BA ...Bingers Anonymous

that site is fascinating- and binge eating is really close to the alcoholic mindset... sadly, it's more fashionable to go to AA than it is to go to OA --

does have a very well done website and they do have a ... in addition to going to meetings in person.

From the Website, to determine if OA is for you:
Are You a Compulsive Overeater?

Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive overeater.

  1. Do you eat when you're not hungry?
  2. Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?
  3. Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?
  4. Do you give too much time and thought to food?
  5. Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?
  6. Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?
  7. Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?
  8. Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?
  9. Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?
  10. Do you resent others telling you to "use a little willpower" to stop overeating?
  11. Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet "on your own" whenever you wish?
  12. Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?
  13. Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?
  14. Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?
  15. Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?
Have you answered yes to three or more of these questions? If so, it is probable that you have or are well on your way to having a compulsive overeating problem. We have found that the way to arrest this progressive disease is to practice the Twelve-Step recovery program of Overeaters Anonymous.

Overeaters Anonymous is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive overeating and to carry this message of recovery to those who still suffer.

Is OA for You?

Only you can decide that question. No one else can make this decision for you. We who are now in OA have found a way of life which enables us to live without the need for excess food. We believe that compulsive overeating is a progressive illness, one that, like alcoholism and some other illnesses, can be arrested. Remember, there is no shame in admitting you have a problem; the most important thing is to do something about it.
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That is a very interesting site, Cecilia. One thing I noted that hit home was the lack of structure. I have been thinking how un-organized I can be and undisiplined in many areas. Perhaps I need to focus on that too and it may be helpful to me changing my eating habits. I went to an OA meeting years ago. I cried through the whole thing and at the end of the meeting all the ladies asked me if they could give me a hug. They were very sweet. I never went back. I don't think I was ready to face anything at the time. One thing I noticed was that they were all skinny. I thought that was very interesting. Seems they were all making the program work for them. I could never really wrap my head around the higher power thing. I am pretty much agnostic. I don't say an atheist because of my open-minded nature. I believe the cure is inside myself. I have to change my behavior.
 
Pineola said:
I could never really wrap my head around the higher power thing. I am pretty much agnostic. I don't say an atheist because of my open-minded nature. I believe the cure is inside myself. I have to change my behavior.
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I have the same problem... my friend who's going to AA told me he had the same issue -and basically the biggest obstacle is that you have to let go - and just give up some control and then once oyu do that- you find more control.. He explains it much better than I do - and it works for him - Not sure i totally buy it but it's something imight look into..

Pineola said:
I cried through the whole thing and at the end of the meeting all the ladies asked me if they could give me a hug.
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(I'm not a huggy type so that would just wig me out a bit;..)
 
Yo, binge eater over here.

Anyone whose seen Austin Powers (2nd one; Spy who Shagged Me) will be familar with a quote from Fat B*stard, who says "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat." Welcome to my world...

But I don't like to think I'm that awful. It's coming up to the end of June, and I've just started my last Easter egg. Thing is, once I start, I can't stop. At all. I end up eating a little bit... then a bit more, then a bit more. And I find it so hard to stop.

In the past when my Judo coach put me on diets, I would cut out snacks and the like, and that was how I was able to shed some kilos. Life now is a little more hectic, so like, for example, when I come in from work, I'm tired, peckish and in need of energy. So it's easy to pick up a packet of crisps or chocolate, or something similar. I can be quite good though and pick up fruit instead.

The other problem is, if you read above, that I constantly make excuses for my habits!

The advice I've read so far have been cool. And releasing has been great, thanks thread inventor :)

Bronsk
 
Hi guys. I am a binger, and I eat compulsively aswell. Can you be both?

