I suggest maybe taking a break from here and taking the pressure off, focussing only on eating healthy and when hungry, rather than on numbers, for a short time, and occupying your mind with other things. I find the more time I spend on here, the more I obsess on the numbers, the worse it becomes. I am also finding intermittent fasting very helpful, for me personally. When you can eat a few decent sized meals in a shorter space of time, that urge to binge just seems to vanish, plus it teaches you that you can do it, and that you do have the strength to control food, rather than food controlling you. Of course, it will not work for everyone, but I am someone who battled binge urges from when I got out of bed somedays, and I am finding it remarkably easy to just go cold turkey on food for 14-15 hours a day (including sleep time, of course). I know some others on here have found relief from binge eating using IF as well.

I totally understand!!! Some days, I can start off with the best of intentions, all kinds of willpower, etc., only to find myself eating the crap again at some point the same day. I have often wished I could purge too - I never could either. I tried more than once and nothing. I'm sure this is a good thing though.

I quit doing the me vs. binge (yes, again) because I think it was causing me more harm than good. I compare myself to everyone who is doing so well and then I feel worse about myself (I know I should NOT compare myself with others, ever). Then I feel even worse because I *should* be happy for them but instead I feel jealous and afraid and alone. Talk about completely ashamed! I am ashamed to admit that but there, I said it.

Sometimes I think the more I think about not bingeing, the more I binge. I really need to let it go and focus on other things instead of bingeing, not bingeing, what I will eat today, etc. Some days are easier than others to do so though.

I wish I had some advice but I'm pretty much in the same place as you. Hang in there, you are definitely not alone.

I suggest maybe taking a break from here and taking the pressure off, focussing only on eating healthy and when hungry, rather than on numbers, for a short time, and occupying your mind with other things. I find the more time I spend on here, the more I obsess on the numbers, the worse it becomes. I am also finding intermittent fasting very helpful, for me personally. When you can eat a few decent sized meals in a shorter space of time, that urge to binge just seems to vanish, plus it teaches you that you can do it, and that you do have the strength to control food, rather than food controlling you. Of course, it will not work for everyone, but I am someone who battled binge urges from when I got out of bed somedays, and I am finding it remarkably easy to just go cold turkey on food for 14-15 hours a day (including sleep time, of course). I know some others on here have found relief from binge eating using IF as well.

i have also found success with IF or modified IF type eating. i try to save the bulk of my calories for later in the day which is when i want to eat the most as i'm home from work/school whatever. also when i don't plan ahead to have easy lunches i can throw together for my long days it is easier to slip up which can lead to binging. i hope you are doing better today!

Yes, oddly, I am not craving junk at all since taking up the If because the large meals in the evening leave me feeling content. I am the sort of person who gets indecision over what to eat and that stresses me out. By having a large dinner, I can fit a much greater variety into my meal, look forward to it, and focus on just doing other things in the daytime. When I snacked in the day, I was often snacking not through real hunger, more through habit, mind hunger and the like. The trainer I am having a few free sessions with said we are not designed to eat throughout the day, and snack. He also said that it is possible some of my hunger is not real tummy rumble hunger, but rather mind hunger. And he was right. As long as I eat my decent dinner and bedtime meal, It takes a good 13-14 hours before I experience any grumbling tummy. And because I have waited until I am genuinely hungry, I enjoy and look forward to the meal more. If you think about it, a lot of people naturally slip into IF anyway because they have their dinner at 8 or 9, go to bed at maybe 11, don't like breakfast, and eat their first meal at lunchtime. That is 15-16 hours right there.

It takes away the obsession on food. It reminds you that you can control your urges. Even just doing it once or twice a week can be beneficial AS LONG as you get in adequate calories in that 8 hour window. I have had cereal bars and nuts around, and not felt any urge to binge on them. No room to fit them in, no cravings for them. Because I am eating all my food in the evening, and that gives me a lot of leeway.

Worth a try, is all I will say.

I suggest maybe taking a break from here and taking the pressure off, focussing only on eating healthy and when hungry, rather than on numbers, for a short time, and occupying your mind with other things. I find the more time I spend on here, the more I obsess on the numbers, the worse it becomes. I am also finding intermittent fasting very helpful, for me personally. When you can eat a few decent sized meals in a shorter space of time, that urge to binge just seems to vanish, plus it teaches you that you can do it, and that you do have the strength to control food, rather than food controlling you. Of course, it will not work for everyone, but I am someone who battled binge urges from when I got out of bed somedays, and I am finding it remarkably easy to just go cold turkey on food for 14-15 hours a day (including sleep time, of course). I know some others on here have found relief from binge eating using IF as well.

i have also found success with IF or modified IF type eating. i try to save the bulk of my calories for later in the day which is when i want to eat the most as i'm home from work/school whatever. also when i don't plan ahead to have easy lunches i can throw together for my long days it is easier to slip up which can lead to binging. i hope you are doing better today!

