feel like snacking, all of us I mean well most of us have times, when we eat and want more, but that doesn't more to go on if your not hungry anymore, say no to your self, it's hard believe me I know , but then it's gonna become easy, I mean as a start you can drop all of these and have 1 thingie of sugary stuff, like (either a (piece of cheese cake, or a chocolat bar, or an icecream, or a muffin or couple of cookies) and replace the other stuff with fruits like an apple, a peach a banana, some honey with toast for example, if you like eating too often why dont you break breakfast, forexample have a part and then after couple of hours eat the rest, try to make your self busy with stuff ,drink water and green tea

Reply 6

schism

it is irrelevant how much you eat without knowing how much you exercise.
if you want to loose weight you have got to take in less calories than you burn of in the day, this doesnt mean eat less but run more.
how much exercise do you do?
i eat a lot and am 140 pounds(10stone) and 5ft 10 but if im at home all week i dont feel as hungry as i do if im off playing sports etc cos i dont need as much energy. i still eat more than most and dont seem to put on weight much

Reply 7

kate86

I guess everyones metabolism is different. I mean i take after my dad, he's a beanpole and a huge huge eater, like all his side of the family. Yet my mams side is a different story, as everyone of them has battled hugely with their weight.

Reply 8

sokas

mm all that food looks so nice! But everyone is different, I can eat about that much over 2 days but I have a fast metabolism

Reply 9

SsEe

Oh good lord my mouth is watering so much now :p:

. That's almost what I eat only I don't have much in the way of organised meals. I just eat when I'm bored so it's more spread out. But I weigh about 115 (8 stone 3) and I'm about 5 8 :frown:

Reply 10

RobbieC

I have a similar problem with binge eating... But in my case, it is boredom eating-which kicks in majorly when my friends are all working or going off to uni, and im sat at home with a shop over the road and nothing to do!

I think there is no easy way to get out of the vicious cycle, except through a kind of cold turkey period, where you stop yourself eating much for about 72 hours. If you can go fairly hungry for that long, your stomach will shrink, decreasing appetite for food, and you won't feel you need to eat quite so much-though this wont cure you of your want to binge.

What you are doing is either emotionally compensating with food, and eating moreso as you begin to feel bad for overeating in the first place, or you are like me eating because of your induced boredom.

I would suggest you try and establish which of the two it is most likely to be, then we can help you out more! So, what you think?

Reply 11

SlyPie

cinders1288

i

i think i'm overeating and i feel so sick and disgusted with myself but i just can't stop. any advice. i'm not sure if i'm overweight or a healthy weight. i am 5' 4" and weigh 180 pounds. is that overweight? i feel very fat and uncomfortable with myself.

Yeah, that is really overweight. 116-134 is normal at 5'4".

But it doesn't matter how much people eat necessarily as long as it's healthy. Just exercise too and eat more healthy snacks. Cut down on the junk food like chocolate, ice cream, etc.

Reply 12

Profesh

The Body Mass Indexer

Weight: 180 lbs
Height: 5'4"
Age: 18-19 years (presumably; extrapolate if this is inaccurate)
Gender: female

Body Mass Index: 30.9
Body Description: obese
Your weight is at the 83rd percentile, according to your age and height. This means that 17% of Americans are more overweight than you.

Q.E.D.

Reply 13

marmalade

binge-eating is an eating disorder and you can get help for it, I'd reccomend talking to your GP and they can refer you, or getting an appointment with a dietician

it's the most common eating disorder but people often feel embaressed about it

I guess you need to figure out why you're eating so much, u mentioned feeling anxious and depressed, maybe you're using food to deal with these problems. you won't be able to stop the eating problems unless you address these issues and find coping mechanisms that deal with the problems making you depressed rather than just numbing yourself with food

eating food high in fibre can fill you up (wholegrains, fruit), some foods can give you a 'sugar rush' which drops quickly so u feel hungry again after, try eating more slow-release carbs (u can find these on the internet I guess). protein is also more filling for the number of calories. your diet seems very high in fast-release carbohydrates, maybe try and replace some of these with healthier alternatives.

exercise should help to raise your metabolism. don't keep foods around the house that you'll feel tempted to binge on. drink a lot of fluids, sometimes thirst gets mistaken for hunger. u might be eating out of boardom, as something to do. so keep busy, exercise, go out, do something which can keep you away from food.

extreme as it sounds binge eaters are often given some medicine to help dull their craving, this could really help. maybe ask for the support of someone in your family to elp control your eating.

I hope this helps. I've had/have similar problems so I know what you're going through and it's ****ing tough, just keep at it , takes practise

Reply 14

musicbloke

mmmmm Hash browns. I;d forgotten that they exist. I must have some soon.

MB

Reply 15

No Future

I can't judge your diet with regards to it being normal or not, I don't really have a concept of normal eating. If you behaviour is emotionally distressing you should seek help. Unfortunately many are ignorant about this ED and some may not even take you seriously. Using food to control feelings is unhealthy and will screw you up.

Reply 16

Gem

To be honest, I think if you're worried about this (which you are as you've made a post on here) then you should maybe see your GP who might refer you to a dietician or counseller, who should be able to find out the reason why you overeat, and then help you overcome it.

If you're eating because you're bored, do what habosh suggests, and replace the unhealthy snacks with fruit. That way you won't feel guilty about eating so much.

Also how long have you felt this way? If you've eaten this much since you were young, you may have a fast metabolism, but if it's a recent thing, it might be a while before you see/feel the effects this diet is having on your body.

Reply 17

cameleon

I am having eating difficulties at the moment. Eating when Im bored. Eating cornflakes continuously (why?). Eating when my mouth is dry. Eating when I have just had a huge roast dinner. Eating when I am bored with eating. To sum it up I have put on about 12 pounds since June. God, that looks even worse on the screen. Jeez louise! But I have a plan! Here are the main bits of it:

-Stop eating in between meals (just drink bottles of water)
-Exercise everyday, whether its just a slow 30 minute walk, or a rigorous run around the block, it all counts!
-Do stuff to take your mind off food! Like studying/reading
-Don't keep unhealthy food in the house
-Eat lots and lots of fruit

Reply 18

3xhilaration

some advice.. eating so much isnt neccessarily a bad thing.. depending on exercise etc, try to keep to natural foods with high gi, eating 5-6 smaller meals per day instead of 3 big 1's and lots of snacks, this way you will feel less hungry.. also when you feel hungry have a pint or so of water.. as hunger can often be mistaken for being dehydrated.. apparently brushing your teeth when you feel hungry can help you aswell..