I know what you mean elderflower. I also moved (though I only crossed Canada) and it can be very stressful especially when you do it on your own. It gets easier though. Promise. :)

Good Morning! Another beautiful day, another fresh start! Here's to a successful overeating free day! We're all in this together. :hug:

Elderflower, welcome! Post anytime and tell us how you are doing. I completely relate to being abroad and feeling stressed. I lived abroad, too. Are you studying or working there? I did both. So glad you could join us! :)

nlauah, congrats!! I know you'll do great today, too. I'm sending you good thoughts. :bravo:

Having lunch with my girlfriends today. I've decided on a low cal salad and a cup of coffee. I will not eat the whole thing. Met my goal of eating within range until I saw them today. My next mini goal is to stay in range and try to lose before my next Zumba class on Tuesday. Have a great day, everyone! :hug: :hug: :hug:

I'm not big on journalling, writing a food diary etc., but have read that it is helpful with staying on plan. However coming here and posting definitely helps me renew my commitment each day.

Lots of helpful support here. One of my biggest struggles is with nighttime eating as other posters have. When everyone else is in bed, and I am alone in the kitchen cleaning up and preparing their lunches for the next day...I have fallen into the habit of stuffing my face. Sometimes I am tired, and use the food to keep going, sometimes I am bit resentful of being the one cleaning up (although I know it is my contribution to the household as I am the only one not working and it is my responsibility) and so I will have 'a little treat' for myself and often find myself looking forward to everyone going off to bed leaving me to eat what I want.

So now I will be AWARE and ON GUARD. Have a snack that is part of my plan available, and sit quietly for a few minutes reminding myself of my commitment before I get into the kitchen. I need to break this habit.

I'm so glad everyone is checking in! Hugs to all!

Having a good day here, feeling relatively calm and in control (looove that feeling!). Last night while cooking my husband's dinner I drank 2 sixteen ounce glasses of very warm water because I was making him garlic bread and was a wee bit tempted by the giant loaf of white (evil!!) bread. The water definitely helped. White bread is a real no no for me, I have to avoid even a nibble.

I often wish my husband would eat what I eat (and *not* eat, what I *don't* eat), but that is *never* going to happen. We all have challenges when dealing with the other people in our lives who may not have our problems, it is tricky coming up with strategies to deal with it!

Elderflower - I totally understand what it is to be living abroad... I still am living abroad and there is a lot of stress and emotion related to it that made me eat and gain quite some pounds... I have always found that keeping myself busy has helped me deal with it better.. Hope you too find a way :D

Same here, though I will say that it is changing as time goes on. I used to never, ever feel full. And I could out-eat everyone I know, including my hubbie who is 6'6 and 290.

Now, after almost six months on plan, that is changing in that I am getting a full feeling after a pretty reasonable amount of food. It is surprising!

Mrs.Snark and 7lbs., I've read your posts about motivation on another thread. They were excellent posts! Do you mind reposting some motivational tips for all of us here? Anything to keep us all motivated is fantastic! Thank you for both of your inputs. :thanks:

Thanks for the welcome!:hug:
I'm wasn't too strict with myself for today, but still tried to make good choices. I'm actually working as an au pair right now, and so have a lot of time during the day I'm trying to occupy. I try to keep myself, and my hands, busy. This probably isn't the thread but it's also hard to try and fit my diet into the family's meals, especially since they don't really understand dieting and low-carb and are always telling me I don't eat healthily since I'm eating low-carb stuff, so meat, eggs, cheese, etc. even though I eat TONS of veggies.
Sorry to go on a bit! Very glad to be here, I think it will be really good for me to have somewhere to check in. I also noticed how someone upthread said something about mini goals. I'm going to try this! I get too discouraged by the big goals.

