How do you keep yourself from binge eating?

[dogsandbudgey]

This is something I struggle with. I can stick to a diet great for about 5/6 weeeks, but then I just seem to have an off day then before I know it I’m completely submerged in biscuits and crisps! I used to be able to stick long term to a weight loss plan but now it seems so hard.

have you any tricks up your sleeve?

Obvious one is don't have biscuits or crisps in the house.

Wish I knew. I've put on 5ibs last week and ate my way through Sainsbury's chocolate aisle.
It's all about the hormones for me, can't wait for peri to become meno!

Track every day on a calorie counter. Even the bad days.

Don’t throw the towel in after one bad day.

Eat well during the day so you don’t lose the plot and manically eat a packet of biscuits because you’re starving at 5pm.

150g protein every day.
Haven’t binged since. Almost two years now.

Don't have binge food in the house. Biscuits and crisps are particularly bad because you can eat an awful lot of calories in one sitting. (I'll eat the whole packet)

Have a cut-off point for eating, so that you go at least 12 hours between the last thing you eat at night and breakfast the next day.

Don't diet, change your lifestyle instead.

Eat proper meals with mainly veg with protein and a little fat, and eat these in the first half of the day. Avoid high-GI foods.

I wish I knew!
Ive had a problem for nearly 50 years!

I find that if I don’t have biscuits then I don’t want them.

So if there’s an open packet of biscuits I can just happily ignore it unless I have one, and then I struggle not to have more than is good for me.

I can stop at once square of chocolate or a few crisps quite easily but appear to have little biscuit self control.

We don’t often have them in the house, and when we do buy them (eg for guests) I just don’t take one.

not having it in the house - of course that means the kids kick off. I have felt it helps to keep it in the garage though.

The only thing that seems to have switched my brain off wanting to binge has been weight loss drugs

Resisting the first biscuit is a lot easier than the subsequent ones.
Put the temptation out of sight.
The biscuit barrel on the counter will beckon at you.

Same as you, OP. Like a pp says, it really does hinge on whether or not the stuff is in the house! Just make sure you have other snack items available that fulfil the craving but don't involve an entire packet of biscuits.

I sometimes have pitta bread & hummus, celery, a pear, cheese & crackers (without butter and I limit myself to 3), stuff like that.

Mounjaro

Sugar is my downfall. Could easily eat an entire days worth of calories in chocolate and cake. What works for me is I let myself have a normal portion, and then I eat an apple or a carrot stick. It’s a bit like a palate cleanser and breaks the mental cycle of “this tastes great, let me have more”

Maybe a look at Slimpod. Can be very helpful for this I think, all about shifting mindset and habits in a sustainable way.

Cut out sugar, up the protein, eat plenty of fibre. Give yourself permission to snack on something non sugary when you are hungry - some cooked chicken, some nuts and cubes of cheese, a boiled egg, an avocado. Give yourself permission to have filling, healthy meals. Stop calorie counting. Stop tracking everything. Free yourself from the diet/binge cycle. Throw out your bathroom scales.
It has taken me 40 years to work this out.

Not really fair unless you live alone.

What @countdowntonap said. Plus calories so you lose weight but slowly. So you have the calories for so thing you really want a couple of times a week.

Don’t beat myself up! If you can stick to a diet for 5/6 weeks then binge just once, you’re in the clear.

Are you really saying you fall apart completely?

i think key to not bingeing is having 3 really satisfying meals. I fall of duets when I feel bored / deprived of flavour

Not really fair unless you live alone. We didn't have them in the house growing up. We are at mealtimes and had fruit from the bowl if we wanted something at other times.

Then your waist just expands so you feel like a "cube" sorry but I thought you should know 😀

Mounjaro.

The biggest thing that has stopped me bingeing is having a proper exercise routine. I don’t know what it is but I just don’t want to eat crap all the time & undo the hard work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect but it has definitely changed my eating habits

I’m the exact same. Now if I have a really carb heavy meal with little protein I crash not long after and find myself craving sugar as I’m so tired. Protein really helps. I think it’s better to track macros rather than calories.

Same. Any high-GI meal/snack and my hunger goes off the scale.

I also find that exercise helps. When I took up regular exercise, I seemed to make much healthier choices. It also stopped the guilt if I are something like a cake.

I think there's a distinct set of two types of commenters in this thread. Those who probably have binge eating disorder and those who don't.

People who say they don't binge by just not buying biscuits/sweets clearly don't have any real issues with food. Mentally healthy people operate in a very straightforward way when it comes to food - out of sight, out of mind.

People with food issues like BED just cannot stop thinking of their binge foods constantly. Not buying the binge food will lead them to go to extreme lengths to get it, or find something similar. Rummaging through bins, eating sugar out of the packet, driving to the shop at 1am to buy it in secret.

I wish I had an easy fix for OP but I'm still working on it. I suggest lots of counselling and stress reduction in other areas of life, as well as mindful eating strategies.

Nor did I particularly but that was because we couldn't afford them.

Not because my parents wouldn't take responsibility for themselves.