Nearly a grand on ordering food in less than two months, please help

I have binge eating problem, not to this extent, and for most of my life I convinced myself it was 'emotional eating' because that was the only thing that made sense.

After years of therapy, all unresolved trauma relating to childhood and bad marriage resolved, I was still binge eating a procrastinating, my house was a mess, with no other explanation for it, and ticking all the boxes for ADHD, I was diagnosed.

Stimulant medication really helps me. I take med beaks, because it's recommended to prevent a tolerance build up, and I notice when I do I can't stop looking for food, but I have no additional stress in my life on those weeks for me to blame it on 'emotional eating'. It is dopamine seeking behaviour.

I am in Australia, so might be different, vyvance ADHD meds can also be used for binge eating. GLP1s like mounjaro, anecdotally stop 'food noise' and all sorts of other addictive behaviours such as nail biting, excessive alcohol consumption and shopping.

Seriously consider getting meds, and/or an ADHD diagnosis if you feel you have other symptoms that fit that disorder. Fighting your biologically driven urges is so hard, and when you are unsuccessful, it then has a vicious impact on your self esteem because people tell you you are lazy and have no will power, and it's your fault. The no will power is actually kind of true, but it's not your fault. It's like telling a depressed person to just smile and cheer up. It's not going to work.

Hi OP, don’t know if this will help in your situation but the eating plan for my BED is to have three meals and three snacks a day. The logic is to get back into a regular eating pattern and reduce the size and frequency of binges because your blood sugar levels will be more stable.
It does seem counter intuitive and isn’t easy to maintain but that’s what my ED consultant psychiatrist recommends.

Read some of the posts. There are literally people telling her to ‘order’ it!

Maybe because then she wouldn’t have £500 to fund her just eat problem?

You’ve identified that food has become a mechanism to manage stress and bring comfort. That’s great self-awareness.

Now you need to identify the sources of stress in your life; removing any that you can and identifying ways to better manage any that can’t be removed entirely. So write a list of the most to the least stressful things in your life. Think about how these things could be improved or what you might need to feel better about the stressors. That could be an extra pair of hands, or a bit of time to yourself, a change of job, etc.

It’s often not ideal to remove a coping mechanism as it allows you to cope! And you shouldn’t restrict food because it’s a non-negotiable for all of us. But you should think of alternative ways to soothe, calm and comfort yourself. Think of this as adding more tools to your tool box, so that food becomes an ineffective way to respond to stress because you have better, more appropriate options. That could be by developing strategies like ‘when I’m tired I will rest’; ‘if I’m tense I will get some fresh air and try to relax my body and mind by connecting with the outdoors’, ‘if I’m feeling lonely I will make a plan to see/speak to a friend’. Give real thought to how you would like to respond to stress ahead of time and plan to do this alternative action instead of ordering food.

The odds are on your side - most people with an ED will recover. You can do this. Momentum is built through small actions every day, and the help that is coming through your therapy will be slow, steady, consistent changes over months so why not start now with what you can.

Firstly well done for acknowledging out loud you’re uncomfortable with this behaviour and you would like to change it. Secondly stop feeling guilty about the money already spent, it’s unhelpful. Just focus on making the positive change.

I think for there to be any meaningful change - and I have been where you are - nothing will change until you figure out why you keep using the app.

Is it because you find meal planning too hard? Do you not recognise you’re hungry until your ravenous and too hungry to make decisions to cook, is your kitchen too messy to cook in?

Once you can figure this out, you’ll be able to start to make changes. You may find every time you go order something putting what you would have spent in a limited access savings account seeing the accumulation of the money will motivate you. But this will only work if you figure out why you have the compulsion to order take aways.

You can do this OP,

Damn, i hope you get some help sooner. Please talk to your GP

I feel your pain, it's tough. Decided at the new year to have a no-perfume buy year and so far I haven't bought any bottles in 2025.. going to try and use up the perfume I have before buying anymore even if it takes 3-4 years!

Financially, I don't even think that's that bad. It's a little over a hundred a week? Compare that to people with a drug habit who spend over a hundred per day!

Sorry to hear about your condition, OP. If you can't wait for the NHS to help you maybe look into what we in the fitness community call "Research Chemicals" although they're not really research chemicals, they're often the same prescription medication that you'd get get from a doctor... Good examples are T3 and Ephedra and maybe Green Tea extract. Will kerb your appetite slightly and boost your metabolism at the same time.

