how do I solve this

Every month it's the same cycle 😭 I can be so strong, measured, careful... but as soon as I ovulate I turn into another person! Someone who is out of control, eating everything in sight, binging in secret, scavenging food, getting up in the middle of the night to stuff myself.

After years of this I'm pretty clued on to how hormone driven my body is, but that knowledge still doesn't help me stop myself, and it only makes it easier for me to return to old habits.

Just ranting I guess 🥹

So I have been eating clean everyday of the week + a few bites of dessert (I was practicing portion control). I have been successful so far, but yesterday I didnt get a good night of sleep and now Im stuck with the constant urge to eat and thought like "a piece of chocolate won't hurt" etc.

Its afternoon. I had breakfast, lunch and a full-fat latte, but I want more. I went for a 30 minute walk to lower my stress (caused by yesterday's poor sleep and my upcoming exams) and Im doing my homework right now, but I feel like eating all of the processed food we have at home. I eat dinner with my family and they're going to fry veggies and potatoes (with vegtable oil which I avoid along with other processed ingredients). So a very carby meal :/

I need tips on how to avoid binging until dinner and what to eat for dinner. I am on 67+- grams of carbs and I dont want to go over 80 grams, but if I have to no higher than 100 grams.

PS: I have read this book by a doctor that recommended to keep carbs around 80 grams to avoid overeating so thats why I track carbs (something to do with lowering insuline levels).

I don’t understand. I’m doing well in school, have an adoring boyfriend, am making friends. But every time I start to PMS I get FERAL. It’s like my brain shuts off and I just compulsively eat and its this horrible spiral that feels impossible to pull myself out of. I was doing so well this month, making healthy choices, getting in my 10k steps, not weighing myself. It’s so embarrassing. How do I get myself to stop?

It’s been going on for days I can’t do this anymore.

im 14 so maybe someone similar but honestly anyone would do😭

I’ve dealt with a BED for a long time and I’m not proud of where I’m at right now. I’m clearly mid sized and hate the way I look.

I got called fatty as a joke the other day when I brought in food.

I didn’t think too much of it, but the people around me are offended that they called me this.

It’s made me think “why would they be offended if I’m not fat”, then I just come to the conclusion that I am fat.

This is really, really, hard.

I’ve had a history of anorexia and bulimia.

Hello and welcome to Day 6 of the November Recovery Challenge, how are you?

Wishing you peace and progress today :)

Today's check in:

Are there any obstacles in the way of your recovery this week? If there are, can you think of one or two strategies for navigating around them?

Bonus exercise: Self-soothing without food

Often we (including me!) are using food and binging as a form of self-soothing. When we stop binging, we can go through a very difficult phase where it seems like nothing else will feel "good". This is partly because we have been binging on foods that are engineered to hit "bliss points" in our brains, but it's also often because we have let go of other forms of self-soothing.

Self-soothing is different from self care. Going back to the "Time In vs Time Out" concept, self care is Time In, i.e. investment activities that are rejuvenating, lower stress levels and give us energy, focus, productivity and emotional reserves. Self-soothing is a type of Time Out: a break from feelings and a sort of blissful avoidance. Both have their place in a balanced life!

The thing about self-soothing is that we are comforted by things that are familiar to us. So if we have mainly been using food for comfort, we may have to practice other types of self-soothing before they will start to feel good. If we don't practice them in advance, they won’t work when we need them to!

If you're just starting with non-food self-soothing and nothing seems appealing, one option is to be willing to try things you think you at least might not hate, and build from there.

So the bonus exercise is: can you think of any other types of self-soothing that we can add to the list below? If this isn't the first time you're seeing this exercise, how is the process of re-learning self-soothing without food going?

