AIBU to wonder if I’m ever going to be able to stop binge eating?

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It’s crept up on me in the last year. My dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I’m being referred for an ADHD diagnosis (just hit my 40s) and im
pretty sure I’m starting to hit peri menopause.
My sugar cravings have gone a bit mad - well
not just sugar if I’m honest just any kind of junk. I’ve never been like this and it doesn’t seem to
matter how good I am during the day in the evening I just can’t seem to stop.
i feel like I’ve tried every diet plan etc, I don’t want to go down the weight loss jab route as although I’ve put on weight my BMI is 26 and I feel like I need to create better habits and break the bad ones.
Ive also got a five year old so want to model healthy eating for him, and at the moment I just feel utter despair.

i had blood tests recently for peri
menopause and I was in the pre diabetic range by one point, and I know all this is going to make it worse but that doesn’t seem to stop me either!i feel so low about it.

has anyone else been able to break this?

Not been able to break it but I'm in the same boat op. Always been a binge eater, I lost 2 stone last year and felt great, determined to not put it back on again, but almost as soon as I lost it I put it all back on. The food noise is constant, I just wish I could eat to satisfy hunger alone and not snack for the sake of snacking.

One way you could approach this- there’s a ‘accept that actually you’ve had the worst time and give yourself a break’ approach- I recently did this and said I won’t start thinking about fixing the food thing for a while, will concentrate instead on trying to put one foot in front of the other (no death so not the same as you op x) and I started trying to get more sleep, enjoy myself a bit more etc (reading, watching what I wanted, started colouring, going to places I wanted to see etc). Weirdly then because I was busier I got fed up of comfort eating and started easing off my crutch.

You should also remember that it never has to be an all or nothing thing, you could start trying to drink more water and eat the healthy things you like, and instead of eating tons of the not so good stuff just easing off a little so eg less of what you’d normally have and stopping eating quite as late, until you’re only eating small amounts daily or every other day.

The one thing I will say is give yourself a bit of a break. Life is tough for you at the mo x

I cut down on eating UPF. This means all crisps, biscuits and cheap chocolate out. Fruit and greek yogurt, rice cakes, good quality dark chocolate in.

This has really worked for me and the cravings stopped fairly quickly. Although I have reintroduced the odd biscuit now, the bingeing has not returned

Thank you for replying and thank you for the useful tips.
im going to really try but also try not to be too unkind to myself as my mindset is so bad at the moment

I am in a similar boat - late diagnosis of ADHD, issues with binge eating since I was a teen.
There's been a couple of things that have helped -
Therapy - I got some related to PTSD that helped identify some of my triggers
Adhd - knowing how this impacts me, for example lots of the time I'm eating to deal with sensory overwhelm and also I'm eating takeaway because I have no energy to cook so buying some healthy ready meals and finding other ways to cope like weighted blankets.

The biggest thing that has helped I'm almost reluctant to recommend because it is a medication and it should obviously be a discussion between you and a doctor but I started taking mounjaro and it changed my entire brain. I don't binge at all. I can eat a bowl of crisps or bit of chocolate and put the rest back in the cupboard. I can think about meals and plan and stick to it. I can eat just a normal amount and leave the rest on the plate. I don't know how or why but there is something in it that fixes the bingeing and it is not just feeling full because that wouldn't have stopped me before, it's like I don't even think about it now. It's crazy. That said the above 2 things really helped even before the MJ so just working on that might help ❤️❤️

It sounds like therapy would be helpful, but the wait lists can be long and it’s a long-term process anyway. In the meantime, can you aim for a “harm reduction” approach, I.e., only keep food in the house that you feel alright about binging on? Things like mini cucumbers, mini carrots, plain popcorn… then you can carry on with the compulsion but not end up feeling too gross? Plain popcorn is my go-to when I feel like I have to eat and it isn’t a meal-time. But also be gracious to yourself - you’re going through a lot right now and life won’t always be this difficult. 💐

Hi love, I just wanted to send you so much love and solidarity ❤️ it is so tough and even tougher when everyone (including ourselves) looks at us with judgement for having these compulsions that are incredibly hard to control.

I actually had a big health diagnosis last year and have been taking daily medication for it. I was told the tablets might affect appetite and and cause weight loss/gain. My doctor recommended I treat it was if I were pregnant and eat whatever I fancy, little and often; whilst this was probably well meaning and compassionate advice it was a disaster for a serial snacker and binge eater like myself.

Only recently have I felt like I’m emerging from a very hard year and can maybe start to think about prioritising anything above survival. For the longest time I had to give myself grace and accept I just wasn’t in the headspace to focus on weight loss. As a previous poster has mentioned, sometimes it’s just not the time and kicking yourself when you’re already down won’t help.

I am still very much in the trenches with you but a few things that are helping me are not having snacks in the house. Difficult with a toddler! But if there are biscuits in the cupboard I will eat the whole packet. Instead I tell myself I will walk to the shop if I want chocolate and if I really want to then I’ll honour the craving but more often than not I can’t be bothered and the need will pass.

I have also tried to make a note (on paper if I have time or just in my head if not) of how much I really enjoyed food I’ve eaten. I reflect honestly after the moment did I really get a lot of joy from the takeaway/crisps/chocolate etc or was it just on impulse? I think some people really do find joy in food and that is fine- I am one of them. But I know there are times I don’t love what I’m eating and it’s just out of habit or social obligation or emotional eating and I would rather wait and cook a delicious bowl of pasta instead. I’ve made lists of food I really love and they’re a mix of healthy/less nutritious options but I’m just trying to stick to what I really think is worth it.

I hope this helps, we’re all in it together x

The thing that helped me was eating less but more frequently. This stabilises your blood sugar. So something small to eat every 3 to 4 hours.

You’re all so kind.
i was doing well today then I ate all the biscuits and two packets of crisps but i have managed to stop myself so it’s actually not as bad as normal.
i still feel disgusting but i also feel slightly hopeful - i can make myself stop.

I try to avoid triggers. If I buy biscuits, I'll eat the lot in one go,so I don't buy them. If I buy ones i get the ones that are hard work to eat a lot of not the yummy ones.
Anything picky gets put away out of sight.
if I'm craving something sweet, I'll have a boiled sweet.
Not great with crisps, but a multipack is better than a sharing bag.

Also I have a cut off point for food in the evening.

Have you tried keto? I'm about to give it a go - apparently it's brilliant for binge eaters and I've read through a couple of published papers showing positive results too

The food is a symptom. What’s the disease? What ‘job’ is the food doing?

I just started taking ashwagandha tablets for calmness and an added effect is that my food noise has gone. The absence of something that I hadn't realised was so strong is quite bizarre but for the last 3 weeks, I have ,mainly only eaten my meals, not thought constantly of when the next treat or pick me up would be.