Why Is There Not Much Help For Binge Eating Disorder (and if there is, where is it?)

oopsadaisydoddle

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I made kale crisps last night and they were really nice! If I want to binge, I can now binge on veg haha!

HBS x

Ooh how do you make those?x

Carer

Just found this thread and you could be describing me!
I have binged my whole life.

I believe my issues started when I was a child, we had a big family and very strict mealtimes and I can remember always being hungry and craving more food, even though we had decent meals.

It got so bad at one point I would wake up thinking about food, think about food all day, make any excuse to go shopping and then buy huge amounts of junk and hide it all when I got home.
I would even sneak food and go sit in the bathroom to eat it.
My main obsession was ice cream, chocolate and crisps.

I too tried all the self help books, Paul Mckenna, and willpower but nothing worked. I have spent most of my adult life on a diet and my weight yoyod all the time but I think I've finally cracked it!

I am now coming up to a year of "clean eating". What this means is that I only eat meat, fish, poultry, fruit, veg and a bit of dairy. I eat no processed foods at all, nothing with additives in and prepare everything from scratch. I drink black tea or water, if I want to snack I eat a few nuts. I don't eat anything high carb, no potatoes at all, no rice, no pasta, and definitely no bread.

It sounds drastic, but really it's just eating as our ancestors would have done. I have lost 3.5 stone and don't feel hungry ever and have no desire to binge any more. I also haven't been ill at all, no colds, stomach upsets or anything like that and my skin is the softest it's ever been, and most importantly of all - I feel great!

I have a cupboard full of chocolate and crisps and it doesn't even cross my mind to open it.

daska

Which is pretty much what I experienced when I switched to low carb and then primal. I can't help but feel that there's a lot of importance being put on BED without ruling out physical factors first and actually trying a diet that is known to be very effective at helping PCOS and which a lot of people find have enabled them to control their eating habits. It is possible to be addicted to sugar and Insulin has a huge effect on body. It's not a case of getting a grip it's a case of getting to know what effect which foods have on YOUR body. Keeping a food diary can be immensely helpful in identifying not just what foods give you gut ache but also what you've been eating when you're feeling tired/ wanting to binge. Whether that's bread, dairy or artificial sweeteners.

oopsadaisydoddle

daska wrote: »

Which is pretty much what I experienced when I switched to low carb and then primal. I can't help but feel that there's a lot of importance being put on BED without ruling out physical factors first and actually trying a diet that is known to be very effective at helping PCOS and which a lot of people find have enabled them to control their eating habits. It is possible to be addicted to sugar and Insulin has a huge effect on body. It's not a case of getting a grip it's a case of getting to know what effect which foods have on YOUR body. Keeping a food diary can be immensely helpful in identifying not just what foods give you gut ache but also what you've been eating when you're feeling tired/ wanting to binge. Whether that's bread, dairy or artificial sweeteners.

Good advice as ever!

I have been doing Cambridge the last 3 days. I wasn't going to say as I didn't want to put pressure on myself. I am aiming to lose weight on it and also to use it as Daska suggested to use it as a starting point to finding out what makes me bloated and yucky.

I know it's not the healthiest way to lose weight but I really have got to that point of I am so fed up, i can't continue. I aim to do it for about a month or so if I can, but will not beat myself up if I can't. As it is a low carb version of a low calorie diet, I am aiming to introduce different foods gradually although not too sure in what order to do this.

Carer - well done for making such a positive change and maintaining it. You have done so well to keep on going permanently.

Marshflower

This is a really interesting thread. BED is so common yet because of the social stigma, you are just declared weak and lazy and should just "eat less and move more". For goodness sake, if it were that easy do they not think we'd have done it?? I have suffered from long term bulemia in the past, then once I kicked the puking part in to touch it turned in to a mild form of BED.
I am currently doing Cambridge Diet and I have never felt better. My body feels "clean" and alive and I have no desire to binge. Having a break from most food has really helped give me the space I need to examine my attitude and issues towards food and, to some extent, alcohol. I have totally different attitude towards it now and seek comfort in other places. I have learned the difference between actual hunger (any food would suffice to satisfy it) and emotional hunger (craving for something specific and nothing else will do). I have also learned the effect sugar and refined carbs have on my body. They make me feel awful yet make me crave them more (Zoe Harcombe's book helped explain some of why this is). I had a "day off" the other week for DH's birthday and we went out for dinner and I ate carbs and then a small of sugary dessert and I have never felt so ill after - tired, sluggish, sick with tummy cramps. Bad. I have had the odd night off before where I've had lean meat and green veg with no similar effects.
Once I have lost the weight I need to and start introducing more foods I am definitely going to follow a "clean" paleo style diet.
It's a long road yet but I'm getting there.

