Hello- I'm glad you wrote this post. I am also an emotional binge eater and it is a daily struggle to work through. I just joined this site a few weeks ago and I will admit...I am a yoyo dieter. What I am learning though is not to give up. In the past, if I ate too many calories at a time, I would blow my whole day and it would take days if not weeks to get back on track. I have learned to get back on track right away and also I log everything I eat, no matter how much it was. It is really a reality check to see how fast calories add up. I didn't always realize that.

Just a few things that have been helping me with this journey:
1. I always plan my meals the night before. So every night, I go to my kitchen and I plan everything that I will eat the next day and I will actually put those foods in my food journal right away. That has really been helping me. Its a small step but is very helpful..
2. On the weekends, I struggle the most because I have more down time. I spend my time hitting the gym. I will spend about an hour and a half there. I will exercise and then hit the sauna. I love that. Usually other girls will join me and we all end up talking about our goals and it kinda motivates me.
3. Find an outfit or dress that you would like to fit into. Hang it in the kitchen or your bedroom so you can see it everyday. It will help when you feel like binging because it will remind you what you are working for.
4. When you are bored and feel like binging, set a timer for 15 minutes. Do not eat in that time. Rather use that time to journal your feelings about why you want to eat and maybe brainstorm some ideas of healthy food choices. Use this time to figure out if there is a pattern. Do you feel like binge eating a certain time of day everyday? If so, that is the time to focus on. I know with me, I get so hungry everyday around 2-3:00. So during that time, I will plan a snack and I do not starve or deprive myself. I have been known to get a snack size bag of doritos which are only about 140 calories. It takes the edge off and yet I'm still having success in my day.
5. When you are bored, try doing a new activity. Go on a walk, listen to music while sitting outside. For me, fresh air really helps. Journal, go on youtube and do a walking video. I have been walking in the mornings to the Leslie Sansone videos. Today I did the 2 mile walk. Go window shop because it motivates you to keep going. I like seeing different outfits that I would buy when I reach my goal weight. Sometimes, I even make some new recipes so that when I am hungry, I can just pull something out of the fridge and its there.

I'm not sure if these ideas will help you. Its something that helped me though. Just baby steps. I do a lot of self talk though to get myself through things. With time, it will become a habit and won't be as difficult. I wish you the best!

There is some great info here.
What I've learnt from the nutritional stuff here is that if we are too stringent ie too few calories, too restrictive in what we can eat we will all binge.
I make sure that if I am physically hungry I eat.
It doesn't hurt to focus on our goals.
I have failed before. Forgive mistakes.
I use guided meditations that help me focus on letting go, feeling safe etc.

I'm finally under 210 pounds, which is the lowest I've been in a few years. I know that eating has always made me feel good, and the binging began after being sexually assaulted about 10 years ago. The weight has been somewhat of a protection. The more weight I lose, the more I feel out of control, the anxiety starts, and I want to binge. I am going to start some therapy to deal with this, but what also helps me stop the binging is logging every single thing that I eat... no matter what it looks like. It gives me some perspective and helps me see that I'm out of control.

I do my best not to drive by any bakery. I avoid the cookie isle. I tell myself that people love me and I don't need to hide behind fat tissue. That was a hard one. I had a high stress job, nasty husband and mother-in-law from hell. I'm retired and readjusting my head. It is work not to binge. I try not to have any extra food in the refrig. I do have skinny cow in the freezer and that helps, like a treat and one square of Godiva on occasion---not the whole thing, just a square. I try and enter what I eat here! Makes me more aware of what I am doing to myself.