Binge eating, food addiction, and athletic performance

I read The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pam Peeke with some interest. Sometimes I binge, making excuses about binge foods and what I'll do to mitigate the effects, and I feel horrible afterwards.  I would look at my tummy in the mirror and beat myself up.  I would weigh myself, sigh, and promise myself to be better. Although I didn't enjoy reading the book, it turns out that its suggestions have been effective and powerful for me, with some unintended consequences.  Instead of following the complete program, I used behavior modification techniques that appealed.  Specifically, I came up with ways to trigger dopamine and serotonin release that didn't involve food.  When I wanted to gorge, for instance, I would give myself a facial or roll out my muscles instead.

Not enough time has elapsed to say I am cured, but in two weeks since I've read the book, I haven't binged.  I've experienced common binge triggers that have precipitated a massive feed, such as the fact that it's Friday night, or the mere presence of more than one serving of cheese, but it hasn't happened.  In fact, I haven't been very hungry at all, abnormal in any situation. I didn't skip meals, but I cut my intake.  Very soon, I looked and felt great, how I always hope to maintain.

I competed in a kettlebell lifting contest a few days ago.  I trained hard, I reached my goal several times in practice, and I was ready.  When the moment of truth came, I wasn't able to finish.  I'm pretty sure it is because I hadn't eaten enough.

The End of Overeating by David A. Kessler, MD

There are a lot of books about emotional eating out there, but I particularly enjoyed this one for the rigorous scientific explanations of brain functions. That kind of narrative can be hard to follow for those of us who aren't neurosurgeons, but Dr. Kessler managed to make the most complex living organism, the human brain, accessible. He also takes the food industry to task for its manipulation of these brain functions to make products more and more difficult for many people to resist. If you are an emotional eater and feel you might relate to a science-based program to control your addiction, you want to pick up this book.