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symptoms of binge eating

Symptom of Binge Eating Disorder

Is there a symptom of binge eating disorder, a characteristic that enables a diagnosis and treatment?

The trouble is, at what point does overeating, which everyone whether fat or slim does on occasion, become a medical condition?

The medical profession is still debating this one.

Symptom of Binge Eating

However, we think it would be safe to say that people who demonstrate one or more of the following behaviours on a regular basis are binge eaters. They exhibit at least one symptom of binge eating disorder, or something that could turn into a disorder over time:

symptoms of binge eating

  • An inability to control what and how much is eaten – feeling out of control when eating, never being able to eat just one cookie but having to polish off the whole box. Knowing that what you’re eating will make you fat but eating it anyway.
  • Regularly eating huge amounts of food – eating abnormal quantities of food and continuing to eat long after you’ve satisfied your hunger.
  • Eating until you’re bursting at the seams – Regularly eating until you’re uncomfortably full.
  • Eating very quickly – shovelling the food in and barely chewing before swallowing and taking the next mouthful.
  • Eating when you’re not hungry – not a small snack but large amounts of food, whole meals and more.
  • Eating by yourself – embarrased by the huge amounts eaten and often a sign that you know you’ve got a problem, which can actually be a positive sign and the first step towards treatment.
  • Feelings of guilt, depression, disgust after eating – given that binging is often a way of dealing with emotional issues, this is an important symptom of binge eating. The way you feel about food and yourself needs to be addressed before weight loss is possible.
  • Lying – bingers lie about what and how much they eat. There they are, 250 lbs and they eat hardly anything at all! Again, until you recognise you have a problem, you won’t be able to overcome it.
  • We had a client who wasn’t overweight, although she thought she was and she used to eat very large meals. She secretly vomited after meals, often after individual courses.

    She was bulimic and binge eating and bulimia do sometimes occur together, although they are different conditions.

    Some of the traits are similar, though.

    Some bingers may try to control their binging and weight gain through vomiting, fasting for a period of time, exercising strenuously and excessively after binging.

    All dangerous, compulsive ways to deal with the binging and to control any weight gain.

    We can offer advice on low level binge eating and how to control andĀ overcome it.

    However, serious psychological conditions need medical help, which we can’t offer. Talk to your doctor or seek medical advice from a reputable website.

    There’s no one symptom of binge eating disorder. It’s also easy to confuse and ‘medicalise’ overeating as an emotional response to food and other issues in your life with a symptom of binge eating disorder.

    However, whether you’re a binger or have a full blown disorder, it needs addressing if you’re ever going to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

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