I’m embarrassed to admit it, but for years I struggled with binge eating.
When others were around me, I would eat healthy, normal-looking meals, but when I was by myself I would gorge on junk food until I felt sick. It was a heavy secret to keep, affecting not only my weight and overall health, but also my social life and relationships. (Some nights I would rather stay home and secretly eat than hang out with my family or friends.)
Today I want to share some of the steps I took to finally stop binge eating, in the hopes that it might help someone else out there who might be struggling, too.
Disclaimer: If you are feeling suicidal, severely depressed, or in need of medical attention, please see a licensed health care provider. This website is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice.
What Causes Binge Eating?
I don’t believe there is a just one answer as to what causes people start binge eating, but it seems that one common cause is having a restricted diet at some point in your life.
This could have happened when you were a child, if well-meaning parents attempted to limit your food intake to help prevent childhood obesity, or it might have happened later in life, when you attempted to diet to lose weight. (In my case, it was the latter.)
Not surprisingly, depression can also play a role in binge eating. My suffering hit its peak when I was working from home in Los Angeles, as I felt very isolated and didn’t have a lot of human interaction each day. I also had a nutritionally poor diet, which probably contributed to those feelings of depression, and that left me feeling malnourished. This combination led to more serious bouts of binge eating like you’ll see below.
What is Considered Binge Eating?
Binge eating is defined as the consumption of a large quantity of food in a short period of time. In many cases, the person binge eating feels out of control and eats WAY past their comfort level. For a person suffering from Binge Eating Disorder, there is no purging after the binge (which is what makes it different from Bulimia.)
I would imagine that almost everyone has experienced some level emotional eating, or comfort eating, at some point in his or her life, but it’s the eating far past your comfort level or feeling out of control that sets binge eating apart from simply “splurging.”
A binge can vary from person to person, as it’s kind of up to self-interpretation. For some, they may tend to binge eat at night, after a stressful day at work or after a day of a low-calorie dieting. For others, it maybe a full day of binge eating, particularly on days leading up to starting a strict diet. One thing that most binges have in common is that the eating is done in secret, as the person is ashamed of his or her actions.
Here’s an example of what a full day of secret binge eating looked like for me:
- Morning: I’d go to McDonald’s and order an Extra Value Meal (which included a breakfast biscuit and hash browns), then realize that I could even be more indulgent and order a second meal. I’d order two cinnamon rolls, as well, because why not. I took my massive amount of food home and devoured it all in about 15-20 minutes. After that I would feel slightly guilty, but still excited to eat more food.
- Afternoon: I’d order a large, deep-dish pizza. While I was waiting for it to be delivered, I’d eat cookies and potato chips, and anything else that might might be off-limits to me in the near future.
- Early Evening: This was often my last chance to eat something before someone else could get home and interrupt my secret eating, so I’d walk to the convenience store across the street and buy a pint of ice cream, or a king size candy bar, or both. I’d eat as much as I could, then I’d get rid of ALL of the evidence, taking out the trash so that no one would see my empty food wrappers.
- Evening: I’d make myself a light salad or healthy dinner to eat in front of my family, and act as if my stomach wasn’t killing me, even though I felt miserable. I’d go to bed feeling guilty, depressed, and ashamed, with a resolution to eat “perfectly” the next day.
A binge day like this would usually occur anytime that I was planning to try a super-strict diet, like a juice fast, an all-raw diet, a candida cleanse, or a low-carb protocol (I tried it all!). The more strict my diet, the more drastic the binge would be.
Also, my binges rarely were contained to just one day. Usually I would binge-eat like that one to three times a week. If I slipped-up during a dieting day, the rest of that day would turn into a binge because the way I saw it, I had already “blown it” for the day and I might as well start fresh tomorrow.
Mentally, I remember reasoning with myself that I would have a better “before” picture to compare to later when I lost weight after my diet, since I’d be so bloated from binge-eating. (What I a great excuse to eat with reckless abandon!) The only problem was… it was really hard to stop binge-eating, and it was even harder to stick to a strict diet for very long.
On a side note, days like this one would also wreak havoc on my budget. I was too ashamed to keep these “bad” foods in my fridge, so I would buy them and discard the evidence, which is a huge waste across the board. You would think that being on an insanely-tight budget would have stopped me at the time, but it didn’t.
