Binge Eating, Anxiety, Obsession and Panic

[hexi2]

I have NEVER been a binge eater...but it seems during and post Cohens this has been a problem...

Has this happened to others post refeed especially where you have never had this problem before?

It has taken me by surprise and I can't figure out if this is pyschological or physical as I am CRAVING sweet things then bingeing - I would have never considered myself a 'sweet tooth' and bickies, chocolates and cakes have never been my thing (rather cheese, fatty fried food, chips and milk) but I have a REALLY sweet tooth...

Others please shed some light! and/or some strategies in dealing with this....

I have made an appointment to see a counsellor to try to figure out what the hell I think I am doing...

[ropemaha]

hey, are you ok tonight?

[hexi2]

Did it AGAIN! I don't know what the %$^# is going on but its gotta stop! Went for dinner...pretty ok but allowed myself permission to eat salad with creamy dressing and the steak with a little gravy (on the side) had things like beetroot, pineapple and salad so all ok there...filled up on that before the steak came out...all ok. But then I decided to have a few chips (despite being on 'reset') then on the way home I WANTED that bloody cheesecake - went to a few places but nothing...so I got a pastry chocolate roll then it was on! Mind you I had a HUGE serve of salad a 300gm steak plus 2 seafood sticks...was full as anything but no kept going...ate more chocolate, bickies, nuts, nut bar, cheese, some chips, cheeseballs...whatever I ate it!

[ropemaha]

ok yep thats a binge....

i really think its the deprivation response by the neural reward pathway...you have held it together for so long and now you feel let loose...

i think that talking to someone about it is a great idea and i have heard great stuff about the psychs at eas....my mate who is doing cohens uses eas for her work counselling and reckons she does nothing but talk about the diet....

so yeah i would do that also...in fact i probably will be doing that this time next week...

just keep the water up so your body can detox...

pen

[ropemaha]

or alternatively something you are eating is triggering this response...mmmm....might have to do a process of elimination technique to see...it really doesnt sound like you at all.

[ropemaha]

oh yeah, i also forgot to say...exercise...we need to exercise...lets get something together in the next few days....weekend??....cause i reckon i am up for a bit and it will definately help both of us...

[hexi2]

Ok lets do Saturday...body balance at the Y 11:10 I can take both the kids into the creche

I have my appointment with EAS the week after next...(that was the earliest) anyway I just think it is a case of not allowing myself outside of Cohens from here on in as I can't seem to understand 'moderation' at least not for now....no more going out for dinner.

Hopefully the 'celebration' dinner for me for finishing my diet wasn't such a good idea after all...my daughter yelled out 'yipee - mums allowed to eat all the rubbish in the world now'!!

Maybe this is the last of it as I have rewarded myself so to speak....and need to add the 'closure' bit...anyway I don't think I will go to work tomorrow as Billy has been sick for the last few days and I told the childcare centre that I would keep him home...

Maybe a facial tomorrow or something?

[shell]

Hi Hexi,
Sorry you are finding it tough at the moment

Before you probably would have kept going, but you have learned different and are asking for help

It might be a bit like you think you have to eat it all "now" because you have been so good throughout the strict eating plan & you now have the freedom to make your own decisions, it is just all a bit too much at the moment.

Good on you for owning up,
Shell

[ropemaha]

i was just about to post you and say have tomorrow off and come over and bring that beautiful baby and we can hang out.....

lol to imani....

[hexi2]

Yeh no worries - I'll come over

Thanks Pen and Shell for your support (she says as she downs another sweet nut bar)...tomorrow i am back into it

[ropemaha]

god your hilarious....

no bloody sweet bars at my place mate....

see you for coffee in the morning

pen

[hexi2]

Yeh what was I thinking stocking up on nut bars, different types of chocolate, bickies? I thought it was a good idea at the time...and they sat there for weeks and weeks....

Funny thing is that I am not overly concerned about the cheese and nuts around (but ate them anyway!) it's the SWEET stuff I am craving and it tastes so lovely...melt in your mouth type of thing but once again I am feeling so sick in my tummy! And like I said sweets have NEVER been my weakness...it's all a bit crazy...

I will come around about 9 or something?

[Faithy]

I'm so sorry!! I laughed so hard & then cried when I read this thread.. what's with that?? Binge eating??!! When I first finished I had everything under control & then one day it was like a rubber band went 'ping'...

[hexi2]

yeh Faithy - let me know when you find out

I think that neural reward pathway thing Pen is talking about makes sense...especially for those who weren't binge eaters before...I think it is a reward of some crazy thoughts...hey we have been deprived for sooooooooooo long and somehow we tell ourselves we deserve to taste EVERYTHING we have 'missed out on' so to speak in a matter of minutes - totally crazy behaviour....maybe the quicker we do it the body won't realise it is there - like YEAH RIGHT!

