Stress and Binge Eating

[Kassia]

I don't even know why I'm posting or what I hope to get out of it...I guess I'm just feeling desperate and need to vent.

Like many of us, I've been under an enormous amount of stress this year and it's just getting worse and worse.  Most of my kids are home this week for the holidays and there is tempting food around (and someone eating) 24/7.  I am usually pretty strict about diet, but I have just fallen apart since Sunday and have been binge eating nonstop.  I'm terrified of how much weight I'll gain.  

To make it worse, I'm scheduled for reconstructive foot surgery in two weeks, which will require a minimum of 6 weeks of non weightbearing.  I normally exercise a lot and that keeps me motivated to eat better.  With not moving, depression over not exercising, and all the holiday foods, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm 50 pounds heavier by January 1st.  I won't be able to start exercising until 6 months post-op.  I've already gained some weight since I got injured six months ago since I can't run anymore.  

I'm really scared.  But all I want to do is keep cramming food in my mouth.  

Thanks for letting me vent.  I don't know where else to go with this.  😞  

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Pull out your toolbox of coping skills—can you go for a walk? Take a bath? Color for a while? Go for a drive? 
 

Stress eating isn’t about eating. It’s about managing stress. 
 

Many hugs to you—and if you haven’t reached out for help from a professional, this is your sign of support for doing so. Vyvanse, an adhd med, is on label for support for binge eating.

Hugs!!

[happi duck]

Many hugs 

I totally understand

 

 

[MooCow]

I have recently lost quite a bit of weight, and ever since I went to a birthday party 3 weeks ago I have been on the sugar train. My other stress reliever is shopping 😔 

Needless to say, I understand. Try not to beat yourself up, life happens and you will get through this. 

[Kassia]

2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Pull out your toolbox of coping skills—can you go for a walk? Take a bath? Color for a while? Go for a drive? 
 

Stress eating isn’t about eating. It’s about managing stress. 
 

Many hugs to you—and if you haven’t reached out for help from a professional, this is your sign of support for doing so. Vyvanse, an adhd med, is on label for support for binge eating.

Hugs!!

No walk because of my injury.  And it's cold - I'm always freezing.  My hypothalamus doesn't work and that affects my appetite, sleep (insomniac), thirst, hunger, mood, sodium levels - everything.  I'm an absolute mess.  Same with a bath - I'd be too cold.  And I'm too depressed to leave the house.  

I desperately need therapy but can't justify the cost.  My medical expenses have been extremely high the last few years.  😞  And I don't even know of a good therapist - I'd hate to waste the money on a bad one.  I need to get my hypothalamus issue resolved first. 

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Babies are born stress eating, so it's a pretty strong program in our brains. 

Get some dates. They're full of sugar, which you feel like you want, will provide a serotonin boost, which is what you really need and are full of fibre so you can't eat many. They're also nice and sticky, which will be annoying if you do something to keep your hands busy, which is the next best thing to exercise if you can't. You're not going to try and eat them while you're crafting or pulling weeds.

[Kassia]

8 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Babies are born stress eating, so it's a pretty strong program in our brains. 

Get some dates. They're full of sugar, which you feel like you want, will provide a serotonin boost, which is what you really need and are full of fibre so you can't eat many. They're also nice and sticky, which will be annoying if you do something to keep your hands busy, which is the next best thing to exercise if you can't. You're not going to try and eat them while you're crafting or pulling weeds.

I have to be careful with fiber since I have very little of my colon left (two colon resections in the past three years).  I do love dates, though!  I used to eat prunes for a sweet fix.  But I'm a bottomless pit - maybe that's the hypothalamus issue - I never get the sensation of being full.  I can easily out eat any of my three sons.  

[Harriet Vane]

Warm hugs for you. 

[Pawz4me]

Does it help if you allow yourself to eat unlimited amounts of something low cal, like air popped popcorn? ETA: Or is the fiber in that a problem, too?

You have my sympathy and empathy. I'm not a stress eater, but age and illness are taking their toll on my weight and body image in recent months. Not fun.

Edited November 23, 2021 by Pawz4me

[Rosie_0801]

14 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I have to be careful with fiber since I have very little of my colon left (two colon resections in the past three years).  I do love dates, though!  I used to eat prunes for a sweet fix.  But I'm a bottomless pit - maybe that's the hypothalamus issue - I never get the sensation of being full.  I can easily out eat any of my three sons.  