Binge eating, in general, doesn’t make logical sense, which is why it’s so hard to explain it to others who haven’t experienced it.
Stuck In A Cycle of Yo-Yo Dieting
I suffered through this cycle for years because I was always convinced that if I could just find the perfect diet, or reach a certain goal weight or clothing size, that my issues would go away. I wouldn’t stop dieting, and therefore I couldn’t stop binge eating, either.
I also felt like I was “getting away with it” because I never gained THAT much weight, despite my crazy eating habits. I definitely did gain weight, and my clothing size did fluctuate often, but I would always follow a super-strict diet for 2 to 4 weeks and lose the weight again. (Though, this did get harder to maintain overtime. Your body won’t always respond as well to the same diet over and over again.)
Then the cycle would start all over again. I was stuck in a cycle of yo-yo dieting.
How I Finally Stopped Binge Eating
I’d love to say there was a “magic cure” that made things click, but it didn’t happen overnight. For me, the change was more gradual.
By taking the steps below, my binge eating sessions became shorter and less severe, and happened far less frequently. Eventually, they started to simply resemble the dietary “splurges” that normal people have. (Like having a couple cookies after family dinner, or going out for ice cream with friends.) Now, I eat like a healthy, normal person with a few splurges here and there.
The following things helped me get there:
- I stopped dieting. This was a non-negotiable step for me. I had to stop restricting my food choices, because restriction led me to binge-eating. Every. Single. Time. No more calorie counting or thinking about macronutrients for me. In fact, I needed to make sure I was eating plenty of nourishing food so that my body didn’t feel restricted at all. When you eat enough, your cravings really do diminish naturally. (This is also why I urge people to enjoy plenty of fresh fruit— when I eat fruit, I have almost no sugar cravings.)
- I stopped labeling foods as “good” or “bad.” This one is tricky, because I truly do believe that some foods are better and more nutritious than others. I absolutely think we should primarily focus on eating real, whole foods as much as possible, and I do think that processed foods should be minimized. However, for the sake of my mental health, I don’t feel guilty about moments when I wanted to eat french fries, pizza, or a real donut. It really is okay to eat these things every now and then, and when I don’t feel guilty about it, I go right back to eating salads, smoothies, and healthy dinners– usually appreciating how good they make me feel even more. I try to practice this mentality with my kids, too, so they don’t grow up with issues around food.
- I dropped all of my dietary labels. Along the same lines, I also decided to stop calling myself a vegetarian, because it was not doing me any favors from a mental health perspective. I needed to be allowed to eat any food I wanted, including meat. For the most part, I still don’t like to eat meat– but every now and then I want to be able to have a cheeseburger, or slice of pepperoni pizza, or a bowl of chicken soup, without feeling guilty about it. (Had I become a vegetarian for strong ethical reasons, i don’t think this would have been as much of an issue, but I became a vegetarian primarily because I wasn’t that fond of meat.)
- I started practicing daily self care. Have you heard the phrase, “fake it until you make it?” Even if you’re not totally happy with how your body looks or feels, you have to start acting like you LOVE it. With enough practice, you will! To get started, I made a list of things that make me feel good– like dry skin brushing, sitting in a sauna, going for a walk outdoors, or even taking a nap– and then I tried to practice one or more of those things on a daily basis. I’ve found that the more I take care of myself, the more I want to keep it up. It’s momentum building! (As an added bonus, taking a walk outside makes me feel better than eating a whole sleeve of cookies.)
- I only eat food that I truly love. I think it’s really important to start noticing how foods make you feel and what you actually love the taste of. When I stopped dieting, I let myself eat anything and everything– including fast food and junk food. And you know what I realized? Most of that junk food appealed to me because I had made it “forbidden.” When you tell yourself you can’t have something, you make that very thing SO MUCH MORE tempting. When I stopped making certain foods forbidden, I had the opportunity to judge those foods based on their actual taste and texture. Not surprisingly, most of the packaged junk food and fast food options became totally unappealing to me, simply because the recipes I make at home really do taste better– so now I choose homemade food most of the time, because I prefer it. (Not because I feel like I have to.)
