I cannot control my appetite or binging

Have you tried simply weighing (with a food scale) and logging everything you're currently eating? Every bite, nibble, etc. You can even use your MFP diary to break up the day the way you normally do, like, "Before work" "during work" "after work" "after 8 pm." That way you can start seeing patterns. Before you ever cut calories or change your macros, you need to know exactly what you're currently doing. It also might make you more contentious. Instead of nibbling on bits of crackers, putting 5 on a food scale and then logging them before eating them is an extra step or two. In that time, you may find you're not as interested in eating them.

After you have about a week of data you can decide where you want to make improvements on your habits.

There may be a psychological aspect that you need to address, as @Tedebearduff is suggesting.

You said you hardly ever eat meals? Maybe that's the problem. Eat larger meals to help you stay fuller? And drink some sparkling water when you feel like snacking? Keep a book close to you for when you're bored?

That was me! I just started a low carb high fat diet and have been able to stay in my 1200 calorie goal. I don't snack anymore because I'm always satisfied. No hunger pains. For boredom eating I'll go for a walk or start a home project (cleaning, fixing something, gardening etc)

RePlan, RePlace, ReWire.... You have to do this.

First RePlan..you need to plan ahead so if you do need to EAT you EAT smarter than before. Make sure you plan to eat an hour before you get home. you know that's a guaranteed binge time so beat it. Specifically have on hand what you PLAN to binge on. Berries, Carrots, Nuts, Carrots. Whatever it is have it on hand and more readily available than the simple carbs. Have it Preportioned so you grab a snack bag of carrots and you burn through them you mentally have to accept that you are going to burn through a second bag of carrots.

Replace... Anytime we have a bad habit we don't just quit doing the bad habit we replace the bad habit with a different habit the brain changes what satisfies its triggers. So you need to find a replacement. Step one is Replanning; planning ahead for that craving is a really good step but I want to encourage you to try activity during the craving either as an alternative or in addition to it. So when that craving comes. Stop; say this is my time to change I'm going to eat a healthier choice and I'm going to go walk for 10 -15 minutes. As soon as you start to walk away from that bad food your cravings will subside and each time you successfully choose against the cravings you are building a stronger and stronger willpower to overcome the most difficult times. Don't give into that mental weakness replace that habit of eating with a new better habit.

Rewire...do this consistently and one day you will realize HAH! I BEAT IT!

Logging a cheat before I ate it helped me. If I wanted something sweet and I was having a bad day, I would allow myself the treat, but I would record it in the app and watch its affect on my calorie intake for the day. That way, I was acknowledging that I was eating a cheat, that I would go over my daily allotment, and that I would have to face the possible consequences from over-indulging.

Logging it beforehand also helped keep me from mentally "writing off" the cheat and grabbing something else five minutes later. And, more times than not, seeing the overage on my report helped keep me on track the next day.

Everyone's different and it does come down to willpower and taking responsibility for your own decisions (even if they were hastily made), but really - LOG EVERYTHING. Seeing it really does help keep yourself accountable.

(Addendum: I would encourage you - if you make the decision to cheat or binge, don't give up on the day afterward. So many times, I'd get depressed and then keep eating because "the day is already shot, so it doesn't matter". When I changed that to "I made a mistake this morning, but I've got the rest of the day to get back on track", or "Friday night was bad, but let's make the rest of the weekend good" it made a huge difference.)

If I were you I would monitor my water intake to make sure I'm drinking enough water each day. I have personally found that the less carbs I eat the less hungry I feel. I don't think you have to get super low or anything but cutting back on carbs has helped me.

professionalHobbyist wrote: »

KatsuNinja wrote: »

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

There are no good or bad foods. Only eating the right amount of calories.

I'd have to strongly disagree. You can have a small chocolate bar, or a generous bowl of steamed veggies and dahl - same amount of calories, but I bet I know which one will send you lurking in the cupboards 30min later!

The type of food that you eat makes a massive difference. Don't deny yourself food and make yourself miserable - instead, try snacking on low carb/higher protein things, do a little but of research, it's what's going to get you there in the long run.

Absolutely

Only on MFP have is seen people attempt to argue that a honey bun and bowl of black beans are equal foods when the calorie count is equal.

Agree. Foods can be equal calorie and have vastly different health and satiety profiles. While it's true that you could lose weight eating only twinkies, I'd like to see someone try. I'm guessing they would be walking around hungry all day.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

DeeJayShank wrote: »

Foods can be equal calorie and have vastly different health and satiety profiles.

Of course. I've never seen anyone question that on MFP.

