Stop Bulimia: Stop Binge Eating and Purging

5 Parts:

Follow these steps to help you overcome the binging:

Follow these steps below to help you overcome the purging:

Tips Tricks & Warnings

Questions and Answers

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If you suffer from binge eating, uncontrollably eating huge quantities of food in a short time, and then forcing yourself to purge by vomiting, you have the signs of bulimia (bulimia nervosa). You are not alone. It strikes both genders, but about 85% of the sufferers are women. I will provide two guides of several steps here that will help you conquer binging and purging. This first guide has helped many people stop binging according to Irene Webster, M.D. The second guide has helped many people stop the purging when followed according to bulimia recovery expert, Jen Kneabel, M.S. in Social Work. Follow these steps whenever you eat, and these two guides can work well for you. The more you practice these steps while eating, the easier it will become as you are on your way to health and overall well-being.

A bulimic person eats rapidly while binge eating, and has no control to stop eating large amounts of food within a short time. This means many more calories are consumed. Eating slowly allows you to savor your meal much more according to research and personal experience. Old habits are hard to break, but you can train yourself to eat slowly, and stop the binging. This first guide has several steps that will help you greatly if you just follow them each meal. In time, it will become "second nature" for you.

1. 1
   Use the "lay the fork down" way of eating

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   Following every single bite, lay down your fork. The more you hold your fork, the more you will be tempted to scoop the food up and into your mouth. This means keep the fork on the plate during chewing, and not pick it up till it is swallowed.

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2. 2
   Chew each bite of your food longer

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   Savor your meal, and chew it completely. While chewing, focus on the pleasure of the food, noting its aroma, taste and texture. Nutrition experts say this will also help you feel satiated, and enjoy your cuisine much more. It takes a couple hours for the human brain to sense that one is full, also. So, give your senses some time to tell you that you really are full.

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3. 3
   Savor your meal, and chew it completely

   .

   While chewing, focus on the pleasure of the food, noting its aroma, taste and texture. Nutrition experts say this will also help you feel satiated, and enjoy your cuisine much more. It takes a couple hours for the human brain to sense that one is full, also. So, give your senses some time to tell you that you really are full.

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4. 4
   Drink a lot of water, or other refreshing drink during your meal

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   Take a drink often between bites. This will fill you up, and slow down your eating. You may want to flavor your water with lemon juice to make it more palatable. It works for me.

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5. 5
   Carry on a conversation with others

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   However, like Mom said,'don't chew with food in your mouth.' Whenever possible, share your meal with someone. This will help you in two huge ways: You will slow down the eating, and research shows that talking with others is therapeutic for a person with bulimia.

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6. 6
   Meditate right before every meal

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   It will not only help your concentration, thinking processes, relaxation, and rejuvenation, but will calm your mind and body. It is proven that meditation will slow down your eating due to its calming effect, and you only need several minutes for effective meditation.

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1. 1
   Realize that purging does not stop weight gain

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   The most common means of purging used by those who binge is vomiting. The focus here will be on overcoming purging by vomiting. Nutrition studies show that over a thousand calories are still in the system after vomiting.

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2. 2
   Talk with someone

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   As mentioned in the guide above, studies show that talking with someone will aid in your recovery. Withdrawal is one of the symptoms of an eating disorder, and women suffering with bulimia benefit from conversation; even when it is online chatting, according to a Stanford University research study in 2003.

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3. 3
   Have a regular eating schedule

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   Having the regularity is proven to help balance a bulimic's body processes. In doing so, the urge to over indulge and purge is diminished.

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4. 4
   Eat only foods that do not trigger your urge to vomit

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   Those who suffer from bulimia have certain foods that are comfortable to eat. Some will attempt to vomit right after eating fattening foods, in the false hope that erases the calories.

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5. 5
   Use a delay tactic

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   By delaying as long as possible from purging, you will be able to gradually increase time intervals of not purging. Eventually, you will overcome it entirely. Begin at first by delaying several minutes only. Once you are able to do this, increase your time to resist purging by five minutes. Do this in five-minute increments, and practice this after every meal in which you have the urge to vomit. This will be challenging, but with practice you will overcome it. After meals, find ways to occupy your time rather than watching the clock every minute after eating.