• meditation (No-Masterpiece-8392, Future-Designer-6855)
• grounding/breathing (smokyoat)
• playing video games on the phone (smokyoat and guavatc)
• taking a nap (smokyoat)
• bubble bath / hot bath / hot tub (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• put money aside for a goal
• plan a vacation (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• wear clothes / perfume / jewelry with special meaning
• get a massage, mani/pedi, haircut (CoSaWe04)
• listen to your favourite music (Future-Designer-6855)
• window shop
• gentle exercise
• buy flowers
• shop for makeup, nail polish, gifts, books
• read a good book or magazine (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• pat yourself on the back
• take a break
• watch your favourite movie or TV show (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• create something: write, draw, paint or sing, do some crafts, Diamond Painting (No-Masterpiece-8392, CoSaWe04)
• do a puzzle
• smell some essential oils (smokyoat)
• Sit in a cozy spot and light some candles and watch the flames flicker (smokyoat)
• Look at some photographs of happy times and bask in memories (smokyoat)
• Lay under a weighted blanket (feels like a big hug!) (smokyoat)
• Play with a fidget toy (smokyoat)
• Create a self soothing photo album on your phone, full of pics of things/people you love and images that create a peaceful feeling (to look at anytime you feel stressed!) (smokyoat)
• Make some combos! e.g.
  • a heated blanket + put on scented lotion + listen to waterfall sound app + light candles and watch the flickering + have a cup of herbal tea (smokyoat)
  • a hot bath + scented Epsom salts + fruity bubbly water + a good book + soothing music (smokyoat)
• gentle exercise (depressionkitten)
• cuddling with animals or even just looking at animals (depressionkitten, EatingAllMyFeelings)
• reading outside (MSH0123)
• go for a walk in a new place (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• take some artsy pictures (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• people watching (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• talking to friends (EatingAllMyFeelings)
• go for a bike ride (depressionkitten)
• clean something (depressionkitten)
• take an everything shower (depressionkitten)
• indulge in a nice skincare routine (Bad_Mr_Kitty)
• journalling (CoSaWe04, Future-Designer-6855)
• ONO roller (Future-Designer-6855)

-------------------------------------------------

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When you get your reminder, check back here for a link to the next day's post :)

I just want to spend all my money on it and cook enough that it's impossible for me to finish in a day, which isn't a lot because it's pasta. I make enough to eat where I stop not because I'm out of it, but because I physically can't get myself to eat more. I'm always thinking about when I'll have it next, and "enough to make me fill for a day" is over 4000 calories. definitely gaining weight from being obsessed wth pasta

Hi all, posting on a throwaway because I’m deeply ashamed and embarrassed. I have come to the realisation that I may have a binge eating disorder. I’m really really struggling with accepting this because I’ve been in denial for YEARS. I’m 22f and the first instances I can remember of me binging is 11 years old. I was bullied from the start to the end of secondary school over my weight and I found a weird comfort in food (ironic I know). I have put on a lot of weight over the years but rapidly since having gone to uni- I feel like I’ve spent so much of what’s supposed to be the most carefree years of my life stuck in such a rut. I binge very badly, multiple times a week. I eat to the point of physical discomfort and I hate it. I gorge on really unhealthy foods and spend a lot of money on takeaways/food shops that are specifically for a binge. I have made the first step of reaching out to a helpline, and I also have a doctor’s appointment to discuss my declining mental wellbeing where I intend to express my concerns.

My main concern though is that my appointment is a waste of time. What does the road to recovery look like? I’m scared to eat and will wait until I’m uncomfortably hungry to eat anything because I know more often than not I will eat far too much. The food noise is unbearable, every time I try to lose weight I can’t. I have tried time and time again to put myself into a calorie deficit or purchase healthier, more filling snacks/meals but every single time I have given in to the noise and had a binge worse than ever that leaves me devastated that I’ve done it again.

