Binge eating... please help
I starve myself or Ill eat really low caloric heathy food until 7 in the afternoon and then Ill binge. [Edited by FM Erato 5/5/19 to remove calorie count] Over the summer of ‘18, I lost 12 pounds (5kilos) through starving myself, but as fall began and winter progressed I slowly gained weight [Edited by FM Erato 5/5/19 to remove mentioning of specific weight] Im terrified for my health, but I cant control my binging spells and then I go on strict diets. My parents pressure me a lot, saying that no one will ever love me because Im fat and ugly. Every time I come to them with a friendship, teacher, school problem, they say its because Im overweight (most times the correlation doesnt even make sense) Im 17 [Edited by FM Erato to remove mentioning of weight]. If I gain more weight Ill probably get diabetes and/or heart disease from the rollercoaster. I need help. Someone to talk to. I need to learn to love my body, myself, and have a healthy relationship w/ food. Ive had this issue since the age of 12. I dont know who or where to turn to.
It sounds like you are stuck in a cycle. You may find that binge eating is comforting for a brief moment, helping to ease feelings of stress, depression, or anxiety. But then reality sets back in and youre flooded with feelings of regret and self-loathing. Binge eating often leads to weight gain and obesity, which only reinforces compulsive eating. The worse you feel about yourself and your appearance, the more you use food to cope. It becomes a vicious cycle: eating to feel better, feeling even worse, and then turning back to food for relief.
After a binge, its only natural to feel the need to diet to compensate for overeating and to get back on track with your health. But dieting usually backfires. The deprivation and hunger that comes with strict dieting triggers food cravings and the urge to overeat. If you get to the point where you are starving then your body will start to crave food so much that you act on impulse and binge.
You should be having regular meals and snacks to control these cravings. If you need a caloric deficit then still have the meals and snacks, just less of them. It takes determination to keep in control but think of your long term goals and aspirations everytime you want to give up.
I'm sure you are a beautiful person both on the outside and inside. :-)