Would something else sticky work, for the inconvenience factor? The less you have to rely on willpower that isn't playing nice, the better. 

[Melissa Louise]

Big hugs.

https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/

Recommend. 

 

[GracieJane]

Have you read Brain over Binge? You should read the reviews; people quit binge eating forever, without any diet or therapy.

Brain over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn't Work, and How I Recovered for Good https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984481702/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ME235NFP3CJKVB1Z2YPF

Edited November 23, 2021 by GracieJane

[Kassia]

15 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Does it help if you allow yourself to eat unlimited amounts of something low cal, like air popped popcorn? ETA: Or is the fiber in that a problem, too?

You have my sympathy and empathy. I'm not a stress eater, but age and illness are taking their toll on my weight and body image in recent months. Not fun.

Thanks.  I usually eat popcorn every day.  In fact, that's part of the problem.  I'm a volume eater so I eat everything light - rice cakes (with peanut butter), puffed wheat, popcorn, etc.  in addition to making sure I get lots of protein and some fat to keep me full.  I do well most of the time but the stress, lack of sleep, and having everyone here with all the tempting food out all the time has just broken me.

 

15 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Would something else sticky work, for the inconvenience factor? The less you have to rely on willpower that isn't playing nice, the better. 

I think it's a hand to mouth/oral fixation thing.  I drink and chew gum constantly too.  

 

14 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Big hugs.

https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/

Recommend. 

 

Thank you!  I will take a look! 

 

2 minutes ago, GracieJane said:

Have you read Brain over Binge? You should read the reviews; people quit binge eating forever, without any diet or therapy.

 

Brain over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn't Work, and How I Recovered for Good https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984481702/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ME235NFP3CJKVB1Z2YPF

I've read everything.  It sticks for a while and then I just lose it.  But I keep trying and always get back on track eventually.  I'm just so weary and tired of the constant struggle.  I've been dealing with this since I was a child and I'm 54 now.

[GracieJane]

I‘m sorry, that sounds exhausting. Your brain has been rewired to think huge amounts of food are necessary for survival, so not binge eating when you feel the urge feels like you are fighting something super powerful. The best thing you can do is 1. not diet and 2. detach from the urges. They aren’t you! They are just an automatic misfiring of brain signals that will go away when you ignore them long enough.

[Kassia]

8 minutes ago, GracieJane said:

 The best thing you can do is 1. not diet and 2. detach from the urges. 

Easier said than done!  😛  You're talking about undoing a lifetime of this.  My mom was focused on my weight from the time I was a baby - I can't remember a time it wasn't an issue.  

[Shoeless]

Does exercise help you feel less stressed and anxious? If so, the DDPY program has workouts you can do while sitting in a chair, so you would not have to worry about stress on your foot. The workouts really do get your heart rate up. 

Ddpy.com

[GracieJane]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

Easier said than done!  😛  You're talking about undoing a lifetime of this.  My mom was focused on my weight from the time I was a baby - I can't remember a time it wasn't an issue.  

I understand. It’s good to take a step back and set aside the weight issues, food issues and mom issues. 🙂 Maybe decide to deal with those after Christmas. Right now, just deal with the urges to binge. When you feel like you have to binge (like maybe you are saying ‚**** it, I already messed up so much today, might as well keep eating‘), just remember that’s just a record playing in your brain, it’s not you so just ignore it.

[Catwoman]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

Easier said than done!  😛  You're talking about undoing a lifetime of this.  My mom was focused on my weight from the time I was a baby - I can't remember a time it wasn't an issue.  

I am one of those people who can't eat when I get super stressed, so I'm probably not a good person to offer advice on the food stuff, but I'm trying to think of ways you might be able to burn some calories to maybe help avoid some of the weight gain. Can you do seated upper body exercises? Do you do any weight training? If you build some extra muscle, you'll burn more calories. Also, I know this might sound stupid, but I knew a woman who swore by one of those mini stationary bike things that you put under your desk to pedal while you're sitting -- except she put hers on a table and pedaled with her arms. She said it was pretty good as a mindless way to burn some extra calories while she was watching TV. There are also a lot of chair workouts on YouTube, and you might be able to do the upper body parts even if you can't do the lower body stuff. 

