Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

 Hey everyone!

Hope you are all well. Thanks so much for allowing me to discuss some of the issues I have been working through in my life. Today I’d like to talk about Binge Eating Disorder (BED). I’d like to talk about what exactly it is. Real Binge Eating Disorder (diagnosed) is a serious issue and too many times it gets swept under the rug as not serious. If you think you have binge eating disorder I urge you to  talk to someone about it and think about getting trained help. I am not a doctor, nor have I been trained in eating disorder issues. This is something I have experienced in my own life and that is why I can only speak from experience. You should always seek a professionals help if you think you might have an eating disorder.

Binge Eating Disorder – The lowdown

(Source)
 

What I want to stress from personal experience alone is that binge eating disorder is not just a one day thing. Sure, you can have binges once a month that might be out of the ordinary to you. Eating an extra chocolate bar in a week, too many slices of pizza, that extra couple of beers per week – could be over eating to you. But the binge eating disorder that I want to talk about is the one that I’ve experienced. The out of control eating habits not just in a day…but every day for a few months. Eating 3 large pizzas in a day until you get physically ill. Eating 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners, 5 snacks all in the span of a few hours. Eating this way every day until your clothes that fit you perfectly fine last month, no longer fit over your hips. This is the binge eating disorder I know.

According to the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is when “individuals eat excessive amounts of food at one time.” They also state that people with BED do this for two reasons:

1. Because of previous dieting or restriction - a response to hunger

This makes sense to me as I have always been on some sort of diet. At my lowest I was around 110 pounds. At my highest 230+. Until this year it has never really been stable or constant.

2. For comfort - to avoid certain situations, to numb their feelings (using food as a literal drug).

This also makes sense to me. I have been through lots of turbulent times in my life of which I had no control over. I’ve had things happen in my family that should not happen.

Often people with BED:

• * feel ashamed
• *  feel embarrassed
• * Tend to be larger or heavier than the average person.

Symptoms of BED

• Eating excessive amount of food (frequently) in one sitting
• Feeling out of control
• Being unable to stop this pattern of eating
• Gorging or eating very quickly (I could eat a large pizza in a matter of MINUTES)
• Eating in secret (I would often eat in my bedroom… or even worse on my bed)
• Being uncomfortably full (Having to sit on the bathroom floor cuz you’re not sure if you are gonna be sick)
• Guilt (Every morning I woke up feeling guilty or ashamed)
• Fast weight gain

Other

• About 1 in 5 obese people engage in binge eating

If you have been touched by Binge Eating Disorder – if you are struggling now or if you have worked through it, feel free to leave a comment (if you feel comfortable) or email me about it – jocelyneatsfresh@gmail.com These stories encourage me to keep going.

Tagged as: Binge Eating, Eating disorders, Life