Struggling with normal eating

[Senso]

Hello everyone. So..I would say that I haven't had a full on binge for atleast 4 months. HOWEVER, I still often experience struggles with food-I often eat way past the point of fullness and sometimes snack too much. I feel as if I still have quite a bad habit of eating way more than my body needs. I will go for 2 weeks eating well and not having any problems and then suddenly I will start struggling with food again, though not binging, still eating way too much. Kathryn said in her book that after she stopped binging she could easily return to normal eating. For me, it is not this simple because I overeat so much that it's slowing down my recovery. For Kathryn there was a fine line between normal and not normal but not for me. I need to truly teach myself normal portion sizes so I can be satesfied more often and to ignore thoughts that tell me I'm still not eating enough etc...is anyone having a similar experience? Is anyone recovered from binge eating but still really struggling with over eating? Can I now use the same technique I used to stop binging, to help me eat normally?

[Nomorebinging]

First of all congratulations on getting to 4 months that is an amazing achievement! For me I am so happy to be on just 1 month free of a major binge at the moment. However, I do know what you mean regarding overeating but not binging and think there are many components to this:

1) In my opinion the principle of habit formation that KH talks about can be applied to overeating as well. In her new book she includes a scientific explanation for why a binge eater's response to eating high calorie foods is upregulated compared to non bingers. I can see this in my own recovery - When I have a cookie, for example, my brain will immediately pop up with the message of wanting another one and sometimes it seems like I don't have a choice and desperately need to go for the second. Recently I have given in a lot to these cravings but know that if I dismiss these thoughts that they will eventually go away.
2) Allowing time to pass between each food craving in order to decide whether you truly want more to eat is crucial. Shall I go up for more chips? However I find that if I am doing something mind numbing such as watching TV this is a lot more difficult. Even sitting on the sofa doing nothing but allowing those urges to pass through until they are gone is more effective.
3) Reviewing and improving your eating pattern may be of benefit. For example, I find it really helpful portioning out food on a plate and eating dinner with my husband at a set time. Having someone there to support and help me on this journey is truly amazing. Although this is not necessary for binge eating recovery it may be more important for overeating patterns.
4) I am no expert but you are only 4 months into your recovery and these up regulated binge / food related thoughts will diminish the more you dismiss them in your mind.

Hope this helps - stay in touch with your recovery progress

[Isabel]

Hi!

I totally hear you. And maybe it's allowed to recommend another book. I am binge free for 4 months now (YaAAaAyy), and I give credit to a few books that I read - altogether they put things into the right place for me. That were

- Eating Less: Say Goodbye to Overeating
Riley, Gillian --> she changed my view about WHY it makes sense to stop overaeting, shifted my focus from the outward (what do I look like?) to the inward (is that good for me?). In the last part she is somehow a bit too rigurous (If you eat something sugary, that's always a sign of you're eating out of addiction), this is why I took the first piece of "wisdom" from there and wen on looking for the second part - which I found in
- The Rules of "Normal" Eating: A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between), Koenig, Karen R. --> for me that was the next step: After the decision I want to be well & healthy - now: not to care about what is considered "normal". Karen Koenig explaines what normal eating is (that what most troubled eaters are looking for) and that perhaps is something you wouldn't want - or that you don't want "normal", but eating with inner peace. She shows you how to achieve this stillness - by acknowledging and then satisfying 1-hunger, 2-craving and 3-do this out of the strong conviction that self-care is good and makes your life still and joyful. All that taken with a good pinch of humour and love for her writers, I loved it and it changed my life.

I really don't want to advertise other books here, but I believe out of experience that most of the time solitions are made out of different pieces. For me that were two.

Hugs!

[Marjie]

Hi
Four months without a binge is terriffic. I am only 12 days however after searching for FORTY years I know I have found my truth.
I tend to think "less is more" and feel very guilty if I overeat.. Overeating can be a set-up for the "lower brain" to start up good and hard.
The fact that you feel you overeat but do not binge is quite an accomplishment
The phrase that helps me the most is repeating to myself- "eat adequately"
When I choose to eat something I ask that question and also remind myself I don't have to eat PERFECTLY, just adequately. This removes a tremedous
pressure to not "mess up"
I came from weighing all my food at all times and I'm surprised at how easily I can maneuver eating adequately. So there is HOPE.
Dissecting the voice that is perhaps whispering in your ear to "keep eating" even though you are full is a voice you can choose not to act or react to, just like
the Binge Urge.
I have been keeping a blog too which helps me observe my daily patterns.
Keep Sharing!