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

This probably sounds crazy but I remember not too long after doing the book advice, I went to a meeting/ event where there was free tea coffee and biscuits. I had a coffee and no biscuit. I wasn't starving myself or denying myself or punishing my body for being horrible. I just thought "do i want that biscuit right now? nah I'm not that hungry and it doesn't look a super nice biscuit". This probably doesn't mean much to the posters on here who clearly have never had an eating disorder/ problem but to me it was simply mind blowing. I hope you get there OP i really remember the horror, sickness and shame of bingeing and very grateful to have found a way out. Take care 🌻

Thanks. “horror, sickness and shame” sums it up
It’s so nice to go to bed tonight without feeling it for once

So sorry to hear about your struggles. There is some great advice here already.
For me, I love fresh bakery bread, and if it was sitting in my kitchen, I would eat it all. What I tend to do is slice it into portions and freeze it before I am tempted to eat it all.
Apologies, this isn't really helpful with cake and Malteasers, but it might help with other foods that may trigger a binge.

Maybe consider ditching the diet coke - I think it kind of conditions you to want more sweet stuff with the way it tastes sweet although it's not really sugar.

I started to cook everything from scratch, because of money rather than anything else, it's a bit cyclical to be honest because sometimes life's too short to spend hours in the kitchen. However when I do cook from scratch I have noticed though that after a few days of my frankly amateurish cooking I don't crave anything sweet or anything particularly processed. No chocolate and I really like chocolate. I have no idea why, other people would be able to explain it but may be something to experiment with?

Ive not read the whole thread but thought I’d weigh in what I do.
i use lose it app to manage calories. (Its easy if you eat a lot of same foods )
I meal plan for the week, to make things easier I tend to have same breakfast every day and lunch is usually salad with chicken,salmon or tuna. Evening meals i tend to do a pasta, rice, bulgar, salad, soup, omlette, stew/roast. Each week and just change the meat/veg /saucs.
i do online shop so im not tempted by the crisps/ choc sections. I literally try not to have treats in. I do get nuts/apples/ grapes to snack on.
i drink a pint water with each meal to help ‘fill’ me. I drink coffee/tea/ fruit tea / water between meals.

Does it work? Most of the times, it gets wrong if i nip to shop for meal and grab crisps or when I eat out/ at others houses and they have snacks. But it provides a good basis

The why is the key to the how. So think about what triggers the binge. Where are you? What time of day is it? What thoughts are in your mind just before you do it? Are you bored? Sad? Hungry? Pleased with yourself and want to reward yourself? And when don't you do it? What's your state of mind when you don't feel the compulsion to eat?
Then you need to reduce opportunities for the first feelings and increase opportunities for the second feelings. Change your habits, your location and have some alternative activities in mind that create simular feelings. Start with what else you love beside food and think of how that could be substituted for eating when the urge arrives.

Well done OP!
I think some of the advice on this thread, whilst meant kindly, is encouraging disordered eating.
For now, you need to be 'adding in' rather than restricting so advice such as cutting out carbs and diet coke is unhelpful.
So for example, eat what you would normally and more if needed so you don't feel hungry, but the 'more' that you are eating can be healthy things such as nuts, seeds, anything filling like a banana and then gradually the healthier foods will be part of your daily routine and your desire to binge will fade away.
This isn't meant as a criticism of any other posters but binge eating is an eating disorder and the subject will always attract posters telling you how to restrict.

I hope that you’re getting on ok today OP. Don’t worry if not, I had lots of false starts when I tried to stop. It can take a while.

I also remembered that when I first started, I banked up every day when I didn’t binge, and after a certain number of binge free days I was allowed to treat myself to a new bag I’d seen 😊 Maybe think if there are other things that you really like and can focus the ‘reward’ on these not food?

A bit random, but I used to snack loads while watching TV. So I started doing cross stitch while watching TV - you can’t snack as need clean hands for stitching, and gave me something else to focus on.

This was me yesterday, 3 bags of crisps, 2 pieces of cheese, and two beers. For me a lot, and mid week.

So today held back on lunch until 1.30pm to avoid a crash, and just didn’t eat anything else. Will have tea later, and one beer.

It’s just all self restraint.

(The above on top of lunch and tea, not in total)

@WaterandSandyThis is amazing!!

You will feel better for it.

I cant have triggers foods in the house - chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits. Simple as that. They are my binge foods so they dont come over my doorstep.

If I feel the need and cant stop. Massive bowl of porridge and honey and raisins is my go to

Talk gp about BED. There are meds that can be prescribed (not the injections)

What has worked (mostly) for me...

Meal planning, so I only eat one meal a day (which might not work for you, obviously) but I plan my meals at the beginning of the week. If I had to 'search out' food for meals I found I would eat whatever was in the cupboard while sorting out the meal.