I was able to stick to a food plan today for the first time in months! In the past I never would have considered one day as significant in any way and the hurtful voice inside of me actually would have made me feel like this one day didn't even matter. But today I am letting myself feel really good about the fact that I made a decision to take this journey one day at a time and honor that by controlling what I accepted from that voice inside me that has kept me trapped in a vicious cycle of overeating and feeling horrible about myself. Today I made progress! I made a change to this one part of the pattern in dealing with my food issues ,and I feel like my hope is being restored that recovery is possible for me! I hope everyone had a great day. :-)

Hello, I'd like to join this thread from the beginning this time!

I really need somewhere to be accountable and this group is perfect, Thanks tyla :D

My goals for this month are to get to 160 lbs, wean myself off sugar and actually have structured meals - not just eat whenever I get hungry.
Also - I'm going to try the 2 cups of water when I get the urge to binge

Good luck everyone!!

Hi all!! I'd like to join in as well. I caught myself binging last night, so I forced myself to stop, drink some water, and do a light workout. The bad part was I at mor of the same chips and chocolate after my binge-intervention!! Today I am up three lbs (lots of sodium) and completely down on myself. I have many of the same issues mentioned...fiancé won't eat like me, if there is junk food in the house I think it is my duty to finish it, etc. I love all the positivity and advice in here!! I hope this will help me deter these binges!

I went out for lunch and I did not over eat! I ordered a salad with dressing on the side and ate until I was full. I picked a seafood restaurant on purpose. Hard to OD on fish.

Today marks day 8 since my last over eating episode.

TGIF Everyone! I am ready for the weekend and feeling positive. I even managed to enjoy a single martini last night without any snacking or mental struggle. It was lovely. It helped to have a plan for the day and not veer from it


It is always hard when people want to manage what you eat and put their own beliefs on you. I've noticed that since I'm currently at the lower end of the scale there are people who think I'm "fixed now" and no longer have to work hard at managing my weight (despite seeing me gain/lose/gain/lose repeatedly). Ha, so faaar from the truth! Suddenly everyone has an opinion ("surely you don't need to measure olive oil any more" they scoff, and "it isn't like white bread will kill you, go on, eat some" as they wave rolls at me).

I have adopted a very Zen attitude about what other people think and say. I just try to look very serene, smile slightly, and not respond, even if it leaves an awkward silence. Sometimes I even nod a little, while I go right on doing what I'm doing. It was a bit "fake it until you make it" at first, as my stomach would be in knots and I'd feel really angry, but the more I put on the Zen face the less other people's opinions actually affect me!


:carrot: Congratulations! Every moment and every day is a BIG victory and it is all those single moments comprised of multiple good decisions that get you where you want to go! You should be so proud of yourself!

It sounds like you have a great plan, I just know October will be a great month!

Welcome Noelle! This is a very supportive place, we can do this!

:bravo: Great job, Sum!!!

Sorry it took so long for me to post today, but I'm really not feeling well. So I'm making this kinda brief.

I just wanted to congratulate everyone that is not overeating. Congrats to Sum and Mak and anyone that is doing great! I'm so proud of all of us for sticking with it!

Welcome, PrimalGirl and Noelle! Great goals!

Yesterday when I went out to lunch I just had a small bowl of soup and a 3rd of a small green salad/vinaigrette dressing. Doing great today. When tempted I went out for a cup of coffee.

Thanks for your post, MrsSnark.

Going to bed to rest.

Hugs to all! :hug: :hug: :hug:

Whew, ok, I haven't binged for the past 4 days now. I'm awake (it's 3:15 am right now where I am), and I'm dying to eat something, so I'm posting here to distract myself and maybe make myself feed bad about it :p

I normally have breakfast (sandwich with egg, tomato & onion... not very healthy or unhealthy) at about 5:30 or 6 am, lunch at around 1 and dinner at 8:30. It works if I have just 3 meals in the day, because I can't have very little and feel satisfied, so many small meals doesn't work for me. I also know that if I eat now, I'll feel hungry by 9 or 10 and my whole eating cycle will be thrown off. I'm trying to think of things to occupy my mind. What do you guys do when you want to avoid a binge?