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6. 6
   Have a Journal

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   Jotting down your feelings, thoughts, and events as you fight this battle will benefit you. Write down inspirational quotes and positive comments to yourself. Your journal should give you encouragement and insight.

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• Know the risks. This is not meant just to scare you, but to make you aware of why you must conquer the binging and purging. There is a long list of the many dire effects from bulimia over time. You must decide to follow steps such as these, and get your healthy life that you deserve back.
• Although these guides will help if you follow them, be sure that you are getting medical help from your physician if you suffer from signs of bulimia.

How do I stop my eating urges?

I feel so awful. I've just had a binge and I'm trying not to purge but it's so HARD. How do I stop acting this way, somebody please help me

In your situation there are a number of ways that you can help yourself so that you will be able curve your eating urges that you are going through at this time. Please try the tips below to help you with your eating habits, we had a Marine female who went through this so they gave a class on how to encourage each others to balance ourselves out:

-Drink more fluids for this will tend to fill you up just as you are eating. By drinking more you will fill yourself up to not cause you eat more than needed

-Stay active, by eating then also being active during the day you will be burning more energy but it will cause you to want to rest more than eating.

-Avoid working out too much for you will burn calories but it will cause you to be hungry in the end causing you to want to eat more and more

-Eat snacks during the day to help you to be able to eat but not consume too much fats for most snacks that are healthy will fill you up but keep you healthy.

-When eating a meal ensure that it is a big meal so that you will be filled after eating the meal as opposed to eating a meal then still feeling hungry afterwards causing you to eat more

Do you have a list of other eating disorders that I can refer to?

I am not sure if the eating disorder that I have is bulimia.. I have tried: I have tried eating less and using laxatives but I do not throw up.. I think it was caused by: I was wondering if there was such a thing as non-purging bulimia?

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What is necessary to successfully recover from bulimia?

I've tried to stop many times in the past, only to be worse than I was before. Is there a certain mind set needed to recover?. I have tried: I've tried writing in a journal and talking to friends and staying away from things like advertisements that have really thin models. I think it was caused by: Being bullied a lot, not having many friends and always being alone

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What is something that will completely stop this vicious cycle?

Hi, I am currently seeking ways out of this constant binge/purge cycle. I know the harms and the risks but I keep doing it for the satisfaction of weight loss or a way out emotionally. I'm trying to figure out my triggers and in a way its funny as I believe when I put on weight I am more inclined to do it. It almost feels like its a punishment for failure because I hate doing it, and on the other hand it's something I do when I crave foods I don't actually want to digest but have been craving them for so long its almost mind numbing.. I have tried: Not much really, the last 2 months I have spent traveling with groups of people and I never did it during that two months so I know I can do it but once I got home and was alone I haven't been able to stop, its almost like catching up on those two months.. I think it was caused by: Wanting and craving the feeling of being thin.

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Am I able to help my friend with bulimia in any way?

My friend suffers from depression and bulimia. We don't know each other for very long, but have been through a lot. He was suicidal but I helped with that, I also stopped his self harming and his depression is going better. But one problem that we find both difficult is his bulimia. His parents are alcoholics and don't accept him as transgender, for example force him to wear girls clothes and tell him to grow his hair. His mother once put him on therapy but got him off it even though he wasn't ready. She refuses to put him back on again. I am no professional don't really know how to deal with this. At first I tried to find his limit of normal eating without puking through a bet, if he didn't puke for one week he would win. He made it, but when we tried 8 and 9 days he puked on his seventh day. I told him to make a diary, with when he felt the need to puke, if he puked, his eating, and if he could control it. I also told him to write small things that make him happy, like quotes or story's. But again, I am no professional on eating disorders and I only want the best for him. How can I help him better? We are online friends, we do Skype and all but there is no physical contact between us. I also had this, but I stopped it myself, though I don't know how I did it. I want him to become better at all costs. These questions are mainly from first persons perspective though I don't need it anymore. I have tried: As I said, I tried testing and expanding his limit. I told him that he wasn't fat in any way, complimenting, I even showed his picture to some of my trusted close friends. They all said he was very good looking, not fat, and one even said he was so good looking she'd date him. I told him to write down what he felt, his urges, and if he was able to suppress them mixed with inspirational stories, cute stories, things that make him smile so it isn't depressing to do. I think it was caused by: I am not sure because this is a sore spot for him. I think it is mainly because when he came out as transgender his parents, "friends", and other relatives weren't accepting. I think that because of this he thinks bad of himself and from thinking bad it's a small step to "I'm ugly" "I'm worthless" "I'm fat".

