New Study on Binge eating

[jent]

I hope this link works. The Washington Post this morning printed a study from the Journal Biological Psychiatry, finding that binge eating, as an eating disorder, is more common than anorexia and bulimia combined.

What I would be interested in is what people get out of it ... I do it myself, and I'm still trying to figure out what benefits I get from it. (By the way, I saw another study this morning that indicates that it takes 3-6 months to change a "behavior", however that's defined. That's very motivating for me, because it makes it easier to commit to No-S for a full 6 months - no questions asked).

Anyway, here's the study.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01838.html

[florafloraflora]

What I would be interested in is what people get out of it ...

For so many people, food = comfort. I've felt that way myself. I think some people feel so out of control in their eating, so far from achieving any health, physical activity or appearance goal that might motivate them to keep eating in check, that the comfort of tasty food just means a lot more.

[david]

Flora Flora Flora wrote:

"For so many people, food = comfort. I've felt that way myself. I think some people feel so out of control in their eating, so far from achieving any health, physical activity or appearance goal that might motivate them to keep eating in check, that the comfort of tasty food just means a lot more."


I don't think binge eating is about flavor/tasty food--at least not after the first few bites. I can binge on anything as long as carbs are involved and it doesn't necessarily have to taste good. This is one reason No-S is so useful for me. The lines are clear and the whole "binge train" never leaves the station. S days used to be a problem, but now I've instituted the "no eating after 8pm on ANY day rule" and S days are better (I was almost always a "night-binger").

[kccc]

Interesting on the 3-6 months to change behavior bit. I've been on No-S since mid-October, so that's about 4 months now. And I'm just now hitting weekends where I don't binge AT ALL.

During that time, my "binges" came down to levels that wouldn't previously have registered as such - really not huge amounts of food. But I know the difference between eating a lot and binge-eating. There's sort of a feeling of desperation... "gotta have it"... and a real absence of actual enjoyment.

The last couple of weekends, I made special treats and enjoyed them, but I didn't overeat, nor did I eat anything in "binge mode."

I am liking the difference. Other people reported that they had similar experiences, so I didn't worry about S-days and concentrated on N-days... and they were right. "Making peace with food" naturally extends itself into your whole life.

(I still like chocolate, though. But when I eat it, I have a little and ENJOY it.)

[jent]

Yeah - I know the difference between eating a lot and bingeing too ... and, for me, the actual amount of food is not what's key. There's this sense of "checking out" ... I do it with popcorn all the time. Hand in bag, hand to mouth, hand in bag, hand to mouth. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I do it with popcorn because I know I can't do too much damage, and it takes a long time to eat that bag. But 1.) I can totally lose myself in a bag of popcorn (I'm not sure how else to articulate it), 2.) it doesn't matter about the taste that much, and 3.) when I reach in and there's no more popcorn in the bag, there's a definite emotional crash. Its short-lived, but its there.

Part of doing this diet, for me, is to figure out what's going on there. I don't like checking out like that.

[pangelsue]

Just try not eating the popcorn and I think you will know what is going on. When I am feeling emotionally charged (boredom, sadness, anxiety, lonliness etc. ) I want to make it stop. If I just sit and endure those emotions, it is uncomfortable. But if I get up and do something (eating), I am not just sitting there feeling awful anymore. When I am active, I can shut down the emotions (temporarily). Then when the food is gone, there it is again. That is why taking a walk, calling a friend, reading a book, taking a bath etc. would also work. For me, the real question is, why don't I do those things instead of eating. My guess is, habit. That is the way I always handled feelings so it is the course of least resistence. Break the mold is possibly the answer but easier said than done. I think eating is reasonably passive and calling someone or taking a walk or bath is active (and scary). That is what really bugs me. What ever made me scared of activity and when did I stop being creatively involved in my life? Trying to change but not easy.

[jent]

You're right about that, I think. That checking out thing is the same thing I do when I bite my nails. Its anxiety relieving, but I think there may be something even beneath the anxiety. That's what I'm trying to get at.

You're also right that its uncomfortable. I don't mind the discomfort - and I'm totally into exploring what lies beneath. Its just breaking the darn habit. Staying present in the moment of eating ... mindful eating, I guess.

I guess no popcorn could be a start. I have given myself license to "binge" the bag. So not doing it definitely stops that avenue for the behavior.


Hmmm. I just had to edit this post, because when I originally posted it and thought "no more popcorn", I immediately got really angry and said to myself "this is just not fun ... its so boring eating this way!!" and stomped my minds-eye foot in a pouty, tantrumish sort of way.

