How did you help yourself stop binge eating?

I always go through a period of non-stop eating and the way I've got out of each time is: do exercise. It breaks the pattern and I feel myself becoming sluggish due to large consumption. I also keep my room/kitchen healthy as possible and don't allow foods to arrive till I've done a fair amount of exercise as a normal one/two chocolate per week.

It's a slow process but as you increase your exercise levels, you can come out of it - that has always been the case for me. Then a few days later you will just realise you're back on track. Stay strong.

This is a struggle, sometimes the urges are just really strong. I agree about keeping tempting stuff out of the house if possible. Water is a good quench for alot of faux hunger. Another thing that helps me is a protein smoothie. I like the chocolate protein powders, mix with skim milk and ice, run it through a blender and you have a good size smoothie that fills you up for under 300 cals. That usually gets me out of an eating frenzy.

Don't go to buffets, and don't keep pre-packaged, ready-to-eat- foods at home.

I have problems with binging too. And I feel terrible after I've done it. I would suggest doing something to take your mind off it for a while, like go for a walk or call a friend or do something, anything but eating. If you can get your focus off the food, you may be able to resist it. Also as stated, don't keep the binge foods in the house. If you have to go out to get them, you might rethink it. If you don't have a choice with them (i.e. you live with someone who wants chips but they're a binge food for you), ask that person to put them away somewhere you won't see them all the time.

I once upon a time used to binge. That was when I wasn't eating enough (1200 cals a day)

Since I've been eating enough I fit what I want in my macros and calories. Binges don't happen anymore.

Agree with those who say exercise helps--when I'm working out regularly, I somehow become more aware of my body and its needs. Eating better just starts to happen automatically.

Personally, I found that its better for me to not buy things that are pre-made and easy to eat a lot of. Even "healthy" foods like hummus, flavored nuts, cheese and crackers, and cereal are hard for me to have around. I can eat a whole tube of hummus like THAT. If I actually have to prepare a meal--chopping some vegetables, portioning out a serving, etc--I don't go overboard. It also helps to think of all the money you'll save by not devouring your entire fridge in one night!

Make a pledge to log everything, even on days you know you're going to go over your calorie goal. I go over at least once a week (and don't care), but because I log what I'm eating I'm at least more aware of what I'm consuming. I'll stop at one piece of cake instead of three.

Eat enough food! Every time I've tried to eat at a really low calorie range I've eventually felt deprived and rebelled. Don't let yourself get too hungry. Give yourself freedom to have days where you really eat until you're deeply satisfied.

I agree with the first responder. Don't keep binge worthy foods around. I got rid of all the candy and chocolate in the house. I almost had to get rid of the peanut butter too.

But in the end it just came down to willpower. You either want to binge or you want to lose weight. You can't have both so you need to decide which one you want more.

I try to remind myself that I am strong. I quit smoking and marijuana cold turkey after 15 years of going at both of them hard core. I know I can do this and that's what I tell myself when I think about eating food I shouldn't.

Keep your hunger/fullness scale between 3 and 7 (on 1-10 scale).

Eat plenty of satiating food like protein, fiber and healthy fats.

I think calorie counting lends itself to bingeing. There might be better weight loss methods for some.

I find I do well mentally with trying TO eat a certain variety of foods daily than trying to AVOID others. If you're full on produce and protein and it was tasty you're much less likely to binge at night than if you had a skimpy, unsatisfying lunch and are facing another meal like that for dinner.

Plan your snacks, plan your meals and log log log. One of my triggers is when I'm cooking dinner, while I'm waiting on water to boil or whatever I would raid the snack cabinet and start a binge...now I save one of my daily snacks for that moment because I know that I have a hard then. So as I cook I would munch on some string cheese if I'm craving something salty, or some portioned fruit or cookies (counted out) and satisfy my craving before dinner. You don't have to torture yourself, just plan ahead and make sure you log and the snack is within your daily allowance.

And do you have any tips for people that do?
I know it's terrible for me and my health. I dont know what to do, i cant stop no matter how hard i try.
I dont realize I'm doing it until after i have finished eating all of it.

Make sure you're eating enough protein, fiber, and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc.)

