Binge Eating

I faced the same problem for years and as a result I am 80 lbs over weight. Recently a light bulb went off in my head. Each day when we wake up, everyone of us makes many life changing decisions. One of those decisions is to eat normal portions of food or eat everything in site. Please join me each day and each minute of each day and CHOSE not yo over eat.

I'll tell you the biggest thing that helped me. Eating enough foods of all kinds-mostly nutrient dense but also a treat everyday, even if it's just a plain Greek yoghurt with honey, walnuts and cinnamon.
I eat some chocolate if I want it. I workout everyday for health and adding extra calories to eat!
I had read that overweight/obese people are often malnourished due to not eating all the essential nutrients humans needed and one possible reason for bingeing could be that it's your bodies way of trying to nourish itself.
Unfortunately due to too many choices of eating empty calories, your body may not be getting what it needs.
Bingeing becomes a cycle when after the binge, we restrict-become very hungry and binge again.
Today, there is no bingeing in my life. Sometime I overeat or eat too many "treats" but the crazy compulsion to binge is gone mostly because I feed myself well with a variety of different foods.
I know there is also a definite emotional/psychological component to the bingeing cycle but along with some therapy, healthy eating + exercise really helped me tremendously and is essential in recovery.

What PP said. I have felt like this many times. What has helped me lose the weight has been no food is off limits as long as I stay in my daily calories. If I tell myself I wont eat a brownie a slice of cake etc. I wont stop thinking about it and end up binging on it. Eventually I found different ways to have my sweets with lower calories. Lots of great recipes that substitute the full fatty ones. But if your just starting, just stay in within your calories and have what you want.

I understand- I was literally binging everyday for almost 2 months. It started out with me actually trying to put on weight because I was underweight. Then it just turned into me actually binging because I couldn't stop. I am at a good weight now, and am trying to eat normally again. It's really hard. It's as if I have to re teach myself to be healthy again =\

I'm not really much help given that I'm in the middle of a disordered eating phase right now. In the past, I've found it helps if you approach binge eating like any other type of addiction. A few years ago, I was able to distract myself by learning how to knit (it's hard to eat if you're holding two needles in your hands) or by setting realistic goals, such as going one day and then two days, etc. without bingeing. I imagine it's like giving up cigarettes or alcohol, little-by-little you realize that you can get through high and low periods without overeating. You can also ask a friend to help you stay accountable - tell your friend what you're going through and say that you're going to send an email at the end of each day with a progress report; if you binged, say what you binged on and what triggered it. If you don't want to (or can't be) that open, there are also apps you can use to track your habit each day.

Good luck!

The best way I've stopped myself from binge eating is I plan my entire days worth of food the day before. I put in what I'm going to eat for my three meals and then plan snacks that will keep me within the calorie range I want for that day. That way if I am hungry between meals I know what I can eat, while sometimes I don't find myself eating my snacks. I also make sure before I eat between meals I drink a glass of water or a cup of tea to see if I really am hungry. Best of Luck, I know you can do it.

There are many things that lead to me binge eating:

My most damaging one:
Inner-Child-Emotions: It really bothers me that I can't not focus on what I'm eating. I feel like so many other people can eat whatever they want whenever they want. My inner child doesn't like that at all. It'll have been "so long since I had those cookies I really really like, and I really really want them, so I'm just going to have them.....2 whole boxes of them..."

A case of "the eats":
Not paying attention to body's cues for what it wants: There are times when my husband and I "eat the house down" trying NOT to eat what we REALLY want. What usually starts it off is that we let ourselves get TOO hungry, then it's every man for himself.

We try to start by looking at what sorts of foods we've had for the day. Have you had any protein today? Have you had any fiber? When was the last time you had some veggies? If you're hungry and want to eat something, would it be wiser to have a fat, a carb or a protein based on what you've had so far today? Let that guide what you go get to eat. If you need protein, get meat, a protein bar, dairy, nuts, etc. If you need fats, have some peanut butter. Carbs, well - that's where you can have whatever you want really....just find things that are volume-happy and/or fiber happy, like homemade popcorn.

A dietician told me once to focus on lean, quality proteins, and the fats/carbs would take care of themselves. When I complained that I was still hungry, she said, "Increase your fiber intake". It worked.

The one thing that has helped me most in that area is Chocolite protein bars (www.healthsmartfoods.com). You can usually get coupon codes off of www.retailmenot.com. They have about 10g protein, 10g fiber, 100 calories, and are gluten/sugar free. 1 or 2 of those a day will usually help you get your fiber intake for the day and stave off hunger pangs.

My 2 cents, for what it's worth....

I had the same issue that you did, not overly restrictive but still bingng. . I think you may need to seek psychological help. I had issues with disordered eating for a long time, binges, secret eating, the whole bit. Why do you do it? What happens? What precedes a binge for you? What triggers it?

The only way I stopped binging on junk food etc was to stop buying it.

If it's not in my house then I would have to go and buy it and I am not prepared to go all the way to the supermarket just to eat a bunch of crap then feel guilty.

When I do my grocery shopping, I buy healthier alternatives to my favorite treats and have those as my rewards. Lara and Luna bars instead of candy bars, dried nuts and rice crackers instead of chips, fruit smoothies instead of milkshakes/ iced coffee.

If you can't control yourself and have tried everything, you need to just stop bringing it in to your house. It does take some willpower, you will need to figure out some tactics that work for you and be strong.

Make yourself a list of all the things you could do instead of binging and choose one, make it something fun that will take your mind off your cravings.

As for getting take-away on the way home, don't take your money with you and just keep on driving. As long as you have your cell phone, you don't need money when you're just driving to and from work etc.

When you go grocery shopping, make a specific list of what you're going to buy and stick to it. Ensure you have lots of healthy snacks ready to go in your fridge so it doesn't seem like a hassle to prepare something. Lots of cut up fruit salad, veggies and dip, smoothies, protein bars. Make your own healthy muffins and granola bars. Keep nuts and dried fruit available in pre-portioned containers.

If you have healthy options in front of you that are ready to go, you will be less tempted to grab a bag of chips.