I'd like to hear from anyone who is a binge eater who has also managed to lose weight, preferably more than 20 pounds.
I am constantly in a battle between being on a diet, and trying not to binge. It seems as if I binge more when I try to lose weight. But I need to lose weight as I'm at least 50 pounds overweight.
Has anyone managed to find a way to lose weight and NOT make their binge eating worse?

I dont think that is possible. The definition if binge eating is "Excessive eating" and those are calories that you just wont get rid of unless you exercise a lot.

I guess you will just have to exercise more then you eat to loose weight. I am a excessive binge eater myself and I have not found a way to do both.

I know some binge eaters turn to IF (intermittent Fasting). It seems to help some of them since you basically save all your calories and eat them all within a short period of time, somewhat like a binge. How long you "fast" for really depends on the person. Some people don't eat for one day, then eat the next day while others just don't eat any food all day and then eat all of their calories in the evening. The thread called "Eat Stop Eat" goes into more detail I believe.

I'm a sometimes binger...I'm sure there are worse cases out there. But, I think you have to work at identifying your triggers, first. If you can figure out what foods, emotions or situations are most likely to cause you to binge; then you can start to find ways to minimize or when possible eliminate those triggers from your daily life. In reality, I think the best any binger can hope for is a remission. There really isn't a cure. I think there will always be a struggle, a trigger or a temptation that could lead you right back to a possible binge.

I agree with Mariposssa. I think that it is much more important for us to control our binges. Once we do that, we start losing weight more easily. Have you identified what makes you binge?

I have a major binge eating issue. Nonetheless, I've managed to lose the weight this time. However, I have done this many, many times. Once the binge monster rears its ugly head, there's not much that can stop it.

Lately, something that really has been helping me is IF, as Candeka has mentioned above. I stop eating at 8pm and I resume eating around noon. There's something about that structure and being able to consume the same calories during a smaller window that makes me feel more in control. I still count my calories on my LoseIt app. which is a huge part of it.

I hope you find some of this helpful and that you figure out what works best for you.

Interesting replies, thank you all very much, given me some stuff to think about.

I'm less an emotional binge eater than I am triggered by dieting, and eating sugar and refined carbs. I am considering trying to cut those out completely, although I've been trying to deal with the urges to binge as my main priority because restricting food groups has triggered me majorly in the past. It's such a vicious cycle...

I saw a therapist for a couple of sessions some time back and he was adamant that the only forward is to deal with the binge eating first, to get into recovery, and then work on trying to lose weight. Of course for me, at least 50 pounds overweight, I keep wanting to lose weight but the more I diet the more I binge.

luckymommy - I was thinking of trying calorie counting but with a quite generous daily allowance, between 1500-1800. I know weight loss will be slow but I think this will also reduce feelings of deprivation that very strict dieting can cause. Can you tell me more about your experience with calorie counting please?

Yeah it's not possible to lose weight and binge. I can only successfully lose when I can control the binges (and im personally only able to with therapy and prescription drugs).

I agree with your therapist. Gain some more insight about why and control the binges and honestly the weight will come off naturally. From what you say, it sounds like you need to stop trying to "diet" and focus on a "healthy lifestyle". Restricting ALWAYS leads to bingeing for me.

Thanks mammasita. So do you focus on eating healthier, rather than sticking to a diet or calorie counting?

Yes and No.

No only because I'm doing weight watchers. However, I feel that its working because I can honestly say that I can eat this way forever, its not a temporary program IMO. Its not restrictive, I can eat what I want, I don't have to count calories because the point system does it for me.

Yes because I do focus on eating healthier (most healthy foods on weight watchers are zero or very low points like fruits and veggies) and working on moderation when its something that I really want.

That said, I probably wouldn't be loving it as much as I am without the approach I took when I started. I knew I had to attack binge eating from all angles...i.e. starting therapy (again), prescription meds and a good eating plan.

I was a candy fiend, generally a pound of it per day. I had to break that habit first. I had to go cold turkey and it took 4 years of candy abstinence before I felt that I could seriously diet. The bad news is despite dropping a pound of candy per day from my diet, I did not lose a single pound as I replaced those calories with other food. The good news is at age 49 when I then attempted to lose 100 lbs, I was finally able to do it.

I don't mean to make it sound simple, because it's so not, but for me to lose weight, I had to find a way to stop the binging completely. No excuses.

I will say that exercising regularly has helped tremendously, because I no longer want to put crap in my body. For me, it's been weight lifting. I'm seeing how strong I can be and what my body's capable of, and I don't want to feed it things that make me feel gross any more. Not saying that's necessarily the solution for everyone, but it's what has worked best for me.