Binge eating

Hi- I was very lucky regarding dietitian. I was waiting for help through the NHS but it was taking a long time and I desperately needed some help- my university has a fund for these situations and they ended up paying for some sessions with a dietitian privately - she’s amazing and I continued working with her. She takes a very individualised approach and has experience with autistic people. I am very grateful to her - she is one of the only professionals who really made a difference to my physical and mental health. https://www.dalianutrition.com

Thanks Ann. That’s a lot of info youve gone to the trouble of writing. Thanks for trying to help. I think some of those things might be useful. 

how did you end up having a dietician. I do feel like this has gone past the point where I can sort it out on my own. My gp suggested I refer to a service but they rejected my application. 

Oooh I’ve not heard of this. Thank you. I’ll check it out! 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’ll consider it. 

Thank you Chloe. I’ll check out the resources. 

Thanks Iain. 

I Had tried to search for what might already be here but wasnt very good at it. I’m  new here so thank you.

I’ll have a read. 

Hi- you have made a key point here - you binge when stressed/anxious. This is the key. I’ve struggled with a lot of issues around food and from ibs- i’ve had phases of only eating handful of foods in same order and also had issues with binging at times and I know how helpless it can make you feel. Different things work for different people but I can maybe share some experiences / give some ideas in case it helps. Stress is a huge factor. And recognising that is a big step in itself and will ultimately also help reduce binging. Guilt is unhelpful- it’s a coping mechanism. I know one suggestion is to try find alternative things to do when you feel need to binge- this never worked for me as in that moment I just couldn’t stop or think of something else. But I think in general it is probably a good idea to think of other things you could do to reduce stress. 
Binging might also occur if you are undereating or getting over hungry- not sure if this could be the case? Regular meals and snacks help with that. 
This might be a controversial one but it can reallly help to remove the temptation- at least for a while if you can- don’t keep chocolate in the house - and if you really want some you can always buy 1 portion and enjoy it- or only keep small amounts in house- you are not ‘banning’ the food completely, but it is an act of kindness to actually say ok well at the moment this it is not a good idea to have this in the house in large quantities- you can still enjoy chocolate of course! For me I had a huge issue with cake etc and i felt compelled to eat it and often ended up binging or eating more than my ibs could tolerate and triggering it - (being misdiagnosed with a restrictive eating disorder also didn’t help as I kept feeling I had to have cake to fix it)- having just a small amount usually didn’t work. I had issues for long time and I ended up just taking a break from it completely- this wasn’t easy but it’s weird- i recently actually bought a piece of cake as i wanted to do something nice for myself but I didn’t eat it! I just don’t fancy it at all anymore and even tasting it didn’t make me want it- if i do ever want some i will have some. For me just not having cake for a while was right- but  ´diet mentality and banning food’ can also lead to binging. 

it might be helpful to keep a food diary for a while- write down time you ate, what you ate, where, any events/relevant info (ie upset at work erc)- you might find some patterns and triggers for binging. Again it depends again- at times food diary was helpful for me but sometimes it was also better for me to not keep one and to eat and forget. 

i also had a great dietitian helping me wihout whom

i would never have made the progress I have.

I would recommend checking out the BEAT website, it has lots of useful information on various eating disorders, including binge eating. Good luck :)

Slowly darken the chocolate. Start with 70% and continue to go darker. You have to be willing to experiment with this, but over time it may change your desire for chocolate as darker chocolate can have a good amount of minerals in it, and produce a different craving. 

 Sometimes it can help to swap what's available, but binging has many different sources. Sometimes the only thing for this is to force a new habit. But this stuff can be quite difficult.

Hello @NAS88206

Thank you for sharing this with the community. You may like to have a look at the mental health section of our website which has useful links to information and advice about a range of mental health issues: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health  

The information on this page may be of particular interest:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/eating-disorders 

If you feel that you might need some support with your mental health, you can find advice and information on how to go about seeking help, including links to other resources and details of helplines and listening support services, here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/seeking-help. 

All the best,

ChloeMod

Hello there, there have been a few discussions here on this subject which may help:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/32770/binge-eating

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/22018/binge-eating

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/mental-health-and-wellbeing/25823/binge-eating-relapse

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/26292/out-of-control-binge-eating-excessive-overeating

Getting your anxiety under better management is possibly the best starting point and maybe getting someone to do your food shopping if you lack control in the supermarket to wean you off the worst excesses.

Have a read and let us know your thoughts..