I can eat a huge amount of food at a time. It would be nothing for me to eat a tub of Haagen Daaz, 6 magnum ice creams, 4 ice lollies, 3 fruit and nut bars, a big bag of kettle chips, some nuts, a smoothie in the same hour and still be looking for something sweet to eat. Unfortunately I can bake, so if I buy ingredients to make, say, a birthday cake for someone I have throw out whats left because otherwise I will be tempted to bake other stuff and eat the lot myself. I even eat stuff that doesn't taste that nice. Honey straight from the jar, seeds mixed into honey, sugar from the bag, dry muesli, bacon (which I find disgustingly salty), allsorts!. And my main problem is eating past fullness, I mean seriously!! Quite often I feel sick or get stomach aches, but occasionally I get really sick. I have IBS (only a binger would overload an already delicate system!!:mad: ) and, forgive me for being frank, occasionally when I have had a huge amount of food I get a pressure feeling under my rib cage, and then I start getting eggy burps (sorry :eek: ). They make me feel so sick!! This happened the weekend that started my last holiday (just 1.5 weeks ago). I am very rarely sick, like a lot of you I have tried to make myself sick but just can't, so my tummy gets more and more uncomfortable as if the food is stuck there, then I get a really bad upset stomach. I am on the loo :)o ) every 5 minutes for hours. Then, I think that stomach acid gets washed through my system and the burning starts. For the ladies, it is a combination of fierce burning and really bad period type pains. I wanted to die, really, truely! :( This episode was the worst ever, but I still over-ate during my holiday, to a lesser extent, and nearly did the same last weekend. I was actually terrified when I got that bloated feeling, but thank god it didn't end up the same.

Why!! Why do we do this to ourselves. I cannot believe I do this to myself ... and not just once!!:mad: Over and over again!

I know I am doing a lot of angry faces, but it is this topic. I get very angry with myself thinking about it. But luckily, I can still feel proud about the steps that I am taking now, and feel confident that things can and will change :D and :p to binging - lets kick it out !!!
 
Please don't think I'm stalking you Mrs Bear :)

A while back, Paul McKenna (hypnotist, miracle worker) did a series of shows on weight loss and combating binge eating. Loads of people had a lot of success with that, it just involves listening to your body and areas of acupressure (think acupuncture, but with nice, soft fingers instead of pointy, nasty needles.) If you want I can find something on that if you feel you need the extra shove.

Thing is, the binge eating will get easier now that you can talk about it with people who are in the same boat. You've done fab so far by the looks of things, so I'm positive you'll kick it too!

And once I've got rid of that last goddamn Easter Egg, I'll be sorted as well. But come on people, you can't just leave a Cadbury's Creme Egg Easter egg to go out of date, all sad and alone, once July rolls around! So I admit that I had another piece today. I'm just going to have to make the Creme Egg part of my lunch tomorrow, then I won't feel as bad as I would if it was a snack...

Bronsk
 
I think often, people with the same kind of issues are drawn to the same kind of threads. I thought you were going to think that i was stalking you !!:D

You are definitely right about talking about it. I am actually one of the few people (I think?) that lets their partner know exactly what I eat. He gets in some times and there are ice cream wrappers, crisp packets, etc all over the kitchen and lounge. And he doesn't judge me. But one thing I did say to him last weekend, which I don't think he realised, is that most of the time when I eat, i don't enjoy it. I don't enjoy the flavours, I just inhale it, then I get a stomach ache and I definitely don't enjoy anything I eat after that. It is like I am in pain from eating too much, food is my comfort, so i try to eat the pain away!! Is that just plain insanity or what? He never knew that, and I think he realises now how unhappy I am, not even with my figure, but just with my eating habits and lack of control. There must be something wrong inside, if I am happy in my life, but this keeps rearing its ugly head :confused: .

We used to say that his drinking was like my eating, and I found comfort in that ... but it isn't. My husband likes to drink, and sometimes he over-does it. But normally he will have a few beers while chatting to his mates at the pub (a pint in 45 mins - 1 hr) or he will have a bottle of wine at home, and take all evening to drink it. And even when he does over do it, he never regrets it in the morning when he is hung over because he enjoyed himself while he is doing it!
If that was me, I would only drink at home, and I would be gulping the wine down, probably straight out of the bottle, it would go shockingly quick then I would want another, and another, and the next day I would wake up feeling angry with myself because I feel so ill, and for what, an hour of gulping wine that was quickly followed by feeling sick. I would be an alcoholic!!
 
Pineola said:
That is a very interesting site, Cecilia. One thing I noted that hit home was the lack of structure. I have been thinking how un-organized I can be and undisiplined in many areas. Perhaps I need to focus on that too and it may be helpful to me changing my eating habits.
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That's really interesting...