Hey everyone!!! I did well for the last 2 days and did not binge :) and you know what it showed on my scale as well.. got it moving :D

Thanks to you guys!! I think the accountability and the motivation from here helps me to do this :D

LOL! Sometimes I go to sleep -- especially if it's that late!!! ;)

I struggled a little today but I managed to stay on plan for another day! I am more clear about my goals for this month and am moving from planning my meals the day before to planning for a week at a time. I am not sure about my calorie range but I think it needs to be somewhere under 1600 a day. So one day has turned into two days being in control of what I eat and how much I eat! It has been very helpful to find encouragement here and a place to be have some accountability which I really need to help me stay honest with myself. Thanks Mrs. Snark for the encouraging words! I read some of your blog post and they were very inspiring! I hope everyone is doing well.

Hi everyone,

WOW! I'm blown away by the positive energy on this thread! What incredible support we are providing to each other. :hug:

Elderflower, I think you've made a good decision to not be too strict. I believe that restricting too much leads to binging. What a tough situation, not being in control of your food.

Mak78, so glad you've had a good couple of days! Setting goals and planning -- a perfect combination for success!

PrimalGirl, kudos to you as well for sharing your goals! I'm looking forward to reading about your success this month!

Noelle, welcome!

Sum38, I'm a big fan of seafood, too. We're eating a lot more fish at our house. It's so good for you and often the best bet on a restaurant menu.

Mrs. Snark, I love your Zen attitude - and I'm impressed by your ability to post multiple quotes! ;)

Tyla, I hope you got lots of rest and you feel better soon! I'm sipping some "throat coat" tea myself.

Vegetables, I hope you got to sleep! I can't remember the last time I saw 3 am (except to get up to pee -- TMI, sorry)

Nlauah, nice work! And nice to get a nod from the scale, huh?

I had a pretty good day. I'm trying to do more things to bring joy to my life (thanks, Tyla, for reminding me how important that is), so I went for a run here: http://mysocalsummer.files.wordpress...e-reserve2.jpg Seriously. See those stairs? I ran up those. Joy!

Of course now I'm exhausted. Tyla, I saw your request for ideas for motivation -- I'll do those tomorrow!

How beautiful thesame7lbs!!!

Mak78 Congratulations on staying OP. One meal at a time!! -- I plan my meals for the entire week, it helps what comes to grocery shopping time and I end up buying less tempting junk.

nlauah Here's to a third day OP :cheers: Scale can be such a nice motivator.

ILoveVegetables TEA! Hot tea help what comes to avoiding over eating. I drink, which seems, gallons of it now a days.

tyla I hope you are feeling better today :hug:

Mrs S. Woot on your martini! I wish I could enjoy a drink without the munchies that follow.

elderflower I was an au pair! That was 20+ years ago tho :D I ended up staying because I met my husband. How many kiddoes to you nanny for?

Primalgirl Nice plan!

noelle8310 Glad to have you here. Today is a new day and you can be a binge free! :hug:

:wave: to everyone else.

Good Morning Everyone!

Just wanted to wish you a very healthy day! New day, fresh start. :) Thanks, everyone, for helping each other. That's what this thread is all about. :hug:

Thank you for your well wishes. Taking it easy. Have to teach on Monday.

7lbs., thanks for the beautiful photo! Wish I was back on the shore of SoCal, where I'm from. Miss it. Cherish it, 7lgs. :hug:

7lbs -- wow is that gorgeous! My husband was just in that area for business and rented a bike and biked around 50 miles up and down the coast, he said it was spectacular! He biked from somewhere in La Jolla to Cabrillo National Monument, the pictures he sent me made me drool! I love that sort of coastline (here in Fla the coast is just plain old FLAT!).

Tyla -- Feel better, hon!

So great to read of daily victories - like Mak78 and Sum 38

A few days ago I was reading someone's weight loss success story,(and I'm sorry that I cannot attribute this to her because I can't find it again) but she said that whenever she found herself saying to herself or thinking the words "I may as well..." she immediately changed it to "I may as well NOT..."

