[warriorqueen]

I lost 80 pounds on the low carb diet then stopped and gained half of it back. i thought I had kicked my binge eating so the curb but I haven't. I'll be really strict on a low calories diet for two weeks or so and then i'll binge on food for the next four days and ruin any progress I made so I've just managed to maintain my weight gain for the past few years. I binge all day long. I can't stop. I do better when i'm at my own place because I don't buy unhealthy foods but when i'm visiting home I eat anything and everything I can get my hands on. Maybe being home is triggering for me because this is where I developed my eating disorder? I don't know. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had the same experience and if so, what lifestyle changes have you made that have been sustainable?

[Wannabehealthy]

I have a similar problem that I can follow a "diet plan" for a few days, but then find myself falling off the wagon and gaining back whatever I have lost. I am making some changes now in an effort to correct this. My diet tends to be low carb, but no food is completely eliminated. I don't eat sweets, but I do eat healthier carbs in small portions, such as bread, potatoes, rice, and I try to eat a lot of vegetables. I have a terrible snacking habit, so right now I am working toward only eating at meal time....nothing in between. That's a change that's difficult for me because I tend to pop things in my mouth mindlessly. If there's something I want, I'll save it to include with my next meal. The little bites here and there really do add up.

Try not to plan a diet. Eliminating foods just causes you to want them more. If you know you can have them in small quantities they lose their appeal. Just plan healthy meals and enjoy them. When you're eating, think of all the good things that healthy food is doing for your body.

Maybe being home is stressful for you, and you're stress eating. Possibly that same stressful situation caused your eating disorder in the first place. Or maybe being home makes you feel safe and secure, so you feel that it's OK to enjoy your favorite foods or makes you feel you are on vacation. It could make you feel that you are back to being a child, when you didn't have to worry about what you ate. There could be so many things causing this, and this is why therapy has helped some with BED.

There are a lot of posters on their forum who are or have been in the same situation. You can get a lot of good support from them. Good luck to you.

[dawnlouise]

Hi Warrior Queen! I have been exactly where you are. I thought I would never be able to have a normal relationship with food. I also thought I could never have a family, or a husband... because if they brought home anything that was delicious, I'd eat it all!

The key for me was to STOP doing restrictive diets. The more I tried to cut things out as a solution to stop bingeing, it would work for a couple days, then I'd just binge on everything. It was really damaging to my self-esteem and I really thought there was something wrong with me.

Try to ask yourself the question: Would I continue eating no carbs if I were thin? Would I want to never eat sugar again if I were thin? Chances are, the answer to both of these is no. That means they are not sustainable, and because of our history of dieting, they just cause your brain to "freak out" when you cut these foods out... which makes you want them more.

I focus on eating whole foods, but nothing is "off limits" to me. Choose a treat that you really like and incorporate it into your day. Make sure you enjoy the meals that you are eating (no bland salads). Don't let yourself get hungry. Hungry does not equal weight loss. Hungry equals cravings and dangers of binge eating for people like us!

Finally, love yourself! It's going to be okay. I have 2 pints of ben and jerrys in my freezer right now that have been there for months, and one of them I haven't even opened yet. I binged for years and years.... if I can do this, you can, too. Let me know if you have any more questions! Big hugs!