Binge Eating

[Ksmith]

.........or maybe because when I would eat gluten, just a little bit would make my stomach blow up like a balloon so I would feel gross and stop ASAP, and now that this doesn't happen anymore, my body doesn't know when to stop?.........who knows, but it can't be good to keep this up!

I totally agree with this...I no longer have major bloating right after I eat, so I tend to be able to fit a lot more in. I am definately not happy with the weight I've gained and it makes me feel terrible about myself. Once it warms up a little bit, I am going to try and bike to work every day. Wish me luck

[CMCM]

I was just wondering if binge eating is prevalent among people who must follow a gluten-free diet. I find that if I am ever surrounded by food I CAN eat, I tend to over eat...

I don't seem able to eat very much at one time any more (in terms of volume). For me, a binge doesn't inolve all that much food. Tonight I had a salad, some beef slices, and then I tried some stuff from my box from Kinkinnick...a half a bagal and one of their choco covered donuts (yum!). That was too much food as it turns out, and now my stomach hurts a little. I've really got to be careful with how much I eat at one sitting, and I don't know why that's a problem all of a sudden. I probably would have been better off not having the bagel, and only eating half the donut (it was fairly big, I guess)

[Bonnie]

So glad I'm not the only one binge eating!!

I thought I would never have to worry about my weight again going gluten-free. Hah! I put on weight easier now - very strange!!

I dont eat processed gluten-free food - I only eat whole foods 99% of the time. Then every 3 days or so I go mad - chocolate and fudge usually. Then I feel really disgusting, fat, bloated and will be good for the next 3 days and then ......... well you know the cycle!!

Luckily I'm quite slim so I've been able to maintain my weight so far!!

Yvonne

[Guest Robbin]

I have a problemwith that too and I think my problem stems from the fact that there are so many things I can't eat, that the things I can, I pig out on. Also, maybe a natural craving due to some vitamin or mineral deficiency? Dunno, but the chips thing I relate to big-time. Good tip on small bags Thanks!

[aikiducky]

I was eating tons of food right after going gluten free. But it felt like I needed the food, so I just decided to go with it...as it turns out, I have lost weight after gluten-free, and nowadays I don't feel the need to eat that much anymore. So i figure it was just my body craving nutrients, after being starved for so long, and now that I'm pretty much healed, everything has balanced out.

Pauliina

[shellhoo]

I've gained some weight since going gluten free, i think because I am absorbing nutrients now and i was not before. I too binge occasionally.. I agree with the whole potato chip thing!!

[munchkinette]

I've been writing down my food cravings in my journal. I think it has to do with eating gluten for me. In the last month my eating has been totally weird in general. The week that I ate gluten was the worst! I had a mini pizza for lunch, then I HAD TO EAT a whole bag of Terra chips. The day I had my blood test (only my first day without wheat again) I had TWO lunches, and one was beef taquitos. I don't generally eat red meat, but when I do I NEVER eat beef. I had to have them!

I've had times when I ate too much, but I never really had crazy food cravings or binges until I went back on the gluten temporarily after being gluten-free. Yesterday I had a slight craving... I wrote it down, because I think the hot sauce I used might have gluten. I'm definitely watching it. In general I've been eating less and not snacking since going gluten-free.

[kevsmom]

I have been binging. When I find things that I can eat, I eat them until they are gone. It doesn't matter how full I am, I just keep eating.

It's a very poor (and expensive) way of dealing with life as a Celiac.

Cindy

[PreOptMegs]

I totally agree about "eating until it is gone just because it is gluten free" no matter how full I am!

[jerseyangel]

I do the same thing--find out something is gluten-free and agrees with me and I will keep eating it! I really need to get a grip on this

[PreOptMegs]

I just started noticing the problem after my 21st birthday. My mother made brownies (not gluten-free) for my whole basketball team, and brought me baby carrots. SO, the next bag of M&Ms I found, I devoured!

[CMCM]

I've been writing down my food cravings in my journal. I think it has to do with eating gluten for me. In the last month my eating has been totally weird in general. The week that I ate gluten was the worst! I had a mini pizza for lunch, then I HAD TO EAT a whole bag of Terra chips. The day I had my blood test (only my first day without wheat again) I had TWO lunches, and one was beef taquitos. I don't generally eat red meat, but when I do I NEVER eat beef. I had to have them!

I've had times when I ate too much, but I never really had crazy food cravings or binges until I went back on the gluten temporarily after being gluten-free. Yesterday I had a slight craving... I wrote it down, because I think the hot sauce I used might have gluten. I'm definitely watching it. In general I've been eating less and not snacking since going gluten-free.

I agree with you 100%. When I was eating gluten, it definitely set me up for cravings and binging on things. Wheat/gluten has addictive properties too, which probably explains why America eats so much of it, every day, almost every meal. Gluten druggies!

[elye]

Having done so much living on one very restricted diet (type one diabetes all my life) and now a second one, I've come to learn two cardinal rules that one need follow to avoid bingeing, whether it be hormonal, emotional, or just compulsive, I-can't-stop-myself face-stuffing:

-drink lots, I mean lots (64+ ounces) of water a day

-eat five or six medium-sized meals a day

Keeping myself from bingeing is paramount for my diabetes control, so I needed to pay attention to things that keep me from doing it. These strategies work!

