In chatting with various friends in all sizes of large I've become curious about the role that bingeing fills. Some who are quite large admit to bingeing being a problem with them and it being something over which they have no control. Others who are equally large state they have no problem with bingeing. A review of the medical websites finds two types of Bingeing:
Deprivation-sensitive binge eating arises out of excessive dieting or food restriction;
Addictive or dissociative binge eating is the practice of self-medicating or self-soothing with behaviors that typically evoke feelings of emotional tranquility or numbness.
I suspect that many have eaten at times either as a reaction to restricting ourselves or having been restricted from eating. And again, I suspect that each of us have "self-medicated" or "self-soothed" with food since that's what "Comfort Foods" are about. But, those sorts of eating are clearly not true Bingeing.
Again, with reference to the medical websites:
It is important to understand that not all people with binge-eating disorder are overweight, that not all overeaters are binge eaters, and that being overweight, even to the point of obesity, does not qualify a person as a binge eater.
The behaviors involved with binge eating are compulsive in nature, and typically signify a sense of inflexibility and excess, not only in the area of food consumption, but also in other life spheres as well. At times, and under certain circumstances, we all eat too much, too fast and too often. yet, we are not all binge eaters. Excessive behaviors do not qualify as binges unless their function is to reduce or contain anxiety (resolving emotional problems,) and they are experienced as frequent, unavoidable, and beyond the control of the person bingeing.
Having chatted quite recently with a good friend who is an exceptionally fat woman and hearing she had been ill I asked what was wrong. She related that as a result of a binge continuing for more than one full day she had been in significant physical pain for a few days afterwards and continuing physical discomfort and emotional pain for several additional days. When I asked if this was something she'd experienced before she admitted it had happened periodically in the past and seemed to just get worse over time.
As I chatted with other fat friends afterwards, curious about whether this sort of bingeing was common and asked them if they had ever binged I was shocked to discover that many (but not all) admitted that they occasionally or even regularly binged. However, their experiences in when and how they binged and the effects afterwards were so different that I wondered: how pervasive bingeing is; how frequently bingers binge; what it's like during the binge; and finally how do the bingers feel afterwards.
Interestingly, to me, the medical websites I reviewed all consider bingeing to be a serious eating disorder, like bulimia and anorexia, but not as severe as bulimia and anorexia because it's not about hating one's body.
To start the discussion I've found that when I'm restricting my eating more than my body/brain will tolerate my body tends to fight back by me eating much more than I would like, and without much apparent control over it even though I know as I'm doing it that I really shouldn't and will be miserable about it when it's done. What I eat is usually fatty things and carbs and I'll keep eating for far longer than usual. Usually it happens at night and it's Always secret eating, not shared with others. If I'm under stress or upset the binges come more easily. Afterwards I always hate that I've done it because I rarely enjoy the eating done during the binge as much as I usually enjoy eating. Also, if I'm feeling down I tend to eat a lot more comfort foods, eschewing new and interesting foods for old favorites.
So, out of an abounding curiosity, I'm interested in what others experiences with bingeing are.
Deprivation-sensitive binge eating arises out of excessive dieting or food restriction;
Addictive or dissociative binge eating is the practice of self-medicating or self-soothing with behaviors that typically evoke feelings of emotional tranquility or numbness.
I suspect that many have eaten at times either as a reaction to restricting ourselves or having been restricted from eating. And again, I suspect that each of us have "self-medicated" or "self-soothed" with food since that's what "Comfort Foods" are about. But, those sorts of eating are clearly not true Bingeing.
Again, with reference to the medical websites:
It is important to understand that not all people with binge-eating disorder are overweight, that not all overeaters are binge eaters, and that being overweight, even to the point of obesity, does not qualify a person as a binge eater.
The behaviors involved with binge eating are compulsive in nature, and typically signify a sense of inflexibility and excess, not only in the area of food consumption, but also in other life spheres as well. At times, and under certain circumstances, we all eat too much, too fast and too often. yet, we are not all binge eaters. Excessive behaviors do not qualify as binges unless their function is to reduce or contain anxiety (resolving emotional problems,) and they are experienced as frequent, unavoidable, and beyond the control of the person bingeing.
Having chatted quite recently with a good friend who is an exceptionally fat woman and hearing she had been ill I asked what was wrong. She related that as a result of a binge continuing for more than one full day she had been in significant physical pain for a few days afterwards and continuing physical discomfort and emotional pain for several additional days. When I asked if this was something she'd experienced before she admitted it had happened periodically in the past and seemed to just get worse over time.
As I chatted with other fat friends afterwards, curious about whether this sort of bingeing was common and asked them if they had ever binged I was shocked to discover that many (but not all) admitted that they occasionally or even regularly binged. However, their experiences in when and how they binged and the effects afterwards were so different that I wondered: how pervasive bingeing is; how frequently bingers binge; what it's like during the binge; and finally how do the bingers feel afterwards.
Interestingly, to me, the medical websites I reviewed all consider bingeing to be a serious eating disorder, like bulimia and anorexia, but not as severe as bulimia and anorexia because it's not about hating one's body.
To start the discussion I've found that when I'm restricting my eating more than my body/brain will tolerate my body tends to fight back by me eating much more than I would like, and without much apparent control over it even though I know as I'm doing it that I really shouldn't and will be miserable about it when it's done. What I eat is usually fatty things and carbs and I'll keep eating for far longer than usual. Usually it happens at night and it's Always secret eating, not shared with others. If I'm under stress or upset the binges come more easily. Afterwards I always hate that I've done it because I rarely enjoy the eating done during the binge as much as I usually enjoy eating. Also, if I'm feeling down I tend to eat a lot more comfort foods, eschewing new and interesting foods for old favorites.
So, out of an abounding curiosity, I'm interested in what others experiences with bingeing are.
