how do I stop bingeing?

Okay, here comes the honesty: You're Right - It is NOT helping with your weight loss at all! That's nice and all that you "like to wake up to a big breakfast..." I like to eat fudge, and pastries, and drink full fat and sugar lattes... but guess what... I have to remind myself that I like the idea of being healthy more! We "like" lots of things that aren't good for us. Unhealthy food can be psychologically, and in some cases, physiologically addictive! SO - do you want to overcome this? Do you want to look and feel healthier? Because if you do, you are going to have to make some changes! I am not trying to be rude, and I apologize if I'm coming off that way, but I want to be straightforward and honest with you.

If you tell yourself that you are "incapable of portion control," then you are setting yourself up for failure. I'd recommend looking at it as "portion control is difficult for me." Something that is difficult is something that you can overcome. And, you CAN overcome this. But you have to go into it with a mindset that tells you you are capable of making healthier choices.

If you are truly afraid of fainting (do you have a history of fainting?) then let's look at that. You do not have to have "a big breakfast" to avoid fainting. You can have a smaller, more reasonable breakfast (think around 300 calories) that's mostly protein and complex carbs. This breakfast will help keep your blood sugar more stable and make you less likely to get lightheaded. In addition to that breakfast, have two small snacks set aside that you are "allowed" to have if you start feeling light-headed. I'd recommend a tangerine if it seems like you need sugar, and/or maybe a small serving of oats. Even better, a hardboiled egg! This way, you've consumed less calories during breakfast but you have a "safety plan" for if you start feeling lightheaded. And, even if you end up using both of those snacks, you haven't eaten anything horrible. This might help you control your breakfast eating, if you know you have plans in place for the fainting issue... and to speak bluntly, it takes away your ability to use "fear of fainting" as an excuse for eating a calorie-laden breakfast.

You are unemployed and so snack throughout the day... I can see how easy that would be to do - I tend to over-eat (and on unhealthy things) when I don't have much to do. The best way to combat this is to #1 make yourself drink 8-16oz of water and wait 10 minutes before snacking when you feel like you want to snack (often our body is thirsty but we interpret it as hunger and snack needlessly) and #2 find activities to do! If being bored is a trigger for eating... then address the boredom! If the weather is decent, go for walks. LONG walks. With a water bottle in each hand (that way you get a little light-weight weight training with the water bottles in addition to keeping hydrated!). So long as you're out walking, you can't reach in the cupboard for unhealthy food. And as a bonus, walking is good for you :-) Sit down and make a huuuge list of all the non-eating-related things that you enjoy doing. Make sure most of them are budget friendly (ex: paint nails, read a book, go for a walk, call a friend, draw a picture, write a letter, go to the pet store and check out cute animals... etc etc). When you're bored and feel like binging, drink some water, pop some gum in your mouth to address the "wanting to chew something" feeling, pull out your list, and do something on it! Seriously, this "boredom-busting list" can be super helpful.

You are here, on this board, having the courage to post all of this... so, try and apply that courage to honestly tracking everything you eat. Sometimes it's harsh and disappointing, that is true... but remember, no one is perfect, and no one can be perfect... but we can at any time choose to make a positive change and get headed back in the right direction! Good luck!

That's right. I like to wake up to a big breakfast but I am incapable of portion control and I am afraid to eat less because I have a fear of fainting :sad: which is not helping with my weight loss at all and I am also unemployed so I keep snacking on stuff throughout the day and that makes me upset at the end of the day ans sometimes I don't list the things I eat out of embarassment.

Okay, here comes the honesty: You're Right - It is NOT helping with your weight loss at all! That's nice and all that you "like to wake up to a big breakfast..." I like to eat fudge, and pastries, and drink full fat and sugar lattes... but guess what... I have to remind myself that I like the idea of being healthy more! We "like" lots of things that aren't good for us. Unhealthy food can be psychologically, and in some cases, physiologically addictive! SO - do you want to overcome this? Do you want to look and feel healthier? Because if you do, you are going to have to make some changes! I am not trying to be rude, and I apologize if I'm coming off that way, but I want to be straightforward and honest with you.

