Can a binge eater lose weight?

[dgirl1986]

I really really really want to and need to lose weight but my binge eating
disorder is causing complications.

As soon as I start counting calories
or anything like that I become obsessed. I see everything in terms of calories.
When I know I have blown it due to a binge I try to restrict my intake to try
and make up for it and end up bingeing again because I feel so guilty about it.
I also end up weighing myself every single day.

When I am not trying to
lose weight I can manage my binges a lot better but my weight doesnt move. I am
not sure what to do. I do not want to be #kg for the rest of my life :/
__________________

[anubisa]

Why not try the South Beach Diet? You eat 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks and a dessert. There are 3 phases and I think it is a pretty good diet. You might want to try it. You won't have to weigh yourself everyday or count calories.

[dgirl1986]

Why not try the South Beach Diet? You eat 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks and a dessert. There are 3 phases and I think it is a pretty good diet. You might want to try it. You won't have to weigh yourself everyday or count calories.

Sounds restrictive.

[Aeran]

Do you exercise? I'm losing weight atm, and it's a pain in the ass, but in the end it comes down to a reasonably balanced diet and burning more calories than you consume. It's simple math at the end of the day, calories out > calories in = weight loss. You just need to keep at it until you hit the point where you realize you hate being overweight more than you hate missing out on your favorite foods and the emotional comfort they provide. The big thing I found is to not give up: you're gonna screw up both dieting and exercise at times, skip a day or binge on shitty food, that's just life, but you can choose to use that as either motivation to keep going or an excuse to blow it off.

I personally don't think you need to count every calory, just make some sensible diet choices - cut off fast food, junk food, soft drink, brown bread instead of white, a bit of fruit/veg every day, reduce beer/wine intake if you drink them regularly, and only eat when you're hungry. Throw in exercise, and you should hit a calory deficit fairly easily.


Sounds restrictive.

Any change you make is going to seem restrictive. You aren't going to lose weight until you come to terms with the idea of serious and permanent lifestyle changes. There's no way to lose weight while not having to invest time and effort or change your diet and give up some of your favorite foods. Your current lifestyle is the reason you're overweight in the first place, trying to keep it will just result in you continuing to gain more.

[dgirl1986]

Do you exercise? I'm losing weight atm, and it's a pain in the ass, but in the end it comes down to a reasonably balanced diet and burning more calories than you consume. It's simple math at the end of the day, calories out > calories in = weight loss. You just need to keep at it until you hit the point where you realize you hate being overweight more than you hate missing out on your favorite foods and the emotional comfort they provide. The big thing I found is to not give up: you're gonna screw up both dieting and exercise at times, skip a day or binge on shitty food, that's just life, but you can choose to use that as either motivation to keep going or an excuse to blow it off.

I personally don't think you need to count every calory, just make some sensible diet choices - cut off fast food, junk food, soft drink, brown bread instead of white, a bit of fruit/veg every day, reduce beer/wine intake if you drink them regularly, and only eat when you're hungry. Throw in exercise, and you should hit a calory deficit fairly easily.



Any change you make is going to seem restrictive. You aren't going to lose weight until you come to terms with the idea of serious and permanent lifestyle changes. There's no way to lose weight while not having to invest time and effort or change your diet and give up some of your favorite foods. Your current lifestyle is the reason you're overweight in the first place, trying to keep it will just result in you continuing to gain more.

Yeah I do exercise. I do some walks here and there and I also do a bit of zumba here and there.

I have to be careful not to restrict too much as this triggers binges. I need to go on hunger rather than eating at particular times to manage the binging which obviously makes losing weight difficult.

[Aeran]

I'd try and intensify that exercise a bit, even just 15 minutes on a treadmill every day can be enough to tip you over the edge into a caloric deficit.

This might seem a bit off topic, but do you practice any kind of meditation or internal development system? I've found that the discipline these practices develop has been of huge benefit to me in getting into shape and losing weight.

You could also look into yoga, there are systems of yoga which actually give you a rather intense workout. This one comes particularly recommended from another website I read (http://www.ddpyoga.com/) but I'm sure you could find others if you want classes in person.

[Rowanwood]

Don't diet, though eventually you will have to count/restrict calories to lose weight. Exercise is important, but it alone will not lose your fat. I speak from experience, and I've lost 46 lbs this year with about 20-25 to go to get to my happy place. I'm on a maintenance break right now, and those are important so you don't mess up your metabolism as you lose.