What people do point out is that there is some variation on what makes us feel satisfied. For example, advice was given above to avoid chicken with skin, as that's supposedly less satiating for the calories, but I find that including cuts of meat that have some fat actually helps me feel more satisfied, and there's no difficult in feeling full on a meal of appropriate calories that includes some chicken with skin, lots of veggies, and a starch, for me. If that's a problem for others, they should eat accordingly, but telling people they must avoid certain foods is not good advice.

I have definitely seen the IIFYM crowd on here claim that all macros are created equal. This premise completely ignores the fact that some macros are more satisfying than others. That was my point. I do believe in the power o IIFYM as a first step, but I also believe in choosing macros that help manage intake. And thus not all macros are created equal.

You'll hear no argument from me on your second point. It really is bad advice to recommend a complete aversion to some foods, because this is not easily sustainable in the long term.

That being said, I personally choose to avoid certain foods because the risk/reward profile isn't great. For example, I like spaghetti, but I prefer pizza. So when given the choice, I choose pizza because the macros in pizza more closely match my goals, and also because I prefer pizza period.

This, of course, is not the same as "avoiding" spaghetti, but instead recognizing that as much as I like spaghetti, I also like being thin and there are other preferred foods I like just as much as spaghetti, if not more, that will help to keep me thin.

I always go back the analogy of food and money. When you only have so much to spend, you choose not to buy expensive things because that would hurt your long-term goals. This is a healthy aversion, not a crazy one. Just because you COULD buy something expensive doesn't mean you ever should just for the heck of it. And thus the same goes for food. It's OK to cultivate a sense for one's self that certain food just are bad for long-term goals without providing substantive happiness, and being able to lose weight and maintain is about finding out which bad habits you need to get rid of, sometimes cold turkey.

KatsuNinja wrote: »

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

There are no good or bad foods. Only eating the right amount of calories.

I'd have to strongly disagree. You can have a small chocolate bar, or a generous bowl of steamed veggies and dahl - same amount of calories, but I bet I know which one will send you lurking in the cupboards 30min later!

The type of food that you eat makes a massive difference. Don't deny yourself food and make yourself miserable - instead, try snacking on low carb/higher protein things, do a little but of research, it's what's going to get you there in the long run.

Steamed veggies or a small chocolate? One feeds your body; the other your soul. There is no reason to not enjoy both.

DeeJayShank wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

DeeJayShank wrote: »

Foods can be equal calorie and have vastly different health and satiety profiles.

Of course. I've never seen anyone question that on MFP.

What people do point out is that there is some variation on what makes us feel satisfied. For example, advice was given above to avoid chicken with skin, as that's supposedly less satiating for the calories, but I find that including cuts of meat that have some fat actually helps me feel more satisfied, and there's no difficult in feeling full on a meal of appropriate calories that includes some chicken with skin, lots of veggies, and a starch, for me. If that's a problem for others, they should eat accordingly, but telling people they must avoid certain foods is not good advice.

I have definitely seen the IIFYM crowd on here claim that all macros are created equal. This premise completely ignores the fact that some macros are more satisfying than others. That was my point. I do believe in the power o IIFYM as a first step, but I also believe in choosing macros that help manage intake. And thus not all macros are created equal.

You'll hear no argument from me on your second point. It really is bad advice to recommend a complete aversion to some foods, because this is not easily sustainable in the long term.

That being said, I personally choose to avoid certain foods because the risk/reward profile isn't great. For example, I like spaghetti, but I prefer pizza. So when given the choice, I choose pizza because the macros in pizza more closely match my goals, and also because I prefer pizza period.

This, of course, is not the same as "avoiding" spaghetti, but instead recognizing that as much as I like spaghetti, I also like being thin and there are other preferred foods I like just as much as spaghetti, if not more, that will help to keep me thin.

I always go back the analogy of food and money. When you only have so much to spend, you choose not to buy expensive things because that would hurt your long-term goals. This is a healthy aversion, not a crazy one. Just because you COULD buy something expensive doesn't mean you ever should just for the heck of it. And thus the same goes for food. It's OK to cultivate a sense for one's self that certain food just are bad for long-term goals without providing substantive happiness, and being able to lose weight and maintain is about finding out which bad habits you need to get rid of, sometimes cold turkey.

@DeeJayShank WRONG!! You are reading into "IIFYM crowd" statements something that is not there. If they truly follow IIFYM or flexible dieting, they will say "all calories are created equal". I do not see the word MACRO anywhere in that statement. I dare you to go and find a knowledgeable follower of IIFYM that has said what you claim they are saying. You won't find one. However, you will find all kinds of people like yourself claiming that is what they are saying when that isn't even close.