If you tell yourself that you are "incapable of portion control," then you are setting yourself up for failure. I'd recommend looking at it as "portion control is difficult for me." Something that is difficult is something that you can overcome. And, you CAN overcome this. But you have to go into it with a mindset that tells you you are capable of making healthier choices.

If you are truly afraid of fainting (do you have a history of fainting?) then let's look at that. You do not have to have "a big breakfast" to avoid fainting. You can have a smaller, more reasonable breakfast (think around 300 calories) that's mostly protein and complex carbs. This breakfast will help keep your blood sugar more stable and make you less likely to get lightheaded. In addition to that breakfast, have two small snacks set aside that you are "allowed" to have if you start feeling light-headed. I'd recommend a tangerine if it seems like you need sugar, and/or maybe a small serving of oats. Even better, a hardboiled egg! This way, you've consumed less calories during breakfast but you have a "safety plan" for if you start feeling lightheaded. And, even if you end up using both of those snacks, you haven't eaten anything horrible. This might help you control your breakfast eating, if you know you have plans in place for the fainting issue... and to speak bluntly, it takes away your ability to use "fear of fainting" as an excuse for eating a calorie-laden breakfast.

You are unemployed and so snack throughout the day... I can see how easy that would be to do - I tend to over-eat (and on unhealthy things) when I don't have much to do. The best way to combat this is to #1 make yourself drink 8-16oz of water and wait 10 minutes before snacking when you feel like you want to snack (often our body is thirsty but we interpret it as hunger and snack needlessly) and #2 find activities to do! If being bored is a trigger for eating... then address the boredom! If the weather is decent, go for walks. LONG walks. With a water bottle in each hand (that way you get a little light-weight weight training with the water bottles in addition to keeping hydrated!). So long as you're out walking, you can't reach in the cupboard for unhealthy food. And as a bonus, walking is good for you :-) Sit down and make a huuuge list of all the non-eating-related things that you enjoy doing. Make sure most of them are budget friendly (ex: paint nails, read a book, go for a walk, call a friend, draw a picture, write a letter, go to the pet store and check out cute animals... etc etc). When you're bored and feel like binging, drink some water, pop some gum in your mouth to address the "wanting to chew something" feeling, pull out your list, and do something on it! Seriously, this "boredom-busting list" can be super helpful.

You are here, on this board, having the courage to post all of this... so, try and apply that courage to honestly tracking everything you eat. Sometimes it's harsh and disappointing, that is true... but remember, no one is perfect, and no one can be perfect... but we can at any time choose to make a positive change and get headed back in the right direction! Good luck!

That's right. I like to wake up to a big breakfast but I am incapable of portion control and I am afraid to eat less because I have a fear of fainting :sad: which is not helping with my weight loss at all and I am also unemployed so I keep snacking on stuff throughout the day and that makes me upset at the end of the day ans sometimes I don't list the things I eat out of embarassment.

this is a divine advice!! All of the advice I got make sense! I know I got problem with carbs and I am using fainting and working out as an excuse to fuel up with bread and rice. My fruit tray is overflowing with apples,oranges and bananas but I still reach out for nachos and noodles which is basically comfort eating. Talking to y'all has made me realise my mistake and I am gonna so make the effort of clean eating and load up on veggies and fruit which are the cheapest anti aging products ever lol ( I am 25 so worried about wrinkles too haha!!)

Ohhhh I'm so glad you found it helpful :-) I really didn't want to be rude, just honest with you :-) You CAN do this! Oh, one other little bit of advice on the reducing empty calories (rice) and increasing veggies. I loooove curry. Indian curry, Thai curry, Japanese curry... all of it! But I realized that though you can make curry in healthier ways, dumping it on top of rice just isn't good! Soooo... I use grated cauliflower instead. Yup, grated cauliflower! Grate (or finely chop) half a head of cauliflower, and the microwave for like 3-4 minutes, and you'll get a similar texture to rice! Curry is also good over steamed cabbage :-) Both are easy ways to replace the rice - just be careful not to eat tooooo much of the curry. When in doubt... add extra veggies :-)