If you are bingeing, you need to address that first. You have to figure out why you do it, and deal with it. You have to get past the emotional baggage -- its frankly more important than the size of your body anyway. Don't expect to be perfect and never screw up, but you have to change the whole way you look at food.

I'd suggest reading some of Geneen Roth's books. They talk about the emotional side of eating that tends to be ignored when people set out on a quest for small jeans. Once you realize hunger is a trigger to eat, not stuff yourself until you throw up, the rest is easy. Less calories in than you burn = weight lost. Simple as that, and harder than it sounds. :)

[Gardenia]

Are you actually getting some sort of therapy or medical treatment for your binge eating? Binge eating disorder is, you know, an actual eating disorder. It's all well and good for us to talk about weight loss tips, but if you're not getting some sort of actual treatment, I don't think it's going to help much. I'm assuming you know the basics of weight loss... use more calories than you eat. That's really the only way to do it. However, as you've pointed out... very often for binge eaters, trying to control calories leads to more issues. If you legitimately have an eating disorder, you probably need more than what folks here can give. Like any other disorder or medical condition, if you're not getting the appropriate help, it's quite hard to get better...


Yeah I do exercise. I do some walks here and there and I also do a bit of zumba here and there.

How often is "here and there?" Thirty minutes daily is usually the minimum I see recommended, where sixty minutes seems to be an even better goal to shoot for - especially for people trying to lose weight. I know it's not always easy trying to fit that into a day-to-day schedule (I shoot for 60 mins daily, but I can't always make it), but it might be about all you can do for right now.

[DanieMarie]

I don't know you personally so I don't know what you're doing, but it could be that you're trying to be too restrictive. Sometimes when you cut too much, you set yourself up for failure because you feel deprived. This causes you to binge. Your best bet is to reduce calories slowly and let your body get used to the reduced intake. Replace common snack foods with alternatives you like to help keep you from binging. For example, I really like chips/crisps, so I make salted, air-popped popcorn or kale chips and eat those instead. I also really love chocolate and I find that fruit satisfies my sweet tooth a lot of the time.

If you still can't help but binge, maybe it might help you to talk to a counsellor? It's a real eating disorder for a lot of people and sometimes it can be really hard to get over on your own.

[volcaniclastic]

How often is "here and there?" Thirty minutes daily is usually the minimum I see recommended, where sixty minutes seems to be an even better goal to shoot for - especially for people trying to lose weight. I know it's not always easy trying to fit that into a day-to-day schedule (I shoot for 60 mins daily, but I can't always make it), but it might be about all you can do for right now.

for just maintenance, I do 60 minutes cardio three times a week, plus an aquafit class, plus yoga once a week. For weight loss, I would up that to 60 minutes of something that gets your heart rate up, 6 days a week. IMO.

[dgirl1986]

Thanks for all the responses.

Counselling for eating disorders is really expensive. I really cant afford it so I am doing it on my own. I actually had the binges pretty much under control for the most part before I tried to lose weight. I am morbidly obese. I cannot go on like this as I am. If a binge eater cannot diet to lose weight then maybe the only way I can lose weight is to purge with excercise every time I eat something naughty.

[Aeran]

I cannot go on like this as I am. If a binge eater cannot diet to lose weight then maybe the only way I can lose weight is to purge with excercise every time I eat something naughty.

That's really not a good idea, I imagine it would end up being completely counterproductive.

If you're morbidly obese, you should be speaking to a doctor about this, not the internet. At a minimum, they could refer you to a nutritionist who could help you put together a decent diet plan.

[DanieMarie]

Thanks for all the responses.

Counselling for eating disorders is really expensive. I really cant afford it so I am doing it on my own. I actually had the binges pretty much under control for the most part before I tried to lose weight. I am morbidly obese. I cannot go on like this as I am. If a binge eater cannot diet to lose weight then maybe the only way I can lose weight is to purge with excercise every time I eat something naughty.

Does your public health insurance cover counselling when it's a clearcut physical health issue? It could be something to look into. I also know that in Canada mental health is pretty underfunded, but there are hotlines and stuff like that.

[Carlin]

When I know I have blown it due to a binge I try to restrict my intake to try
and make up for it and end up bingeing again because I feel so guilty about it.
I also end up weighing myself every single day.

Oh, I've been here. Not fun.

I used to be obese. I lost a lot of weight by counting calories but was still binging twice a week, and starving myself the next day to make up for it. While I was more or less a healthy weight, I was still wrecking my body. I managed to break the cycle by giving up sugar and processed food. Now I cook almost everything from scratch, eat organic wherever possible, and eat plenty healthy fat like butter, cheese, coconut oil and olive oil. The healthy fat means that I'm satiated (for the first time in my life) and no longer feel the urge to binge. The last of the weight I wanted rid of dropped off quickly, and I feel a sort of inner glow (seriously. Cheesy as it sounds, I do feel fantastic).