Structure your eating. Know when and how you're going to eat. A plan helps you avoid the situations or foods that trigger overeating.

Establish new eating patterns to replace destructive ones.

Exercise when you feel a binge coming on.

If all else fails, look into therapy. There are lots of support groups for binge eaters. Check out Overeaters Anonymous.

I have struggled with binge eating for all my adult life, mine is usually linked to emotional situations (that time of the month, upset, happiness or at the moment, frustration) but I have managed to get a handle on it (most of the time) and now I am always honest with my family when & if I do binge (I did recently, a whole 378g box of Thorntons Classic Collection chocolates, it's linked to the problems at work and the fact that I hate my job and it's dragging me down right now).

I would say that (as everyone else has already said) avoid keeping the tempting foods in the house (my box of chocolates was a thank you gift from one of my service users & I pigged out on it before my family got home, but I kept the box and showed them the evidence - including the gift tag to prove I hadn't bought them myself - as soon as they got home).

My binge food is chocolate, it is the only thing I've ever binged on, so now I allow myself 3 little pieces of Green & Black's 70% cocoa chocolate every day (I buy a 100g bar and eat 3 pieces at a time, which amounts to 10g) and it seems to quench my desire to want chocolate and it makes me thirsty, so I follow it with a large glass of water (which is very filling too).

If I get the urge to binge I sit down and write my feelings down (I keep a mood diary to record feelings, progress and just anything that has an impact on my food intake) I try to work out what has caused my urge to binge and I look for ways to distract my attention; exercise is a great side tracker for me....

My final piece of advice is.... There is no such thing as bad foods, we can eat whatever we want to eat, the problems lie in our mindset that screams "Ooh that's BAD...." whenever we fall of the wagon (so to speak).... So you've over eaten on your calories today.... so what.... exercise a little harder later the same day or the next day.... plus tomorrow is another day....

I don't believe in denial, denial leads to desire....
I don't believe in diets, they don't work....
I believe that if your body is craving something, it is trying to tell you something; there is no early warning signs for thirst, so therefore our body sends the hungry message, it's up to us to translate that message....

I heard a fantastic motto a few years ago and it has been a life saver for me on this journey: "Don't turn a bad day into a bad week...."

xXx

I created a list of no go foods...foods I know that set me off...I avoid those...one you get a few weeks in I found the desire to binge has subsided. That said there is plenty of yummy foods that dont set me off so I still incorporate treats etc

The "No S Diet" helped me a lot - nosdiet.com - it's free. It put boundaries on my eating. No snacks, no sweets, no seconds, except on Sat/Sun. Not snacking was the key for me during the week. Sitting down to 3 meals a day has been very stabilizing.

The other thing is spontaneous exercise. Whenever I get the urge to binge, like when I'm about to lose it, I drop and do pushups, or jump rope, or some other intense exercise. 1 or 2 minutes of that seems to break me out of binge mode.

I would die without my snacks! I weirdly hate the feeling of a full stomach, so I never eat a lot at one time.

What did I do? First I went to Overeaters Anonymous. I read the "Big Book" (link below) and followed the 12 Steps from the program.

I read books such as "Food Triggers" by Rhona Epstein to educate me about my eating dysfunctions. I read the "Boundaries" books by Cloud and Townsend to learn to deal with my people problems.

I journaled about my thoughts and feelings and ideas and dreams.

I prayed.

I finally stopped fighting life and myself and God and submitted myself to the process of getting healthy.

I finally admitted that there were certain foods that I could exercise moderation with (such as chips, fried foods, cheese, salty almonds, popcorn, etc.) and certain foods that I would never, ever have a healthy relationship with (such as ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, chocolate bars, caramel corn, sourdough bread, pasta, etc.). I chose to abstain from the latter and chose to do so indefinitely. Over two years later, and almost 70 lbs down, I'm still abstaining.

THEN I started doing all the things people are telling you to do here.

I went to Overeaters Anonymous. Check out their website. The support of others who tend to binge eat is very helpful. There have been some really great tips in the post so far but you really need to get at the root cause of your binging. Just telling you to not have certain foods around you may be like telling an alcoholic not to have booze in the house. While this is good advice, it won't stop them from binging. Anyway. That's how I stopped.