ice cream

Are you a binge eater? Nothing to be ashamed to admit. You are amongst friends. I was a binge eater and I started young.  Let me clarify that I am not the kind of binge and purge kind of binge-er. I am the eat everything sweet or carbohydrate in the house  kind of eater. Or I should say I was.

I have kicked that habit right out the door and I am a better person, or I’d like to think I am. Heck, haven’t we all binged a few times?  My typical binging always had the TV involved. Boy, there was nothing like a cold, snowy day; a good movie on and a bowl of popcorn and pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  Then after I consumed that, I would rip open the pantry doors searching for something else. Usually I would make my own chocolate chip cookie dough (without eggs) and eat it raw. Yup, then the guilt would come.

When I was younger I could get away with the typical binge but now that I am older, I cannot without the added weight gain. Binging had to end.

This is from Wikipedia, You know you are a binge eater if:

• Feels disgusted, depressed, or guilty after binge eating.
• Eats an unusually large amount of food at one time, far more than a regular person would eat.
• Eats much more quickly during binge episodes than during normal eating episodes.
• Eats until physically uncomfortable and nauseated due to the amount of food consumed.
• Eats when bored or depressed
• Eats large amounts of food even when not really hungry.
• Often eats alone during periods of normal eating, owing to feelings of embarrassment about food.

How I resolved my binge eating.

I knew I had to get a grip on my binge eating. It was becoming a growing problem and I had to face it once and for all.  I did some researching and women  are more likely to do it than men; usually has to do with depressions, loneliness or boredom; and you can learn from parents if they are binge eaters.

It seems pretty ridiculous that I was binge eating. I wasn’t depressed or lonely, but maybe I was bored. After all, binge eating isn’t really a group activity and I eat like a bird when I am at social functions. Well, unless it’s at the Christmas buffet where I go a little crazy on the sugary desserts. Oh well, that’s only one day a year. Why I really think I was binging is, I was having my own personal party with no one around to judge.

• So, I stopped eating in front of the TV.
• I eat smaller portions of healthy foods.
• I do not eat (or try not to eat) sweets.
• I do not snack unless it is a stalk of celery.
• I do not eat popcorn or chips.
• I no longer eat peanut butter in fact it is not even allowed in the house. (That’s my gateway food.)
• If I serve ice cream or pie after dinner, the leftover is sent to my neighbor’s house.
• I do not stare at the chocolate bars in the checkout line especially the Reese’s Chocolate and Peanut butter or take them home.

Because my willpower is at it’s lowest at night, I had to eliminate most of the sweets in the house or I will get up in the middle of the night and eat them. This is because I have cut my calorie intake to an all time low so I am usually hungry and will go to the freezer, pull out the pint of ice cream and with just spoon directly in to the container, eat it all in front of the TV.  Ugh!  Sometimes I don’t like ME.

It did take loads of practice but I kicked the habit and no longer automatically reach for something sweet or salty to eat while I watch TV. In fact, it sort has taken away the sport of TV watching which resulted in the many hours of TV I watch. Well heck, it’s not that much fun anymore now that I don’t binge. Funny how that worked. Hmmmm