You might have an eating disorder and not even know it (My experience with binge eating)

Edit: Open to some more discussion against stimulants and info about diet/ exercise/ mental health

TW: Eating Disorder F(27) 5’2 (HW 199) (CW 187) (GW 140)

I have binge eating disorder and want to talk about how I got diagnosed and the treatment that is helping me.

Like many people, I thought of binging as consuming an ungodly amount of food at once and feeling sick afterwards. I thought it meant absolutely stuffing yourself to the brim. I want to let you know that it’s not always this obvious.

I will start by telling you my symptoms that I discussed with my doctor.

1. Only sticking to my daily calorie goal if I obsessed, counted every calorie, planned ahead, and yet still feeling very hungry. As a sedentary woman who is 5’2 - it seemed impossible to stick to a 1200 - 1500 a day diet. I was hungry and HATED measuring every bite. I would obsess and end up more hungry than ever. I understood the process but the compulsions were overwhelming.

2. My binging did not consist of stuffing myself until I was sick. I simply continued to gain weight from overeating. But it’s important to note, I felt full and guilty which is a tell-tale symptom of binge eating disorder. I went over my calorie goal every day by at least 600+ calories (and that’s when I was actually counting) Not counting, I could easily go over by 1200+ (doubling my daily allotment) THIS CAN STILL BE CONSIDERED BINGING.

3. Falling into the routine of dieting, feeling hungry, obsessing, getting frustrated, and just eating - This is disordered eating. When you give up and eat a big meal and dessert after dieting for a bit, you might be binging. If you notice this keeps on happening, you might have binge eating disorder.

4. The guilt - This is important to discuss because this is an obvious sign of disordered eating whether you’re anorexic or binging, guilt around eating is a bad sign. I felt so guilty for everything I ate.

I discussed this all with a few doctors. The one doctor who helped me diagnosed me with ADHD and B.E.D. These disorders caused me to be impulsive, obsessive, and unable to count calories in a healthy way. Regular dieting was not going to work for me without some help.

I am now on Vyvanse. I only eat when I feel hungry. I do not count calories. Every obsessive thought about dieting has disappeared. I have lost 11 lbs in 3 months, and I didn’t have to obsess and feel guilt along the way. I was in such a vicious cycle that I gained 50 lbs - I ‘dieted’ the whole time. But I got relief. 11 lbs in 3 months isn’t much, but that’s the point! It’s supposed to be sustainable.

*Note that everyone is different, doctors have different opinions, and I am only one person (not a medical professional by any means) - Vyvanse is used to treat ADHD and BED but isn’t for everyone

submitted by /u/melmalpal
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/r5zx1f/you_might_have_an_eating_disorder_and_not_even/