Seek Professional Counseling: I was too embarrassed (and broke) to seek professional help at the time, but I still wish I would have seen a counselor for help. I’d recommend anyone who is struggling with binge eating, or another eating disorder, to seek help as soon as possible. I think it would have saved me a lot of time and struggle to have a professional guide me through the recovery process, since really none of my friends or family could relate to what I was going through.
As an alternative, I did read a lot of books. I can’t say that one book in particular gave me an “a-ha moment,” but I do think that as a whole, they helped gradually change my mindset. Here are a few of the books I found helpful.
Can you stop binge eating AND lose weight?
I think the scariest part of this whole process was the fact that I had to stop dieting in order to stop binge eating. It’s scary to stop dieting, because I think everyone assumes that they might gain weight when they let themselves eat whatever they want. (And often the desire to lose weight is what starts this cycle in the first place.)
The truth is, you might gain a couple of pounds when you first allow yourself to eat whatever you want… though, that wasn’t the case for me.
Because I truly let myself eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, I was also able to stop eating those items when I was no longer enjoying them. Forbidden foods lose their appeal when you truly allow yourself to have them anytime.
For example, when I was dieting and binge eating, I could have eaten a whole sleeve or two of cookies in one day because I knew I wouldn’t be “allowed” to eat them the next day. I ate more than I needed or even wanted to, simply because they were going to be forbidden to me soon.
When I gave myself permission to eat those cookies whenever I wanted, I would only eat 2 or 3 cookies at a time and then I’d save the rest for the next time I wanted them. Eventually the box could sit in my pantry for a whole month or more. I became one of those people who “forgot” that the cookies were even there. (Which certainly never happened to me before!)
Get Rid of the “All or Nothing” Mentality
Something that I preach here on the blog, as well as in my cookbooks, is that you have to get rid of the “all or nothing” mentality if you want to have a healthy relationship with food. At the peak of my binge eating, I was either on a diet or I wasn’t– so when I wasn’t dieting, I was binge eating. There was no middle ground.
Now, I try to abide by the popular 80/20 approach, where I eat healthy 80% of the time, but I still splurge 20% of the time with no guilt whatsoever. Despite my lack of dieting, my body naturally lost the excess weight I was carrying– simply because I wasn’t binge eating anymore! I had to trust the process, and trust that my body would naturally start craving what it really needed when I simply followed my hunger signals. I eat when I’m hungry, and when I start to feel full, I stop. I can always go back for more food if I need it, so there’s no urge to stuff my face all at once.
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While it’s super-embarrassing to share my personal struggles here in such a public space (Hi, Mom! Hello, coworkers!), I hope that my experience will help at least one other person who is out there struggling, too.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Water fasting was the only thing that helped me stop binge eating. Gradually eating less never worked for me, because once I started eating, I couldn’t stop until it was time to fall asleep. After water fasting 14 days, I lost all weight from binge eating and then some. Then started eating just a small amount of food each day and was able to stick to it. Like the water fast broke my habit. It’s been 2 years and still no binge eating and haven’t done any more water fasts. I can’t shake my all or nothing mentality, so I have to stick to a small amount of food each day, and stay away from carbohydrates, since they trigger binges for me. I seem to be doing well and am much, much happier now. Binge eating is frightening and distressing, really. I hope everyone will recover.
I have been struggling with binge eating for.5 years. I feel very depressed and am at a loss about what to do. After reading your article, it does give mr some hope. I want to ask if I start to eat normal now by not following any restrictive diets, how will my body weight return to normal?
Thank you for your vulnerability, honesty, transparency, and strength. I am trying to learn from and heal my eating disorder as well. Thanks for giving me hope. All the best!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this! I know it’s hard to talk about publicly, as you mention, and it is a great perspective shift. I’ve always had issues with eating and body image – anorexia, bulimia, diet pills, extreme dieting, etc. I identify as a “fit chick” – I work consistently and once got down to 15% body fat. But I’m sick and tired of the up and down relationship and just want consistency. It’s nice to hear someone talk about how they moved through it by simply taking the pressure off and trusting their body. Isn’t that kind of what we all want anyways?
“Binge eating, in general, doesn’t make logical sense, which is why it’s so hard to explain it to others who haven’t experienced it.”
— Yasss! I never read or talked to anyone who could communicate how I felt until now.
