Hi everyone . I have been battling compulsive eating my whole life . I can be doing fine for days and then I just lose control. I don't know how to stop. Over time I've become aware of my triggers, but when the moment comes I can't seem to stop even tho I know what I'm doing is wrong. At the moment I'm eating I don't care about my weight or my health or how much progress I've made. It's not til afterward that the intense guilt sets in and I am thoroughly disgusted by myself. I lost 60 lbs a few years back doing Atkins and I have slowly been creeping back up with the scale.. I want to catch it before I get so far out of control that I am feeling beyond help. Is there a way I can get some discipline? I have absolutely none. Any thoughts or advice would be so appreciated .

What did you do when you were on Atkins that made you successful then?

I was in a terrible marriage and my husband constantly told me how fat I was. Now I have a wonderful man who loves me no matter what and that I don't need to diet. And when that moment of binge comes .. I tell myself it's ok

Not sure what to tell you...but i think you have to tell yourself it's NOT ok. You should want this for yourself, not anyone else. Until you really want it, it won't work.

Not sure this will work, as i am having problems staying committed myself.

I have been in this situation. Being with someone who tells you that they love you no matter what and you don't need a diet. It's a awesome feeling isn't it . But, the thing is you have to ask yoru self...are you doing everything for you? Yes, it's nice to have a partner who doesn't care about such things, but then again you yourself do not want to get back to where you were right? Or so that's what it sounds.

If you do not want to go back to what was...then fight the binge's. I know it's hard...trust me I know as a binge eater myself. It's just that I was in a relationship where my partner didn't care and I gained over 50lbs. Let me tell you I was not happy with myself. Me, myself, and I. Try and think about later. Will you be happy with yourself? If so then don't worry about it . If you know you'll not like it then fight yourself from doing it.

Lol, sorry I may have been too serious, but i think it's because I really understand what you are probably going through ^^*.

And why don't you go back to what you did to lose the weight before. Or work on that plan to maintain as well. Hey! You stopped before right? You can still.

Probably it was easier for you while you were on Atkins because it is low carb, and your blood sugar stays the same... If I were you I would go back to Atkins for some time, and once you are in control again, I would start to include good carbs till you notice you are getting cravings... That would be your carbs limit. I am sure you can do it! I am 5 one, and also trying to get to your goal weight! It is very difficult for us to lose, because we have to eat very little to maintain and even less to lose. But we can do it, both lose (slowly) and learn to control ourselves...! Go for it!

Hi Lilbeef -- and the ones who responded to her. I understand how you feel a lot also. I started atkins on 2-27 and was doing well and then something really dumb and awful happened at work, and then i stopped being careful with my carbs and have ended up binging about the last two weeks.

I think at some point we have to just stop -- it's like we need to put a tourniquet on an artery to just stop the really bad eating and get back to what works....so I'm going back on atkins today just to get some control over my blood sugars -- I've been feeling sick with all the simple carbs even.....

So, hoping you'll make a plan and start taking some steps to get back in control....the hard part is that we absolutely have to do it for ourselves....no one will do it for us......hug

i didn't know that adkins diet was still around.

yes, it's still around and it's very successful, now that they've worked out some of the bugs in the earlier versions.

to the OP:

i have OCD although not with food - posting on forums is probably one of them, considering i've got four on the go at any one time, lol.

what's basically happening is you are sitting back and avoiding responsibility for the bingeing - "my body is craving it", "i can't help it", etc. rather than develop coping techniques (such as taking up macramé or crochet or something else that will occupy your hands) and taking leadership, you are tossing the reins to whoever will have them - your abusive ex, f.ex.

your body is YOU. it's not a separate entity with whom you split the rent and doesn't do it's share of the housework. there comes a point when YOU have to own up to the fact that YOU control what goes in your mouth.

your husband loves you no matter what - that doesn't mean carte blanche to destroy your health. if your husband loves YOU, it means he loves YOU. if you love him, then wouldn't it be nice to take care of yourself so you will be together for as long as possible and he doesn't have to watch you get bigger and bigger and your health deteriorate to the point he's now required to look after you?

food isn't going to feed the void - get counselling, for preference cognitive therapy and behaviour modification, and you will learn how to seat yourself firmly in the driver's seat and actually enjoy it.

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. I am back on induction..and have rededicated myself to doing this for me and nobody else. Because I'm the only one who will suffer if I dont. Two days in now.. I'm feeling optimistic .

For me, it's about recommitting to my goal (staying on plan and not binging) every single morning. I actually start my morning with a mental self talk to stay on track. Some days are easier than others but it takes constant work. I still fall off plan, but not as much, when I do this. Also, another thing that has really helped more than I could have ever imagined is IF Intermittent Fasting). There is a good thread on it under General Diet Plans (Hope this link works: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...-5-2012-a.html). I see that you're back on Atkins and it looks like you're off to a wonderful start....I just thought I'd let you know about this in case you think it could help you too.

I don't do Atkins, but when I notice my eating is getting disorderly, I plan one no-carbs day, and next day I am back to being able to eat better. I attribute that to the fact that cravings diminish a lot after just one day of no eating carbs... and that allows me to be much more in control. I don't know if this works for everybody, but maybe you find this works. I read that some people always go no-carbs on Monday, to get back on track after some week-end indulgence. It makes sense to me...

Thanks for that link luckymommy. I have been doing Atkins and fasting some days to help me stay on track. It has worked over the past month but I haven't told anyone what I was doing (until now) because I was afraid they would just say I was starving myself. But they say you have to find what works for you - and this is what has worked. It helps stop the cravings and also makes me be in control - especially on those fasting days, and working on being in control is key. It helps me be stronger and I can live with this since it works. I can see me hitting under that 200 mark soon and that is going to be a big day for me.

IF is definitely not starving yourself. You end up consuming the exact amount of calories you would normally, but you just have it during a shorter window. I think it fantastic that you've found something that is helping! I'm new to it so I can't testify to the fact that I'm no longer binge eating, but I can say that so far, so good!