to consider hypnotherapy for binge eating?

I'm so sorry you're going through this, eating disorders are horrendousso I think go for it especially as this person is a counselor too, I've never tried hypnotherapy nor do I know anyone who has but honestly anything is worth a shot to try & break that destructive cycle

Good luck 💐

I’ve tried it, didn’t work for me. I’ve tried everything, even a gastric balloon - what is working for me is mounjaro. The “food noise” just disappears. I wish I tried it sooner but I thought it was only an appetite suppressant and would work. For me it’s been life changing, food is no longer as obsession. There are boards on here about it. Best of luck.

Oh bugger. Zombie thread. Sorry, all.

I have BED. The binge you describe in your OP I'd painfully familiar to me. I promise you I've been there and I thought I'd never escape it, but I think I might have only gone and bloody done it?

I strongly, strongly suggest that you do NOT follow any kind of 'plan', join any Slimming Club or cut out any food groups.

I stopped binging only when I accepted that I could never diet again. I read a couple of books on intuitive eating and it made sense. It was only when I gave myself unconditional permission to eat whatever I liked that the urge to binge stopped.

I think it was the scarcity mindset. Initially I pooh poohed it, thinking that my body would 'intuitively' want wall to wall doughnuts and pizza. But I gave it a go as, frankly, I had nothing left to fucking lose. Weirdly, the first thing I wanted to eat was peanut butter on toast with raspberries. I had a salad on that first day, and then we ordered dominoes. I had three slices and then just...stopped. It was bizarre, like a switch had flipped. I put the rest in the fridge and shared it with my DP for lunch the next day. Like I knew I COULD have it, so that panicky 'eat it, eat it before it gets taken away' disappeared. This doesn't happen every day btw. I had pizza two days ago and ate 5 slices because I guess I was hungrier that day? And it was fine.

I've not binged for months. I always have my trigger foods in the house now. I eat them, I enjoy them. In the beginning I definitely ate past the point of comfortable fullness from time to time, but because my satiety signals were out of whack and I was still working them out, not because I was out of control. It wasn't that frenzied binge feeling that I'm guessing you understand.

I still get cravings and I give in to them. This evening I helped myself to an extra piece of almond chocolate because I fancied it and it was lovely. But I also crave vegetables and fish and apples. I feel like I'm eating like a normal now. I never, ever thought I'd be able to. I'd say prepare to spend a few weeks thinking about food ALL THE BLOODY TIME. And then, the food noise just goes.

Now I just make sure my meals have fibre, carbs, protein and fat in them in some way. My only real food rule, other than eating when I'm hungry, is 30+ plants a week, which doesn't feel like a restriction as its adding things in rather than taking them away. I enjoy the game-ification of it. Other than that, no rules. I eat three meals a day and sometimes a snack. I'll have cake if I go for coffee with my mates. I might eat a biscuits in work as long as I decide I want the biscuit but I can leave them if I decide they don't tickle my fancy at the moment. It's liberating.

Also, although IE is specifically not about weight loss and any good IE nutritionist goes to great pains to say that they don't know what will happen to your weight if you follow this approach, I've lost about a stone and it's still going down. It's incredibly slow and at some point I accept it will stop, but it's better than before. I, like you, was well into an obese BMI so I guess it was a natural side effect.

Point is, diets make you binge.

Hey all,
I am looking to see if anyone's has tried hypnotherapy for Weight loss? I gave a very unhealthy relationship with food and am desperate to get on track, especially for my own health and my LO'S.
Would love some feedback from those that have tried it. J

I think it is definitely worth a try, but from someone who also suffers from a similar disorder (bulimia), I would recommend talking to your GP if you haven't already. Some form of therapy may be beneficial for you in the long term. Even if you try hypnotherapy while waiting on a referral for therapy, it's all worth a try. If it gives you any hope, I am mostly on top of my bulimia and binge eating now. Sometimes I still binge if I'm stressed but it's very occasionally (once a month or so) rather than constant.

Has anyone successfully gone through the full Hypnoband experience? I am doing some research and would be interested in whether this is effective or not

Hypnoband any updates?

And try a high fat, low carb diet

Watch some documentaries on food (Netflix has a few) it will make you more determined to change your diet and it will also take your mind off it

I am a senior qualified hypnotherapist and supervisor for the General Hypnotherapy register and regularly see clients for binge eating disorder. Most people are unaware that food is just the symptom of the disorder and not the real reason for the problem. Generally binge eating is caused by perfectionism, anxiety and stress, low self-esteem and excessive dieting. Although these are the main reasons I have also seen cases where loneliness and feelings of not being good enough are responsbile. Binge eaters should never be placed on a weight loss regime! This is because the more they try to diet and fail the bigger their problem with binge eating becomes.