“I stopped labeling foods as “good” or “bad.”
This one is tricky, because I truly do believe that some foods are better and more nutritious than others.”
—Omg, YES, this is absolutely tricky as hell!. I’ve been trying to get into intuitive eating but I found this principle so hard to grasp until I read this section of your article.
Thank you. You are such a good writer. Definitely appreciate your honesty.
What do you believe is the ideal time of day for taking the green juice? Also, maybe I just haven’t found it on your blog (which I love) but do you have a typical day and/or week looks like for you published? In terms of what you eat? Times? Curious what you eat in a day/week Thanks so much! I love all of your recipes!
Your experiences are mine – exactly! I don’t know if I’m brave enough to stop dieting – but I realise this is an essential part of recovery …
What if the things you crave and binge on actually make you feel worse due to some health issues? Like I know eating gluten and dairy and sugar makes me feel worse, but if I let myself have them anytime, then I will just eat it whenever and agitate my symptoms? If I allow completely to have what I want, then I tend to go for the things that make me put on weight and feel worse, on a consistent basis. Unless I stay a bit strict, I’m basically fuelling more harm… so I don’t understand how this balance works. Also, doesn’t it take time for the body to adjust to be free of say, an allergen, so if you’re constantly giving it that once a week or whatever, how can it ever cleanse?
Wow, I am reading this and can so relate to parts of it. The “after” is so inspiring to me!
I’ve always had a weird relationship with food, and I realized recently that I want to change my relationship with it. I’ve used emotional bingeing as a coping mechanism, for years, but especially since I became a mom.
I absolutely love cooking, and especially cooking food for other people. I want to be able to enjoy it as well without a) feeling like I can’t enjoy the dish I made because risotto is just too off-limits or b) maintain that mindset for a few days then give up, eating that same risotto cold out of a Ziploc storage container and not even enjoying it but eating it… anyway?
Your recipes pop up in my search results a lot, but this is the first real dive I’ve taken to your site. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! Vulnerability is so powerful and I’m thankful for your bravery! I’m currently working on ditching binge eating now, and have also been doing MUCH better since ditching diets & restriction mentality!
I love that you mentioned counseling too! Depending on what state someone lives in, they maybe be able to apply for free/reduced rate to see a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. When I lived in Minnesota, I was able to see a counselor for free after filling out their lengthy reduced rate application. I didn’t even think I’d qualify since my husband and I both had decent full-time jobs, but I did!
Hello! I would love to contact you privately as I loved your post and I want to ask you some questions:)
Thank you for being vulnerable and bravely sharing your story. I hope this will open others’ eyes to just how common binge eating actually is, and the steps we can all take to combat it.
Thank you!!!!!
Hi there. I just came to your blog for your almond flour chocolate cookie recipe- I’ve made them twice, both times tasty! I wanted to let you know I appreciate your transparency with your binge eating disorder history, and the ways in which you detailed your symptoms and how you got healthy. I, too, have a history of binge eating. Thankfully, I was able to use my student loans to pay for wonderful treatment. I did intensive outpatient, and I just want to echo that the way I got healthy, as recommended per my treatment plan, is exactly the way you got healthy.
I had to stop labeling foods as good, bad, or unhealthy/healthy and instead recognize some foods as just being more nutritious. I definitely had to stop any attempts at a diet. I wasn’t allowed to weigh myself and was encouraged to accept my body, even if I would have preferred it a different size. Something they had us do that was slightly different than what you did was to ensure we ate three meals a day, two snacks, AND dessert. Meals needed to contain one serving of all the food groups. At first, when I ate the designated two Oreo cookies after dinner, I went home and binged afterward. But with time, that need went away. Through group and individual therapy (again, a privilege I was able to access), I learned to put less value on my appearance and learned better coping skills for anxiety and depression. I still slip up sometimes, but I haven’t returned to the severity I was before treatment.
Anyway, I just wanted to share with you that everything you did and wrote about is exactly what a professional treatment center would recommend, too. I am really impressed you got to this point on your own! I am a medical student and also want to echo what you said about our bodies already detoxing for us. Juice cleanses or eating “clean” does not detox our body- that’s what our liver is for. It’s very important people understand that, so thank you! I hope some of your readers with binge eating can find what you wrote helpful for their own journey, too. Thank you for your bravery and honesty in sharing it!
