Like an alcoholic?

what works for me, and again, this applies to me, is I dont buy it or bring it home
thats they ONLY way I can handle it

its what works for me......I can't have it in the house ,I give in but I find if I just avoid it in the store, and it doesnt come home with me, then I am sucessful

also ,the more you dont bring it home, the better you get at it, as well as feeling better about yourself when you do get home

I know where youre coming from and I can relate.........good luck

I would consider looking in to overeaters anonymous- I'm pretty sure they have meetings just about everywhere and would be able to help if its a food addiction.

Personally, I find myself that compulsions to cheat or binge come from nutritional deficiencies, such as too few calories. When I get a nutritionally adequate diet I don't have such urges, but I'm not a food addict.

Yes, if you know that you can't control yourself with certain foods, it would be best to avoid them for now. Don't bring them home. If you absolutely can't resist something, make yourself go out to have it, and order a small portion.

You may very well not be eating enough. I set my calorie goal using fat2fitradio.com, and since I've raised my calorie goal I have those cravings less and binge only on a rare occasion now.

I view eating in general like being an alcoholic. If I am not in complete control, I go "binge drink".

But as far as that certain food goes, I usually can't cut it completely. Moderation. Like if you HAVE to have Cheetos, pull a few out of the bag, put the bag away, take the Cheetos into another room where you can't as easily go back for more.

I've found that moderation and portion control work much better than cutting it entirely. Why? Cause you can last for a while, a few days, a week if you're lucky, then you're going to want it BAD. And then you will binge on it, and regret it. It's a cycle I've completed ad nauseum, so believe me, I know how you feel!

dunno if it's right or wrong, but what I did is completely cut out the things I knew were my weakness until I felt confident that I had conquered them. Then I use them in small portions as a treat for when I've had a really good burn or to top off a good week.

That way, you know it's not gone from your life forever and you are managing it in a way that won't break you. But again, the important part is making sure you have conquered it.

You're already on here and making progress, so you have proven you're stronger than any cookie!!

The closest overeaters anonymous group is about an hours drive from where I am, so pretty hard to get to.

Any online meetings maybe?

I can't take 5HTP supplements because I already take prozac daily for OCD.

I eat 1200 per day and don't eat my exercise cals back, but then again I don't exercise all that much so it's not like there is a big deficit going on.

I was diagnosed awhile ago with having non purging bulimia which is a lot like binge eating disorder but with periods of heavy restricting after overeating. I was receiving therapy for this, but my husband has lost his job so no more therapy for me.

I binge on even normal stuff like toast, cereal etc. It doesn't have to be sugary. I tried eating only things I didn't like all that much, to focus on hunger rather than eating because it tastes good. I ended up on only around 700 cals per day and not wanting any more than that. Which of course isn't healthy in any way!

Sounds like you've tried what you can do on your own- time to go up the ladder. Talk to your prescribing doctor who gave you the meds for your OCD and let them know what's going on. Try to find an online group for support. There is a group here on MFP for disordered eaters.

I really wish you the best of luck.

Sometimes I would overeat, because I thought if I didnt get them now, I wouldnt get another chance.... So I allow myself anything I want, I just work it into my daily calories and use portion control. I go in cycles, but I have found that since I started taking vitamins my cravings have decreased. By allowing my self the "goodies" that normally I would have forbidden on a diet, it has decreased their appeal.

It is something you are going to have to make a conscious decision about. Most people will say things are okay in moderation. But if you know you can not moderate it the way you would need to then avoid it. It is not worth sabotaging yourself over. You are much more important than whatever it is you are struggling with. You have to remember that.

Personally, I am the same way. Food is my addiction (well sweets). Once I have one cookie, I will eat the whole box, then a carton of ice cream and so on. In the past, the only way FOR ME (a lot of ppl are different) to not binge is to totally cut it out. I'm struggling with this now.

Congratulations on being so brave to share about your food issue here -- that's the beginning of healing.

Besides Overeaters Anonymous (which several people already referred you to), there are several other food addiction communities at large. I'm still not sure if we're allowed to post this info? At the risk of being yanked, I have had a lot of success with a group called "The Coffee Shop." It's a Step Study telephone meeting. They record and upload ALL of their meetings and you can dial in and/or listen for free online (it's all free): http://www.coffeeshopbb164.com/

Best of luck to you!

Sharlene, You may need to eliminate the carbs that trigger your eating like me. Carbs can act just like sugar in your body and start craviings. Cold cereal & bread (even whole wheat grains) were my carb triggers. I have a love affair with bread! I do take a fiber supplement besides vitamins to get everything I need. Some argue about eliminating carbs is not healthy but being fat is worse for your heart, joints, & self esteem for sure. :flowerforyou:

I've thought the same thing....like maybe I should just never eat dessert again since if I have one dessert, I'll eat another 2 hours later and then get up and have 2 bowls of Lucky Charms for breakfast. In which case, eating became shameful and furtive...rather like drug use.

I've recently noticed that the way I was dieting was the very thing that started the binging. Meaning, I would go for months and months of eating...say....800 calories a day. And I would lose 50 or 60 pounds. And finally, the deprivation and lack of enjoyment was so overwhelming that I went completely crazy with my eating to try to satisfy myself. And once I did THAT, it was very hard to stop again, because I "knew" it would be back to the deprivation and misery (harsh word, but that's what some diets have felt like).

What worked for me was proving to myself that I could lose weight WITHOUT feeling gnawing hunger and without being miserable and without depriving myself of every bit of food that I enjoy. Somehow it makes control easier when being on the diet itself isn't so bad.

I'm pulling for you.