I say "I may as well... really often, such as 'I may as well finish this packet of cookies - there are only 2 left' or I may as well go out and get box of doughnuts coz I need them to get over this bad day'

Well I tried her strategy, and added an emphatic NOT when I found myself doing this, and I was amazed that it actually worked. Not sure why but something in my brain made a switch and I found that I could not eat off plan. I think that the thoughts really changed - and as easy as it was for me to think 'I may as well' it became as easy to think 'Actually, I may as
well NOT'
Last night I was about to take some leftovers out the fridge and scarf them, but as I caught myself thinking I may as well just finish them, I thought actually, I may as well not, and holy moly I was happy to put them back. Woo Hoo

That's an awesome idea and anecdote musiclover, thanks for sharing that! That is exactly how you form new habits, and as you do it, the change will become easier and easier and more and more natural! Love it!

Hope everyone is having a great, healthy Saturday!


I will throw out this one piece of advice for us all today: don't stop coming here! Commit to yourself that you will check in daily -- even if it is just one, single post -- NO MATTER whether it has been a good day or a bad day, you will come and write down what happened.

It is easy, of course, to write about the good days. But often, when someone has a bad day, they don't post on that day. They want to "get back on track" before they post again. But as often happens to us, one bad day can turn into several bad days, then a week, then a month and then they disappear (for years -- and I'm talking about ME here, so I speak from experience). Instead of using the site to help halt the slide into constant binging and over eating, people will stay away, right when they need the site the most!

So prepare in your mind for a future bad day (I had one last week) and know that you will NOT disappear, you will NOT give up. You will come here and we will help!

I say this to myself as much as I say it to anyone! I will rely on you when I have a bad day -- and I will be here for you if you have one!

Sum38, there are three girls! I like it but it has it's challenges.:)
Sometimes what keeps me from bingeing is the feeling that when I've made the choice not to, I feel really happy with myself. I also try to focus on how I'll feel after the binge, like bloated and sick, and tired from not being able to sleep. I heard someone once say that with a binge you have to stop eating eventually, so why not stop before you actually binge?
One more thing that helps me stop a binge is when I'm feeling like I want to just eat, I do, but I eat something volume heavy and low calorie, like cucumber or raw zucchini. It doesn't have the sugar of fruit that makes me want to eat more, and it's not the kind of thing you want to keep eating when you're not hungry. Soon, eating it becomes not enjoyable anymore and I want to do something else. That's what's been helping me lately, anyway!

You're so right about this, Mrs Snark. Many times when I overeat or binge, I feel bad and avoid posting. Mainly I feel that people here put so much effort into their weight loss and staying on plan, so if they're doing it, why can't I just muster up the willpower to do it myself. I'll try to post every day regardless of whether it was a good or bad day :)

I've been thinking about cutting down my portions further. Like I've mentioned before, I cut my portions almost in half (I don't count calories) and have cut out sodas completely. But I'm just not losing weight. I would ideally like to cut down my dinner portion which is normally a little bigger because I eat with my family and they really like cooking good stuff for dinner. One thing I'm worried about, though, is their reactions. Whenever they notice me taking less food, they ask about it and think I'm trying to starve myself. They mean well, and they are supportive of my weight loss efforts, but they don't know much about what I'm doing so to them, it just looks like I'm trying to eat much less and think it's unhealthy. How do I handle these questions?

I did it again today :) Did not binge.. On a weekend with a get together with friends :D I did not binge hooooooray!!!!!

7lbs - Ya it is always great to see the scale move :D

Sum38 - Thanks :D

I stayed within my calorie range fir today but I technically still overate because I ate most of my days calories at lunch. I forgot to take a snack with me when I went out mid morning ,and I let myself get to hungry which is a way that I have sabatoged my progress in the past but I know now that is one of the things that needs to change in my pattern so that I can reach my goals. I am proud of myself though because I did not continue to overeat and go over my daily calories so I guess I am counting this as an on plan day!