[CMCM]

Having done so much living on one very restricted diet (type one diabetes all my life) and now a second one, I've come to learn two cardinal rules that one need follow to avoid bingeing, whether it be hormonal, emotional, or just compulsive, I-can't-stop-myself face-stuffing:

-drink lots, I mean lots (64+ ounces) of water a day

-eat five or six medium-sized meals a day

Keeping myself from bingeing is paramount for my diabetes control, so I needed to pay attention to things that keep me from doing it. These strategies work!

I agree completely about the water and the 5 or 6 meals. You don't get hungry, so you aren't driven to binge!

[jerseyangel]

The water drinking is the one thing I know I should do, but I just don't end up drinking enough--any tips, or just 'do it'?

[Guest Robbin]

I have a problem with the water thing too. I just don't like water. Even the bottled water. I started buying lemons and putting a little wedge in a glass and that helps, but I still struggle with it. The only water I can drink a lot of is club soda or seltzer with lemon or lime in it. Guess from years of diet pepsi, I need the fizz-fix

[kevsmom]

The only way that I can drink a lot of water is if it is really ice cold. Unfortunately, my freezer is so stuffed full with gluten free food that I don't have room for ice cube trays .

Cindy

[CMCM]

The water drinking is the one thing I know I should do, but I just don't end up drinking enough--any tips, or just 'do it'?

The water is always a challenge. But I'm really thirsty when I get up in the morning, so I get a 16oz glass of water and drink it in the bathroom while I'm getting ready. So that one goes does pretty easily, and that's 2 glasses worth right there (using an 8 oz glass as "one glass"). Another 16 oz at breakfast, taking vitamins etc. That one goes down fairly quickly too. Another one with lunch, another with dinner. So all told that's 8 glasses or 64 oz. Then it gets harder for the "between stuff." If I go to the gym I can also knock off a 16 oz bottle there. I've never managed more than about 110 oz in a day, and that was a struggle. But it does make you feel good....on the flip side, you are making a lot of trips to the bathroom!

[Ann1231]

before gluten-free or if I have anything with gluten, I binge on carbs until I'm sick. It's like a compulsive thing, I just can't get enough. My dr. told me it's like an alcoholic who can not stop drinking, even though he/she knows better. He said to treat gluten like a drug, you can't have any whatsoever. I needed that advice years ago! I would eat bowls of cereal or slice after slice of toast and it's like the food didn't really register with me. Looking back, I can't believe the volume of food I was eating, all of it loaded with gluten. If I stay 100% gluten free, I find that I don't need much food at all to satisfy me and keep me full for hours.

I also can drink water now, I couldn't stand it before gluten-free. I cut out soda completely and now I crave iced water. I like lime slices in it for a change of pace. It's unreal to me the changes I've gone thru with getting gluten free.

Ann

[jerseyangel]

Thanks Carole, Cindy and Robin--I see you can all relate . I'm really going to give Carole's advice a try--when you break it up like that, and use the larger glass, I think I can do it

[elye]

I knock off about 10 glasses of water a day, and I can only drink it if it's cool, or even lukewarm. I know it sounds kind of gross, but if you try it you may be surprised. I find it MUCH easier to get down than really cold water. Sometimes I boil it and put it into my big teapot with a decaffeinated green tea bag. I can get four glasses down pretty painlessly that way. It definitely is a new habit that must be formed consciously. And the bathroom trips, amazingly, get fewer as you make it part of your daily life. Your body becomes much more efficient at dealing with all the liquid, and now I go perhaps three or four times during the day when before it was probably three times that!

[Guest Viola]

I knock off about 10 glasses of water a day, and I can only drink it if it's cool, or even lukewarm. I know it sounds kind of gross, but if you try it you may be surprised. I find it MUCH easier to get down than really cold water. Sometimes I boil it and put it into my big teapot with a decaffeinated green tea bag. I can get four glasses down pretty painlessly that way. It definitely is a new habit that must be formed consciously. And the bathroom trips, amazingly, get fewer as you make it part of your daily life. Your body becomes much more efficient at dealing with all the liquid, and now I go perhaps three or four times during the day when before it was probably three times that!

Wow .. I thought I was the only one that drinks warm, or room temperature water. The only time I drink cold is in the summer when I'm out in the heat working dogs or golfing. Nice to know I'm not totally weird!

[CMCM]

Of course, the advantage of drinking COLD water is that your body expends energy (hence burning a few calories in the process) to "heat" it up. But the important thing is to drink the water, whatever the temperature!

[penguin]

The water drinking is the one thing I know I should do, but I just don't end up drinking enough--any tips, or just 'do it'?

Get a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle and fill that and keep it at your desk. I drink 2-4 a day at work because of it. Also, drink a big glass of water before you eat or drink anything else in the morning and it helps.

[jerseyangel]

Thanks for the tips--I have done better the last two days, now that I've put my mind to it. The tip about drinking a big glass of water in the morning before anything else is a good one--that one goes down easily .