While I feel most comfortable continuing to count calories, most people who switch to eating real food seem to prefer not to, and find their weight levels out because their natural 'I'm full' signal kicks in. Both binge eating and sugar cancel that signal out, but it's still there underneath it all if you give your body a chance to recover.

I wish you lots of luck, however you decide to deal with this.

[dgirl1986]

A bit of an update from my blog...


Counting calories is possibly one of the worst things a binge eater or bulimic could do when they are trying to not only get a handle on their eating disorder but when also trying to lose weight. I have had to give up looking at calories completely. Instead of helping me my progress went completely backwards. When I reached out to the facebook binge support groups when this happened, I found that other binge eaters had similar or the same experience when attempting to use this method.

I started off ok...but I then was trying to find ways to cut calories in main meals so I could use those calorie points elsewhere. I would feel guilty for having a certain salad or soup because it was X amount of calories. I would skip dinner so that I could eat the type of foods that I was wanting to binge on. I would weight myself every day and it got to the point where I convinced myself that it was a good idea to cut back on the day food so I could binge on blocks of chocolate.

I was becoming not only a slave to numbers but a slave to this guilt notion when it came to food. When you feel guilty because you are eating a normal yoghurt, you know there is a problem. The guilt and the obsessive planning around food was increasing my urge to binge. Depriving myself was increasing my urge to binge. My obsession over weight and how it wasn’t going anywhere was increasing my urge to binge.

So now I have started over and instead of calorie counting I am now trying the use of a photo food diary app so I have a visual reference of what I have consumed in a day, week and month. I am also working on getting rid of that guilt mentality when it comes to food and also need to try and remove that programming in my brain that thinks of tasty foods as rewards (which comes from childhood events). It has been 5 days now and it seems to be going ok, weight has dropped 700grams, and I have only weighed myself twice. This is an improvement. We shall see how this continues.

[ThorsSon]

My experience is in line with what you are experiencing.

I have come down from 260lbs (at my heaviest) to 210-215lbs (my weight fluctuates by 5-10lbs on a daily basis).

My solution was 2 part.

1) my bicycle.
2) eat more often. By eating more often, I don't ever get that sensation of extreme hunger. I don't get the urge to binge. A handful of peanuts, a granola bar, some trail mix. Every hour or two, or whenever I feel a little hungry, I have a bite or two of something. As a result, I actually eat less food in a day than I did when I was just eating 2-3 times per day.

In my experience, counting calories or carbs, or whatever doesn't work. It is depressing. It makes you feel restricted. Focus on hunger. Don't let yourself get hungry (but don't binge every time you feel a little bit hungry, either). If you eat a little bit of something healthy every hour or two, your body will think that you are eating a lot, and not feel that urge to binge.

Your mileage may vary, and all that... but that has been what works for me.

[Rae'ya]

Thanks for all the responses.

Counselling for eating disorders is really expensive. I really cant afford it so I am doing it on my own. I actually had the binges pretty much under control for the most part before I tried to lose weight. I am morbidly obese. I cannot go on like this as I am. If a binge eater cannot diet to lose weight then maybe the only way I can lose weight is to purge with excercise every time I eat something naughty.

Regular exercise MUST be a part of your day. No amount of intake control will shift morbidly obese weight if you are not exercising.

Having said that, start small. 5 minutes a day is better than nothing. And 5 minutes a day is actually better than 30 minutes once a week. It should be regular and slowly increase depending on what your heart and lungs can physically tolerate. It should NEVER be about burning off what you ate, but a regular part of your daily routine that increases with your abilities. ThorsSon's bike is a good example of that... rather than go to the gym or go running, cycle or walk every single day, even if it's just around the block.

Plus I agree with Aeran... weight loss when you're morbidly obese really should be under the supervision of a doctor. Even if you can find one that bulk bills so that you don't have to pay the gap.

[Benjoe]

Nothing is impossible if we do it with all the effort we can do,This is how i feel personally doing something that is apppropriate for our health is what we gotta do.
So the given advises are correct for you.