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How to quit a habit that I have been doing for so long, for about 4 years already?

How many years after being bulimic will the body start showing sign of cardiac arrest or inconstant heartbeats? I've been doing it for 4 years now and I've been trying to stop. But it's a habit almost like an addiction like smoking. I do it without having second thoughts. It's become a part of my life but I want to stop. How does one quit a habit that is detrimental to them. It will be such an arduous process but I want to try and stop.

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How to deal with myself before dealing with Bulimia?

Should I tell my friends that I'm bulimic ? I have been struggling with this disorder for so long (4years) I've gained weight everyday and people seem to notice that I have no control with myself. I have had Bulimia since my young age of 15 or 16 (now I'm at the end of 19) and it keeps getting worse each time it seems to get better. I thought It would steadily fade away when I have no stress and think less about it. I am so good at handle things and giving advice to people but for this I have no idea how to deal with it. I don't know who to talk to and I keep doing the same steps of binge and purge every single day. I'm in Thailand and it seems like it's hard to find experts on eating disorders which seem to be such new things here. I don't have a good question that I badly want to know because I'm so confused and saddened now, I just want to know what I should do now.My self-esteem is seized away with my cheerful look, I am so lost. I need a direction.. Thank you. I have no idea what is the cause and why I keep doing these bad things even if I know I can quit. My self-esteem keeps getting worse each day. I wear mask (health guard face mask) to university everyday for 2 months since my face gets bigger and bigger, my under eyes get puffier and puffier. My friends and teachers seem not to believe my accuses that I'm to lazy to put make up on anymore. I can't stand the eyes that people look at my in the different way from they used to. I used to be so pretty and confident. And then everything suddenly changed, when first big binge came. I guess it was because my diet habit that I never ate more than 900 kcal everyday. It seemed to get better so many times when I tried to eat only great things for health but it turned out to be the same. There must be something in my mental process that keeping me from getting better, like I don't believe in myself anymore. And the worst thing is, it's consuming my life too not just my eating habit. I have less faith in what I do. I quit so easily. I'm a loser that haven't started anything yet. I think I have a potential to stop this disorder I just don't know why I keep postpone it. I have tried: 1. I have tried to go vegan. It worked for 2-3 months. 2. I have tried to eat normally. There's no such normal eating for me. 3. I have tried to JUICE FAST. It got worse. 4. I have tried to work out as frequent as I have time to do. I loved it. But if I skipped only one day, there would never be tomorrow. 5. I think it was caused by: Bad diet. Diet pills. I had addicted to diet pills for 2 years from grade 10-11 and a little bit of grade 12. It ruined my life. Since I introduced to myself this kind of thing, It's hard for me to get back to reality of how to lose weight and being healthy in the same time. I have had wrong perspective of healthy lifestyle. I'm so dependent on how people look at me since I'm so careful about people. I don't know how to quit this. And another thing is, there's such a thing like American beauty in Thailand. People must me super skinny and have white pale skin to be called beautiful, and it's somewhat one of the things that drive me to do this. Plus, I don't know how to manage my money. I spend out all I have. So when it comes to food, I never think twice.

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Do I have eating disorder?I can't stop thinking about my weight . I want to eat but mostly avoid food and after I eat I usually can't stop feeling guilty and crying. please help?

I am female . age 22 . height 158 cm and weight 56 kgs. I don't try to vomit , or use laxatives. I would love to loose weight , so I start a diet and in a week I get urges to eat more I try to control those urges but it gets more and more and I decide to eat . as soon as I finish eating a guilt feeling takes me over I even start crying and hate my self .I feel to hurt myself like cutting my hand with a knife or something cause I feel so angry that I can't even stick to a diet . I'm afraid I'm having some psychological problem.

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