Binge eating recovery and binge foods

[CateL]

hi there, I'd like to use the 30 days to work on my binge eating by removing trigger foods. Has anyone else excluded white potatoes? They are definitely a problem food for me,

thanks

Cate

[SugarcubeOD]

You can definitely leave off white potatoes and good for you for identifying trigger foods!

You do want to get at least a fist sized serving of starchy carbs every day tho, but you can use sweet potato, winter squash, beets, carrots, other root veggies so white potatoes are not the only thing available.

Good luck!

[CateL]

super helpful, thanks so much sugarcube! 

[Nira81]

White potatoes french fried are a trigger food here!  My husband wont give up his fries so I'll be working to avoid them.  Any thoughts or mental tricks welcome. My binge foods are crunchy salty things... I'll be avoiding nuts on their own and all salted nuts.  I'm trying to really tune in to snacking and bingeing urges, too.  

[Browneyedsusan]

Hey all!  I am struggling with binge eating.  Sugar is my main trigger.  Even though I am eliminitating added sugar, I am craving it, and find myself drawn to fruit and dates.   I like salty crunchy too, but it all depends. I think the diet of meat, fat and veggies kinda takes care of that all on it's own.

 

I think for me I need to plan better snacks.  I had a gastric bypass and can only eat small portions, and I usually can't go more than 2-3 hours before I start feeling hungry again.

I think I will do some research on that one.

[ladyshanny]

@Nira81 - not so much a mental trick but make sure you are eating enough at your meals. I know, for people that tend towards bingeing or overeating this can seem counter-intuitive. But hear this. If you are under-fed and under-nourished, your anxiety could be higher and your body is going to drive you towards the quickest source of dense calories which is a binge in the waiting. Follow the template, eat satisfying, filling meals that keep you going 4-5 hours. 

Unfortunately besides avoiding known trigger foods, the rest is mental/emotional. 

[Nira81]

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 5:32 PM, ladyshanny said:

@Nira81 - make sure you are eating enough at your meals. I know, for people that tend towards bingeing or overeating this can seem counter-intuitive. But hear this. If you are under-fed and under-nourished, your anxiety could be higher and your body is going to drive you towards the quickest source of dense calories which is a binge in the waiting. Follow the template, eat satisfying, filling meals that keep you going 4-5 hours. 

Unfortunately besides avoiding known trigger foods, the rest is mental/emotional. 

Day 6 and I've thought a lot about these words (slow to reply here!).  I keep thinking about I might be under-nourished in ways other than food.  There are a few.  Maybe that should be a separate thread!?  It feels really important. 

[jmcbn]

9 minutes ago, Nira81 said:

Maybe that should be a separate thread!?  It feels really important.

If it's important to you then yes, please do start another thread, or a log even where you can add to your thoughts as you go....

[CateL]

really interesting discussion here, I'm kicking off tomorrow, fingers crossed

[Nira81]

Day 15 of this Whole30 and I've been compliant but not feeling successful due to my snacking.  It feels very compulsive at times and borderline binge-y.  I'm mostly avoiding nuts this round, but I ate a couple of apples and some coconut after a satisfying dinner last night.  I feel a bit triggered by some of the foods in my pantry that my family is keeping around.  They enjoy late night snacking.  The pull to join in is such a strong habit.  At times I just feel very overwhelmed not being able to have my family's foods.  I'm trying to create new habits with water, tea, removing myself from the food.  But a few times I've grabbed a bit of compliant food to taste, like a consolation prize.   Which I consider a binge, and truly sometimes it's more than a just a bite.  

In the past I've restricted meals in a big way to offset my snacking; it's been my way of life.  With Whole30 there's no restricting - except from the snacking itself.  So this is hard.     

I've stopped craving sugar and alcohol and in fact since my first round in the summer I've been more or less able to keep sugar cravings and sugar binges out of my life.  If I can overcome being triggered by sugary sweets, can I overcome being triggered by crackers and popcorn and pastas someday?  I feel so much better when I am not eating them.  But the pull is incredible.  Struggling a bit here for sure.  

[CateL]

Having food around that you cant eat is really hard. I can never have just one biscuit it'd be the whole pack. My husband has had to hide food from me for years. Can it be put away from you or can they join in some of the meals so there's less of it? 

having a taste just continues the cravings, i've tried a bite of protein when i have a craving for something non-compliant. I know its not exactly three meals a day then but I figure its progress.

evenings can be hard, can you create rituals just for you whilst they are snacking? i can relate as my husband enjoys a nightcap and whilst i love tea, its not the same as booze and chocolate! I've been thinking i might even try a face mask so i cant eat whilst he does anyway. 