Thank you so much for sharing, Hannah! I really appreciate it.
How do you help a family member realize that they’re a binge eater? Is there a way to talk to them about it?
Thanks for you Megan for sharing, very inspiring post. A lots of people including myself have been victims of Binge eating especially in times of cirsis like this.
Just also wanted to share a book that a friend of mine recommended and has been very helpful: Brain over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn’t Work, and How I Recovered for Good
Happy Reading 🙂
Thanks
PJ
Thank you for sharing.
I have been humbled by this truth:
The road to eating disorder recovery is infinite, and unclear; progress is anything but linear. Though there is no definitive end, we continue moving in a direction that, logically, we know we must. Through consistency we build momentum that feels intuitive and good and effortless enough to forget we were ever lost at all. In equal measure we embrace our responsibility to practice gratitude in good times (say thank you and celebrate) and in bad times (say thank you and grow). For those with eating disorders, part of this responsibility is to fully embrace the reality that we will become lost again. We must be dutiful, honest, and self-compassionate, so that each time we lose our way, we can more quickly and less laboriously find the way to our better selves again. I believe that space between where we fall and where we get up is recovery. No road, no distinct start or end. No concrete path to fall off and or get back on.
Rather, recovery is our two-fold choice to live again and accept this dance as eternal.
I can’t believe how much of what you shared is exactly what I have experienced!! It’s like reading my own story!! Except I am very much still in the bingeing part without solution. Have begun raw juice diet again just today after starting and failing every few days and losing 7 lbs now having gained it back and being disgusted at my lack of self control…watched the movie I feel pretty then ither day and wish I could love myself enough the way I am but I don’t… I have to be thin and look good in my clothes but never seem to be able to achieve this…. what do I do??
Hi,
I’m doing the 12 step program for binge eating and we were told there might be some foods we might not be able to eat the rest of our lives because it will trigger us. This doesn’t make much sense to me. For the rest of our lives?
I’d like to know how you feel about this statement and wether you had “triggering foods” that you can eat nowadays.
Thank you so much for this. I think this will really help me.
My issue is that I have to restrict becauseI have so many intolerances that physically make me feel ill. Now I binge on them so I feel sick and anxious all day but then when I allow then daily I also feel sick and anxious. So I want to take them out and only have then on special occasions but I last three days of follow my hunger signals, feeling the best I’ve felt in months and then end up bingeing on biscuits (still being in a deficit) but then the real problem is I go and eat more random stuff because I’ve messed up and because deep down I want to binge on those foods. I enjoy bingeing but not the consequences. I’ve regained all 30 kgs and that makes me feel even worse. I was genuinely beautiful after the weight loss now I feel irritated and stuck here. I have hope and then it’s crushed after 3 days and we don’t have eating therapists here. Any advice maybe ? 🙈
Hi Megan. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
As someone who has struggled with Eating disorders for nearly 7 years (alternating between bulimia, anorexia, obsessive dieting and binge eating) this means a lot to me.
I know how bad it can be to have a troubled relationship with food and how can it affect your life. I am trying to find a peaceful and natural relationship with food. Now I feel understood, hopeful and not alone.
Thank you :).
Thanks for this, really helpful and relatable
Hi…I think this is the most interesting post after I fall with the circle of binge eating, I gained 40 pounds over the years, and always spoil the diets with binge eating, now Im here, I stopped diet, Im eating everything now, can I know what the procedure I should do after that? Any steps or advice more than you posted here?
This is the most relatable thing ever. Everything you struggled with, I’m struggling with. I’m stuck in a really bad mindset. But you helped me a lot, thank you.
Reading this It was like you were in my head. I have no reason I goggled “what does it mean to binge eat, then diet right after” and read what you wrote. I didn’t even realize till now that I have a serious issue and that what I’m doing isn’t just me it’s an actual “thing” when you said “if I’m not on a diet, I’m binge eat” I LOL because that is ME! And I now realize it’s because I’ve been on diets since I was 13 I’m 43 now. I got in really great shape around 36 I got down to 138 and was great and promised myself I would never go back and well….. I did and I can’t seem to get back to where I was and even went to Lindora lost 30 but and back up like 18 so with this thought in my mind every night like ok tomorrow you HAVE TO get it together and it always starts good then by mid morning afternoon “fasting” I then make lunch for my kids get super hungry and then just eat lunch and down hill from there. Soooo anyway I can’t go on but thanks for this. I now can make more sense of what is happening with me.