I don’t want to waste valuable resources, but I want it to stop. The information online that was recommended to me by a helpline was unfortunately useless. The information packs were concentrated on things like “the dangers of under eating” or “the dangers of over exercising” which are not problems of mine. My understanding is that it’s not as dangerous as EDs like anorexia or bulimia, however, just because it’s not going to kill me it doesn’t mean I don’t want it to stop. It is ruining my MH which is already in a poor condition, and that’s being generous! I don’t want to be overweight anymore I’m a UK18/20 and I’m embarrassed. I don’t want to lose tonnes of weight, but I do want to improve my lifestyle and be healthier. I don’t want to get diabetes or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol and if I can’t find a way to stop soon then I’m sure that’s the path I’ll be heading down.

I guess I’m making a post to try and get some advice. Do I have a problem? Should I speak to the GP? How do I go about making a change? How can I change my intensely unhealthy relationship with food? I’ve tried podcasts and following dieticians on social media but at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing that will stop me from a binge if I can feel one coming on.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I appreciate any help or advice you can give me. I’ve read through so many posts on this page and the overwhelming support you all give each other is so lovely that it’s made me feel comfortable enough talking about it, even if it is to internet strangers!!

Bruh plus this morning I was at a hotel buffet type thing and I ate a fuck ton of food (to the point of painful bloating) and I was telling myself like hell no I'm cut off for the day

Now I am here hours later wolfing down banana bread. Gotta love it

Hi all, I’m new here. I’ve been struggling with binge-eating and therefore my weight since I was a teenager. I’ve got myself to a point where so many foods act as triggers for me that my day-to-day diet is very limited, healthy and tasty though. I exercise regularly and generally look after myself apart from when I don’t.

Any change in routine like going to visit family for the weekend can lead to up to a two week binge with no exercise and just feeling like shit. If I go to a party with snacks out, this will have the same effect! To me the only option is to just not eat anything at these events because I don’t believe that I’m just capable of having one or two snacks and being done. On Wednesday night my partner and I had a takeaway and I’ve been on binge-mode ever since, it’s now Sunday morning. I don’t understand how I can just enjoy a treat and not let it take over my life for days after! Does anyone have advice on how to fight the urge?! Once I get into the binge mindset it’s so hard to get out.

Instead of picking up another muffin, ordering a 3rd appetizer, pouring another cup of soda, finishing the whole bag of chips, getting a 3rd bowl of icecream, or simply wanting to eat out of boredom, how do you distract yourself? what tricks do you use? do you focus on hobbies? Starting tomorrow i’m going to try going to the gym again. Im 190 pounds and feel disgusting about myself, just had to go to an event tonight and everyone in my family were wearing dresses and I was wearing jeans and an oversized jacket. I could never feel comfortable in a dress.

I also went for a 2nd plate, filled it with steak, penne alla vodka, and shrimp. The girls wearing dresses were eating only bread and caesar salad. 🥲I can never pass on delicious flavorful food, especially if it’s free! lol sometimes I wish I was a picky eater, since i like everything, i always try new foods and gain extra weight. I also have 0 self control.

Long-time lurker, first time poster here. Thanks everyone who is part of this wonderful community. This post will be a downer, so mandatory TW: eating disorders, body image, depression

I don't even know where to start. My weight is spiralling out of control and I feel completely powerless. This is the heaviest I have ever been - heavier than when I was 42 weeks pregnant with a 99th percentile baby, barely over two years ago. In another life I would have done a diet and lost some weight and just do the usual yo-yo, but now there isn't even a yo-yo, it just goes up, up, up. I cannot stop myself from eating. My clothes don't fit. I can't bear the thought of getting naked to have sex with my partner - I am so ashamed!

I tried a bit of therapy (CBT) but honestly I feel it just didn't click (maybe I should try another therapist). Where do I even start? I understand it is crucial to take care of the mental aspect of it, but I am also genuinely worried about my physical health, my relationship with my partner, and the behaviour that I am modelling to my child. I know binge-eating is not just about the weight, but it's also about the weight.

I don't even know what the point of this post is, I guess I just desperately need advice from people who have been here and can relate. How do I take care of my physical health? How do I regain hope when there is not any left. I think part of why I don't even try to even diet anymore is not that I am committed to recovery from BED, but that I just don't believe I will ever get my weight under control again. I have given up. I need some hope.

