I've been battling it for a few years and am doing alright...except that after a steady period of exercise and healthy eating, I seem to lose it and completely break down whenever something bad happens to me. I start to revert back to my old ways and binge eat again. If anyone else has had these issues before, how did you stop? What tips do you recommend?

I have had problems with binge and stress eating related to bad stuff happening and depression is just something that is a normal everyday thing in my life. I see a therapist regularly and we have both agreed that to keep myself from binge/stress eating is to just do it as little as possible and when it does happen not stress about it, get right back up, and move on. I know that sounds a lot easier than it sounds but food is just as much an addiction as anything else and some would argue, the hardest addiction to break because we have to put food in our mouths everyday to continue to live and breathe.

For me, the best way to avoid binging and stress eating is to make sure that I do not have ice cream/cakes, etc, the items that I binge on in the house. You are more likely not to go to the store when you're feeling like stress eating or binging IF it's not in the house. If you're driving on the way home and you drive by restaurants, try and take a different route, if you can.

If all that isn't possible, I learned that if you can distract yourself for 4-7 minutes, it's clinically proven that your cravings will pass and your brain will refocus. So, get a friend on the phone to distract you, go take a walk, go to the gym, grab a book to read, get on the Internet, watch a movie, go play with your kids, something to distract you from wanting to grab that bag of cookies.

I know it's not easy. I think the biggest thing is that we are our worst enemy in beating ourselves up when we have made a mistake and the depression makes it worse. Just know that lifestyle change and changing our eating habits takes time and you will make mistakes. Key is to get up and get back on track as quickly as possible. You can do it!

You need to realize that good and bad sh!t happens as part of life. To everyone. Not just you. And it will continue to happen. So it's how you you deal with the ups and downs that matters.

I find that good food choices and exercise help me deal with anything life can throw at me. Anything. Give me any sh!t, I go for a run and all is good. Wife leaves...with kids. Run, eat healthy. All good.

So turn the cycle on its head.

I feel you. It can be hard to exercise and make the right choices when you feel like giving up... I've struggled with bad events in my life and have dealt with them differently. Sometimes saying no can be the hardest thing to do, especially when food is so comforting. I'm sorry you are having problems losing weight, we all do... Is there any way you can go see a specialist and maybe get help for your depression? I also suggest trying to keep trigger foods out of the house, and practice saying no. The more you say no, the better you get. Keep little reminders around you, and try to distract yourself if you feel a binge coming on. It's easier said than done.
Keep at it and eventually we will all get there.. Good luck to you.

This is me too. When I'm on top of life my weight normalises itself without me trying too hard. When I'm down the pounds creep on without any effort.

I haven't found any answer except to continue climbing back on that horse.

This is me too, but my binging is more stress induced than depression. I do great during the summer, lose almost 20 pounds, then as soon as college starts up again I gain it all back and then some. This is currently where I am, so I'm sorry to say I don't really have an answer for you, as I'm dealing with this myself. But you're definitely not alone in this! I'm trying to keep the mindset that if I do cheat it's okay, and it doesn't define who I am as a person. I am more than an overweight girl who has trouble with food addiction. Just try to hold on to that

For me its opposite,i lose my apetite when I am depressed

I hate to tell you, but many of us like this will struggle with it forever. The cycle is never-ending -- and I have no idea what comes first. I go through a depressive episode, I lose motivation to do anything. I don't want to see friends or have fun, so I lose my support network. Binging is my emotional crutch for almost all negative emotions - anxiety, sadness, anger, boredom. So, I start to binge and since I am not active or seeing friends, my depression gets worse. Then, the weight starts creeping up and I get more depressed, so I eat more, do even less, etc., etc., etc.

I have no magic solution. I will be honest, the year I began this journey, I had 2 choices - change my life, or kill myself. I was so very very tired of living that cycle. I was 80 lbs overweight, my joints were killing me and I'd already had emergency back surgery and 3 knee surgeries. My marriage was in the pits. My career was in the pits. I had no friends. I avoided my family. I rarely went out or did anything because it was so stressful finding something to wear. We never went on vacation. I just could not face living like that any longer. I seriously contemplated both choices and decided to change.

I still struggle sometimes. I had major surgery in December (knee replacement) and the pain was outrageously bad. I was on a lot of narcotics and couldn't do anything. One of my dogs started having major seizures and when we got that under control, my other dog stopped eating. Turns out he had a huge tumor...cancer...spent thousands of dollars to save him, but he died on Easter Sunday. I came back here because I feel myself slipping...and I just can't do it. I have to find a way to break the cycle again before I'm in a full on depression again.

It's not easy to lose weight, for anyone, but people also dealing with depression have it doubly hard. I have learned that I have to deal with my thoughts & feelings FIRST - and get my fitness/healthy habits back on track SECOND. If I try to do it backwards, it'll never work!

It's a fairly normal response to depression. Part of it is teaching yourself better coping mechanisms, part of it is trying not to get to the point of depression. It's a two pronged approach.

Exercise is good for depression, but it's really hard to exercise if you're already in a depressive state. But for future, it can help you stay out of a funk.

Whenever I've been depressed or had to deal with anxiety, I binge. You're definitely not alone.

Hi all-

For me, I binge whenever there is an emotional fluctuation in my life. Depression, anxiety, happiness, any thing can be a reason for me to just let loose. It is so difficult to know that you can logically look at the situation as being dysfunctional, but can not stop it. We are all smart people, and if one of my friends or family members came to me and said they had a problem with any kind of addiction, I would jump at the chance to help them, so why can't I help myself? Does anyone ever feel like this?

Yup, I do the snacking in the evenings when I am having a rough time. If I do find myself doing it, I just get up the next day and get back on pace with healthy eating and a good attitude.