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So. You wanted to know if Binge Eating as a disorder really existed? YUP. Here you go. Yes, people ‘binge’, overeat, misuse the word… that’s out there. However, others really have a chronic problem with binging that goes beyond occasional overeating and remorse. These are some great descriptions of what binge eaters go through, along with some interesting book recommendations.

94monkeys:

fasterstronger:

Some parts of this article really hit home…

Startling new research has found that the way some people respond to food is very similar to the way substance abusers react to the drugs they’re hooked on. Additionally, a number of experts believe that the level of food addiction in the United States may be epidemic. “Overeating and obesity kill at least 300,000 Americans every year due to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer,” says Mark Gold…

Many talk about craving food; about overdoing it despite the fact that they know how bad it is for their health; about withdrawal symptoms like headaches if they stop eating certain things, like high-sugar sweets,” says Chris E. Stout, executive director of practice and outcomes at Timberline Knolls, a treatment center outside Chicago that helps women overcome eating disorders. And like an alcoholic, a food addict will do anything to get a fix. “We often hear about patients stashing cookies in their shoes, their cars, even in the rafters of their basement,” says Stout…

True story:  From the ages of 9 to 13 I would sneak food from the kitchen and hide it in my room so I could eat without my parents knowing.  In college I would buy tons of junk and only eat it if no one else was around.  To this day, if I buy some sort of junk food and eat it too quickly (say a package of cookies in two days), I will hide the evidence from my roommate.

This is not normal behavior.

I do this too.

I remember my mom used to keep Dove dark chocolates in the freezer and it became like a game to find where she kept them and retrieve one for my sister and one for me. That progressed to, when I was old enough to go to the store, buying candy and smuggling it into my room (I wasn’t allowed to keep it there) to eat it in secret. Even the last time I went home, I found myself tiptoeing into the kitchen to grab a handful of dark chocolate chips.

If you’ve never felt this feeling, the nearest I can describe it for me is the fear that there won’t be enough if I don’t eat this now, that there will never be another Carvel ice cream run or cheeseburger — that I will someday, in some hazy future, go hungry. There’s a panic that takes over. Logically it makes no sense — I live in a country of abundance and a city of 24-hour stores. There is always food available, way more food than I could ever eat, or even want! But I still have to stop myself, when we have group lunches at work, from running down to be the first one to grab a slice or a serving. I have to consciously eat one bite at a time, or set down my sandwich when I find myself rushing.

Sometimes the only thing that works is telling myself, You can have this later. You don’t have to have this now.

I recommended it to fasterstronger but the book The End of Overeating by David Kessler goes into much, much more depth about this from a scientific/ medical point of view. For a more personal perspective, The Weight-Loss Diaries by Courtney Rubin is the most realistic portrayal of losing weight while dealing with disordered eating that I have ever read — so realistic, it’s kind of hard to read at times. Rubin was a Shape columnist who lost somewhere around 50 pounds and even ran a marathon, but struggled with food and feelings all the while. I echo the Amazon reviewer who wrote “I swear it was like she reached into my brain and wrote down all the horrible things I try to pretend aren’t there.”

(Source: fasterstronger)

These tips are pretty fabulous!

1. Always exercise on Monday. This sets the psychological pattern for the week. Along the same lines …

2. If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning. As the day wears on, you’ll find more excuses to skip exercising. Get it checked off your…

kristysfoodandfitness:

visualizemeskinny:

(via fitnfun)

I have a gym membership… but I like this anyways!