[HealingMotherEarth]

I am trying to lose weight myself. What I have found to help me is coconut water and exercise. When I do those consistently I start to shed pounds. Also have you heard of garcinia cambogia you can get at the health food store, if you take that 20 minutes before a meal, it's supposed to help you lose weight... oh coconut water boosts metabolism from what I've read...
I find that food is a way that I manage stress... and I just feel if the world were less stressful then I would be skinny, but I really don't have excuses anymore it's a new year, time to take better care of myself....
binge eating is obviously not the healthiest way to go... so I hope my suggestions helped, I will have to keep at it myself, I'm hoping to lose at least twenty pounds by spring! Blessings!

[Hoho]

Talk to a psychologist. There's something going on in your head here that's the root of everything.

Imo.

[SleepingCompass]

Losing weight is, annoyingly, very hard.

I have strugled with it a lot myself.

The thing that helped me, surprisingly, was a book that had nothing to do with weight loss; 'The Artists's Way', by Julia Cameron. I didn't initially start off doing the tasks in the book to lose weight; I was just trying to improve my art.

The tasks don't just help with creative endevors though; they help you to look at yourself in totality and the goals you have and the person you want to be. It helps you change yourself into that new person.

She even says at some point in the book that its like letting your old self die, grieving for that old self, then being reborn as your new self. If you can't afford therapy, this might be a good alternative, as it is a kind of therapy book that helps you help yourself.

I'm not a docotor or anything and perhaps it would be best to consult with a medical professional or what have you; I just wanted to share what worked for me.

Good luck :)

[Dez]

I struggled with disordered eating for a long time. I'm too anti authoritarian to work well with most therapists, even when I can afford to, and didn't like group(it felt like we were all just picking up new tricks from each other).

The thing that worked for me was to finally work up my courage and talk to a doctor. I got a full work up, and was diagnosed with PCOS, including insulin resistance. I admitted that I struggled with anxiety and depression, and couldn't motivate myself to exercise no matter how hard I tried. I was put on medications--for the anxiety, the depression, and the insulin issues--and it changed my life.

There is a lot of stigma when it comes to medication. For some people, though, it really is the best option, and there should be no shame in that.

With my insulin working properly, I stopped binge eating and no longer felt a need to purge. It started to feel right to eat multiple small meals and follow the diabetic diet. Since then I have lost over 100 lbs.

I don't know if it would help you the same way, but it's worth a shot. Start with a doctor, and go from there.

I would also suggest a book called Eating By The Light Of The Moon

[Nightshade]

Seek professional help, it sounds like you might have BED or something like that and then the weight itself isn't the actual problem.

Besides, counting calories and restrictive eating is a recipe for disaster for anyone.

I've been in treatment for ED myself and I met a few people who suffered from it.
But, I'm not a doctor so don't take my thoughts on this as the truth, you just remind me of those I've met and if it is the case - you shouldn't be suffering longer than necessary.

Sorry if I'm way out of line here, I don't even know you, feel free to ignore/tell me to keep my mouth shut.

[Hawkfeathers]

I lost lots of weight in 06/07 by walking. Not marathons, just a half mile here, a mile there, about 5 days a week. Now that I cannot do that anymore the weight is creeping back and I'm not happy.

Back in high school I kept food diaries, counted calories, etc. I was thin but didn't think I was!

[American Idol]

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[Lorna]

I agree with others that, if at all possible, you should seek medical help with this.

That being said, I think that you should take the emphasis off of dieting and put it on just being healthy. Get rid of obviously unhealthy food items (cookies, chips, etc) and as much of the processed stuff as you are able (processed foods are too handy for snacking on and tend to include ingredients that are too heavily processed), and replace them with whole foods (fruit, veggies, nuts, eggs, etc). I know that if I am craving something like a granola bar but have to bake some first, I'm probably going to just grab an orange out of laziness. The orange is a better choice and I use my innate laziness to make that better choice LOL.

Find ways of incorporating activity into your daily life, even if it's just (like another suggested) a walk around the block or maybe extra housework (Floor doesn't need sweeping? Oh, well. Sweep it anyway).

My issue with weight (top of obese range) is eating out of boredom and being very, very sedentary. I'm working on making sure that I have lots of engaging things to do (to keep me from seeking food for stimulation), and being more active around the house (using toilet on different floor so that I have to do a flight of stairs periodically, and so on) and making housework a little more physically demanding (scrubbing floor on hands and knees instead of just mopping, etc). I live in Ontario, Canada, and it's cold enough outside right now that going for a walk is somewhat horrible, so I'm doing what I can inside.

I have T2 diabetes and a few years ago lost about 60lbs (from 195lbs down to 137lbs; I'm 5'0" btw) by eating fairly low carb (60g/day), and lowish calorie (1200-1500/day), and by exercising about 7 hours per week at moderate exertion, but it wasn't sustainable for me and I've gained all but 15lbs of it back. Now I'm doing what I suggested above (while keeping my carbs low enough so that my blood sugar stays normal). I think that it will be more sustainable for the long run.