 

maybe other people will have some ideas? 

[WholeWallet30]

@Nira81 @CateL  I can relate to this and have been a binge eater for almost 20 years (I'm 32 now).  I am currently on day 16 and have had one "binge" during W30 after a particularly bad day - I ate two handfuls of pistachios.  Looking back at a normal binge, two handfuls of pistachios is nothing.  I am actually shocked I didn't give up and quit at any point on this journey.  

For me, I've found two main things to keep me going and prevent the desire to binge.  First, I eat big meals.  I follow the template, but I make sure I'm eating at least three eggs at breakfast, multiple veggies and half an avocado.  I fill up with spaghetti squash and lean proteins, but am also very cognizant of adding healthy fat to each meal.  I feel full after, but not stuffed.  For the first week, I concentrated on just eating a lot 3x a day and zero snacking.  No nuts in the house (until those damn pistachios).  It worked.  I'm leveling out portions now as I get more in sync with the program.

Second, nighttime was always rough for me.  I wouldn't say no to some jalapeno poppers from Jack in the Box during my pre W30 life.  Now, I eat my dinner around 6:30 p.m. and have a chamomile tea after that.  I brush and floss my teeth (side note: I find myself taking better care of my body in all aspects now, including flossing lol) so that I've signaled to myself that I am done eating for the night.  Out of the 16 days, there's been around 3 where I truly still felt hunger later.  I ate a hardboiled egg and that was that.

I know it sounds easier said than done, and I wouldn't believe this myself pre W30, but it really has changed so much for me in only 16 days.  I know my habits and lifestyle will take longer to reverse so I've committed to a Whole 60.

[CateL]

great insight @WholeWallet30 sounds like you are going wonderfully well. Have you noticed changes to your health since doing Whole30?

[Nira81]

@CateL and @WholeWallet30, thanks for weighing in.  I've been trying new herbal teas, and the evenings are actually getting easier!  It's creating a new ritual. I like the other self-care ideas too.  

The tea is great when I find myself in the kitchen in the evenings, and I am working hard to ignore my husband's snacks.  I just don't look at the food.  

Removing myself to do some self-care would be smart when ignoring the food gets stressful, which it does, which is when I look for a compliant bite.  

Here's some progress: these emotional little bites remind me I'm not so hungry, and then I move on.  It's great to write about it here because I hadn't fully appreciated that change until I sat here to write about it.  

It sounds like you both are having some success and it's great to hear it.  I might be back venting on this again on this thread as I keep trying to improve.  It's hard work and not everyone understands it, and I really want freedom from bingeing!  

 

[littleg]

Check out Brain Over Binge and Rational Recovery.

[Nira81]

1 hour ago, littleg said:

Check out Brain Over Binge and Rational Recovery.

@littleg  Thank you, thank you.  I'm happy to discover that Brain Over Binge is an audiobook on Audible; I have an account and I'm going to download it straight away!  I've tried some hypnosis mp3s and other self-help modalities but I hadn't heard of these.   

[WholeWallet30]

@CateL Hi Cate!  I have noticed quite a few changes thus far on my W30 journey.  Honestly, the worst and hardest rule to enforce with myself has been no weighing, but I haven't done it....yet!  Prior to this, I weighed myself EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and my weight truly did dictate my mood for the day.  It's been freeing to say the least, but also a challenge since weighing myself everyday was my go to.

My skin looks better, my hair is great (and I heat style often!) and I just feel....GOOD.  My clothes do seem looser and I find myself obsessing over what amount of weight I have lost.  Lots of thoughts about "If it's only 10 lbs I'll be mad" or "Ok, maybe it will be 20.  No, don't get your hopes up".  I need to spend more time getting rid of that, but with 20 years under my belt of that kind of self talk, it will take a while. 

The lack of counting my calories, points, etc. has been the most important part for me.  I was in CBT for my eating disorder and this is one of the things I was told to let go of and work on every single day to the best of my ability.  It's hard to not be as structured as I was, but W30 is doing that for me so far.  Most people see W30 as very strict, but it does not feel that way to me since I've been in intense cycles of either my BED or restricting for many years prior.

