x Madeleine x
New member
Hi Annie!
Thank you so much for starting this forum - it's so nice to know that there are others out there who are struggling the way I am. I finished school two years ago and have been binging for almost five years now. I had always been very restrictive with what I ate growing up and then one day I seemed to lose track with everything. I always compared myself to others at my private girls high school where everyone seemed perfect, and I didn't feel as though I measured up.
I seem not to have any willpower left. I start the days off really well and work out every weekday morning, but by lunch time I will have binged, justifying to myself that I'll be better tomorrow. So then I eat everything I can because I figure it's my last chance to, but this happens almost every day. My sister struggles with binge eating as well so I want to get better so that I can help her. If anyone has any advice, I would love to hear from you. I feel like soon I'm just going to have to accept this way of life because nothing I have been doing seems to help.
I wish everyone on here happiness and peace
Thank you so much for starting this forum - it's so nice to know that there are others out there who are struggling the way I am. I finished school two years ago and have been binging for almost five years now. I had always been very restrictive with what I ate growing up and then one day I seemed to lose track with everything. I always compared myself to others at my private girls high school where everyone seemed perfect, and I didn't feel as though I measured up.
I seem not to have any willpower left. I start the days off really well and work out every weekday morning, but by lunch time I will have binged, justifying to myself that I'll be better tomorrow. So then I eat everything I can because I figure it's my last chance to, but this happens almost every day. My sister struggles with binge eating as well so I want to get better so that I can help her. If anyone has any advice, I would love to hear from you. I feel like soon I'm just going to have to accept this way of life because nothing I have been doing seems to help.
I wish everyone on here happiness and peace
You're definitely not alone. Well, at least in the sense that you're not the only one going through this. But I know , from personal experience that it feels very lonely and that probably just adds to the excessive eating. I know that usually when I'm going through a binging episode that I'm alone. Because I'm ashamed. It sucks because I know it's wrong otherwise I wouldn't work so hard just to hide my overeating. I can't seem to stop though. When I'm actually eating it just feels good and tastes good but then after a while of overeating I realize what I've done and I just feel terrible and disgusted with myself and I hate it. I'm 17 and I was very overweight when I was younger then I lost a bunch a weight but for almost a year now I've fallen off the track and just been gaining weight and it's mortifying because I did it before so why can't I get a handle on my habits again? I just eat and eat and it scares me because I have no self- control. So where the hell did it go? You're not alone.
mnm-
I stayed off of sites like these because I always felt like people would also say I have nothing to complain about because I'm not big enough to complain but I do really have a problem. Reading some of your story makes me feel like I'm not alone. I weighed about 165 when i was 12 and and was 5ft 1in then I began to take care of myself and then by sophomore year of high school I got down to 110 lbs. and now I'm a junior and I weight around 125 lbs. I've just been bingeing and it hurts - physically and emotionally. I feel like I can't control myself. I feel like doing that puking thing but i can't no matter how much i have tried (and I know it's sort of a good thing but I still wish I could sometimes). I just eat and eat and I don't know what happened- if i am trying to fill a void - i have no clue what it is- all i know it i want to get back to a health form of eating and health foods-- anyway thanks for showing me that I'm not alone and that my problems count too and it's ok to express them even to others who may have worse issues than my own.
I stayed off of sites like these because I always felt like people would also say I have nothing to complain about because I'm not big enough to complain but I do really have a problem. Reading some of your story makes me feel like I'm not alone. I weighed about 165 when i was 12 and and was 5ft 1in then I began to take care of myself and then by sophomore year of high school I got down to 110 lbs. and now I'm a junior and I weight around 125 lbs. I've just been bingeing and it hurts - physically and emotionally. I feel like I can't control myself. I feel like doing that puking thing but i can't no matter how much i have tried (and I know it's sort of a good thing but I still wish I could sometimes). I just eat and eat and I don't know what happened- if i am trying to fill a void - i have no clue what it is- all i know it i want to get back to a health form of eating and health foods-- anyway thanks for showing me that I'm not alone and that my problems count too and it's ok to express them even to others who may have worse issues than my own.