I was thinking about how I hoped I would have the courage to post even on my worst days and reading Mrs. Snarks words helped me to realize the importance of maintaining my commitment to coming here to give and get support. The truth is it's on my worst days that I need to practice all of the things that I have learned to do to help myself. So I will keep coming back because it is an important part of my over all plan.

Mak, good for coming back and posting!

Glad to see so many people doing well!

Thanks MrsSnark and 7 lbs. for your great contributions.

Hope everyone has a healthy day! It's all about health. :)

I had a fab day. I stayed OP all day. I had light lunch and saved a big bulk of calories (I am a calorie counter) for sushi dinner. YUM!

Thanks Mrs. Snark! That was really awesome to read:).
Sometimes it feels depressing on good days because I feel like a downward slide is inevitable, but coming here and checking in on the thread is really helpful. I also think it's interesting that when someone slips up it's easy to be compassionate toward them, yet when we slip up we are so hard on ourselves.

Sum, that's so fantastic!! :yay:

Nlauah, excellent work!! :bravo:

oh no :(. Okay, like two hours after my previous post, I'm back, and with not good news. I didn't exactly binge, but I ate a lot of fruit, two apples, half a persimmon, and a bunch of tiny plums. This isn't bad food, but I'm trying to stay low-carb and now I'm worried it's going to kick me out of that low-carb/fat burning stage. :(.

Be proud you ate fruit. It sounds like about 300 calories, maybe 400. Stick to your plan now. Why don't you eat normally? (Fruits, veggies, protein and some fiber whole wheat carbs.) Sounds like your body is craving fruits and vegetables. Besides, there is a study from The American Psychological Association that states there is lower depression among people who eat like I said above. Good luck to you! You can do this! It's all up to you! :) By the way, I tried every diet there is, and I find fibrous carbs, proteins, veggies and fruit are the best for me, too! Count cals to get started. I believe in you! :hug:

THANK YOU tyla!!! Seriously, I was sitting here feeling sad and lonely and depressed and I read your post and it really made me feel so much better. You're giving me strength! Thank you :D

this thread seems to have been made with me in mind. I am a binge eater, not just over eat a few cookies here and there, but a confirmed "medically" binge eater. I am just now trying to stop a binge that has gone on for a month, I have gained 20 lbs. I do well for a while and then fall into a binge cycle that will have me binge every day or every other day. I have eaten all day, gone to the multipule MCdonalds here in town, ordered from each drive thru, eaten two or three shakes, fries, boxes of cookies, 5 packs of reeses peanut butter cups, the list goes on..thats just from today. I can binge on any food, if I have to I will binge on healthy food. I eat and eat, there is no full. I have tried medications in the past but have not had any success. I was put on a diet med a couple months ago Phentermine and I managed to gain weight while I was on it, eating and eating. I have lost almost 100 pounds the past couple years and the scale keeps creeping up and up. I need to get this under control, it is ruining my health physically and emotionally.

I have picked up the 17 day diet book and am planning on starting it Monday. I have to get back in line. I feel there are two of me, the one that everyone sees, and the one that hides in my car, hides in the bathroom, the bedroom, anywhere, and eats till a normal person would vomit. I have never been a binge and purge person, just binge. I can't seem to find anyone that totally understands that I can eat enough food for 5 people during a binge, within an hour or so. I binge and then return to my family, an unsuspecting husband, and kids, that all think I am always in control and a healthy eater, I would die of embarrassment if they actually saw the amount of food I put away.

Mainecyn - You found the people who understand.

I have done exactly the same thing you describe, eating in secrecy, hiding in odd places while I eat, hiding food in my car or in my closet, eating enough for a whole family, etc. It is a really hard cycle to break (as you know), and even when we've successfully lost weight and seem like we know exactly what we are doing, we can still fall right back into that cycle.

