to ask how to stop bingeing

Weight loss medication- it stops any addictive behaviour. I’ve even stopped drinking alcohol!

To be fair to the PP, the only thing you can do if you are not willing to try WLI’s is use will power.

Since you posted your OP, you have gone on to eat another half of a Victoria sponge so it doesn’t sound as though you’re ready to start making the changes you need to. You are still in the land of excuses.

You didn’t need to eat the other half in order to start afresh tomorrow. You could have just thrown it away.

(I’m not being judgemental, I was anorexic for years. I have lived in the land of excuses and said to myself more times than I care to think about “tomorrow I’ll be better”. I was lying to myself.)

Sending solidarity. I suffer from Binge Eating Disorder too.

WLI worked for me during the first six months of 2025, and luckily I’ve kept the weight off, but you’ve made it clear that they’re not an option.

No advice sadly, but I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone. BED is a sod to deal with.

Only thing that’s stopped me is Mounjaro 🤷‍♀️

I’d recommend that you read Ultra Processed People, it will help you understand the cycle you are trapped in. It’s not your fault, the food industry invests millions of pounds into designing addictive food products. Then the hard part, stop eating UPF foods.

Change your mindset to think of eating a wide variety of healthy wholefoods to nourish your body and satisfy your appetite. Once you break the habit you’ll wonder why you ever ate the crap before and you’ll feed so much better.

Bit harsh. I'm not the one eating a whole cake and more.

I wasn't trying to be a dick. You asked how to not binge and you have to just not do it. Don't have the food in the house. Physically stop yourself. Picture the consequences.

Yeah in my experience this is a big part of it, honestly. You need to find different coping strategies, and try to deal directly with the underlying things that are wrong in your life. That’s not all of it, but it is part of it.

As others have said, I also found healthy nourishing meals that I actually enjoyed eating and looked forward to were also helpful in terms of quieting the food noise and not having cravings. Junk only ever makes you want more junk.

You have my total sympathy as it’s definitely something I’ve struggled with.

...set down any shame you may be feeling. The binging is a symptom/ a coping mechanism and being hard on yourself will just make it worse Absolutely.

There is no need to feel shame. It's ok if you do but don't dwell on it. To err is human.

I wolfed down an easter egg earlier when I wasn't even hungry. I'm not going to waste my time feeling bad about it. I'll just not buy another one.

I can empathise with the OP. I went through a phase like that when I was younger, for years, where I’d easily get through loads of sugary food on a daily basis, shrouded in secrecy and self-loathing.

My body just got used to sugar and kept wanting more, I’d trained it that quick sugar was the default. I also found I’d get blood sugar spikes and crashes, so I’d feel hungry again quite quickly and reach for more of the same. I read multiple books on nutrition but it didn’t help me at the time and just made me feel worse about myself.

My weight yo-yoed a lot. I’d have periods where I could ignore 'the calling', but it would always come back. Then after about 15 years of this, I got into fitness. I started going to gym classes, doing other sports, and socialising with people whose hobbies were fitness-related, and that really helped shift things.

Now if I want a treat, I’ll make a big salad with lots of dressing e.g. proper olive oil, avocado, cheese i.e
things with fat that are actually satisfying, rather than reaching for sugar.

I also don’t keep chocolate, cakes or biscuits in the house. I’ll occasionally buy a slice of cake and eat it out somewhere, but if I’ve got a whole box at home I will still eat it all, even now, so I just don’t put myself in that position. I’ve refused those kinds of gifts before, and I’ve also thrown things away (taken out of the packaging so I won’t fish it back out). It sounds extreme, but I know my limits.

There’s a lot of research now around the gut microbiome. What you eat influences the types of bacteria in your gut, and those can in turn affect appetite and cravings. So if you’re eating a lot of sugar regularly, it can reinforce that cycle. I suggest you read up on this if you are interested.

I think I’ll always have that tendency towards sugar. It didn’t change overnight, but over time it calmed down as I shifted my habits and focus. Maybe replacing it with something else isn’t perfect, but it’s what worked for me, and I’m much slimmer, have more energy, and am much happier in my body now.

I would track when/where you are triggered to binge and try to journal about how you're feeling. Knowing what triggers the behaviours can be so helpful. I'd also try finding some counselling, this is something that's really hard to stop without professional help.
Lastly, I'd say to try and set down any shame you may be feeling. The binging is a symptom/ a coping mechanism and being hard on yourself will just make it worse 💗💗

HUG, @WaterandSandy .

Try to keep busy. If you do something like go to the gym, you can hate the gym not yourself. Exercise helps a lot for improving self esteem.

If the urge to eat is emotional/stress, I suck on a boiled sweet. It works for me.

I'll probably have three in a row but it's better than a cake or packet of biscuits.

You need to not feel deprived. If you lapse, don't think 'I'll start again tomorrow morning', accept is as being a blip and forget it.

Not RTFT but cut out the carbs and pile up the veg. Eat carbs like lentils or beans or boiled potatoes (not mash/baked and not rice or pasta) eat a bit of protein and fat with the food. If you want a pudding have it but only have a portion.

I do NOT buy multipacks or cakes or biscuits because I'll eat the whole lot.

I do NOT eat in the evenings because I will ''just have two biscuits" and there will be an empty packet a few minutes later.

It's not easy to begin with but you get used to it quickly

the more you eat of it the more it makes you want to eat. It really is a cycle. So the first day is always the hardest. Just do it.

maybe make yourself eat a carrot or apple before you eat any junk. If you want more junk…. Sure but you gotta eat the carrot first to at least help fill you up?

Not really, it was a completely unnecessary nasty dig.

@WaterandSandy , is there anything which precedes these binges? Are you unhappy for any reason? Stressed?

Exercise. Distract or delay. Lots of protein.

Bit rude!!

You aren’t being unreasonable but you ARE eating the wrong food. Once you realise most of what is considered food these days is slow poison then you can start making changes. The type 2 diabetes epidemic can essentially be considered a slow poisoning of the blood sugar regulation system and metabolism. No animal was designed to eat this stuff.

Processed food is designed to be addictive (bliss point) so no surprises you can’t stop. But so are most carbs - they spike your blood sugar and your insulin which starts a cycle. It’s why things like cereal and toast are terrible as breakfast. They spike your blood sugar and then you’re hungry a couple of hours later as it crashes. Better eating steak & eggs or simply nothing. Don’t fall for the nonsense of ‘most important meal of the day’. That’s marketing from Kellogs.

Start gradually lowering your carbs over 6-12 weeks. Make sure to stay hydrated and add electrolytes. Watch the weight fall off and hunger start to disappear along with cravings. Once you start to eat proper human food like natural fat & protein then it’s easy.

Good luck.