But seriously , don't worry too much about your spending it could be a LOT worse. Are you still paying all the bills ok?

I know

i never mentioned weight loss jabs

many others did

We don’t know if she’s overweight though or in what form her ED is expressed.

we don’t know if she has any health issues or other medications that may mean wld are contraindicated.

so it’s irresponsible to be recommending WLD without both the expertise and the knowledge of o/p’s medical history.

If you have the money for this short term (not getting into debt for it), I would invest in private therapy plus an ingredients box service that gets you into the habit of cooking. I think this should tide you over while you wait for NHS sessions to start and will work out cheaper in the long run.

You can even cancel the meal subscription once you feel you've got a handle on things and start shopping, batch cooking, maybe a veg box. Approach this step by step. Have you tried the Beat website and helpline for eating disorder advice? xx

Isn't that rather like telling someone with anorexia if they're serious they'd eat?

Please...a little sensitivity wouldn't go amiss

Yes this. Surely if you spend your money on therapy, it won’t be there to spend on takeaways?

Close all your accounts on all of these apps, tonight. If you’re serious, you will do it.

OP, I really think you need the support of a therapist with this as you’ve described having an eating disorder. I don’t think any of us are qualified on MN to truly assist you with this.

However, I echo others suggestions in trying something like Hello Fresh, Gousto or my personal favourite which was Green Chef. This will encourage you to start cooking simple, easy meals that are healthy and balanced. Much better for your health and your bank balance. They often offer a lot of deals to begin with.

Do try to find a private therapist though, you owe it to yourself. Don’t wait 8-12 months. I’d recommend seeking out an eating disorder specialist. Is it binge eating? (You don’t have to share if you don’t want to)

Well it might.
Unless Op is using food as control ( and frankly it sounds like she's overeating crap takeaway food to avoid thinking about cooking real food) why wouldn't it work?

She won't feel the elusive pull of the sugar/fat/salt combo. She'll be able to chose natural fresh foods.
Why do assume a fast solution to "food noise" isn't therapy?

If you don't think you can stop comfort eating in the short term, then do yourself a favour and stock up the same foods from the supermarket instead. That way at least you'll save some money.

I agree with this. You're obviously using food as a coping mechanism so it might be best to start with just making sure you have cupboards/fridge/freezer full of cheaper instant meals so that your eating disorder isn't ruining you financially. Then you can work on the health aspect.

Exactly. She has disordered eating. She could also have body dysmorphia.

Apologies@HelpIsOverdue for discussing you like this.

I hope you are okay and get all the help and support you want.

It doesn’t even mean she’s overweight, she has an eating disorder,she could easily be a healthy weight, plenty of people with an eating disorder are,

Hi @HelpIsOverdue - there are lots of people on this thread saying “just” do this or that. It sounds like you have very disordered eating, so this kind of advice is like telling an alcoholic to “just” stop drinking, or someone who is depressed to “just” think happy thoughts. Private therapy would be a good start, but also the book that changed my life (really) was Brain Over Binge. You can get it on amazon. Buy it, start reading it tomorrow, and get some professional advice and help while you’re reading through it. BED feels like the loneliest of situations to be in, and, as most of the replies on here show, it’s still very misunderstood. But you aren’t alone and there are ways to break the cycle.

I know. I can read, but it doesn't mean she is massively overweight to the point of needing the weight loss jab.

I’m disgusted at some posters recommending weightloss injections. They aren’t recommended for anyone suffering from an eating disorder for goodness sake, this is dangerous advice when no-one here knows the OP’s medical background. Too many of these prescribers are giving this drug out willy nilly for anyone who can pay for it without a proper assessment.

@HelpIsOverdue would one of the recipe pack delivery subscriptions help? Something like Hello Fresh or Gousto? You can choose your meals and it might get you back into the swing of cooking meals again. Please don’t listen to the awful advice of weight loss drugs until you’ve spoken to your GP, that’s probably the first step.

another vote for monjaro jab, i have a binge eating disorder an=m diabetic needed help my gp gave it me last june 3 stone weight loss not one bit of chocolate has passed my lips since jab 1, life changer,

Flip sake - stop recommending weight loss jabs. Dont be so irresponsible. This is a person in trouble, mentally as much as anything else and you are suggesting a temporary sticking plaster that may make her even worse.
OP you need proper help to tackle this. Therepy or an addiction programme. Not a needle full of chemicals stuck in every month.