to ask how to stop bingeing

This looks like a good improvement, well done OP!

As the weeks go on Id be making some little swaps, mainly because its quite carb heavy - eating that I know I'd be more likely to binge later in the day because carbs make me do that, so maybe as the weeks go on you can reduce carbs until evening meal time?

Things like crisps are just empty calories, perhaps you could swap for a punnet of strawberries and a couple of oranges for those calories and feel a lot more full - but these can be longer term changes.

Diet coke would make me crave more crap later too.

Well done on today x

Well done, but again this seems like quite severe restriction which can make your body go a bit mad and (theoretically and simplified) send lots of hunger hormones that then make you binge.

Try to increase the protein, maybe have a boiled egg for breakfast and add a babybel light to your snack. Or have some whole fat Greek yoghurt as a treat. They’ll help satiate you.

This. I find eating protein at breakfast and lunch helps prevent sugar seeking. When I would restrict it would hit mid morning or late afternoon and my brain was desperately pointing me towards high sugar, quick sugar foods.

Plan what you are going to eat tomorrow. Write down what you are going to eat and stick to it. Make sure it is healthy and balanced.

Once you have done the first day - you will feel a sense of achievement. Then continue. Planning your meals reduces those impulse buys.

Avoid junk food aisle in the supermarket as well. If you don't see the junk, you are less likely to want to buy it.

You clearly have no knowledge or understanding of this topic so please stop. If self control was all it took then clearly this wouldn't exist. Please go get some education before you continue to give nonsense advice. You're doing more harm than good.

I explain comfort eating this way. When we were little and grumpy/bored or unhappy we would often be given something sweet to cheer us up, and it worked pretty much instantly and our subconscious learned a powerful lesson – that biscuits or chocolate or cake could magically make you feel better. That same strategy is still being applied, even though it's adding to your problems, not solving them.

There are lots of diets, supplements, etc which may work in the short term but until the basic belief that comfort food will make you happy is invalidated you will always come back to it. It IS possible to change the way you think but it has to be at a subconscious level.

Given that you've been stressed and unhappy for 45 years it would be best to tackle both issues in tandem.

What's your trigger OP? Mine is boredom, I work from home a lot and my job is dull, so I reach for food for entertainment and comfort.
I do not binge on office days or days/weekends where I am busy.
Once you know your trigger (are you hungry/bored/sad etc) then you can try and distract yourself from the binge and take control.
It takes time but I have gone from having no control to being able to stop mid-binge and reset.
I also listened to a podcast about binge eating disorder and the presenter said the first step initially was to not let yourself get hungry as this can lead to overeating and poor choices, I ate as soon as I felt hungry and the noise went away, but if I sat with the hunger too long then I would end up binge eating.

You mentioned a psychiatrist.
Are you taking any drugs for mental health issues or have you had talking therapy?
If yes, what kind of therapy?

Try reading The Hunger Code, it explains a lot of the reasons we eat, different types of hunger (including Hedonic hunger) and how to address the root causes. Really interesting insights that differ from the usual "just eat fewer calories"

Totally relate to you, OP. I've been binge eating too. I try to eat three times a day but end up eating 3-4 times in the name of snacks.

I am a binge eater too OP and something that has actually worked for me is fasting. As you have anorexia in your history this might be a terrible idea so speak to a doctor. But my thing is I am extreme. So trying to walk the middle path just doesn't work for me.

I did the fast 800 for two weeks, and because 800 cal is so little I had to plan a daily menu that was exactly the same every day and exactly 800 cal. Zero wiggle room. No need to think about food at all - there just was what was in my plan and that was it. If I ate or bought anything not in that daily menu, I had failed, simple as that.

When I came off it after two weeks, the impulse to binge was much much weaker. I am a psychological binger so it's still there, but the almost desperate, imperative feeling to eat a lot when under emotional stress was significantly weaker. There is a physical component to sugar addiction which does make it a cycle. I'm in a much better place now. Still not perfect but much less out of control.

I’m a massive over eater rather than a binge eater and my brain doesn’t seem to know when I’m full. I can eat until I vomit. I used to be anorexic and part of me wishes I could go back to that but I’ve lost that immense willpower. I really sympathise with you OP and am following for ideas

If sweets are your downfall, frozen grapes are amazing, as are frozen berries blended up so they turn into slush and mixed into thick, Greek yoghurt.

I agree about the sugar and processed carbs, though. If I eat white bread, I'll binge; wholewheat and seeded batch loaves I can get away with, but white bread is guaranteed to have me binging on sugary jelly sweets later in the day.

I was just about to post this question because I’m going through exact same thing rn

this happens to me when I’m under a lot of stress. PMS is extra horrible.

it is an eating disorder I believe, years ago I was very skinny would deprive myself of food and count calories now it’s this

exercise helps. Keeping mind busy, nice movies etc Also really reading what’s in the junk food. Really reading about it and effects on body and health.

Don't buy it and, if someone buys it for you, throw it out. You are worth more than your cravings and you control them. Having them isn't lack of control. Acknowledge the craving and then acknowledge the appropriate reaction. If you have to talk yourself into it, you know it isn't appropriate, i.e. it's just this one time, this is the last time, I had a hard day etc.

Use a journal. Write down every single time you have a craving or a feeling or situation that makes you want to binge. It gives you time to think and reflect before you react.

Try to eat wholesome foods and, for a few days, remove all sugars including fruits, grains and root vegetables. During this time, if you crave sugar, have a hot drink or a mint or brush your teeth.

You have to start rewarding yourself, and coping with life, in other ways.

❤

Do you go on to alcohol or drug addiction support threads and tell them the same? OP has said clearly that she suffered from an eating disorder in the past and is still struggling now

Wow, if only OP had thought of trying not to do it

not wrong. Self control is what's needed.

Sugar makes you want more sugar; go without for a few days and the cravings do reduce.

Do you think it would help you to look up some stuff about diabetes etc? I mean, I'm sure you have some idea what it means, but really reading up on it, looking at pictures of people who've had limbs amputated, watching some documentaries etc. Do it for hours; do it for a full day. When you think you can't stand any more, think about what it would be like to live it instead of just watching it, and watch some more. A friend of mine changed her diet after being told she was pre-diabetic. Fear can be the motivator some people need.

@WaterandSandy , I’m so sorry to hear that. Have you been to your GP to discuss this?