I was doing well for a few years, but for the last year I haven't had any control over my binge eating. I mean I think I put away 4,000 calories in the last 24 hours. I've gained 15 or 20 pounds over this past year. My clothes are starting to get too small again, and I see how much fatter I look.

I know exactly how terrible I'm going to feel after bingeing, I know that I'll feel stupid, ugly, worthless. I know that I'll just be hungry again in a couple of hours and it'll all start again. I eat until it hurts and I keep eating.

And yet I can't make myself start eating sensibly again. I know it takes a while for habits to develop, but I just can't DO it. How do you get back in the swing of things after an extended relapse? I know not having the food in the house is a good idea, but I live with other people, so it's not like I can just not keep any food at all, and it doesn't matter what's there; I'll eat it.

I don't know if I'm doing this because I'm depressed or I'm depressed because I'm such a pig.

I gained 40 pounds between August 2008 and August 2009 after having lost the same 40 pounds slowly over the previous five years. I'm still not quite sure what happened, but it certainly involved a lot of binge eating.

What stopped it was reading The End of Overeating by David Kessler. That gave some righteous anger against the food industry for marketing junk specifically designed to turn overeaters like me into addicts. And, it gave me the tool of making rules to stop my worst behaviours.

Having experienced some success with dealing with the behavior of overeating (rather than a lot of analyzing about the whys and wherefores), I got Judith Beck's books from the library next. She's kind of the go-to gal of using Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques for weight loss. What's helped me the most from her book is planning my meals ahead of time. It reduces my decision-making and stress and I find I can just pass by things that aren't on my plan.

About a month ago I was in a bit of a spiral. I just couldn't get motivated so I joined Jenny Craig. I have not binged since I joined and am now back in the swing of things. If it's not working alone try weight watchers, TOPS, JC or something else to get the support you need

You have two options. Be fat or not. It's that simple. Every time you put food in your mouth, make it a choice. In other words, cut out MINDLESS eating.