Oh, and I'm trying to lay off the wine. Hardest thing so far LOL.

[JackAlbertson]

Losing weight is not a very hardest thing. We can easily reduce weight with doing regular exercise. I have reduced lot of weight with doing regular walk. I do walk everyday for at least 30 minutes. Jogging and running are also very useful exercises for weight lose.

[JackAlbertson]

Losing weight is not a very hardest thing. We can easily reduce weight with doing regular exercise. I have reduced lot of weight with doing regular walk. I do walk everyday for at least 30 minutes. Jogging and running are also very useful exercises for weight lose.
Reply must.

[Gleb]

Losing weight is not a very hardest thing. We can easily reduce weight with doing regular exercise. I have reduced lot of weight with doing regular walk. I do walk everyday for at least 30 minutes. Jogging and running are also very useful exercises for weight lose.

I support the opinion.
In addition, as others said, balanced eating is important as well.

Research shows that calories are mostly gone on fresh air. So spending time outside might be useful. Whether it's a simple walk between 30-70 minutes, meeting with friends and so on.

[dgirl1986]

I have managed to get control over the binges (except around that time of the month). Unfortunately my weight has ballooned. So I am looking at what I can do now at this massive size. If I could afford to I would go back to the psych to see if maybe I still have some issues that I havent yet worked through that could be contributing to a self sabotage of some sort.

[ThorsSon]

I have managed to get control over the binges (except around that time of the month). Unfortunately my weight has ballooned. So I am looking at what I can do now at this massive size. If I could afford to I would go back to the psych to see if maybe I still have some issues that I havent yet worked through that could be contributing to a self sabotage of some sort.

Eat more often.

... but ...

Don't eat more.

When you're hungry, eat something... but don't eat a meal.

EAT!!!!

Every hour or so, eat a bite two of something healthy. A handful of peanuts, a carrot, an egg, etc...

The more often you eat, the less voracious your hunger will be.

This sounds crazy... but... eat when you are hungry!

Don't starve yourself. Satisfy yourself!



AND find a convenient exercise:

Walk to the store
Get rid of your couch... do something while you watch TV

Find a way to be active.

[RowanModig]

What I've found that works is the Weight Watchers mentality. I binge eat also. I've done WW in the past and it works because you don't count calories. It shows you which foods work best for you via point system and it's helped quite a bit. I also move as often as I can. I lift weights or do yoga during TV commercials and I try to get up and mood for at least 10 minutes every hour at work. I'm not skinny but I've lost almost 40lbs in the last year just by making those small changes.

[Juniper]

In my opinion, dieting is not good for losing the weight. It is better to do exercise and eat how much you required and if necessary you may take some medications for lowering your weight.

Is this a serious post? I really hope not. What one puts in their body very much affects how one loses weight. The key to losing weight is to find the right balance of exercise AND adjusting ones eating habits (diet change).

[Gleb]

Well, I support the "Nothing stands against the power of will" saying.

[callmeclemens]

I struggled with weight for years. Then my choice to join the army has me working out between 2 1/2- 4 hours a day. Try not losing weight doing that hah.

[thalassa]

I struggled with weight for years. Then my choice to join the army has me working out between 2 1/2- 4 hours a day. Try not losing weight doing that hah.

Actually, I didn't. I had to go on a 1200 cal a day restricted diet to loose anything.

[Sinned]

I don't like the idea of "going on a diet" because to me that means a week to a few months of a restricted diet until weight is down and then switching back to the same habits that got me into my undesirable size to begin with... To me it's always been about a change in lifestyle... Rebalancing my life and finding what suits me...

Having said that, I was over weight for quite a few years in my late teens.. When I turned 20 it tipped to border line obese. I tried everything over and over and only ended up more miserable and fatter... I want to say I clicked my fingers and decided to be better.. But I didn't. I lost my mum on 5th jan 2014 and something just broke inside me. I think by rebuilding I had time to rethink what I was. I'm now a healthy size and fitting into clothes I out grew at 14.

For me it took a life shattering moment to put me on the right track.. Where as I have friends who've done it on raw determination alone..... I think everyone needs their own inspiration and reason.. Losing weight isn't about eating little and exercising lots... It's about finding an inner balance and finding a way to a happy, healthy place... Which is easier said than done!! :P

But.. Well.. Everyone's different!! :)