I haven't really been over to this section of Three Chicks before, because I never really thought I had a binging problem. But lately, I'm starting to think that yeah, I do.

Yesterday, I walked out the door completely confidant that I was going to stay on plan. I ate a nice bowl of cereal before I left so that I wouldn't be thinking about food. And then before I knew it, I'd downed a whole pizza and a king sized candybar. And for some reason, not once did I say "woah, wait a minute, this is a bad idea". I was thinking "Oh look, a pizza place. Score!" And then "Hm, need some candy to go with it."

I feel like the part of my brain that makes sensible decisions just doesn't pay that much attention on a day to day basis. Pops up now and again, sure, but most of the time... grr. Why do I do these things to myself?

For me it would be the cereal. Cereal is one of those foods that leads me down the slippery slope.

It is hard to be conscious and pay attention when eating unconsciously is a habit.

Hang in there, I'm sure the sensible part of your brain will be in charge more and more over time.

Me too with processed carbs, one bite/bowl/vat is never enough.

Pre-eating was a sensible idea though, it might just be trial and error to find out what works for you. Don't regret the trials and errors, better to take a week or three now to work it out, rather than struggle forever.

Eating before you go out is a good idea, just not sure that cereal is the best choice. For most (but not all) high carbohydrate foods tend to make you hungrier. As much as I love fruit, I can't eat it on its own - just makes me hungry. I need protein and/or fat to satisfy me. The other thing to ask though, is how much are you generally eating daily. Sometimes setting your calorie counts way too low can lead to binging as well.

My food journals are showing me that if I can get at least 15g of protein in at breakfast, the whole day goes much, much better. Cereal's clearly not working for me, unless it's the monster protein/fiber versions and I include toast w/nut butter with it. I haven't solved my "monkey hours" of 4-6pm yet, but it's looking like a 3pm snack right before I leave work is somewhat successful for derailing an honest binge that starts with hunger and goes awry. Maybe there's something there that you can use - best of luck!

I have the exact same problem as yourself. One minute I am fine then then next minute BAM ive consumed 3000 calories without a second thought!

I wish I had the answers to help both of us but im just taking each day as it comes and hoping that the next time I binge I am able to stop myself before I start or before I do too much damage!

I think if you start a food journal you find out what is triggering your "need" to consume so much. Maybe the day before you did not eat enough and your body was craving more food than it needed. Your stomach took over your brain. Just try to figure out what caused this trigger to happen. Also if you really like pizza you could buy it and then package the pizza into individual slices to eat so you wont be tempted to eat the whole thing, yet you can still feel like you can be satisfied and eat the pizza. Try a food journal it may help.