[CateL]

17 hours ago, WholeWallet30 said:

 

The lack of counting my calories, points, etc. has been the most important part for me

 

Yes this is what I am thinking also. My binge eating and cravings are/were so severe at times that by comparison W30 almost feels freeing. Not necessarily the case when you haven't had eating disorders, but to just have some time without thinking of food makes a massive difference in my life already

[WholeWallet30]

@CateL I 100% agree regarding how W30 can feel freeing.  I know that there is a suggestion to immediately stop W30 if you feel yourself reverting back to the way you are when you are deep in the throes of your ED.  It has been the exact opposite for me, perhaps because BED consumes so much of your time.  

On my first day of ED therapy, my therapist asked me what percentage of the day I spent thinking about food, thinking about calories, worrying about a binge, etc.  She basically wanted to know how much I thought about food in any aspect.  I didn't even have to think twice before I said 90%.  It was seriously that way and it still was for quite a while.  I'd say I'm at a good 80% now (LOL, but it is progress...that's a big change when it's consumed your life!).  It has gone down even further during W30.  I think about my meals to PLAN them out and enjoy them, but I'm not obsessing over whether I will binge or not.

 

[CateL]

oh totally @WholeWallet30 . I mean, I know what I can eat and I have neat boundaries. I like not having to stress about paleo desserts and all that (it could be a coconut date chocolate ball but that doesn't mean I can suddenly just have one and not the whole plate). 

[Nira81]

19 hours ago, WholeWallet30 said:

 I think about my meals to PLAN them out and enjoy them, but I'm not obsessing over whether I will binge or not.

Seeing this after a haphazard day of eating yesterday where I planned NOTHING and didn't really enjoy the grab-and-go meals nor the compliant dinner out.... and regressed back towards snacking.  Disappointed in myself with 10 days left to work on this.

The cycle is so much better than before with my my eat/don't eat cycle.  I know the compliant foods won't hurt me or trigger much follow up eating.  I'm not going off the rails either, just being emotionally driven to eat rather than planning and executing meal times. The urge not to eat sometimes, especially breakfast, is very strong.  Sets me up badly, as happened yesterday.  

Started "Brain Over Binge" and skimming over the BED memoir as I found it triggering.  (But it reminded me how far I've come in 15 years of this).  I think her main point might end up being, "there is nothing wrong with you. You can choose to just stop." 

[CateL]

I had my first Sunday lunch gathering at mine. I cooked a compliant meal (meatloaf, veggies, roast potatoes, gravy) but learned that white potatoes are definitely a trigger for me as i kept sampling them in secret when cooking and after serving  (typicalED person out of control, secretive behaviour) and they made me feel quite out of control. I'm trying to look upon it as a slip rather than a massive failure, it confirms my original post up top that they are a food I have to keep away from the manage my eating rather than have food control me. 

[WholeWallet30]

@CateL @Nira81 Hi ladies!  Just wanted to check in and see how it was going?  I'm currently on Day 21 which would normally mean only 9 days left!  Since I decided to do at least a Whole60, I'm almost halfway there.  I hope you are both hanging in there

I did have a rough day yesterday craving tortilla chips!  I realized it was because I did not eat enough that day (my lunch was way too small/not matching the template).  I'm making sure to eat even if I don't feel hungry which is weird a concept (so different than eating when not hungry during a binge because I am emotionally hungry then). 

[Nira81]

Hi @WholeWallet30,  it's great to hear of your progress towards a Whole60!  I am also having trouble eating when I'm not hungry; I'm probably not performing as well as you on that count!  Today is Day 24 here, and still I reach for fruit in the evenings.  The compulsion is so strong.  I'm not even craving fruit.  It's been such a lifelong habit to snack after dinner, to relax.  Embarrassing to admit the weakness, although I'm not feeling down on myself because it's all compliant foods and this is going to take practice.  The closer I come each day to eating three template meals, the easier resisting those snacks are. 

I just signed up for a 21-day online course that someone recommended on another thread: https://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=721.  My plan is to use the remaining days of this Whole30 to jump start 21 days of help with those specific eating habits of template meals and non-snacking behavior.  Feeling pretty focused and hopeful.  Was the tortilla chip craving an isolated incident?  I'm finally craving basically nothing... except the habit of snacking itself. 

[CateL]

I'm on day 13 and this is the longest I have gone without a binge since I remember (besides the roast potato incident). No diet coke, no bread, no icecream, no chips...wow! I had to sleep this afternoon due to headache today. Starting to feel bored with my food so I made a shopping order for tomorrow and will try think of some new recipes. I really miss having a nice cocktail, sparkling water with fruit has it's merits but its not an aperol spritz sadly...My brain is still imagining the purchase and consumption of binge food-from putting my shoes and coat on to leave my apartment to returning how to eat the stash. Today was particularly bad for this but I think the sleep helped.