I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time. 😞 

[gardenmom5]

My dd is a voracious reader, and found a link between Dopamine and sugar cravings.  (as a child I had voracious sugar cravings, and when I'm stressed, they will return.)   - she also came around a suspected link between ADD and dopamine.

as an experiment - I bought a thing of Mucuna Pruriens  (I bought from Double Wood, but there are other brands.).   It does seem to have helped with the low level depression (in addition to the 5HTP.)

I also found a good quality b-complex very important when super stressed.

[Kassia]

6 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Does exercise help you feel less stressed and anxious? If so, the DDPY program has workouts you can do while sitting in a chair, so you would not have to worry about stress on your foot. The workouts really do get your heart rate up. 

Ddpy.com

I've been able to do seated workouts in the past for injuries (broken foot, ankle, etc.) but for this recovery, I need to have my foot elevated (toes over nose) for six full weeks at least.  I'll try to figure out how to use resistance bands in that position for upper body.  But that certainly won't give me the endorphin boost that I desperately need.  

 

[MooCow]

Can you Do hand weights ?

[Kassia]

1 minute ago, MooCow said:

Can you Do hand weights ?

Yes, but only from the lying down position.  I'll be pretty limited.   

[gardenmom5]

One other thing I observed about my own sugar cravings - I was tired and my body was really craving sleep.  I'd eat sugar to keep me awake.

[Melissa Louise]

I find that higher fat is more satisfying (emotionally and physically) for me than a lot of lower fat food. 

Greek yoghurt is good. I put a little honey over it, and eat with a teaspoon. I think it's fulfilling an oral need too. 

Generally, I overeat when I feel fear.

Fear is almost never the primary driving emotion though. There's normally something under it - usually anger or sadness. Sometimes getting through the anxiety into the real emotion helps. Sometimes I think I eat instead of crying. When I can cry, I don't need to eat as much. 

It's really hard. More hugs, cos why not?

[prairiewindmomma]

If you aren’t aware of this free resource: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/free-low-cost-support

They have a free support hotline and other info. 
 

Hugs!!

[Kassia]

30 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

One other thing I observed about my own sugar cravings - I was tired and my body was really craving sleep.  I'd eat sugar to keep me awake.

I am chronically exhausted due to insomnia and I do suspect that my body craves certain foods because of that.

 

23 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

I find that higher fat is more satisfying (emotionally and physically) for me than a lot of lower fat food. 

Greek yoghurt is good. I put a little honey over it, and eat with a teaspoon. I think it's fulfilling an oral need too. 

Generally, I overeat when I feel fear.

Fear is almost never the primary driving emotion though. There's normally something under it - usually anger or sadness. Sometimes getting through the anxiety into the real emotion helps. Sometimes I think I eat instead of crying. When I can cry, I don't need to eat as much. 

It's really hard. More hugs, cos why not?

I also find that more fat is very satisfying and am careful to eat it regularly.  Thank you for the extra hugs!  ❤️ 

 

8 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

If you aren’t aware of this free resource: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/free-low-cost-support

They have a free support hotline and other info. 
 

Hugs!!

Thank you - I will definitely look into this!  

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

Yes, but only from the lying down position.  I'll be pretty limited.   

Maybe you should go Frida Kahlo and take up painting.

[Ausmumof3]

I don’t have good solutions.  Nature time is good if you can get it.  I’m sorry life is so stressful right now.

[Melissa Louise]

This sounds dumb, but there's some evidence that imagining yourself exercising can actually help mimic some of the effects of exercise. So maybe you can do imaginary workouts while you're laid up. 

[Kassia]

1 minute ago, Melissa Louise said:

This sounds dumb, but there's some evidence that imagining yourself exercising can actually help mimic some of the effects of exercise. So maybe you can do imaginary workouts while you're laid up. 

I can do that!  🙂 

 

[MooCow]

I don't think that's dumb @Melissa Louise

[Katy]

I have not at all mastered this, I have terrible food habits, but I’m going through an audiobook that seems to help. It’s Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Emotional Eating: Set Yourself Free from Binge Eating and Comfort Eating. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it, and it is a bit repetitive, but it’s about the ways we are tricked into thinking emotional eating helps when it actually doesn’t help at all. The idea is to change your thinking and to genuinely not want to eat junk anymore, rather than willpower yourself into limits. 

