to ask how to stop bingeing

[WaterandSandy]

Just eaten half a Victoria sponge, family bag of maltesers and family bag of peanut M&Ms and that’s by lunchtime. It’s like this every day.
Dont say WLI but any other suggestions would be welcome

I hope you are being flippant, as otherwise I do think you need further help, more than you’re getting.

Don’t buy it and and commit to ketosis to shake the sugar addiction. Eat enough so you aren’t hungry.

I was a binger, you have my sympathy as it feels so horrible as though it controls you and you can’t resist it however much you want to. I hated it every day but I just couldn’t stop.
I randomly came across the book Bright Line Eating five and a half years ago and it honestly changed things around for me- I’m still keeping off eight and a half stone ever since.
It’s the only thing that’s ever worked as it made so much sense - and I’ve tried them all pretty much. I no longer binge which is a miracle believe me! Have a look at the website or try the book, I do hope that you find something that will help you.

https://www.thetappingsolution.com/results/weight.php

i Stumbled across this and tried in in desperation. If you can be disciplined about it this really works to reduce the chronic stress that drives binge eating. Well did for me. Ten pounds down

Please don’t go back to starving yourself.

Try not to restrict foods or ‘be good’ for a while. That is, if you want to lose weight, try to put that to the side for now until you can just get to a place where you don’t binge.

so eat meals to like, buy snacks that aren’t bingey. I don’t know what those are for you, but for me, I wouldn’t binge on nuts or cheese or whatever, so I’m trying to have those. If I feel my mind wandering into what food I want to binge from the supermarket, I try to satisfy myself with something in the house like toast and jam and hot chocolate. Usually after that I don’t want the food I was thinking about.

When I needed my cat to lose weight the vet told me to soak her dry food in water as it adds volume and we are all mostly water. So trying to drink water.

I also like the idea of the glucose monitor

I would echo the advice about shopping. I will eat the whole bar of chocolate so don't buy large ones (or multiples). Individual small bag of crisps. Buy biscuits I don't like because I can resist them. I also try to have a glass of water when I'm tempted to snack as that's a double win. I am worse if I have missed a meal too.

Sympathies @WaterandSandy , i can't take WLI due to the side effects. Like @darksideofthetoon I've been having some success by eating different foods. I've been eating much less ultra processed food, because I realised that all the foods I wanted to eat huge quantities of were junk foods.

I also read a book by Gillian Riley which advised to use 'times and plans'. Basically before you put the first bite in your mouth you decide how much you're going to eat. Then as soon as you stop eating, you set a time for the next time you're going to eat, which should be at least 2 hours later. You might have to white knuckle it through those 2 hours for the first few times, but it gets easier.

Having said that, it's early days for me, but this is the most peaceful I've felt around food in all my adult life. I've found some 'treat food' which isn't ultra processed- shortbread biscuits, kettle chips and Tesco dark chocolate- which mean that I can join in for some social events.

I do eat more protein too. Good luck!

my first though get was to recommend you reach out to a counsellor if you can afford it. My second was just to breathe, that feeling of panic and being out of control is so horrible, do everything you can to soothe your nervous system. Restriction breeds bingeing. So work out how many calories you had on a bad binge day and plan a permissive menu that is less but consists of all the foods you crave. Even if you get a Macy’s breakfast have a choc bar thr go for a kfc lunch and a Pizza Hut dinner it won’t get near your binge total. Then once you ahve some semblance of control start keeping a food diary. Don’t restrict what you eat. What time you ate why you wanted to eat and how it made you feel after. That way you can start to rebuild the food wisdom your body innately has, good luck x

Honestly. I couldn't.

Can you not take WLI for medical reasons? As a prediabetic it's obviously really important you manage this.

Ozempic fixed it for me. Almost 4 years and not a single binge. Been off it 18 months as well.

Best of luck regardless.

This and the advice from @SlothCat is very good. If you can afford counselling I’d strongly recommend it. Binge eating disorder is hard to tackle on your own but with help it can be overcome. Good luck x

Sugar is super addictive, it's a git to kick imo. I did it a few years ago for 8 months because of other health issues. No sugar at all, none in premade food and no fruit. It was so hard but tell you what, when I next ate sugary stuff it was vile. I had a can of coke on a hot day while out and it was so treacly I didn't finish it. Something that was once so very nice tasted nasty.

I suppose it's like all things addictive, try one day at a time. Each day you manage to not eat something so sugary, pat on the back. If you fall off the wagon for a day, fine, don't beat yourself up and try and get into a more positive headspace again for tackling the next day.

One thing I will say though is it doesn't take long to get back into sugary things again, so always have to fight a little so don't undo all the good managed to do.

@WaterandSandy Please don't consider WLI. They are not suitable for people who are in recovery from restrictive ED. They will make you ill. You deserve to be healthy.

Don’t buy it or keep it at home. Try to work out what is driving your need to binge, did it develop in childhood , is it learned behaviour or are you ‘eating your feelings’ and using it as a way to cope with your emotions ? And then work on your triggers as well as buying less junk. Are there other things you could do to feel good about yourself and self soothe rather than turning to food, maybe a nice bubble bath, pamper night, watch a movie, go for a walk, talk to someone you trust. Some distraction can be good. I find cutting carbs and eating more protein made me less hungry and cut out some of the food noise. Look up The Binge Eating Therapist on YouTube.

Just as a smoker is advised to chuck their ciggies away when they quit, you need to make sure you have no access to bingey foods. Are there other people at home who do want these foods? Then they must buy their own, keep them hidden from you and certainly not eat them in front of you. I think this is a reasonable request if diabetes is on the cards. I would certainly do this for someone I loved.

Read the book brain over binge by Kathryn Hansen, it really helped me

Same here the only thing that’s stopped me is wegovy and I was a massive sugar binger
i have done a 300g dairy milk in one go then went on to have some Greggs cakes and sweets and this was not unusual for me.
i can relate to you and the emotions that come afterwards too and it’s absolutely awful as it takes control of you.

as someone upthread said it’s always a cycle- you binge then promise yourself to be better, then sometimes manage for a few days/weeks/months and then it creeps back in

If you’re binging due to unhappiness/stress you either need to find alternative coping mechanisms or change your circumstances. There are lots of therapists who specialise in helping with overeating/comfort eating.

If however it’s down to something like habit then doing something like the keto diet can really help. I say that as I did it years ago. I was so utterly fed up of my sugar cravings that I did it for 6 months. I lost loads of weight but more then that I reset my taste buds and my tolerance for sweet was and still remains quite low.

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

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.

Thanks, I’m doing the NHS diabetes prevention course atm so I do know all the theory. Not sure if I am in denial but I still don’t seem to care enough about myself to change my diet.
Im going to try not restricting what I eat for meal times but cutting out all the sweet junk as a first step. Cold turkey might be easier for me as I seem unable to just buy one small bar at a time.

not wrong. Self control is what's needed.

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

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

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.

❤

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.