Natashawashburn- having treats in the house is hard! I NEVER bring treats home and somehow still manage to binge sometimes... I have occasionally had "planned" binges... So you aren't alone. But remember how good you'll feel when it's the morning after the party and you aren't being weighed down by food!

Raspberry- congratulations! I'm so glad you're doing well!!

Yesterday was really emotional. My father in law had a major surgery and his doctor told him he had to lose weight to live much longer. He told the doctor (and us) that, "good food is the only only joy in my life, and I'm not giving it up." I was so heartbroken- his current and future grandchildren and his own sons and daughters are less important than pastries...? :,( He'll be in the icu at least a week- so were not out of the woods quite yet. To top it off were remodeling our house and I start a new job today!

I started to give in last night... I actually ate 3 of my homemade protein bars before I stopped. I know that's a lot of food in one sitting (it was right after dinner) but I stopped much sooner than I normally would have, so I'm counting it as a 1/2 binge and moving on. 2500 calories at the end of the day really isn't I bad for me!

Ugh sorry that was so long! It just feels so good to talk to people who understand!!

danzingurl77, just wanted to offer this It's REALLY hard for people who have had to quit all their vices (smoking, drugs, alcohol etc) and cling to food for comfort, but it seems so selfish at the same time. I hope your FIL will overcome his issues with food and choose life.

Natashawashburn, no I don't think I plan my binges (consciously anyway). One thought leads to another leads to a mini-panic attack and finally into a large bowl of ice cream...and cake...and chocolate and whatever else I can find/stuff myself with.

Danzingurl, ordinarily the present situation you're in would've driven me straight into the hip stuffing arms of several Snickers bars! I find I do really well when I'm balanced. Not necessarily stress free, but balanced. If my surroundings are neat-ish, and iv spent time in the morning with God, done a bit of journaling, spoken to a friend...then I'm more likely to feel balanced and face the situation in a healthy way. If I'm facing a stressful situation and also dealing with an out of control home for eg I'm much more likely to binge. I don't know if that makes sense but yeah, I hope that in the midst of your current situation, you stay somewhat "zen".

P.S changed my username

I know how you two feel about these parties and the food in them. I remember that some years ago I used to go to parties JUST for the food and not for the people. Lately, as I am much more in control, I enjoy something which is a little wicked: before the party starts I eye the food and decide what I am going to eat; then I eat exactly that --generally I try a small portion of what I like, pass on that which I don't like much and never ask for seconds-- and look at those who lose it and eat A LOT. I recognize my past self in them and feel proud of my present self. I think the feeling of control I get gives me more pleasure than the extra piece of cake or the bagful of chips I don't eat.
Take it easy, plan ahead. Eat and drink something healthy before the party starts so you won't be hungry or thirsty. Then, pick one sample of your favorites. You'll see that is enough... and then feel proud of yourself!

Urgh, the last few days have been horrible and so tempting to go to the shop and buy absurd amounts of junk food and sit in my car and eat it, or go to McDonalds and eat several thousand calories. Yet to give in though, woop.

I feel the EXACT same way right now. I'm going out Saturday afternoon shopping and usually my friends and I would go get McDonalds but I have already decided I'm going to have my lunch at home before we leave and bring some fruit in my bag in order to avoid the temptation.

10 days into July and haven't gone off plan by eating a lot of junk food, or any at that! I can't remember the last day I had a chocolate bar, packet of crisps or sweets. I did have some cookies last week but I do allow for that. Once I don't go overboard and eat the entire packet in one go!

I don't really plan my binges because they don't occur all that often now. My dangerous time for having a binge would be the evenings when I'm sitting down watching TV and thinking a nice slice of toast or a packet of crisps and chocolate would be nice right now. Sweets are my weakness in all of this but I'm so proud of myself for overcoming how often I would have ate junk food. During those times I might say to myself, I'll go to the shop tomorrow and allow myself to have a bar of chocolate, some ice cream, some jellies whatever. NOTE: Not all of what is listed there. One of them! At the moment, I am thinking like this. I would like something sweet. So I think I'll allow myself to get a bar of chocolate tomorrow. To me, it's all about controlling yourself. And if you feel like you can't give something up entirely, control how much you eat it. This would be said for me and sweet things. I could however give up fizzy drinks. I very rarely drink them nowadays. I stick to my water and the odd day some juice. I think I like the juice because of the sweet taste it has. Like I said, I can't remember the last time I had a chocolate bar, I'm thinking over two weeks or even three at this rate, so I'm going to allow myself this treat tomorrow. A thought just came to me about buying the smaller sized bar rather than the regular sized one. Since it's been a while, I'm sure I'll find even the smaller sized bar just as satisfying.

Stay strong everyone, we can control our binges!

Made it to two weeks binge free! Working on day 15 today.

Yesterday was a struggle. I was at the drugstore with my mom just looking at all the candy and chocolate and chips. I was imagining eating it all. I just stood there feeling lost and numb ashamed that all these things around me were controlling how I was feeling. I watched as what I consider normal people would select one single candy bar and go to the cash. I was really craving it. It the end I got a 180 calorie small bar of dark chocolate. I ate it and enjoyed it. I won the battle last night but the urge to binge is constantly there.

STRENGTH EVERYONE! WE CAN DO THIS

I have done so well but I binged on sugar free chocolate cupcakes yesterday. I am allergic to artificial sweetener so I am so sick! I itch all over, am nauseous, and have a horrible headache. I know better than to do that! I am going sugar free for July and made cupcakes with no icing for one of the kids birthday. I thought I could just have one and maybe it wouldn't hurt me.

I'm drinking a lot of water to try to get this out of my system and starting back over binge free today.

Failed miserably lastnight! Thankfully today is a new day.... unfortunately I didn't make July binge free. :/

...ugh.

Raspberry- keep it up!!

Curvynerd- I've had a hard time being sugar free for a few days and I think it made not bingeing more difficult as well! Keep up your no sugar, you're an inspiration to me!

Natasha- every day is a new opportunity just move forward and try not to beat yourself up, I know it's easier said than done...

Dreamer- I'm wondering how your chocolate bar was??

I'm feeling good and back on track, thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement, it helps more than you know!

danzingurl77 My mum came home with a chocolate bar last night and we decided to half it! Chocolate had never tasted so good and I was right, I was satisfied with the small amount I had.

Talk about an NSV! I find that I'm doing much better about having "one" (or half or a small portion) of something and being satisfied with that. Each time I do it, it becomes easier to do it again.

That used to be a huge trigger for me, and I was so "all or nothing" - being able to do something "normal" like that feels great, doesn't it?

Congrats!!

I'm still doing good. Just bought watermelon - find it really hits the sweet tooth (and is so refreshing).

Every day we go binge free, every discovery about triggers --emotional or food-related--, every time we choose to eat something good for us instead of junk, every activity we choose to do other than eating for boredom, we succeed. We do not fail if we don't do any of those things once or twice, it is just that we make a stop in our journey towards a better health. Don't stop, and if you do, leave that spot soon behind and move on!

Just realised something.

There is this supermarket in my town and they sell the nicest cupcakes ever! Anytime I went in, I would always buy one. I have been home about 6 hours now and just realised that I didn't even go near the cakes when I was in the shop today. Instead I was looking for better snacks and found myself looking at weight watchers products. It didn't even cross my mind to go and get one.

I'm wondering could this be a trigger in my mind now. I'm used to not snacking on junk these days that it doesn't phase me as much as it would have to go into a shop.