Hi booskibabe!
I have eaten A LOT in the past! I think EVERY DAY was a binge day for me! It took me a long time to understand that I was using food to fill up what was missing in my life. I had never understood that eating too much was really an EMOTIONAL thing!
That said, to answer your question, once I really understood that I was actually eating out of EMOTIONAL need, it became easier for me to sort out the FEELINGS thing from the FOOD thing.
Reading Stephen Gullo, MD's book
The Thin Commandment Diet really helped me because Dr. Gullo said to ask myself if what I was putting into my body was HELPING my body. That was a real AH-HA moment for me! I don't think I ever thought about food that way! I simply thought of food as something tasty and delicious!
When I feel a binge coming on I KNOW that I have not been eating well enough on that given day. Usually for me a binge happens when I don't eat enough fiber and when I overdo it with carbs. It can also happen when I let my triggers get the best oif me. These include cheese, chips, chocolate, and bread with butter.
I put all my foods eaten on FITDAY. Having to account for my food has helped me be binge-free for over a month. It's also helped me to lose eight pounds!
I guess keeping troublesome foods out of the house is especially helpful at first, but the BIG DEAL is convincing yourself that YOU are more important than the large amounts of FOOD that you are thinking of ingesting!!
I wish you luck on this! I try to stay ever watchful of that sneaky "BINGE MONSTER" because he/she can show up any time! I TRY to be ready if he/she does!
Cheryl