I'm actually a very organized person...but when I binge - :eek: . I don't pick anything up, lounge around, don't feel like doing anything, refuse to go out or put clothes away....it's a mess. Usually the day after, when I wake and say "Okay, today is a new day and I'm starting FOR REAL this time", the first thing I do is go into an energetic clean-up/ organizing mission. I organize everything: my room, my bathroom, my clothes, even the files on my computer :eek:

That's weird, isn't it...

Binge = total loss of control for me.
 
Hi all, yes another compusive eater here.
I know mine is the side effect of my anxiety...I get anxious over sometimes the smallest things, then it gets worse and worse till I'm neally climbing the wall. I then sedate myself with food and it works for awhile till I feel so disgusted with myself and then I get even more anxious. I have meds for it but don't want to take them everyday. It such a vicious circle.
 
Cecilia, it's great that you can turn it around right away. I find I get worse and worse about being organized as time goes by. I think I am really going to focus on this. I think it is a solid link to my eating disorder....if I can keep organized, I think my chances of being successful will be much greater.

Blitzed, I can totally relate to the vicious circle of anxiety. I am a totally laid back person...but sometimes I feel like I just can't settle down and focus. I really am thinking I have ADD or something. Sometimes food will just trance me out for a minute and I feel totally relaxed. Later, of course, I feel like I treated myself like shit because I over ate so much. If you don't mind me asking...what sort of medication was prescribed for your anxiety?

Bronski & Mrs. Bear. I'm glad you joined this thread. You are right Mrs. Bear, it is just like being an alcoholic or a drug addict. The only difference is you can never do drugs or drink again...with food....you have to have it. Makes it much more difficult, I think.

Darcy, I too am glad to talk to people with the same problem. I don't have anyone in my life that can relate at all. Most people think if you just exercise and stop eating so much you will lose weight. They have no idea what goes on in your head or what physically happens to you when you eat food. I call it "The Food Trance"

Maleficent, I promise I won't try to hug you! Let me know if you go to any meetings and how you liked it.
 
Hi Pinola, they prescribed me Ativan, I also have had very high BP (210/138) which I think cause my panick attacks. But I only started putting on weight (20 lbs) since I started having these attacks and food seems to calm me down for awhile. I believe high carb foods do this like pasta...yum. Funny as the only foods I crave is pasta and cheese...I can eat that till I'm unable to walk...LOL. It just makes me feel so calm and then I sleep. But I am a highly strung person....constantly fighting to relax.
 
I'm a lot like you Cecilia. Why is it that when I eat a healthy diet I get lots done, but as soon as I start eating bad foods, I don't want to do anything but sit and eat! :confused:
 
So we meet again, Mrs Bear :D

I admire the fact that you can tell your husband about it! I'll sometimes talk to my best friend about what I've eaten, but it's in a "Dude, I'm such a pig, I've eaten so much crap today." And I'll do the same to my boyfriend, but I guess I do it too much because he then gets really sarcy about it, in a "*sigh* gO oN tHeN, hOw MuCh HaVe YoU hAd ToDaY?" It's not in a bad or unsupportive way, just in a "I've heard this story before."

If you think there is something wrong inside, do you think it's worth seeing someone about it? Whenever boyfriend suggests it, I turn into big-red-angry-Bron, so I understand if you don't want to. But if you think there is something deeper, it could be something to consider. Though by the sound of your weightloss progress, you're doing well anyway, so I think you're on the right track anyway :)

And you and Pineola are right, eating is so much like a drug. If we could all just healthily stop and absorb nutrients from the air, oh how happy we could all be!

Bronsk
 
I have considered councilling, because the weight management lady I see at the health centre isn't really getting to the cause of my problems. She can advise on what to eat and how to eat, but I know all that! Its putting it into practice that is the hard part. I think my plan at the moment is to see how I go with the help of all you guys (this in itself is a wonderful type of therapy :) ) but maybe if things still fall apart, seek councilling then.

I am also hoping that when I eventually get pregnant again, and have a child, a big void in my life will be filled, and hopefully I wont need to fill it with food anymore. It has been 15 months since I miscarried, and I have done a lot of emotional eating since then!!! I don't have the raw feelings of sadness and madness anymore, but I told the doctor I think I may be deep-down depressed. Her reply was that anti-depressants are a big no-no when your trying to conceive. :rolleyes:
 
Hun, I'm so sorry about your miscarriage. If you are trying to conceive again, are there some alternative treatments to anti-depressants? Or if you wanted to wait a while longer, could you go on a course of medication before conceiving again? Whatever happens, I hope that your next pregnancy will be a successful one, and I send you all my support and love.

