Expert: Joanne - 1/24/2007

Question
Hi, I successfully lost weight in the past (25 lbs and I kept it for two years. I ate nothing but fruits and vegetables. I know this is what you call a fad diet but now I've developed an eating disorder. I've been binging for the past four months now and gained an excessive amount of weight is a short period of time. I went to the doctor and they told me that there's nothing to do about it. The eating disorder clinic cannot help me cos' I'm not eating for emotional reasons. I want to stop binging because I'm afraid that I'll start purging soon because my weight is going up and up and up. I tried everything to break the cycle but the cravings were so intense. I can't control it. I've tried everything and nothing works. I even get withdrawal symptoms when I don't eat carbs (bread, cookies, pasta, cheese, etc. Help me!

Answer
I think that you need to go back to your doctor.  I think that they should have looked into nutritionist appointments and possibly therapy.  The Eating Disorder Clinic said they wouldn't help you as it wasn't emotional- I still think that there could be benefit in talking to someone about this, but I understand that the clinic may be very busy and feel their resources need to be spared for those that have emotional eating disorders.

I think that you could use some help in breaking the cycle and I believe that some cognitive behavioural therapy may be of some use in this situation.

I think that a nutritionist would be useful to sit down and work through your daily food intake to work out if there is a reason that you are craving these foods.  From there, they should be able to work out some sort of meal plan which ensures that you are eating what you need to eat and help avoid cravings.

I don't believe that this will be very easily done without the professional help.

Carbs, especially things like white bread have actually been shown to make you hungry! Cookies, white bread, pasta, etc are all made up of highly refined carbohydrates.  Eating these instead of complex carbohydrates, such as wholegrains, brown rice, etc, can lead to fatigue, less energy, and in turn reduced physical activity.  This can have an effect on your metabolism which will lead to weight gain, and leads to cravings and more fatigue - it is a cycle!

One of the best things you can do yourself, is try to cut out foods with added sugar - fruits, etc are fine - and try to cut out the refined carbs.  Go for wholegrain breads, rye breads, etc.  Instead of white pasta, get wholewheat pasta and brown rice.  Maybe even try a dairy free cheese and see how that works for you.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way out of this.  It will not be a matter of just trying to cut down, but cutting out.  It is going to be the best way to do it, hopefully this will avoid future binges.  Don't keep anything that you believe you will binge on.  It may be hard, but eating something will just lead your body to craving it again!

Hopefully this has been of some use, and I still believe that you should return to your Dr and ask him to refer you to a nutritionist.  Maybe also some blood tests just to see if you are deficient in anything!

Holly