What do YOU do to combat the binge

you can just not buy those junk foods and when you get the urge to binge, you will only find healthy foods which will not have the same effect. look in your grocery cart and see what will NOT help me reach my goal and take it out. With myself i know i cannot have the food moderately. if u want some junk get 1 snack size candy or ice cream 1 serving cup.
you can buy things like rasberries or black berries which are really low calories. they are sweet and might help when u want to binge. or now they have freeze dried fruit which is low calorie with no added sugar.- not having those foods around for me works when i decided to go hunting in the kitchen

Pretend it didn't happen

What I did was give myself a "7 Day Challenge." 7 days straight of being under my calorie goal. Then I told myself I could have a cheat day and eat whatever I wanted. I did the 7 days (and this was during the end of the quarter, so I had projects and tests and was up past midnight every night) and made myself stick to it. By the end of the week, when it came time for my cheat day, I ended up not even eating 2000 calories that day because I was so proud of what I had accomplished in that week. And since proving to myself that I could do 7 days in a row like that and not be miserable, I've had much less trouble resisting binges and temptations.

Something i do. i have one really good friend. And i have told him anytime i get in that place he needs to tell me no. Not anytime i want a bite of chocolate or something but when i just feel like im desperately wanting to go over board. so i call him or text him when i get that way. And he talks me down. Maybe you cant reason with yourself but someone else can. Plus you'll feel responsible to someone else. And that someone else will know. So for me thats a motivation not to do it.

I give myself two free bites of ANYTHING on any given day. TWO BITES. Maybe that would address the craving issue perhaps. I have somewhat gotten over those cravings and hardly ever use my two bites. In the beginning it helped me get over the hump.

I've struggled with this too, and though I still slip up every now and then, I've figured out a few things that work for me.

First, I try to figure out WHY I feel the urge to eat. Am I actually hungry, or just sad/tired/bored? If I'm craving a specific thing, I ask myself why. Do I want pizza because of the carbs? Do I want the sugar in ice cream? Am I stuck on cheeseburgers because my body wants protein? If I can figure out what nutrient my body is trying to tell me it needs, then I'll find a healthy alternative to my trigger foods: a bowl of (measured) brown rice with stir fry veggies for carbs, fruit for sugar, greek yogurt or eggs for protein as a snack. At first it takes a bit of digging, but cravings are often there because our body wants or needs something we haven't given it enough of, and if you really pay attention you can learn to recognize that.

If I know that I'm not hungry and my cravings are based in emotions, I try to figure out what made me feel that way in the first place. Tired? Take a nap or drink a mug of strong tea, or go do something active. Sad? Journaling out your feelings can help, or talking it out with a friend. If I'm just bored and looking for something to do, well, pick up a hobby!

Good luck with it, and if all else fails, just focus on what you'll feel like AFTER you binge. That's a pretty big motivator not to do it!

I think part of the problem is getting to that place where you want to binge - for me, the binge starts long before the bag of chips get ripped open. If I want to be able to have a healthy relationship with my body I have to be healthy - that means dealing with stress in other ways and taking care of myself so that I don't get into that "red zone" where no food is off limits.

If you usually get the urge to binge when your stress level hits an 8, for example, figure out how to take care of yourself - even make lifestyle changes if you need - so that your stress level stays below a 7.

Easier said than done, I know, but I hope that makes sense.

bump

Personally, the thing that has been most helpful to me to end binge-like behavior has been my work with a therapist. It was not why I sought therapy, but I've learned that my eating habits are amazingly intertwined with pretty much all of my other "issues." So by dealing with those, I am finding that I am having more success controlling my eating.

I did also consult a nutritionist (and was thrilled that my insurance covered it 100%!) to address issues similar to those in your post. These are the main suggestions that she gave me:

1. Mindful Eating. You sit down with your food and NO DISTRACTIONS--no screens, reading materials, screaming kids--and appreciate your food using multiple senses (smell, appearance, texture) and then you eat each bite and really take the time to think about you're doing and to truly enjoy the food.

2. Waiting 10 minutes (or whatever amount of time). Maybe take this time to write in a journal about how you're FEELING because in these situations it's generally not hunger.

-LP

Pretend it didn't happen

:laugh: pretttty much

ETA: there's also a binge eating support group on here that you can look up