Blog - Binge Eating Therapy

Friday Q&A- Help for Bulimia, Laxative Abuse and Anorexia

Leora Fulvio May 21, 2011

This question comes to us from a reader: Q: Hi there, i ran across your website and thought that someone like you might be able to help me through my recovery… Heres a summary of my case: I’ve been bulimic for almost 5 years with bingeing and purging routines for about 3-4 times per week (once a day in those days). During the later 2-3 years I’ve added the problem of laxative abuse, starting with a few tablets of Dulcolax

Isolation in Eating Disorders

Leora Fulvio May 16, 2011

Isolation and eating disorders go together for many reasons. Often people find themselves avoiding situations where food will be involved because they are either afraid of overeating or they don’t want deal with the questions or the looks if they are restricting. People also find that they begin pushing away friends, family, and partners in order to spend more time with their ED behaviors. Some women or men prefer to spend the night alone or away from their boyfriend or

How Shame Contributes to Eating Disorders and Eating Disorders Contribute to Shame

Leora Fulvio May 11, 2011

Do you ever feel shame? Shame for eating too much, shame for eating too little, shame for the way you look, shame for the body you’re in, shame for the things you do, for the thoughts that you have, shame for lying about what you ate, shame for eating out of the garbage can, shame for stealing food, shame for drinking too much, shame for taking risks, shame for flirting, for being rejected, shame for not being good enough, shame

How to Deal With Jealousy

Leora Fulvio May 3, 2011

Do you ever look at people and think that their lives are so much better than yours? Do you ever wish that you had someone else’s body, their boyfriend/girlfriend, their apartment, their job, their money, their clothes? Do you ever look at someone then hate yourself? If so, you’ve experienced the kind of jealousy and envy that causes despair. Some people have the habit of comparing their lives to the lives of someone else and then feeling bad about themselves.

Using Alcohol to Keep you From Eating- When the Solution Becomes The Problem

Leora Fulvio April 27, 2011

Ever use wine to cure your binge eating? If so, you’re not alone. Something that I see a lot of is people using alcohol to help mitigate binge eating symptoms. Many use a couple of glasses at wine at night helps to keep their eating at bay. For some it works, it relaxes them enough to not need to use food in the same way. For many it doesn’t though. Here’s the pattern: Get home from a long day of

Friday Q&A — This Guy at My work Steals Food

Leora Fulvio April 22, 2011

This question comes to us from Chloe in Manhattan. Q. I’m not sure what I should do here. There is this guy at my office, and he’s always stealing food from out of the refrigerator. He has stolen my lunch more than once, and I know it’s him because I’ve walked into the kitchen and caught him. He steals other people’s lunches too. Many of us have caught him in our lunches. He also scavenges food, so if there’s anything in

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Leora Fulvio April 18, 2011

This is a more personal post, but a story that I think is important to tell. My Mom was an amazing woman. She was smart, beautiful, kind, and cared about everyone she came into contact with. She was a dedicated junior high school teacher in the South Bronx in New York City and spent an incredible amount of her time taking care of her kids. She called all her students her kids. She loved them and they loved her. She

Life Is Hard

Leora Fulvio April 13, 2011

“Life is Difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly see that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters. Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult.

Retroflection

Leora Fulvio April 12, 2011

A patient of mine, who I’ll refer to as Allison, came into my office in tears today. After several months of being clean from binge eating, she’d spent the past two weeks knee deep in pastries. As we spoke, she told me about how she’d been betrayed by her employer and how angry she was. Her response was to binge eat. Gestalt therapy would call this retroflection. Being angry at someone else, and hurting yourself in response. Allison was terribly

Friday Q & A How do I deal with the Anxiety that triggers my Binge Eating?

Leora Fulvio April 8, 2011

This question comes from reader/forum contributor Sunshine. Q: I have anxiety, I take meds for it. How do I control my anxiety without using food? Because I use food to numb my mind. Thanks! A: This is a good question. And one that many people deal with. Anxiety is certainly underneath many cases of bulimia and binge eating as well as compulsive exercise and anorexia. Anxiety can feel very “sharp,” and doing things like eating (or drinking alcohol) can dull

Friday Q & A- How do I deal with the Emotions that Trigger a Binge?

