To my fellow Binge Eaters...How do control cravings?

Thanks I'm going to try that.

Stop binging. Do it not because you WANT to but because you HAVE to. This is what separates adults from kids.

You are so right! How could I have not seen the light. Thank you so much...I'm cured. Here I thought working every day then dedicating my time and efforts to my three kids, working on a loving relationship with my husband, volunteering at church and school, I thought these things were what made me an adult. Thank you for showing me the path. I think you've missed your calling and should go into eating disorder therapy. There are thousand of people who could use your wisdom. God Bless.

Yeah if only it was that easy.

I still binge occasionally, but I focus on the big picture and I usually manage to limit the damage. Like, I had 3 brownies yesterday, and ate really light the rest of the day to make up for it. For me, if I log the stuff before I eat it, it helps when I start seeing big red numbers... it's a bit of a wake up call... It translates straight into weight gain in my mind and that stops me... mostly. Sometimes it doesn't though but then I just move on and try and do better the next day!

Stop binging. Do it not because you WANT to but because you HAVE to. This is what separates adults from kids.

What an ignorant thing to say on so many levels.

It is hard. I am still battling emotionally based binge eating/bulimia myself, and I am speaking of genuine binges, sometimes totaling over 5k calories. I am also very hard on myself about this, and often call myself all manner of names for being what I view as 'weak willed' and 'greedy'. I find I am better when I keep on top of my exercise and remain active, but I find the sugary foods I tend to turn to when I am stressed/bored/depressed/lonely to trigger more cravings and it can be very difficult to counteract. It is as if all logic and all goals and all perspective of the outcome of the binge, disappears once in that state.

I am reading a book called 'brain over binge' which is quite interesting and available on Amazon. It takes a different perspective on it.
I also try to remind myself of how physically damaging the binge eating is, and how counterproductive it is to my fitness goals.
I have always been an all or nothing personality, so that in itself makes moderation very difficult. I simply try to not buy in large quantities of any food I am likely to seek solace in. That in itself can be a battle if I am in a certain frame of mind.

Read the MFP forums. The people who have had success losing weight and keeping it off tell us over and over to eat at a deficit and exercise to lose weight. At some point these HIGHLY successful people quit making ever excuse known to man, grew up and started doing the right thing. Don't you think they had cravings, addictions to sugar, emotional issues etc, etc, but they made a decision to do what it took to get where they wanted to be, through hard work and determination. I for one will listen to them and just suck it up and do it. Eat at a deficit, exercise, get the weight off , quit making excuses for over eating and don't ever let yourself go again. You either want it or you don't, the decision is yours. I truly do wish all of us the best. Sorry for the baby remark. These are harsh words, but we all know it's true.

My last binge was the reason I decided to change my life because I got horribly ill for 2 days afterwards. I used to buy multiple sandwiches from the drive thru when I was happy or sad or anything in between really. It was sick and I hid it and it was a real problem. Now it's just not an option for me. There are some days when I'm really anxious or depressed and I want to get in the car and go to McDonalds, but if I distract myself for 20-30 minutes with YouTube videos or browsing MFP or something like that, the desire usually goes away. I know I became addicted to feeling that full and I was trying to fill voids. I feel much better now that I no longer binge, but the first few weeks were especially hard. Good luck to everyone trying.

I have found the most effective way to stop a craving is to indulge in that craving. Sounds crazy but it works. I keep something sweet around all the time. Or something savory if you like that better. If I am cravings something sweet I let myself have it. The key is to not go overboard with it. I allow myself around 200-300 calories for said craving and I always try and keep those calories open during the day in case I need them. At first I used them every day, but now a year later I only indulge once or twice a week if that.

Doing this has not stopped my weight loss at all, I still count those calories but I figure its better to allow a little of them every now and then instead of going on a full binge where you just give up and stop your healthy eating habits.

Just remember there is nothing wrong with a bit of sugar and fat so long as it doesn't make up a large percentage of your diet.

For people who tend to binge on the entire bag of Cheetos or the entire box of Oreos - try portioning everything out. It's okay to have a serving size, not the entire bag.
When you bring that food home, break out the snack size baggies and put ONE serving of Cheetos in there. When you just need to have those Cheetos, get one baggie out of the cabinet and STEP AWAY!

What helped me was allowing myself to eat whatever I want everyday for a long, long time. Yup. That meant I went a couple months eating all the cupcakes, donuts, chocolate, pizzas, cheeseburgers, potato salad, pasta, grilled cheese, french toast, etc. Eventually I naturally started eating less because I truly wanted to eat less, not because I was forcing myself to. I naturally started to stray from sugary foods and more to savory foods, with a dessert here and there instead of dessert replacing meals entirely. I finally realized the food will be there the next time I'm hungry and I don't have to eat it all right now.

When I'm at Uni and living on my own, I try not to buy the things that I binge on.
As I'm at home for summer I try a different method as it's not just me living here. I generally binge without thinking about it. I get a craving, go to the fridge and just eat ea eat. Now I try and put it off, by saying I'm not going to eat this for X amount of time. Then I think about it logically 'will eating 4 doughnuts benefit me?' 'why do I want this food, what purpose will it serve me'. Try and stay in the moment. Good luck