Biggest Binger Contest!?

My entry to the Biggest Binger Contest: a HUGE (980 calories, 7 servings) bag of cheddar corn puffs from TJ's, eaten compulsively in one sitting this evening.

(I wish the corn puffs were heavier. I did at least 1500 reps of some kind of arm curl as I reached into the bag and then up to my mouth.)

Anyone else had a huge binge on something recently? Feel free to submit your entries...

Mon. Apr 3, 10:35pm

well, my husband is currently scarfing down a huge bowl of popcorn that I am resisting... though he is not on peertrainer... or a diet...

Monday, April 3, 2006, 10:36 PM

Well, after dinner out on Friday, I didn't feel full... I had a soy chai at the coffee shop (120 calories) and also came home and had two "lite" english muffins with margarine and jelly (350 calories), two granola bars (240 calories) with peanut butter (200 calories) and a handfull of Life cereal (50 calories). Yeah, that was not good. I allow myself a splurge on the weekends, but that is just ridiculous. Thank you for sharing this post. I know the behavior is negative, but at least I have company.

Monday, April 3, 2006, 10:53 PM

How about 16 Timbits? (doughnut holes) I did that Sunday, I can't believe I ate that many. I was just going to have 4, but couldn't stop. It was about 900 calories total.

Monday, April 3, 2006, 11:13 PM

I'm not trying to be rude.....but how does this thread benefit anyone?

Binge eating is very serious and addictive for some......I think the discussion should focus on overcoming the behavior rather than celebrating it through a biggest eater contest.

Monday, April 3, 2006, 11:39 PM

i think it hold people accountable and able to make better decisions next time...most people who binge are ashamed and hide it and then do it again

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 8:20 AM

I posted my little binge earlier and would like to add positive comments about how I am trying to overcome this. Perhaps contest was a poor word choice for the subject of this thread. I am not trying to out-eat anyone. However, it makes me feel supported knowing other people are out there who do these small binges, even on (sometimes) healthy food.

Yes it is a negative behavior, and an unhealthy relationship with food. I realize I am "feeding" some other emotion and not actually my body. I haven't discovered what I am feeding yet, but will be going to therapy soon to try and figure it out.

Typically I have lots of willpower and stick to my calorie goal 5-6 days a week, but once I let go and tell myself to eat what I want, it's almost impossible to stop. Any suggestions on how to maybe stop midway through the bag rather than finish the whole thing? What do you say to yourself to stop? (I keep almost no snack foods in the house, but I will overeat anything... even nuts and granola bars add up quickly.)

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 9:46 AM

Just a suggestion - make a "rule" for yourself that you'll never eat directly out of the bag. You can pour cheese puffs, or whatever, into a bowl or mug, or onto a paper towel. Sure, it's a little messier to clean up, but isn't that better than weighing too much? The best way, though, is to put everything in 1-portion-sized baggies as soon as you get home from the grocery store. Even cereal. Then everything is pre-measured, and you can grab one serving and go sit down and eat it, and if you want more, you'll have to get up to get it. But more likely, you'll be able to stop at one. It's especially easier to stop at one when it's in serving-sized portions, as opposed to munching out of the whole bag. Also, don't let yourself eat standing up. Make yourself sit down. That way, you can't graze out of the fridge or pantry.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 11:15 AM

someone also recently suggested in a different thread getting a bunch of measuring cups and leaving one in each bag so that it is really, really easy to measure out a portion size. This goes with not eating out of the bag - you measure it out, pour it onto a plate or into a bowl or whatever, and it makes logging accurately way easier, too. I haven't done it yet, but mostly because I haven't made it to the store to get the measuring cups, but I am planning to.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 11:24 AM

Benefits...

In response to the 4/3/06, 11:39pm poster, I see what you are saying as far as binging being a very serious problem. But i'm guessing the original poster just wanted to know she wasn't alone.