Leora Fulvio April 2, 2011

Q: How do you even begin to get your mind off of the binge when the emotions to eat are soooo strong? A: That’s an excellent question. What you are saying here is that the “emotions to eat” are very strong. However, there is actually not an emotion to eat. There is an urge to eat, but usually the emotion UNDER the urge has nothing to do with food. So, what I’m saying here is that there is often a

Taking Care of Yourself Without Using Food

Leora Fulvio March 22, 2011

Food is consistent, right? You have a bad day, you reach for a cookie, you just got dumped, you reach for ice cream, you’re grumpy and have a headache, you soothe yourself with some chips and salsa, you’re lonely, you order a pizza. Food can be soothing and comforting and help you find peace quickly. Unfortunately though, the solution can then become the problem. It’s really important to stop when you find yourself reaching for food and ask yourself what

Friday Q&A– I eat out of the Garbage Can

Leora Fulvio March 18, 2011

This question comes to us from someone who prefers to remain anonymous. Q: I hate myself so much. I buy food all the time then I eat some and then I get rid of it by throwing it out so I don’t eat anymore, and then later I go through the garbage can to get it. I’ve even tried pouring coffee grounds or cigarette ashes on top. It doesn’t matter, I’ll eat it anyway. And I’ve even eaten a half

What is Intuitive Eating?

Leora Fulvio March 14, 2011

When you let go of dieting, you incorporate intuitive eating. Intuitive eating doesn’t mean eating a whole pan of brownies when you want to. If you want that pan of brownies, think to yourself, “will this trigger a binge, or will I be able to eat one in a healthy way?” If you intuitively know that right now, baking brownies is not a good idea for your recovery, then you need to let go of it. For now, not forever.

Friday Q&A– I went from calorie counting to binge eating

Leora Fulvio March 12, 2011

This question comes from Elizabeth in New York City. Q: I went on a diet last summer. I lost 40 pounds from June to November by eating exactly 1200 calories each day and running on the treadmill for 45 minutes every morning. Starting around Thanksgiving, I lost it all. I started bingeing at the Thanksgiving meal, and I tried to get back to calorie counting, but I haven’t been able to. I’ll go like one day but then I’ll binge

What Does a Binge Look Like?

Leora Fulvio March 9, 2011

A binge can look very different to many different people. Some people believe that eating two cookies is a binge. That’s definitely not a binge, however, it can feel like a binge to someone who exerts strict control over their eating. Although objectively, two cookies is not a binge, in that personality type, it can illicit the same feelings of guilt and shame that an all out binge does. The criteria for binge eating disorder are: 1. Eating a larger

Anger and Binge Eating

Leora Fulvio March 7, 2011

There is a theory that many people binge on crunchy food, such as cereal or chips when they are trying to process unconscious anger. Anger is a challenging feeling for many women to feel. When rage and anger goes unexpressed, it turns inward and becomes depression. What’s important is to learn how to be in touch with your feelings so that you can recognize anger when it occurs. Perhaps someone cut you off when you were driving, or someone at

Friday Q & A– I can’t sleep unless I binge

Leora Fulvio March 5, 2011

This question comes from a reader in North Carolina. Question: Please help me, every night I binge. It’s not that I want to, I just can’t sleep unless I do. I sit there in bed, tossing and turning, and I can resist for hours, but I still won’t sleep. I can usually make it till midnight, then I have to get out of bed and eat whatever I can. Even if there’s nothing good in the house like chips or

Rats, Stress, Restriction, Oreos and Binge Eating

Leora Fulvio March 2, 2011

I recently came across this study done in 2002. They were trying to replicate dieting and stress in rats to see if they would acquire eating disorders. They began by giving the rats 66% of the amount of food (Rat Chow!) that they usually ate. That’s like going from a 2000 calorie per day diet (normal) to a 1300 calorie per day diet (restrictive). They had the rats on this diet for 4 days. After 4 days, they lost 7-9%

Six Elements of Recovery from Binge Eating

Leora Fulvio February 28, 2011

Recovery from any eating disorder takes time, patience, self love, support, and has several layers to it. The deeper you go, the more you find, and the more whole you become as you heal those deep inner wounds. However, there are six elements to recovery that must be tended to in order to find deep recovery. 1.) Relearn how to eat regular meals. Eat three healthy meals per day, no restricting, no dieting, no skipping meals, no calorie counting, no

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