Help me figure out my eating pattern

[GalaxyPostcard]

I have had binge eating disorder for a long time and am in recovery (yay). I'm doing well

I've never really had a proper eating pattern. As I move through recovery, I've found that I eat quite a lot in the morning, I don't really have a lunch, instead grazing - and then in the evenings I am a bit hungry but not for anything substansial. We have a slow cooker which we have been using for curries in the evening but they just feel too much. The problem is though, if I eat no dinner then I'm more likely to binge, and I don't want to do that! Can anyone give me insight into what I might be missing that I can eat in the evenings and replace the hole?

Here's an overview of what I have eaten today:

Breakfast: smoothie bowl - two bananas, kale, spinach + chia seeds. Thinking about adding avocado to this but am generally happy with it.

Snacks: Tofoo bites with a bit of ketchup; an apple; soya yogurt with raspberries, chia seeds and skinny syrup (the 0kcal stuff). I had all of this between 11:30am/12pm and then had two slices of wholemeal toast with marmite and vegan cheese (no butter, it's not needed really).

That lands me with 862 calories today. Obviously, nowhere near enough food, but eating a whole curry in the evening feels like a lot! Any thoughts/advice? Thanks.

Have you thought about eating your main meal at lunch instead of in the evening?

What sort of things trigger binging for you?

Are you currently a healthy weight or are you trying to lose?

Is there anyone who has helped you through to recovery that could help you in real life?

Sorry that’s more questions than answers. You’ve done really well so far.

@PurpleDaisies

Have you thought about eating your main meal at lunch instead of in the evening?

What sort of things trigger binging for you?

Are you currently a healthy weight or are you trying to lose?

Is there anyone who has helped you through to recovery that could help you in real life?

Sorry that’s more questions than answers. You’ve done really well so far.

I've tried this but it just feels like too much. I can't explain it past that, I wonder if it's eating disorder related?

My binge triggers used to be stress but now it's not eating enough which is a pain in the arse given I have no idea what is enough for me facepalm

DP is helpful but doesn't have personal experience of eating disorders and just talks about eating what feels good but I'm not at the point yet where I can do that. I need a plan!

And I'm severely overweight and need to drastically lose a lot of weight what a mess.

Could you try a more substantial breakfast? I also think you’re really benefit from working with an ED specialist dietitian or nutritionist

Do you have a calorie limit/target for the day? I’m assuming you’re vegan? Is that a change since your Ed diagnosis or long standing?

In your situation I would aim for eating at 6 set points during the day. It means your meals don’t have to be huge and you never need to go more than 3 hours without eating. The exact timing is obviously something you would need to work out depending on your commitments. Maybe it’s not necessary to labels them as breakfast, lunch, dinner etc if this isn’t helpful for you. So having eaten what you have so far you may opt to have a small portion of curry at 1500, so rice and veg and 1900 and some berries at 2200.

If you’re in recovery for BED surely you are being told to not count calories?