Not buying stuff i know is a trigger (for me it's cake. I can't eat one slice, it has to be the whole cake or nothing). So now I just don't buy it. I still buy biscuits, but I buy the kinds I don't like as much. No more chocolate Hobnobs, but a cupboard full of digestives and Rich Tea.

Telling myself that on one day a week (for me it's Sunday), that I can eat what I like, within reason. If I've managed a whole week without bingeing I often find that I don't want to spoil my 'record' by bingeing on the Sunday so I will eat more but I don't binge.

Keeping my hands busy. So if I'm not doing anything I will type on my laptop or pick up my knitting. I also find going out for a walk so I'm active and not in the house stops me from constantly rattling through the cupboards in search of the Creme Egg that I am sure is in there.

I really think it’s worth talking to a professional who specialises in eating disorders (specifically binge eating disorder). There are many reasons people overeat and it sounds like you could do with some proper support. Can you talk to GP or afford private counselling? A nutritionist or dietitian specialising in ED would probably be best to help unpick the bingeing and work on solutions to help you moving forward. Above all, please be kind to yourself :)

It's horrible. I sympathise, OP, having battled with bingeing for years. It got out of control and I've recently lost 2 stone through a combination of calorie counting and breaking my addiction to sugar and UPFs (no semaglutide). Those habits had to go; if I hadn't broken them, the weight loss would have been an ultimate waste of time as once I'm no longer maintaining a strict calorie restriction, the weight will soon go back on. I'm still on this journey with another stone to lose, although the loss has slowed significantly and I've only lost 2 lbs in 4 months. I haven't rebounded or regained anything and the loss is continuing but at a far slower pace.

The bad news is that the only way you can stop doing this is by going cold turkey. Cut out all sugar. Ditch UPFs. Eat real food. At first it will be awful. You'll have cravings like you wouldn't believe. You might even get withdrawal symptoms. The first three days are the worst.

The good news is that if you stop eating this stuff, sooner or later you will stop wanting to. You'll feel better, your skin will feel better, you'll sleep better, and you'll taste other food better once your taste buds are no longer overtuned to sugar and refined carbohydrates.

If you start eating too much junk again, unfortunately the cravings will come back with a vengeance. Holidays and celebrations are bad for this. You have to stay on top of it. And if you know a particular food is a really bad trigger, it might be worth considering cutting it out on a long term basis. Potatoes in general are my weakness but crisps especially are the one food I know I can't eat in moderation, so I've had to stop eating them altogether.

It sounds a bore, but it's about establishing new, healthier habits to replace your old problematic relationship with food. And they do become habit, albeit you can't take your eye off the ball for too long.

Unfortunately the price of freedom from bingeing is eternal vigilance.

Eat every 2 hrs but not a lot, that way you always know theres something coming. Start the day with loads of water, fibre and always make sure you throw protein in. The fibre especially will really fill up your stomach and make it way less possible to physically manage to eat a lot in one sitting.

I agree that not having those triggering foods in the house helps (if I know they are there I will eat them so family sized or multipacks are a def no no!).
Also try and forgive yourself and start a new day with a sensible diet. Dont restrict loads, just try and eat healthy. Ive done so much damage to my diet in the past by getting into a spiral of self hate and telling myself I might as well keep eating....never a good idea!

Thanks everyone. Im reading all the suggestions and appreciate the encouragement.

I’m doing ok today i.e no sweet junk so far.

Small Brunch - 1 sausage, 1 fried egg, 1 rasher of bacon, mushrooms, beans, 1 slice granary bread.

Tea - 2 slices of granary toast with small tin baked beans and grated cheese.

i can’t cope with trying to cut out sweet junk and eating healthy at the same time but that will hopefully come later.

Now is the danger time of day for me when I’m tired, lonely, bored and stressed.

If this is any help to you OP, I tend to find it easier to avoid sweet things completely,
than to just have a small portion as I find sugar is a bit addictive so if I have one chocolate I end up eating the whole box. I find that natural yogurt with a blob of nut butter makes a good snack and once I get on the ‘zone’, I can eat like this for a few weeks.

I’m currently psyching myself up to restart,
although the idea of losing food noise with WLIs makes them very tempting.

Sounds like a good start but make sure you don’t restrict too much. Maybe add in another small meal or a protein based snack so you aren’t getting too hungry.

Thanks, I think I’ll try to avoid sweet junk completely at the start too. I am incapable of just having a small portion.

Just want to say OP, really a lot of the strategies here are not from people who have eating disorders or problems. Ways of restricting are not very helpful since we're already stuck in a cycle of stress/ panic about food. Food is both a source of great fear and comfort. The true answer is to make changes to overcome the love/ hate obsession with food altogether. I really recommend the book.

Yes, my psychiatrist says the way to control BED is to have 3 meals and 2 snacks a day but I haven’t been able to do that so far.

You’re doing really well OP. Once you’ve had your last meal, brush your teeth. It will stop you feeling able to snack as nothing tastes nice after toothpaste! 😊 Also, it puts me off eating later as I don’t want to have to brush my teeth again!