Binge eating and control

I empathize with your struggle. I am a carboholic. Occasionally, I give myself permission to "cheat," and then I fight the battle for a couple of days to get past the cravings. I have found that using artificial sweeteners, Splenda, Aspartame, etc. make me crave carbs and sugar, which leads to binging. Processed sugar can have the same effect on me. The only sweetener I use now is Stevia, which is a plant-based natural sweetener.

I fell in to some bad habits during December and January and proved to myself once and for all that life is much easier if I just keep all the no no's OUT of my kitchen. My motto for 2011 is "If ya don't BUY it, ya can't EAT it!!"

I find that eating lots of fiber, and including some good fat with each meal or snack helps me avoid the need to binge. Nuts, flaxseed, avocado, a little olive oil, are all good options. Good luck!!!

I love food. It's how I gained the weight in the first place. One thing that helped me was allowing myself one cheat meal per week. Any time I felt like eating something bad, I would tell myself to save it for my Friday night meal. I would get a cheeseburger and fries, or Mexican food, or pizza, or Chinese food. The other thing you have to do is make sure you're eating enough calories and that you're not feeling hungry throughout the week. When I eat 3 healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks per day, I don't feel the need to binge. I eat eggs in the morning and a salad with my lunch every day. It helps me to feel more full and keeps me from snacking late at night.

When you want to binge, find something else to do for at least 30 minutes. Drink lots of water and remove everything out of your house that you binge on. Only keep healthy items that you can eat. I eat when I get bored so I try to stay busy and have also taken everything out of my house that's not really good for me. The few things that I keep for the grand kids and people that don't have weigh issues, I don't eat. It takes control but ultimately I'm the only one that can control it. Be strong and determined. You'll make it. I have faith in you.

I have my moments of weakness, especially the week before TOM. But I have two rules for myself: 1) The only foods that are off limits are the pre-packaged "diet" foods, and 2) I am NOT ON A DIET (that term implies a short-term change), I now budget my calories. I go through stages of chocoholicism, but I limit myself to three miniature pieces. Everything in moderation. My biggest breakthrough came when I stopped viewing what I was doing as a diet and started looking at it as a budget. You can't go on vacation unless you save up the money. Ysame principle. I can't eat that guacamole-queso cheeseburger unless I work extra to save up the calories. Funny thing is, after a while your body gets used to eating better and you start to crave the healthy foods!

You're not alone… This is the most common reaction with people who are attempting to make life changes in any arena, including "weight loss". I believe that your mind is the biggest obstacle to overcome in these situations. You’ll find that as you attempt to subside or quench your cravings you’re brain conveniently attempts to fight it because we as human beings dislike and are resilient to change.
In the area of eating habits you may notice once you give yourself a “good” thing (lots of food), you’ve ultimately opened a door that is terribly hard to close. I believe you can thank dopamine. It feels GOOD to eat and makes us happy. So, with that in mind I believe you have to keep your mind happy and preoccupied. Find healthy habits to maintain daily! Walking, riding a bike, and better yet: portion control. It is important to supply yourself with habits that reinforce your good behavior. Never do them alone, support groups and friends are there for a reason!
I personally believe that as long as you’re working towards a goal you should be able to reward yourself. The failure you may sometimes feel is as a result of “letting yourself down” don’t feel that you’ve failed, simply recognize that you’re attempting to make changes and they all come in steps, and time. You will last much longer in your ultimate goal if you take small steps and cut back on over-eating then if you stop it all together and provide yourself with a “cold turkey” new lifestyle. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
I wish you the best. – Kbails84

Lots of good points so far, here's my 2 cents

Plan ahead and have healthy alternatives readily available. If you feel the urge to binge, grab an apple or carrots or eat a light nonfat yogurt or protein bar or a healthy meal replacement drink. Substituting healthy foods for non-healthy ones is key.

Make sure you are eating enough (healthy!) calories in a day. Starving yourself will lead to binge eating.

Eat as big of a healthy breakfast as you can. Lots of studies out there show that people who eat a decent sized healthy breakfast have an easier time controlling cravings later in the day.

Have something healthy to eat every TWO hours. Grab a healthy snack and eat it *before* you start feeling the urge to binge.

Build up a network of friends to support you and help you stay accountable. Make your food diary public and be honest with yourself and put EVERYTHING you eat into it.

Take pics of your self now, from all angles and as many different poses as you can think of. Take measurements too.

Set realistic goals for your self. 1 to 2 lbs of weight loss per week is doable and sustainable. Trying to lose 5lbs a week for weeks on end is a good way to fail. It is a life long journey, not a sprint to one month from now and then your done.

Drink LOTS of water, ditch the sodas.