Just putting it out there

[pangelsue]

Glad someone besides me pouts about eating sensibly. If there is one thing No S has made painfully clear to me is that the reason I am not losing weight is because I am totally fighting the process. I have finally found a diet I can't call stupid or not geared to my lifestyle. I have given up on about a thousand of those kinds of diets. This one is geared to my weekend party lifestyle. It is not asking me to give up anything permanently. I did the first 21 days + with one hand tied behind my back. But I haven't had a good week since. So why can't I do it? Or better yet, why won't I do it? I am currently refusing to move on until I have an answer to that question. I am finally standing still long enough to see my part in my weight problem. It's not the diet that is not working, it is me trying to wriggle out of having to do it. Something in my head tells me that if I give in and do this completely and totally, I will have lost something. It seems like a comfortable, snuggly friend that I have to kiss good bye forever. To do that I am going to have to realize way deep down inside that this friend wasn't ever my friend. That makes me angry and sad. But this time I am not moving on until I cross that barrier. It reminds me of when we bought a sheltie puppy lots of years ago. It turned out to be kind of nippy and was making all sorts of alpha dog moves on all of us. We called the breeder we bought the dog from and she told us to hold the puppy out at arms length and every time it tried to wriggle free, we should lightly shake her and say no. She told us to keep that up until the puppy went limp and gave up. She said she might even pee. Well, she wriggled and snapped and barked and growled but she eventually went limp and gave in. From that time on she was the best dog in the world. Happy and playful. I think I have been holding me at arms length for about 4 months now. Still growling and snapping a bit but starting to get tired (and hopefully won't eventually pee LOL). I think something inside me has to give in before this can become permanent. Thanks for posing the question and for listening.

[zoolina]

For me, binging is self-revenge. I get angry or bored (and when I get bored I get angry at myself because I think I should be doing something useful, improving myself) and then rather than fight the thing that made me mad in the first place I get masochistic with food. I know that it's not good to binge, that it doesn't feel good, but it has the strange mystique of "comfort" without really being comforting. I hate it. Hate it.

Panglesue--your post made me cry. I know you can subdue the pup!

[Crystal Fantasy]

Battled my whole life wit it and studied it on my self now more than ever
For me it works out as an equation
first deprivation = then bingeing......nothing else for me, that simple
If I deprive myself, I binge afterwards

On the nos diet I eat 3 good meals a day, no S days yet as I only started since one week and I do not feel the need for it. I will make it a special day when the need comes, not before as it say me nothing now.

So simplified for ME :
No restrictions, eat Nos diet foods = no bingeing

I also tried to find all kind of reasons, but it came down just to the physical reason above, noting more nothing less, nothing complicated
Thanks Reinhard for saving me of a Diet prison for as many years as I live, I am started to taste Food Freedom and it taste great
Thanks TeresaSA

[jent]

Panglesue - your dog analogy is perfect. I'm going to remember that, because its exactly how I feel. Its a kind analogy too, coz who can berate a puppy for being puppyish. We can't berate our reptilian brain for seeking comfort in inappropriate places.

Its an S day for me, and I'm gleefully wriggling to my heart's content. I've mindlessly eaten three muffins this morning because they were there. But I'm aware of it now, and I'm realizing that there are other options. And that's a real start.

[czechens]

Panglesue--Here's another big thank-you for the puppy analogy--makes me smile at the same time that I'm being nailed big time.

(Also wish I'd had the advice before I got rid of a pup I had once - The little guy was so darn cute but had this bad habit of biting children--both my own and their friends.)

Anyway (back to No-S): Mindless Eating is definitely my thing. It's so easy for me to eat responsibly throughout most of the day because I'm at work and away from the kitchen. Not much of a challenge , but, as soon as I walk into my kitchen in the evening, the binge begins--never mind that dinner is less than 30 minutes away.

I got a good tip (Jen, I think) to drink tea instead of eating. This is keeping my hands moving toward my mouth without caloric damage. (Just did it two days last week, so I can't say it's a success, only a promising strategy.) Also, recording my successes and failures on my daily log-in really helps. I really don't like seeing all that red. Whether I don't like it enough to actually swing into action, however, remains to be seen.

Also need to say that I'm a former three-pack a day smoker who hardly ate anything. Cigarettes & coffee for breakfast, school lunch (carbs & fat on styrofoam--UGH!), cigarettes and popcorn for supper. I was "between marriages" at the time and looked like Twiggy (5'9", 110 pounds). Remarriage and a couple of 85-pounds-gained pregnancies took care of that. (Still trying to lose the "baby fat," and my youngest is 27.) Haven't smoked for nearly 30 years but still probably would if I knew my husband and kids wouldn't kill me. I think I'm wired for binginess. NOT AN EXCUSE! Just a challenge.