[MEmama]

I don’t have any advice, just lots of virtual ((hugs)).
You are an incredibly strong woman, Kassia, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

[mathnerd]

I hope that this does not sound weird:

- when I am stress eating, something I do to control it is to implement Intermittent Fasting at an earlier time for the day: I usually set my phone alarm at 3:00 pm and tell myself that I can eat all that I want until the alarm goes off and beyond that time, I only get to drink black tea/coffee or sparkling water both of which are appetite suppressants for me. This gives me time to eat all that I want, restricts what I can eat because I have a shorter window to binge while not making me emotional about deprivation and I have advanced warning about when I need to stop eating. 

- I also eat foods that are higher on the satiety index first before snacking so that I don't feel hungry later in the day: https://www.diabetesnet.com/food-diabetes/satiety-index/

- I drink a lot of water with chia seeds soaked in them which further makes me full and unable to binge.

- I walk away from eating areas of the house where there are sights and smells of food after my alarm goes off. I brush my teeth after that which makes me stop eating anything else.

 

[footballmom]

Big hugs to you.  I am also one who tries to eat their feelings.  

[Kassia]

46 minutes ago, Katy said:

I have not at all mastered this, I have terrible food habits, but I’m going through an audiobook that seems to help. It’s Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Emotional Eating: Set Yourself Free from Binge Eating and Comfort Eating. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it, and it is a bit repetitive, but it’s about the ways we are tricked into thinking emotional eating helps when it actually doesn’t help at all. The idea is to change your thinking and to genuinely not want to eat junk anymore, rather than willpower yourself into limits. 

Thank you - I will look for it.  I think I've read at least 100 books on disordered eating and binge eating.  I know all about it - just need to figure out how to stop it.  I can go months without it happening and then I just fall apart.  

 

36 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I don’t have any advice, just lots of virtual ((hugs)).
You are an incredibly strong woman, Kassia, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

Thank you.  This made me cry (which isn't saying much - I've never been a crier until the past month or so and now I cry daily) but it means a lot that you think that. 

20 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

 

 

[Kassia]

23 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

I hope that this does not sound weird:

- when I am stress eating, something I do to control it is to implement Intermittent Fasting at an earlier time for the day: I usually set my phone alarm at 3:00 pm and tell myself that I can eat all that I want until the alarm goes off and beyond that time, I only get to drink black tea/coffee or sparkling water both of which are appetite suppressants for me. This gives me time to eat all that I want, restricts what I can eat because I have a shorter window to binge while not making me emotional about deprivation and I have advanced warning about when I need to stop eating. 

- I also eat foods that are higher on the satiety index first before snacking so that I don't feel hungry later in the day: https://www.diabetesnet.com/food-diabetes/satiety-index/

- I drink a lot of water with chia seeds soaked in them which further makes me full and unable to binge.

- I walk away from eating areas of the house where there are sights and smells of food after my alarm goes off. I brush my teeth after that which makes me stop eating anything else.

 

It doesn't sound weird at all.  Everyone has their own tricks.  Mine is actually the opposite.  I plan small snacks all day long because I have a terrible fear of hunger.  So I always know there is more food coming within two hours.  Always.  If I knew I had to stop for the day, I'd freak out because of that fear of hunger.  But knowing I have a protein bar at 4pm and then eggs at 6pm and yogurt at 8pm (just examples) helps me so much.  

 

14 minutes ago, footballmom said:

Big hugs to you.  I am also one who tries to eat their feelings.  

Thank you.  I'm sorry you have a similar struggle.

[MercyA]

Just chiming in to offer more hugs and tell you that I get it. I also struggle with binge eating and have for most of my life. I'm at the age now where I really do have to get a handle on this somehow. I appreciate the thread.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, MercyA said:

Just chiming in to offer more hugs and tell you that I get it. I also struggle with binge eating and have for most of my life. I'm at the age now where I really do have to get a handle on this somehow. I appreciate the thread.

Aw, big hugs to you too.  ❤️  It is so discouraging and baffling to keep going back to something we desperately don't want to do.  😞  I'll never understand it.  It's like I lose control of my brain for a while and then come back and have such deep regrets over what I've done but it's too late.