I would be so grateful for any stories, advice, heck even tough love! I need HOPE.

I hope it’s okay to post here. Almost 2 years ago I told myself that I am going to take care of myself, started working out and watched what I ate. I guess I was so determined to loose weight that I didn’t have any problem. I lost the weight and was truly able to feel in control. Until… October last year, at first it wasn’t that bad, but now I feel possessed each night and the weight has come back. How do I keep it under control again? I feel awful since I worked hard for my goal weight, and I literally threw it all away. I’m ashamed of myself.

If you are a reader, or not, my therapist had me follow along to the book Overcoming binge eating by Dr. Christopher G. Fairburn. I’d read two chapters every week and we’d discuss it in my sessions. But the book can be used alone without a therapists guidance. It’s helped me tremendously. My ED therapist changed my life but I know not everyone has access to that type of medical care so I figured I’d offer a resource she used in our sessions.

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. I've had binge eating disorder pretty much since I was a fetus. Some of my earliest memories at age 4 or 5 were me sneaking little Debbie cakes and eating them in private. I also dealt with other eating disorders as an extreme correction to binge eating in high school and my early 20s, but binging is the only one that's been constant.

Anyway, I'm mid 30s and recently was diagnosed with ADHD. I started taking vyvanse in the beginning of February and I now know what it feels like to have a normal relationship with food. I can go days without thinking about using food for comfort. Days isn't very long for most people, but for me that's incredible.

I've had a horrendous week, layoffs at work, fight with my best friend, dog having a medical issue. The kind of conditions that would start a week or weeks long binge eating episode. Well I didn't take my med today and mentally slid into old habits a little bit with the "I think I'm going to treat myself since it's been a crazy week" train of thought. So I went and bought a Tony Chocolonely sea salt and caramel chocolate bar and a bag of Reeses eggs.

Guess what? I ate a third of the chocolate bar and 3 Reeses eggs. Definitely indulged by normal standards but I definitely don't consider this binge eating. In the past, I could have easily eaten all of it + a few hours later ordered takeout cause "the day is ruined already, might as well just go for it right?". I think since I haven't been binging much since starting vyvanse, the threshold of what makes my brain go "ok, that's enough" is soooo much lower. I swear to god, I used to be a bottomless pit, my brain never thought I had enough, I stopped when my body physically made me stop.

This drug is a miracle.

You don't need to have ADHD to see try it, it's approved to treat BED alone. I wanted to post this because of how much it has helped me. Binge eating disorder is a prison you don't realize you're in until you step out of it.

Hopefully this post is allowed and that it reaches people that didn't know a drug existed to help this.

Hi, I'm new to this and need some support. I was binge-free for three weeks and hoping to lose some weight. I was doing so well, but then, out of nowhere, I started eating a lot. I had no reason; I just did it. Afterward, I didn't feel bad; I just went on with my day. Then a week passed, and I binged again—no reason—and now I've done it again after just one day. I feel hopeless, like I'm a failure. I hate the days following a binge and hate the bloating and water retention. I don't know how to stop this pattern. I don't remember how I lasted three weeks binge-free. I know I'm not alone. I need some advice so I can get back on my feet. Thank you for listening.

I've been deep into this shit for over a year. Gained around 10kgs and started disliking how I look because I'm so short it shows. BELIEVE ME IT FUCKING SHOWS.

Everyday I just think about food, the next meal and I eat myself into depression while falling behind on my studies just as I'm about to graduade in a few months. And guess what? I have 7 fucking exams in the next 2 months. Can I study while thinking about food all the time and snacking so much I'm afraid my stomach will burst? Sure as fuck not.

Just today, I went 2k over my maintenance... Before lunch. Yeah, so breakfast and a binge. Then a second one. And a third one. 5k over already, so much fun.