A good hypnotherapist will see you for a program of hypnosis (not one session wonders) to address the root causes for your problem. The therapy needs to be directed at the underlying issue not just the binge behaviour. Where possible please avoid Groupon/Wowcher type deals. Really good competent hypnotherapists would never advertise on these sites because you earn virtually nothing from these clients. Generally these deals reflect inexperienced therapists desperate to try anthing to get people in through their door. You get what you pay for as with anything in life.

Don't blame yourself OP.

I hope the hypnotherapy works for you.

If it doesn't - do try the low carb thing. ( It isn't a diet.) The desire to binge could well be a physical thing rather than a mental one. ( A dip in blood sugar makes you much more emotional about everything and more likely to need a prop.)

In the last 3 months I have found that distressing things (which have always led me to food) don't leave me needing (or wanting) to eat.

I had hypnotherapy a few years ago when I was going through a very bad time with stress and anxiety. I'm sorry to say it did absolutely nothing for me.

Yes I get the rush of relief as well. Never eaten myself sick, but that's only because I'm emetophobic hohoho

You've mentioned you have easy access to food all day as you are a SAHM. I read about someone in a similar situation who controlled binge eating by only ever having in the house the food she would need for that day's (healthy) meals for the family.

It meant she had to go to a shop first thing every morning (which obviously isn't practical for everyone) and be disciplined while she was shopping; but once she had been shopping she had no access to food other than the healthy food she had planned to eat/prepare for her family that day.

Her theory was that she was treating it as an 'addiction' as closely as she could, recognising that 'cold turkey' isn't an option with food.

Apologies if this is a useless suggestion for your circumstances but I thought I would mention it.

Wishing you success with your weight loss journey.

Has anyone been to Overeaters Anonymous and found it worked for them? I've just looked and there is actually a meeting in my town and it's at a time I could make it. There seem to be quite a lot of negative views online.

Not rtft so don't know if this has already been mentioned, but you might want to look into OA (Overeaters Anonymous). It's a 12-step programme, same as AA.

Please read brain over binge op - it is fantastic and only a few quid so worth trying first

I empathise Nanny - I can eat perfectly sensibly when out and in front of other people, or eating ordinary meals with DH, but the moment I'm alone and free from moderation the wheels just come right off.

I've done a bit of self-interrogation and I think I can identify why I have this intense urge to binge. Unfortunately it's nothing to do with feeling hungry or insulin spikes or craving carbs, and is simply opportunistic - perhaps linked to severely controlled and restricted intake as a child. If I get an opportunity to eat alone and in secret, I'll get as much junk food as I think I can reasonably stomach in the time I have, and eat it irrespective of hunger. Then I hide the evidence. I don't purge so I'm not bulimic, but it's still a habit I have indulged on and off for 30 years. My BMI is 36.

CBT has worked well for a phobia in the past, hypnotherapy not so much. There must be therapists out there who do CBT in relation to eating habits? I think that might be quite effective.

Have you tried to pin down what drives you to binge? Is it hunger or cravings, or just opportunity?! What does the eating do for you? I find it pleasantly numbing, I'm not thinking or doing, I'm just in a sort of trance.

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but have you tried a low carb diet? I was sceptical at first but I’ve looked at BIWIs low carb boot camp threads on here and since I’ve been doing low carb the urge to binge has completely gone. I’ve got tonnes more energy and my depression has lifted. Might be worth a go?

Carbs are to blame as you've likely spent too long with spiked blood sugar. I did this too. You're probably insulin resistant, which (loosely) means that your muscle cells won't accept carbs as a fuel anymore. So your body thinks it's hungry all the time but gets no nutrition from what you're eating. Read Michael Mosley's blood sugar diet - it's really interesting about how foods high in sugar make you crave more food.

Also only eat foods with a glycaemic index of under 55. I wouldn't bother about doing a strict diet, I would eat whatever you want but only foods under 55. Basically it's low carb, sort of.

You have all my sympathy. This is really unbearable and not something that the rest of the world seems to understand!

It has been suggested that 'love' of carbs can be part of a vicious circle. It isn't love at all. Your body craves carbs but they don't relive the craving.

You could try low carbing and see if removing carbs can stop the cravings and desire to binge on things long after you are not hungry.

If it works for you it shouldn't take more than a few days (perhaps a week) of will-power. After that you should be able to carry on and not feel that overwhelming urge to eat. (There is some really helpful information on the low carb bootcamp on here. I also liked the 'idiot proof diet'.)

If it doesn't work - at least you will know part of what you might face with the gastric bypass.