A friend of mine's seeing a health advisor at the moment, and seems to having the same problems; being told what anyone on the street could have told her. Eat less, excersise more. She tells advisor that she eats biscuits in front of the TV, advisor says "Don't eat biscuits in front of the TV then." They don't sound especially helpful...

I reckon that this group therapy that's going on here is going to be really great. I can't say at the moment that is since I joined, what, two days ago! But I already have a fantastic feeling about this place and the people here, so I'm sure that you'll find loads of help on here. And I'll always be here to stalk you as well :)

Bronsk
 
Bronski said:
I admire the fact that you can tell your husband about it! I'll sometimes talk to my best friend about what I've eaten, but it's in a "Dude, I'm such a pig, I've eaten so much crap today." And I'll do the same to my boyfriend, but I guess I do it too much because he then gets really sarcy about it, in a "*sigh* gO oN tHeN, hOw MuCh HaVe YoU hAd ToDaY?" It's not in a bad or unsupportive way, just in a "I've heard this story before."
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Families and friends of alcoholics have a support system in Alanon... Alas there is no BingeAnon to help them out... The friends are really trying to deal with the same addictive behavior and honestly don't know how to... At some point, a lot of family members of alcoholics end up being extremely codependent or enabling the binger -- the other end would be tough love hoping that the person will just get over it... That's easier said than done...

I'm not making excuses for our behavior, but most people wouldn't empty out an alcoholic's liquor cabinet and say - OK don't drink anymore... and be on their way... In my friend's case, it's been an interesting journey of discovery, with him finding out things he long since repressed that ledt o his alcohol and drug dependency... but everything is fixable...

Mrs Bear you've had an extremely tough road...I'm not a huggy type, but damn I just want to hug you... I know from other people's experience you don't want to know about what you need to do to concieve, but I'll say it anyhow - when you get the turmoil inside yourself to calm down, I'd be willing to bet that your chance of conception would increase dramatically - you're a pretty special lady.. give yourself a break --

Stop beating yourselves up and take each day -- one at a time.
 
Normally, Maleficent, I would tell boyfriend and friends if I'm aiming for a weight loss scheme again. This time I'm not. I think I'll cope better if I keep it quiet from them. Though I think something's starting to show; my trousers keep falling down!

So far, I've been binge free. Yesterday I was picking constantly at one of my left over Easter Eggs, but I've sworn myself off it today. I've done some skipping instead!

Bronsk
 
Thanks guys, your kind words mean a lot to me :) .

Maleficent, I am trying not to be tense about getting pregnant, a lot of the time I don't even think about it, but I know that worrying or getting stressed about general stuff can also affect it. Apparantly, when your stressed your body gives off a chemical that stops you ovulating. I moved house in January, and didn't ovulate for two months!!

I know what you mean, Bronsk, about not telling people. For me, I feel like I will get the reaction of ' oh, your starting a new fad, that will fizzle out like all the rest ' and I couldn't bear that. Its a downer, and I need all positive vibes at the moment ( hence chatting to you guys!!!:D ). Also, well done for a great show of control yesterday!! If I get a taste of chocolate, I would be down the supermarket buying ice cream and chocolate so fast!! You should be proud! :cool:
 
*hugs* Mrs Bear!

That's exactly the reaction I feel I'll get if I told my friends. Not in a bad way, in a "that's nice, dear" kind of way. And if something went wrong, it gets embarressing when they look at you eating chocolate as if to say "I thought you were on a diet." So this way, if I screw up, no one knows I was on diet in the first place! Though I've said it before, I'm adament I'm not going to screw up, and I'm going to do it!

... moments later, having said that, my brother just shoved a piece of chicken tikka in my direction :| Ate without thinking, and am battling with myself to not munch anymore.

All the best to you all!

Bronsk
 
Try brushing your teeth. That often works for me. When dieting I sometimes get into the routine of brushing my teeth straight after I have had my last meal of the day, or my alloted cals or points. The taste of toothpaste puts me off eating anything else? Might be worth a try ;)

See you here tomorrow, everyone !!
 
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