Compulsive Overeating, Binge Eating Conference - Compulsive Overeating and Binge Eating Overview

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Bob M: The second thing you did...and I can sort of hear a groan from the audience right now...is begin exercising.

Glinda West: Wrong. I hate "exercising." Never exercise to lose weight or burn calories. I found my "inner athlete." I found the sporting life. I found that I liked sports. Even an unathletic, overweight girl like me, found a sport she liked doing. I began doing the sport for the fun and challenge of it - not to lose weight. The side benefit was that my metabolism became more efficient.

Bob M: Your statements are spurring audience comments and questions. Here are a few:

CeeJay: I very much understand the urgency and deprivation feelings. Stocking up on food sort of lessens the panic of it being all gone or taken away, I guess.

Rob2: Exercise is the KEY to it all. I will not talk to my patients at all about weight loss unless they address the activity factor. It changes your whole frame of mind. On the days that I run, I do not overeat.

Connie21: So that is the answer just keep loads and loads of food on hand? So the key to beating obsessing over food is just to allow yourself whatever you want, whenever you want it?

Glinda West: If you keep loads and loads of food on-hand, I guarantee you there will be a calmness that wasn't there before. This is only one aspect. Please don't take it out of context. I cannot condense the entire book in one hour.

nbp: My husband overeats as a means of dealing with stress and depression. He is overweight, continuing to gain, and beginning to experience health difficulties such as high blood pressure. I have expressed to him my concern for his health and happiness, but he refuses to seek counseling. What steps can I take (w/o nagging) to help him?

Glinda West: I don't know if you can do it for him. Sometimes people have to come to this readiness on their own. Even when I knew the secret to overcoming the eating disorder, I took my time, because I was not completely ready to give up food.

Bob M: Was there something, an event, that brought you to that point? Or was it merely a realization, either immediately or over time?

Glinda West: Well, there is that funny story in the book. That kind of did it for me. Supreme humiliation was kind of a good motivator. I was also just plain sick of thinking about food and my weight.

Bob M: Glinda's book is: The Fat Fairygodmother's 5 Secrets to Being Thin Forever: End your Addiction to Food and Start Your Life. You can purchase it at the fatfairygodmother site.

So far, we've touched on:

• Secret 1: Get a life...don't make food your life.
• Secret 2: Make food and your weight "non-issues". Start thinking about other parts of your life...and take action on the food part.
• Secret 3: STOP DIETING. Get off the dieting yo-yo.

Glinda West: The ultimate goal is to learn to eat like a normal person again according to your body's cues.

Bob M: And you mention Glinda, that dieting is not good for you or your body. Why?

Glinda West: Dieting will only cause obsessive thinking about food. It is always a losing proposition. Also, you will slow your metabolism and end up gaining weight on less food.

Bob M: Secret 4: Find your inner athlete. Find activities that you enjoy doing...and do them for yourself, not to lose weight, but for the challenge and enjoyment of them.

Glinda West: Exactly. Bob

Bob M: And Secret 5: LEARN TO EAT NORMALLY. And this may be the hardest step of all, right Glinda?

Glinda West: Yes. Many people who are compulsive overeaters have no clues about hunger and fullness. This does take some time.

Bob M: How did you rediscover them...the feeling of hunger and fullness? and what did that take to accomplish?

Glinda West: Like I said, I started by allowing myself to eat at will. When the urgency to binge began to subside, when I knew I could eat whatever I wanted for the rest of my life, I began to feel hunger and fullness more often. Also, paying attention to my life, not concentrating on food, but on other activities, helped me feel hunger more often. I wasn't standing in front of the refrigerator as much.

Bob M: At the beginning of tonight's conference, you said you had been through anorexia, bulimia, then compulsive overeating. That last phase, bingeing, went on for 10 years. How long did it take you to get through this 5-Secret process?

Glinda West: It took approximately 6-8 months before I knew the obsession was lessening for good. I was bingeing less frequently and did not have the urge to stuff myself beyond fullness as much. At about the same time, I noticed I was not thinking about food as much. The psychological changes continued for about another 8 months during which I was losing weight gradually, but consistently. I lost almost all of the 80 or so pounds during that 16 months - really without effort. I am currently 5'3" and weigh about 105 pounds or so. My anorexic weight was 86 pounds. I do not obsess about food in any way. It has really become unimportant to me. I don't think the process needs to take this long for everyone. I had to experiment. Remember, I discovered this method, by accident. There was no book for me.

Bob M: Here are a couple of comments: