Re: Permission to Overeat?

[Guest guest]

Hey Styx,

I am feeling your frustration! I know everyone has different meanings

when they say they binge or overate. What is your definition of the

two? That might help you decide where you are tonight and why you are

feeling this way. At least then you can give it a name and you can

yell at it instead of yourself!

My definition of binging is an out of control feeling when I am

eating. I may not even " overeat " when I binge, but I definitely know

I am not hungry, and that the food represents something else entirely

different that sustenance for hunger. My binges are to try to make me

feel different on the inside when I am done than how I felt when I

started.

Overeating (for me) is when I sit down with the intention to feed a

hungry stomach and eat more than I know I needed to sustain my

hunger.

I wonder, how does everyone else define a " binge " and " overeating? "

Please share!

Bonnie

>

> Tonight I think " Why fighting the urge to overeat? It's so

draining. I

> can't do this anymore! "

>

> I just prepared a plate with cake. I don't know if I will eat it

all.

> Well, I guess the answer is yes because the evening is not over.

>

> I remember some people on here writing that it is " impossible to

binge "

> for them now. I don't know how this can happen. And I feel some

envy of

> course. How is it possible to not be able to binge anymore? (Well,

maybe

> it's like not being able to diet anymore and that is something I can

> understand.)

>

> I wonder if I confuse bingeing with overeating.

>

> Regards

> s.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Styxia,

Well, I can only speak from my personal experience, as someone who

used to overeat on a regular basis AND I also used to binge about

once every week or two.

Like most people new to Intuitive Eating, it tooks me a while, about

two weeks as I recall, to " hear " my body's signals telling me it was

full. Over the years, I had learned to override that signal and not

even hear it.

But once I became more tuned into my body and DID hear the signal, I

learned I did not enjoy the physical sensations that came with eating

beyond that feeling - feeling bloated, sick to my stomach, etc. It

was the same with eating to numb my emotions. Once I became aware of

doing it, I no longer wanted to do it because I realized the " side

effects " of doing it were unpleasant - feeling depressed and like a

victim.

For me, bingeing was related to numbing my emotions, but BIG

emotions, not the every day minor ups and downs. Through Intuitive

Eating, I have learned of other ways to deal with these emotions, and

so I choose those over bingeing because they are more effective and

do not leave me feeling sick to my stomach and hating myself.

Believe me, I am not saying I NEVER eat beyond fullness. There are

still certain situations where I may eat a few bites beyond fullness

(and pay for it later with not feeling well!), such as having a few

extra bites left on the plate and not wanting to throw food away or

bother to wrap it up, but the majority of the time I do not overeat

because I just don't like the way I feel afterward.

>

> Tonight I think " Why fighting the urge to overeat? It's so

draining. I

> can't do this anymore! "

>

> I just prepared a plate with cake. I don't know if I will eat it

all.

> Well, I guess the answer is yes because the evening is not over.

>

> I remember some people on here writing that it is " impossible to

binge "

> for them now. I don't know how this can happen. And I feel some

envy of

> course. How is it possible to not be able to binge anymore? (Well,

maybe

> it's like not being able to diet anymore and that is something I can

> understand.)

>

> I wonder if I confuse bingeing with overeating.

>

> Regards

> s.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, me again! I just wanted to add one more point. I said I rarely

overeat or binge anymore because I have found more effective ways to

deal with my emotions (that don't leave me feeling depressed or like

a victim) and I don't like the way I feel when I overeat or binge

(sick, bloated, tired).

But the other part of that equation is I also learned through

Intuitive Eating how to make peace with my binge foods by eating them

to my heart's content for as long as I needed to in order to no

longer see them as forbidden foods. And so it makes it much easier to

avoid " last supper " eating mentality and overeating when I know I can

have those foods whenever I want.

>

> Tonight I think " Why fighting the urge to overeat? It's so

draining. I

> can't do this anymore! "

>

> I just prepared a plate with cake. I don't know if I will eat it

all.

> Well, I guess the answer is yes because the evening is not over.

>

> I remember some people on here writing that it is " impossible to

binge "

> for them now. I don't know how this can happen. And I feel some

envy of

> course. How is it possible to not be able to binge anymore? (Well,

maybe

> it's like not being able to diet anymore and that is something I can

> understand.)

>

> I wonder if I confuse bingeing with overeating.

>

> Regards

> s.

>

[Guest guest]

Oh I think about this all the time!

After I started thinking about it it was not very difficult for me to

seperate overeating vs. binging.

For me, binging is usually done in private. Underlying emotions are

guilt, shame and exhileration. But while I am planning to binge and

then while I am binging the dominant emotion is happiness. There is a

sense of needing to binge, and relief as well as exhileration as I am

binging.

I also feel rebellous. Like screw you " x " person I am eating and doing

what I want anyways! ; )

But afterwards there is always guilt and shame.

I never look at the food I am eating to tell me if I am binging.

Interestingly I would not say these binges would qualify as what

clinicians would classify as binging or even overeating. Usually it

involves eating a " taboo " food like a bag of chips.

I am still working on being an IE but I have definitely noticed that it

has helped me with my tendency to binge.

When I allow myself to eat what I want and then when I want I don't

hide any shame, guilt or anger to let loose later in a binge.

good luck!

[Guest guest]

I think you could be onto something - overeating can be even just a

single bite too much, while bingeing is like this unstoppable drive to

EAT, usually directed towards 'forbidden' foods. Perhaps its the

'forbidden foods' that is your biggest challenge? I know I still fight

the 'guilts' over candy and snacking in evenings while watching TV.

But that's more like overeating than mad binge.

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

> I remember some people on here writing that it is " impossible to binge "

> for them now. I don't know how this can happen. And I feel some envy of

> course. How is it possible to not be able to binge anymore? (Well, maybe

> it's like not being able to diet anymore and that is something I can

> understand.)

>

> I wonder if I confuse bingeing with overeating.

>

> Regards

> s.

>

[Guest guest]

For me bingeing is when the Zombee takes over and eats and eats and

eats usually many different items.

Overeating is eating too much at a meal. Like last night I went out

with friends and ordered nachos and over ate....ate more then my body

needed.

Now if I had of stopped by the store on the way home and got ice cream

or cookies and eaten them tooooooooooo that would have been a binge for

me anyway.