Hello Annie,
I am a 20-year-old male, 6'4'', and 165 pounds. My friends describe me as especially skinny, but there is a kind of secretive irony to that image. I have a very small frame for a man my height because I spent the better half of my young life severely overweight, and my muscles atrophied. To this day I suffer from insecurities, and I still feel echoes from my unhealthy past - for this reason, I am almost always on a strict self-imposed diet. This tends to baffle my peers, since to them, I am thinner than a rail (almost unhealthily so). The reason why I am so obsessed with loosing weight is that I have still retained a good amount of baby fat (that I failed to burn off during my "fat" years) that gives me an uncommonly childish appearance, and burning off baby fat is not easy to do with typical American eating habits.
As a result I've fallen into a strange pattern. I diet very strictly, exercise 5 days a week and then I spent the weekend eating whatever I want. This is a pretty normal approach to dieting that works well for many people, but for me, I have been noticing a big difference. When I have my "splurge" meals I tend to take it over the top, and stuff my face well after I've satisfied my stomach. I feel pressured to eat all of the foods that I won't be able to eat tomorrow, and wind up eating unnatural portions of food. It feels very forced and uncontrolled and I strongly dislike myself when I get into that mindset (it is definitely a mindset). Then, the next day, I am overwhelmed by guilt and eat very little throughout the day - sometimes under 1,000 calories. It is a very unhealthy habit that materialized from a relatively effective dieting technique. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way out of it. I'm not willing to give up dieting until I have the chiseled manly features I've been seeking for so much of my life, but the strictness of the diet seems to be the cause of the over-the-top splurge days. After the splurge days, however, I need to diet more strictly to make up the difference.
This is my dilemma. However, as I was formerly overweight (and managed to drop 40 pounds in a month) I can offer some advice. Your body is a machine. The amount of fat you burn or gain each day is as easy as simple addition. If you consume more calories than you burn off during your day-to-day activities, you will gain exactly the amount of weight that you failed to burn off. One pound of fat is 3,500 calories. So if you eat an extra 500 calories each day, you'll be gaining a pound each week. Most human beings burn about 2,000 calories in a day. So if you eat 2,500 you will quickly gain weight. The average fast food meal contains 1,000 or more calories.
There are a variety of metabolic rate calculators available on the internet. Use them to find out how many calories you burn each day, and then chart your calories to make sure that you come in under the amount you've burned. You will lose weight - mathematically, you have to. You should aim to eat 500 calories less than you burn each day, so that you can loose 1 pound each week.
This is a good basic system to begin with, but it's more complicated than that. Hormones dictate how you lose weight. If you are low in hormones such as HGH and Testosterone (regardless of gender) your body will be less apt to burn fat than it should be. The way to restore these hormones is almost so cliche it's silly: eat your fruits and vegetables, and get at least 20 minutes of INTENSE cardio each day. This will literally re-wire your brain to produce fat-burning hormones instead of fat-storing ones. You should also eat the right kinds of fats and proteins. This is essential. I've seen so many diet plans that remove fats and meats. This will deplete your energy, give you cravings, make you miserable, and generally reduce your physical health. A good source of healthy fat and protein is peanuts, whole grains, chicken, lean red meat, etc. All of this food is fantastic for you in the right amounts, and from the right place (not a restaurant).
The great thing about this approach to dieting is that you feel great and stop craving the foods you're addicted to. I highly recommend this, since it put me in a DRASTICALLY improved physical condition (with a little commitment, of course). I am still have problems with my weight - what do you expect when I've spent so much of my life overeating - but I've made monumental progress.
It feels much better to be proud of yourself for achieving a significant life goal than eating another Whopper. Trust me.
I am a 20-year-old male, 6'4'', and 165 pounds. My friends describe me as especially skinny, but there is a kind of secretive irony to that image. I have a very small frame for a man my height because I spent the better half of my young life severely overweight, and my muscles atrophied. To this day I suffer from insecurities, and I still feel echoes from my unhealthy past - for this reason, I am almost always on a strict self-imposed diet. This tends to baffle my peers, since to them, I am thinner than a rail (almost unhealthily so). The reason why I am so obsessed with loosing weight is that I have still retained a good amount of baby fat (that I failed to burn off during my "fat" years) that gives me an uncommonly childish appearance, and burning off baby fat is not easy to do with typical American eating habits.
