malleablizing Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I started my Whole30 on the 27th of Feb this year. After successfully completing the program, I reintroduced almost every food group back into my diet – except for sugar. Ever since I started Whole30 I've been binging almost every day, eating a lot more than I should have. And with Whole30 now over, I've started binging on the "bad" food, some of which I suspect are responsible for the recent outbreak of acne on my face (and by binging I mean eating half a huge loaf of bread plus almost a quarter of a 1kg cheese block in addition to a big fish fillet and half a kilo of veggies and a banana and two kiwifruits and half a pineapple — all in one meal! I'm 5'5 tall and around 114-115 pounds by the way). I'm desperate for a solution to stop this binge eating. I'm wondering if the binging is caused by my sugar cravings. Maybe I just need a little sugar and then I'll be satisfied and stop binging? Maybe I'm binging because I'm not letting myself have sugar and I'm subconsciously trying to compensate for it by overeating everything else? Or am I just making up excuses so I can have some sugar? I haven't touched any food with added sugar since I started in Feb (though I have been eating a lot of fruits), and I'm considering just buying some kind of dessert, eating it, and seeing if it stops my binge eating. But if it doesn't work I'll probably end up binging on the dessert too and it'll be a disaster. Has anyone had any similar experiences? Any advice would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Binging can be triggered by a number of things. Were you eating without binging on Whole30? Has adding anything back in been a big trigger? Have you got a doctor helping you? Feeding the sugar dragon (or the binge dragon) usually doesn't make it go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Food Y'all Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 You may have binge eating disorder, which is not a problem the Whole30 can solve. I highly recommend the book Brain over Binge. The author also just released the Brain over Binge Recovery Guide (under the Customers Also Bought section) which I haven't read but looks promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'd wonder what ingredients are in the bread... is it gluten free for instance?Also, cheese is a highly addictive substance - no seriously - the casein in cheese has been shown to trigger the same part of the brain as hard drugs.Both factors could be contributing to your binging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Seeking help from a counselor is the best thing I did for recovery from binge eating. I threw all of my self-help and dieting books into the bin. They only added to the confusion. Sitting down with someone - face to face - was the turning point for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malleablizing Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 Thank you for your replies. I realised I should focus on eliminating my binge eating before trying to diet and cutting calories. Cheese and bread are definitely a weakness of mine after the Whole30. I will try to keep away from them for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucieB Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I used to be a sugar addict. And in my experience the sugar craving is a result your brain trying to convince you to eat sugar. For me anyway. Sugar makes me feel good only momentarily, then I feel awful. Every time my brain tricks me into eating something sugary I regret it later, and after many years I've learned to recognize the trickery and I've finally learned it just ain't worth it. But here's something that has helped -- when I'm unsatisfied and craving something I sometimes find that something strongly spiced seems to derail it. Think chili spices, hot mexican, strong herbs, salt, pepper, lemon. Maybe they just burn the sweet craving off my tongue? But I still crave some foods, crave that feeling of a hit. It doesn't really go away especially when I'm tired. But knowing the biology of this (being tired makes your brain crave energy like sugar) and knowing how futile caving in to the crave is has been a help for me. I crave cheese too, not as strong of a crave and not as much of a crash. But a block of cheese near me is in danger, cupcakes are safe though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malleablizing Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Yeah with cheese I know it's not as harmful as sugar, so it's easier for me to "justify" eating way too much of it. I guess in a way it's even worse for me because I think it's not as bad and always end up binge eating it. That's really interesting, thanks for the tip! I'll try some spice next time I get a sugar craving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 You are 5'-5" and 115lbs, Have you considered that you might be binging because your body needs more nutrition than you are providing? Next time you are craving sugar (or cheese or bread), try giving your body a good portion of compliant foods instead (nice fatty meat, starchy veg, good fats on top, etc.). The whole30 isn't just about cutting stuff out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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