Anyone with a long-standing history?

[cici007]

Hello,

I have been a binge eater since I was about five years old (I'm now 32) and was curious to know if any of you who may be binge eaters also started overeating in childhood. I read a lot about people developing it later on, but I have always hoped to find someone who is similar to my history. All I remember is sneaking food and eating it until I was absolutely stuffed all of the time. It had a sedating effect.

I am now taking steps to address the habit to be able to eradicate it once and for all. Any attempts in the past have leaned more toward anorexia (swearing off of entire food groups and severely limiting calories/obsessing over everything with lists, etc.), but as I get older, I find that I'm not so much interested in compensating for a binge through exercise or extrreme dieting in the days following. As a result, I've gained quite a lot and have ~70 lbs to lose (over the past three years).

I've just joined Weight Watchers, started journaling to notice patterns of which foods or emotions seem to trigger me (for instance, if I eat a large piece of cake on a Saturday night or a lot of sushi--anything high glycemic-- the next three days are marked by severe cravings for similar flour-y/fatty foods), and also am taking up yoga. I'll beat this yet!

Cici

[cici007]

Thanks so much for your comment. While I'm not glad others have had to deal with this their whole lives, it is comforting to know that I'm not some freak anomaly. I have ordered your book (it's how I found these boards), and look forward to delving in. There are many suspected reasons why I tend toward binge eating (stressful childhood, narcissistic and absent parents, etc.), but I believe that seeing them outlined in print will be better than any self-guessing and ruminating I've done in the past.

Thanks so much for writing this book. I  remarked to my boyfriend yesterday who's been with me through a lot of this, that it's really great that someone with an educated and experienced background has chosen to specialize in this field and share his knowledge with the public. It is really appreciated. It's rare to find someone who understands binge eating behavior, and even rarer to find someone whose expertise in it can help guide me to a new way of thinking and behaving.

I look forward to receiving your book, and getting to work.

Cheers.
Cici

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am glad you are determined to beat this now, and weight watchers is great. but you have to go further than looking at the patterns of what you eat in order to look at the real source, which is WHY you eat too much.  It's especially important for you to be successful now because you are ready.  And, yes, at least half of the people who binge start sneaking food in childhood.