Yes, oddly, I am not craving junk at all since taking up the If because the large meals in the evening leave me feeling content. I am the sort of person who gets indecision over what to eat and that stresses me out. By having a large dinner, I can fit a much greater variety into my meal, look forward to it, and focus on just doing other things in the daytime. When I snacked in the day, I was often snacking not through real hunger, more through habit, mind hunger and the like. The trainer I am having a few free sessions with said we are not designed to eat throughout the day, and snack. He also said that it is possible some of my hunger is not real tummy rumble hunger, but rather mind hunger. And he was right. As long as I eat my decent dinner and bedtime meal, It takes a good 13-14 hours before I experience any grumbling tummy. And because I have waited until I am genuinely hungry, I enjoy and look forward to the meal more. If you think about it, a lot of people naturally slip into IF anyway because they have their dinner at 8 or 9, go to bed at maybe 11, don't like breakfast, and eat their first meal at lunchtime. That is 15-16 hours right there.

It takes away the obsession on food. It reminds you that you can control your urges. Even just doing it once or twice a week can be beneficial AS LONG as you get in adequate calories in that 8 hour window. I have had cereal bars and nuts around, and not felt any urge to binge on them. No room to fit them in, no cravings for them. Because I am eating all my food in the evening, and that gives me a lot of leeway.

Worth a try, is all I will say.

I am also discovering IF seems to work for me as well, for the exact same reasons. I only have a coffee in the morning now and eat a bigger lunch and dinner and that is working wonders for me.

Hang in there OP, you must being going through a lot of stress right now. Just don't give up! Keep trying. :flowerforyou:

Thanks for all the wonderful advice!

I think I'd like to try IF, because I start my day off with a bowl of cereal, and within an hour I am more hungry than before I ate them, and the day spirals downward from there.

Question for all you IF-ers. Can you tell me some of the meals you make when you are doing this? Just wondering cause as a busy college student, half of my dinners consist of lean cuisines :embarassed:

And one more thing: I am trying to increase my protein intake. i do drink some protein powder with almond milk, but I prefer eating my calories over drinking them! I can also only eat so many nuts per day, and this often puts me over in fat. BUT my question is, what are some things everyone eats to get a lot of protein? I tried balance bars and cliff bars, which are pretty high in calories, and unfortunately they have turned into a binge food for me, so I can no longer buy them!

i'm a busy college student too! do you have access to a kitchen? i cook for me and my boyfriend and take two days a week to make these italian turkey or chicken burgers:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-italian-turkey-burgers.html

they are delicious! and lots of protein of course. i eat them like a burger or cut it up and mix with vegetables.

or bake/cook on stove top some boneless skinless chicken breasts.

lately i've been loving some sauteed bell peppers. delicious!! but really taking the time to cook in bulk saves a bunch of time! things you can just grab and go. my bf makes hard boiled eggs for us that we have ready to go for lunch. also steaming enough vegetables for at least two days helps so it is readily available. i LOVE green beans, zucchini, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower and can eat them plain but you can totally add a little seasoning and it wouldn't hurt too much.

i also like to use my crock pot! i make a big batch of black bean and lentil soup which is super cheap to make plus very filling! i either have it like soup or drain some of the water and add ground turkey or chicken and it is like chili. i usually make two batches so i can freeze a bit for when we are shorter on time or money haha. for dinner i have pretty much whatever i want short of ice cream or snack cakes/pastries because i can eat SO much of that. its totally a trigger food for me. an example for me is tonight i'm making a ground turkey taco and a separate taco bowl. i love being able to have a good amount of sour cream and shredded cheese

i've worked out on an empty stomach plenty of times and haven't had any issues. some people work better with a little something but you just have to try it and go from there. i don't truly do IF because i like to drink a protein shake in the morning after working out and before school or work and its usually around 200-250 calories. but that still leaves me with a good size lunch and a nice big dinner if i wanted to. sometimes i don't feel like eating as much as i could for dinner which is fine because other days i go a little over so it balances out! anyway hope you find something that works for you!!