Binge Eating and Marriage
Until about a week ago I didn't realize that there was a term for my problem with food. I have been reading about it and realized that this is definitely me.
In the past I have tried several times to get to a healthy weight. Sometimes I actually manage it, but usually due to illness, I get off track and end up back where I am now. So I am going to try again starting today.
My husband is wonderful person but is also addicted to sweets and rich foods. So each time I attempt to eat better he continues to eat normally and I end up feeling deprived. This is not his fault. Totally mine in the fact that I can't seem to control it. It is just hard having the foods around that tempt me.
I have asked him to get on board with me, eating right, etc. He refuses. So I am faced with the challenge of always being around trigger foods but trying to maintain a healthy balance and not binge. I have realized it's not really what I eat that is the problem. It is the amount, I eat. I won't eat all day long and then, suddenly I realize I am hungry, and then eat for 2 hours straight. I am embarrassed to write that down but I need to say it to someone.
I was just wondering if you guys had any helpful tips for me since I will always be around the foods that I really need to cut back on.
My goal is to eat 4 meals a day, so that my blood sugar (hoping that is the right term) stays as even as possible. I am going to concentrate on planning out those meals. Then the biggest problem of all, is not eating after dinner. That is what makes me fail EVERY single time. So I am going to try and come up with some ideas of how to deal with it when I have the cravings, or the urge, or whatever, to binge after dinner.
I need to be accountable so I figured I could say it here since I have no one else to talk to about it.
I think you've already taken the first step, which is reaching out to get the support you need. And I think you're right on track with what you can do to help control your binges.
You said that you tend to not eat all day and then binge later, so I think your idea of aiming for 4 meals throughout the day is a great one. I find that planning them out in advance and cooking in advance can be really helpful. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to have a meal if you know you have to do all the prep, cook it, and then eat, but if you already have it made and portioned out, you just have to heat and eat! Also, I have found that if I cook something and then immediately portion it into single meal tupperware, it's a lot easier to control my portions because I don't have to think about how much I should eat in the moment - it's taken care of already.
In terms of late night cravings, I think you can employ similar techniques to plan out and portion out snacks so that you don't have to feel deprived, but you also can feel in control. Distraction techniques can help, too. If you have a list of things that you could do instead of binging, try doing one of those for 30 minutes and see if that dulls the craving. That was my trick when I was recovering from bulimia - I would tell myself that I could do whatever I wanted, but I had to wait 15 or 30 minutes first. Sometimes I would still end up doing my ED behavior, but a lot of the time, 15 or 30 minutes would be enough to get the impulse under control and think more clearly.
Hope that helps, and feel free to reach out if you want to talk more!
Thank you for responding!
I like the idea of making food and then separating it into portion sizes. That is a huge problem for me because I am so tired by the time I get to eating, it would be much easier to have foods on hand that I know are planned out.
The distraction thing is interesting to me. I will try that. I am in CBT for OCD so I am familiar with sitting with a thought for 20-30 minutes before acting on it. I will definitely use that for my main binge times.
I recently discovered that the stomach medication I have been on for 3 years was supposed to only be for 2 weeks at a time. However, the doctor never told me that, and every doctor since has just been renewing my presciption. So I decided to wean myself off of it this week, and funny thing is, now I am hungry during the day! So I think that will help push me towards eating during the day and I can get better about not eating so much at night.
Thank you for your ideas :-)