I know i feel that way some times. I see these beautiful, extremely fit people out in public and wonder if they ever eat anything bad for them. I wonder if i'm normal to have cravings. I once went to a nutrition session where the presenter said that when her and her husband want to order pizza they make sure they eat a head of brocoli before it arrives to prevent them from over eating on the pizza. Come on! Do people really do that? If so, kudos to you. But, aren't you ordering the pizza for a reason!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 12:27 PM

Actually, I recently started snacking on raw veggies before dinner. A baggie full of cauliflower and broccoli and carrots does a lot of good. I feel like it satisfies my desire to chew a lot of food, it is very filling, it actually makes me say "Gah, I can't take another bite" and boy does my dinner taste good afterward.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 12:40 PM

Thank you, OP

I applaud you for starting this thread. One of my biggest obstacles is the GUILT I feel after "cheating" on the diet (as I sit here with chips, btw), and it is helpful to know that I'm not alone. It sucks to feel like you are the only one who messes up...
It also sucks you ate the whole bag of whatever it is you ate, but once won't kill you...everyday is a new day!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 5:35 PM

I know binge eating is a problem, but it sure makes me feel better to know that I'm not alone when I do it. :) This thread made me laugh, so thanks to the original poster!

My most recent binge..... about 3/4 of a sleeve of those dang Girl Scout Cookies, Thin Mints. The positive part of thisthough is .. i used to eat the whole sleeve. :) I am learning more self control!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 8:57 PM

One of my group members once congratulated me on not binging -- even though ALL of my binges were written down -- because they weren't on chocolate or junk food. But that doesn't mean I don't binge. Last week I ate an entire large head of baked cauliflower and some broccoli on the side, in ONE sitting! Burp.

neon

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 9:46 PM

Here's another idea for the binging (and I'm one who likes eating cereal out of the box!)

I have one of those little "custard cups" It holds 6 oz. which is about the serving size of many snacks. pour my cereal in there and I'm less tempted to scarf down the whole box.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 11:09 PM

I just don't think of pigging out on vegetable as binging, but perhaps I'm wrong. I guess if you are eating till you are overfilled, it's binging. I once at a whole pound bad of those little carrots. Boy did my stomach hurt.

Cookies are dangerous for me because that's when I will binge if I have a bag or box of those. Not proud of it and I haven't done it lately because I am just not buying those boxes or bags any more. I just don't dare bring it in to the house.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 6:50 AM

Oh trust me, if you're trying to keep calories around 1200-1400, and you eat another 800 calories of cauliflower after that, it's binging! Exactly like eating a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies.

Me, I don't keep peanut butter in the house. Cookies, Ice Cream, no problem. Extra crunchy Jif peanut butter? I'm grabbing the spoon to eat straight out of the jar!

neon

Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 8:13 AM

Keeping the foods I binge on out of the house has helped me lose weight (I am at my goal weight now). I can also most of the time stick to one or two servings.

But I feel like getting rid of the food or overstuffing myself on broccoli and cauliflower is NOT a solution to this problem. There is an underlying emotion I am trying to feed, and I don't know what it is. I have this desire to feel FULL. I have great relationships, a great job, great family... what the heck is causing me to love the binge-eating behavior??

By the way, I'd like to see someone eat 800 calories worth of cauliflower - it's about four entire large heads! Yikes.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 10:26 AM

I don't think I'm so much of a binge eater. I think I'm more of an IMPULSE eater. I can have the junk in my house, as long as it is out of my sight - in the cupboard or fridge. If it is sitting out on the counter where I can see it, I will tend to grab it and stuff it in my mouth, without really thinking about it either. I don't know why, but is all happens so fast.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 12:17 PM

sign me up as a "binge" -er (in recovery though!)

I totally agree with having to keep certain things out of the house or I will go totally nutty and eat it all in one sitting-

1. ice cream- I can polish off a half-gallon in 3 or 4 days, that about 4 servings a night

2. chips, of any kind, potato, corn, tortilla, I love them all and can devour an entire bag in just a few sittings.

3. cookies- can't remember then last time I had them in the house, because they're eaten a sleeve at a time.

4. good bread- this is one I miss most because I love a good loaf of bread. unfortunately I can eat the whole baguette in one sitting.

Things I don't binge on, and therefore stay around longer- anything individually wrapped- ie. pudding cups, granola bars, yogurt, fruit. and now that I don't have these triggers I find that I am not inclined to eat more than just dinner.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 1:00 PM

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