Re: what to do when you find ourself compulsively eating again

[Guest guest]

I am not sure if this would help you or not...

When I started doing IE I started to think about what I was feeling

when I binged on food. At first I thought doing this was completely

ridiculious and useless. But after awhile I realized there were some

pretty intense feelings causing my binging. I finally realized that I

was binging as a way to express my anger. I was using it as a tool

to " get back " at the people who made me angry by saying things

like " stop eating " etc...

Anyway after realizing all this I found ways to feel and express my

anger more productively. I have binged in weeks.

Compulsive eating is a real issue for me. With time I have found myself

eating less compulsively. I just try to focus on IE and ask myself what

I am feeling and why I want to eat.

Hope that helps!

K

>

> I absolutely love the idea of intuitive eating. After 17 years of

> battling with an eating disorder and then constantly yo you dieting,

> nothing sounds more peaceful to me. However, I still find myself

> bingeing, A LOT. I know I'm not hungry, but I'm still shoving food

> in. I' still within " normal " weight range, but very rapidly

> approaching the upper limit. What do you guys do when this happens?

>

[Guest guest]

I always tell myself I will journal instead of binge, but it seems

that the binge takes over before I even get the chance to grab a pen

and paper!

> >

> > I absolutely love the idea of intuitive eating. After 17 years

of

> > battling with an eating disorder and then constantly yo you

dieting,

> > nothing sounds more peaceful to me. However, I still find

myself

> > bingeing, A LOT. I know I'm not hungry, but I'm still shoving

food

> > in. I' still within " normal " weight range, but very rapidly

> > approaching the upper limit. What do you guys do when this

happens?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I am still experimenting with this but when I want to

compusively " overeat " I just go right ahead... I am starting to

observe that I have usually satisfied my craving 5 minutes into

the " binge " .

> > >

> > > I absolutely love the idea of intuitive eating. After 17 years

> of

> > > battling with an eating disorder and then constantly yo you

> dieting,

> > > nothing sounds more peaceful to me. However, I still find

> myself

> > > bingeing, A LOT. I know I'm not hungry, but I'm still shoving

> food

> > > in. I' still within " normal " weight range, but very rapidly

> > > approaching the upper limit. What do you guys do when this

> happens?

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

,

It will take some time to bring more awareness to your binging. Like K

suggested one of the best ways to proceed is to discover more about the

emotions and situations that contribute to your compulsion to eat.

Journal after you binge then or at least take the time after the binge

to really delve into the emotions, thoughts, and pressures that led up

to overeating. Journaling or processing after a binge will help you

learn about what you feel like in your body before you binge and help

you work with the thoughts and emotions that lead up to a binge.

Many of us understand. In the beginning, I somehow thought I should be

able to stop myself from going into a overeating episode. I learned

that it doesn't work like that...at least not for me. For me, it's

like once my body gets into a sort of agitated state, there's nothing I

can do to stop an overeating episode...I just have to go through it.

So, it was really helpful for me to take the time after an overeating

episode to feel into what was going on with me in the hours and days

before I overate. I now have much better awareness about what emotions,

thoughts, and situations lead up to overeating for me, so I can work to

prevent my body from getting into such a state in the first place. I

used to go on auto-pilot eating or what I call a eating " blackout " . I

haven't had an episode like that in months since starting IE. When I

over eat or eat for comfort now, I can do it more mindfully without

completely zoning out and feeling the pain and sadness of being out of

control.

Knowing that you're not hungry during these episodes is great. You may

want to say out loud, " I'm not hungry. " or I'm not hungry, so why am I

eating? Whatever, saying works for you to bring more awareness to what

is happening. Responding to your hunger when you have it, is so

important too! There's a way that we can punish or restrict ourselves

after an overeating episode. Even after I overeat, I wait for my

hunger to come back and I respond to it...it's a way to rebuild trust

with your body.

I've actually been overeating more in the last few weeks. So, it's good

for me to respond to your situation to remind myself how far I've come.

I've had a mid-grade level of anxiousness running in me for some weeks

now. I would do well to focus on some relaxation and movement and the

eating for comfort will probably decrease again.

Latoya

>

> I always tell myself I will journal instead of binge, but it seems

> that the binge takes over before I even get the chance to grab a pen

> and paper!