Deep breaths. You CAN do this, no matter how bad it has been last month, yesterday, today. You CAN break it, believe that you CAN. At first it may feel like you are clinging to the top of a mountain by your fingertips every minute or every day, but you can break the cycle again and get back into a healthy pattern.

Sending you hugs, sending you strength, sending you peace.

Elderflower, Thank you for responding. I'm so glad I could help you. I really want you to succeed, and it takes one step at a time. Please come here and post anytime that you want. We all have the same problems. We're here to help each other get strong. :hug: We also want to hear about your progress, too,: and I know you will have progress. :hug:

mainecyn, I agree with everything Mrs.Snark said. We're all feel like we've lived a double life. But that's no good. It really does a number on us physically and emotionally. It's in us to change. And we can. I'm wishing you the best! Take it one minute at a time. Do whatever you can to break the cycle. It can be done! Please post more and tell us how you are doing. :hug:

I just had to say thank you. Thank you for the support, the kind words, for "getting" it and truly understanding the complexity of binging. I put it all out there and shared things Id never tell a soul that knows me in the real world, no one here understands, its an addiction, truly is, Ive fought it all my life with varying degrees of success and failure. My husband has no food issues, or eating issues, always comments on my strength of losing all that weight and having will power, cause as he says we all know losing weight is just eating less and exercising more. When we dated I was at my heaviest, 248 pounds. When we married 5 years ago I was desparetly trying to drop weight and lost about 20 lbs. I got down to my lowest 155 a few years after that. Ive kept most of it off and thought I had completely broken my binge eating.

Then something happened a couple years ago, don't know what it was except I slowly allowed certain foods in or cheat days. Since then the past two years have felt like being dragged face first behind a truck..something as simple as stopping the behavior I know I Hate should be as simple as stop putting food in my face, it just isn't. I feel so dirty, ashamed, and defeated ea h time I binge. The sad thing is I dream of my next binge when I'm in that mode. I am eating and eating and think about what else is in the house, what I can eat so no one notices, or what I can go get next. Its an affiar, a cheat, a lie. Everything I would never do in any other part of my life.

Yesterday I picked up candy bars while shopping with my husband, he went to go get something so while in check out I grabbed a dozen quickly and hid them in the front of our groceries, watching them get scanned and eyeing that bag as we checked out watching and putting the candy in front of our line so he wouldn't see. I tried fishing the candy bars outta the bag without being seen as we loaded groceries bit couldn't. I tried grabbing the bag to bring in the house, couldn't he sent me to unlock the door as he carried it all in. I started taking care of groceries and kept telling my husband I could take care of the rest go relax, he wouldn't leave. He found the bag of candy before I got to it and told me, aw thank you, I didn't see you grab these, that was thoughtful of you they are all my favorites. I just mumbled, well I know how much you like having one for dessert with your lunch at work, or when your in the tub. My husband told me, your so sweet and thoughtful, these will last me a week or so. Off he went with my stash and I stood there red faced, thinking of those peanut butter cups that suddendly were beyond my reach. I obsessed on them until I could sneak out today and get a bag full.

I have a fridge full of healthy food that we bought yesterday, instead of eating any of it today I have eaten garbage all day in huge amounts telling myself I will eat right tomorrow that this weekend was the last binge and I will start Monday off sticking to a diet and drop the twenty plus pounds ive gained and hopefully more.

Oh my goodness, I have been awful
I thought being binge free would be easy once school started and I had work to keep me busy, and that being poor and only going grocery shopping once a week would keep me from eating all my food in one sitting, but nope
Here I am, just ate two burnt peanut butter cookies that I took out of the trash after throwing them out because they were burnt and I didn't want to eat them all :(
I keep saying I will stop, but I keep putting it off.

So tomorrow is Day 1, I'm going to keep coming back here and try my hardest not to give in to food.

Tomorrow will be a long day, busy from 7 to 4, and then homework of course.
I want to be an intuitive eater so badly. I'm sick of living this way- stuffing my face with food that I don't even want as soon as my housemates are all out of the door