Anyway....sounds like it might be sorta normal to do this post deprivation of foods???? I don't know but it would be great to feel that I am not the only one who has 'discovered' this phenomena post Cohens...

[Faithy]

The problem with binge eating, well what I've noticed anyway.. the first day I did it, the day after I hadn't gone up hardly at all.. so OF COURSE *eye rolling moment* I HAD to do it the 2nd because the 1st 'seemed' to have no effect.. then on the 3rd day boom!!! My weight ballooned up.. now I worry about the 4 kilo thing.. you know, go above 4 kilos & then the human growth hormone apparently stops & then if you want to go back on the program you have to get a new one.. I will admit I did go above my 4.. but the weight does come back off OK on my normal program.. so what does all that mean? Is that why my body has changed shape almost over night even though my weight seems OK? Cause the human growth hormone has gone?? Ugghhh I HATE self sabotage.. whether it's that or not I dont know but I'm in a HUGE panic about it..

[hexi2]

Hmmm I don't know...did you have to go on your program for longer than 2 weeks and re do the refeed?

What do you mean your shape has changed? I don't know why/how that would be...

Yep self sabotage is absolute maddness especially at this late stage of the game...after all we both pretty deviation free (well I had a 2 day binge once during the program) so who knows but lets hope the pyschs can shed some light...

I sorta thought the same about yeh 600gms up overnight...not too bad considering....but tomorrow is going to be pretty bad weight wise I am thinking. I look about 6 months pregnant at the moment.

And I haven't had a period for about 2 or 3 months now either...

I have to get back into carb free this is total craziness....panic? Yeh I know that feeling....

[Faithy]

No.. I'm trying to avoid that... I've only gone on it (the program) for 2 or 3 days at a time..

My legs have gotten bigger.. but that could be from the walking, although you'd think they'd get smaller.. & my tummy has lost its slim look & has ballooned out.. upper tummy & lower.. It's gone more like 'flab' looking LOL.. than anything.. hubby reckons it's my body just re-adjusting its shape after dieting for so long & then stopping.. but then where did it all come from?? Perhaps I'm just paranoid cause as I said in my diary I see myself as being as big as when I first started which is ridiculous I know.

[Evave]

hey hey
yip i think a lot of us have a prob with binge eating.. i do believe it's because u have lost so much weight and ur body's reaction is "hmmm i must get back to normal weight as i have been starved" however u must retrain ur body and try hold at a relatively stable weight (this new found glory weight u have now reached ) and take back the reigns and tell urself "no, this is my new weight".. after a while (usually 2 or 3 months) ur body will realise this IS the new weight and u feel normal and back on par

[ropemaha]

hey hexi and faithy....this isnt self sabotage...well not the 'pure' form anyway....self sabotage is when you dont believe you should GET to a goal so you stop yourself, its a belief system based on what you were told, most likely before the age of 10 or 11 ish. you have both reached your goal already.

it is so prevalent in our society, even for people who dont have serious addictions or behaviour problems, because it can be entrenched in your belief system by your parents just saying something like 'thats ok, or, that'll do' which teaches us that 'average' is good enough.......of course its worse if you were told 'no you cant do that, your not smart, strong, clever enough.....

now bear with me on this... ...the brain is in a constant state of 'avoiding pain and seeking pleasure', and the neural reward pathway is strong as it is exercised right from when we are born...cry and get a feed, cuddle, attention.

so self sabotage is 'thought based' and the 'reward pathway' is physiological....we have managed to control the self sabotage with our thoughts during this program...and because the diet is so strict we have had to make very few decisions so the process has seemed relatively easy...dont have to think to much about it....

so then you finish and you dont have the same, comfortable, safe routine so the thoughts change and yep, whammo, the reward pathway starts pumping...

so heres my theory....the highest risk time thoughout this diet is the first couple of months after refeed....because we are dealing with a physiological 'pull' after dealing with the mental/emotional 'pull' for so long....its a sudden change in tactics and one that seems to take many by surprise....

so i guess the message is this...dont feel bad because you have been at the whim of your neural reward pathway....remember its strong...and if you need to give in to it then do so....but the recognition is the important thing...knowing what is going on is the key to controlling it...even if it does take a few days to get your head around it.

ok thats the end of this weeks 'super analysis show'....

pen

[Tuti]

This is all very scary The absence of periods, binging, emotional etc. Sounds like hormones gone mad!!

I don't understand the science of what is going on but I wonder if there is anyone out there who has finished and gone through the same thing who could help. What is the answer once we have finished refeed to stop these problems.

It is a very important subject Hexi because I have a feeling it is a common problem.

tuti