So not only did I stop liking myself, I feel loss of control, I'm failing studies but I'm also so broke I don't even have the money to see a therapist. My family doesn't give a fuck as long as I'm not morbidly obese. Or GOD FORBID EVEN A LITTLE SKINNY. That'd send them to their graves apparently. Oh, and my uni therapist left me on read. Two times.

Yeah, I'm living my best life apparently according to some.

I’ve been doing well the past 18 days. I made a mistake today by trying to buy groceries for an entire week (I usually go to the store daily bc I don’t trust myself to keep food at home). I bought way too much and as soon as I came home and closed the front door I started eating some of it. And while I could stop myself and remained below my maintenance calories it still felt like I lost control for a bit, I didn’t even take off my shoes and ate ~1100kcal in under 10 minutes. I have an app that tracks how long I've been b/p free but idk if I should reset the start date since I could stop and did not purge afterwards? it sounds silly but I worry I will feel demotivated if I reset it but I also dont want to lie to myself..

I can't stop eating trash food, the funny thing is that I even't like this kind of food. Like, in taste. But despite that, I have the need to eat everything I see, everything that has calories.
I have problems with food since I was a baby. It was not a problem for my mom that I enjoyed eating. So, I loved food as a kid, an my family always kinda "support" that, or make me feel proud.
I never do sport a kid, my mom didn´t want it because it wasn't "ladylike" so I grew up eating a lot and doing 0 sport. Fortunately I never had overweight, but still I wasn't (And I'm not) thin. Not much as I want.
So last year (2024) I feel so insecure about my body that I start eating healty and doing excersice. I start doing it not because I wanted to become healthier. I am 15, so I'm in school and last year a girl in my class had problems because someone call her fat. I know this is silly, but what made me so insecure was the fact that her body was just like mine, so I felt like I was called fat too.

I felt so ashamed, that first I stop eating. I, that always enjoyed food so much I Couldn't even see food, I felt horrible, so I started hurting myself because I had so much pain inside, I don't have any friends. I had no one to talk about it. After that I start eating again but I started counting calories and I became obsessed with food. I use to spent 5 hours in my cellphone just looking ways or info to be more thin.
This kinda worked because I lost a lot of weight, but I still felt (and I feel) fat. But that's when I started bingeing. This got worse in november of 2024 because vacations started. I was all day in home, bored, and food was all day in my head. Then in december my parents discovered that I was cutting myself and made me go to therapy, wich i left after 3 sessions because I didn't like going to teraphy, I felt like everything was fine with me, I use to think that hurting myself as a way of punishment was normal.
By now I binge eat every day, that makes me feel afwul, it really hurts my seelf-esteem. Some days I dont go out of my house because I feel really ashamed, I think Im gross.
By now I was thinking that It would be really good for me starting therapy again but I'm afraid of telling this to my family. I don't want to make them feel worried

when your stomach (not your entire abdomen literally just your stomach) is like full of food and it's rock hard and sensitive to the touch (lol) when you touch your stomach and it feels like there's a massive rock in your upper abdomen but it turns out it's just your stomach... hate that shit sooo much ewww. Thought i had something wrong the other day bc I could feel a hard painful lump in my abdomen but nope just my stomach! anyone else relate?

It’s April 5, been binge-free since July 1.

I don’t know what happened, but something clicked. I think it may have been my new gym membership at the time and the motivation to not “ruin” the progress I could be making in there, or maybe it was the financial aspect.

I used to spend $20-$40 on fast food orders for just myself, multiple times a week. I would eat myself sick, and this went on for years. I’ve now lost 30lbs and haven’t had a proper binge since July! I will say that there have been times when I overate, but nothing like my former binges.

Anyway, I truly believe that if I can grow and stop binging (if only for a few months — progress is not always linear, but I am hopeful that it will stick), anyone can do it. There is hope! Peace&love

Anyone in EST (eastern standard time) looking for a check-in buddy for nighttime eating struggles? I’m trying to break the habit and just need someone to talk to when the urge hits. Nothing heavy, just support.