Jox

Processed foods are full of chemicals, sugar, salt, excitotoxins...it keeps us hooked and coming back for more and more and adding to the profits of the food producers and sellers. They don't want healthy consumers with a functioning appetite regulation, they want us craving and desperate and greedy for more!

I cringe when I see the adverts for the breakfast cereal with chocolate called "Crave", that's exactly what they want children and adults to do - crave for this cereal!

I'm a binge eater and sugar addict but since 16th Feb I've eliminated the majority of the sugars and processed foods I was eating. It's liberating me. I'm sick at the moment and wondering if it's part of the detox process (although colleagues at work and my hubby have been sick so I've probably just caught something from them).

My hubby has brought home donuts and apple turnovers, they're in the kitchen, I'm not inclined to eat them as I would have been just 3 weeks ago.

I'm avoiding tv as I can't stand the adverts (e.g diet coke and all the other crap we are being brainwashed into thinking we need to consume).

I'm reading blogs, articles, watching youtube, anything to motivate, inspire, strengthen my resolve.

We aren't alone, there are many many people in the trap, unhealthy, unhappy, depressed people, some have saved themselves, others are trying and some sadly never will.

Thanks for your post carer, glad you found the answer, your diet sounds like a sensible and sustaining one, that's the way I want to go!

heartbreak_star

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

Ooh how do you make those?x

Get some leafy, curly kale, wash it, dry it and cut it into bite size pieces.

Spread the bits out on an oiled baking tray, dab a touch of oil onto each, and sprinkle with salt. Herbs, garlic and chilli flakes can also be sprinkled on.

Bake in a low oven (I had Gas Mark 3) for a few minutes, turn over and bake for another few minutes. They're ready when slightly brown at the edges, and brittle and crisps to touch. Leave to cool, then eat!

Might take a bit of trial and error - I ruined 2 batches by over cooking and too high a temperature - but they have a a lovely earthy taste and crunch almost exactly like a potato crisp

HBS x

daska

Well done oops! I'd start by adding in dark green, leafy veg/salad cooked/coated with natural traditional fats (butter, olive oil, lard, some good quality coconut oil etc) because there's actually no need to be as low cal as Cambridge to lose weight and you'll probably find you continue to lose weight but feel better. You can have a huuuuge plateful! Then other above ground veg, eggs, fish, meat, other vegetables, berries, dairy, other fruit, and leave grains til last.

Just to add... it's not just sugar. This is a fascinating article on the efforts to which the junk food manufacturers go to maximise their profits at the expense of their customer's health.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

oopsadaisydoddle

daska wrote: »

Well done oops! I'd start by adding in dark green, leafy veg/salad cooked/coated with natural traditional fats (butter, olive oil, lard, some good quality coconut oil etc) because there's actually no need to be as low cal as Cambridge to lose weight and you'll probably find you continue to lose weight but feel better. You can have a huuuuge plateful! Then other above ground veg, eggs, fish, meat, other vegetables, berries, dairy, other fruit, and leave grains til last.

Just to add... it's not just sugar. This is a fascinating article on the efforts to which the junk food manufacturers go to maximise their profits at the expense of their customer's health.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Thanks again Daska. I know you have probably posted before but there are so many pages now, I wouldn't know where to look - can you give me an idea of a typical days eating for you.

And I know this may sound like a daft question, but what is classed as dark, leafy vegetables? Would this be like cabbage? And spring greens?

Also, I am still continuing with my Beyond Temptation course in the hope that this will enlighten me re: my triggers and reasons for overeating and then when I have lost a bit of weight (if I do), I shall put these techniques into practice.

heartbreak_star

Dark, leafy veg - rocket, baby spinach, chard, lamb's lettuce, watercress

Sure Daska can think of more, but there's a few for a start

HBS x