What are the symptoms for binge eating?
Binge eating is actually a true eating disorder: It is a newly recognized condition that probably affects millions of Americans. People with binge eating disorder frequently eat large amounts of food while feeling a loss of control over their eating. This disorder is different from binge-purge syndrome (bulimia nervosa) because people with binge eating disorder usually do not purge afterward by vomiting or using laxatives. Here you can learn more about the disorder.
I personally am suffering from overeating and I frequently overeat, not because I want to, but because I have no control. I’m extremely embarrassed and only recently my husband (who I just recently married) caught me red handed (I kept it from him for a long time) in a binge and it was mortifying. My best advice to you is: If you think your friend is a binge eater, the most important thing you can do is NOT corner her and grill her about her eating habits. The truth is, she will be extremely embarrassed if you bring it up at all so I would suggest waiting if and until she brings it up. Otherwise, you may make a tear in your friendship that will be very difficult to repair. If she does open up to you about something regarding her eating, you can suggest to her to check out Overeaters Anonymous online as it’s been very helpful for me.
You don’t have to be fat to be a binge eater. Its compulsively eating (having no control over it) even when you’re not hungry for a variety of different reasons. From http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/Bingeeating.html Most of us overeat from time to time, and many people feel they frequently eat more than they should. Eating large amounts of food, however, does not mean that a person has binge eating disorder. Doctors are still debating the best ways to determine if someone has binge eating disorder. But most people with serious binge eating problems have: • Frequent episodes of eating what others would consider an abnormally large amount of food. • Frequent feelings of being unable to control what or how much is being eaten. • Several of these behaviors or feelings: • Eating much more rapidly than usual. • Eating until uncomfortably full. • Eating large amounts of food, even when not physically hungry.
Binge eating involves solitary eating until one is so full they hurt. They are always nervous about their weight. There is usally depression and isolation involved along with obesity.
Signs of Binge Eating can be divided into behavioral, physiological and attitude shifts. Binge Eating Behavioral Signs and Symptoms • Bingeing • Restriction of activities because of embarrassment about weight • Going from one diet to the next • Eating little in public while maintaining a high weight Binge Eating Physiological Signs and Symptoms • Weight-related hypertension • Fatigue • Weight gain Attitude Shifts • Feelings about self based on weight and control of eating. • Fantasizing about being a better person when thin. • Feeling tormented by eating habits. • Depression • Social and professional failures attributed to weight. • Weight is the focus of life.