As a result I've fallen into a strange pattern. I diet very strictly, exercise 5 days a week and then I spent the weekend eating whatever I want. This is a pretty normal approach to dieting that works well for many people, but for me, I have been noticing a big difference. When I have my "splurge" meals I tend to take it over the top, and stuff my face well after I've satisfied my stomach. I feel pressured to eat all of the foods that I won't be able to eat tomorrow, and wind up eating unnatural portions of food. It feels very forced and uncontrolled and I strongly dislike myself when I get into that mindset (it is definitely a mindset). Then, the next day, I am overwhelmed by guilt and eat very little throughout the day - sometimes under 1,000 calories. It is a very unhealthy habit that materialized from a relatively effective dieting technique. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way out of it. I'm not willing to give up dieting until I have the chiseled manly features I've been seeking for so much of my life, but the strictness of the diet seems to be the cause of the over-the-top splurge days. After the splurge days, however, I need to diet more strictly to make up the difference.
This is my dilemma. However, as I was formerly overweight (and managed to drop 40 pounds in a month) I can offer some advice. Your body is a machine. The amount of fat you burn or gain each day is as easy as simple addition. If you consume more calories than you burn off during your day-to-day activities, you will gain exactly the amount of weight that you failed to burn off. One pound of fat is 3,500 calories. So if you eat an extra 500 calories each day, you'll be gaining a pound each week. Most human beings burn about 2,000 calories in a day. So if you eat 2,500 you will quickly gain weight. The average fast food meal contains 1,000 or more calories.
There are a variety of metabolic rate calculators available on the internet. Use them to find out how many calories you burn each day, and then chart your calories to make sure that you come in under the amount you've burned. You will lose weight - mathematically, you have to. You should aim to eat 500 calories less than you burn each day, so that you can loose 1 pound each week.
This is a good basic system to begin with, but it's more complicated than that. Hormones dictate how you lose weight. If you are low in hormones such as HGH and Testosterone (regardless of gender) your body will be less apt to burn fat than it should be. The way to restore these hormones is almost so cliche it's silly: eat your fruits and vegetables, and get at least 20 minutes of INTENSE cardio each day. This will literally re-wire your brain to produce fat-burning hormones instead of fat-storing ones. You should also eat the right kinds of fats and proteins. This is essential. I've seen so many diet plans that remove fats and meats. This will deplete your energy, give you cravings, make you miserable, and generally reduce your physical health. A good source of healthy fat and protein is peanuts, whole grains, chicken, lean red meat, etc. All of this food is fantastic for you in the right amounts, and from the right place (not a restaurant).
The great thing about this approach to dieting is that you feel great and stop craving the foods you're addicted to. I highly recommend this, since it put me in a DRASTICALLY improved physical condition (with a little commitment, of course). I am still have problems with my weight - what do you expect when I've spent so much of my life overeating - but I've made monumental progress.
It feels much better to be proud of yourself for achieving a significant life goal than eating another Whopper. Trust me.
I think this is extremely backwards. If you're working to lose weight, you're not working against yourself. You're doing yourself the biggest favor you've ever consciously attempted. Your body is a fat-burning machine that is ready and waiting to become a star athlete as soon as you're ready to work WITH your body to produce a happier, thinner you. The trouble is, when you eat unhealthy food, your body isn't getting the nutrients that it wants - so it "asks" for more of the unhealthy food, hoping to get the right amount of proper nutrients. Obviously, it won't get this from the same unhealthy sources, so it feels like your body is always craving terrible food and never feeling satisfied. When you deprive your body of this food, it goes into "starvation" mode, and starts hitting you with massive cravings. This is what makes dieting so difficult.
The solution is to fill up on nutrient-rich, high protein, fatty foods that satisfy your body without adding excessive calories. Foods with fiber, in particular, are great appetite suppressants. When you approach dieting this way, it doesn't feel like you are working against your body, it feels like you are working WITH your body - which is what you should be doing.
No healthy person was ever born from nutritional deprivation. Starvation diets do not work.