Thank you for this candid story. When younger, I was anorexic then bulimic; I now am a binge eater. It has been over 40 years, and the guilt never goes away.. until now. I’ll be incorporating your ideas with a few from other sites; this is the year that I take care of myself and beat this. Take care, and thank you again.
I identify! Thank you for writing this. I just lost 40 pounds over the last year and I have maintained a perfect size 4 but I know that something is stopping me from reaching further goals. Reading this is a perfect example of what I am struggling with. Even when I think that I am having a safe snack, I end up eating 3 of them and hide the evidence. 🙁
Found this while looking for help (Google!) and I resonated with every since thing here.. I’m going to try what you advised..
I’ve been wanting to diet so many times and end up hinging by end of the day and even stop myself from doing a simple exercise after starting well the previous day. I don’t know how to explain.. I feel like I’ve blown it and then I’m scared of trying for a long time and in that time I binge more.. Im just scared of what’s happening to me.. Thank you for writing this.. I think these “changes” I put on myself really trigger my fear and subsequent sabotaging.. Anyway, nothing is stopping me but myself.. So I will try to be gentle with myself and take it slow and without the need for imposed restriction..
I have read a number of articles/blogs/stories on disordered eating and this is the first time in my life that I have felt completely understood. Representation is so important so thank you for that. Part of me is scared to put efforts into practice because I know they will be effective. How backwards is that? I appreciate your honestly and transparency and I believe this will help many people like myself.
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing. Just reading the first few paragraphs was enough to make me put down the bag of candy and reflect. It’s so comforting to listen to someone’s experience going through the same thing as you, and everything you said resonated.
Thankful to say that as a result of your article I am sleeping soundly tonight feeling satiated and without a bag of twizzlers and chips in my stomach.
I love this article. It sounds like my process. Thanks for having the courage to share you journey, and the inspiration to create this blog! I love all your recipes. You make cooking healthy fun and easy.
I really needed to read this tonight. I realize I do a similar thing of binge eating especially when I know I’m going to start a diet or as I say, changing my eating habits. I slipped up this week and decided oh well, I’ll just eat what I want this week and on Monday I’ll start an elimination diet I’ve done before. After reading this, I realize that is not the answer. I’m going to use your tips and take a different, better road instead. Thank you!
Thank you for this! I am currently attempting to stop my binge eating. I have been binging for about 5 years now. It has gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. Now I have seen at least 2 counselors so far and I am starting to see another. I have suffered from an abusive relationship between my parents and me. I believe that what I went through triggered my binging even more.
Hi,
Thanks for your testimony. I recognize myself very much ! I am now on the process to make peace with food…
I have a question regarding your weight loss : How long did it take for you and how much did you lose ? I have lost 7 kg in 8 months and am stable since 6 months ! which has never happened to me before (keep a stable weight) . At some point, I realized I was gaining 1 kg per year and that I had a serious issue with my food habbits. Now, I feel like my body is “reorganizing” and learning new ways, but that it will keep loosing weight after some time of adjusting.
looking forward to your answer !
I am struggling. I lack any motivation. I ate an entire 24 pack of cookie dough today and feel so bloated, fat, and disgusting. Is there anyway to help the metabolize toon of all this sugar so I don’t gain so much weight?
This is so relatable! My recovery has not followed the exact same path and what’s actually working for me is different. There are many, many things that are the same.
Hi. My problem is that I work 3-11 and tend to binge eat junk food really late at night and then go straight to bed. I was wondering if you could suggest a healthy snack that I couldmaybe have on the way home from work. Was also wondering if you had healthy meal ideas for someone that hates to cook, me! Lol! I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks!
Try my Date Energy Balls or No-Bake Brownie Bites for an easy snack in the car. For meal ideas, most of my recipes are pretty fast and easy, but I especially love the Vegan Pad Thai, Instant Pot Chicken Tacos, Singapore Noodles, and Thai Peanut Salad with Baked Tofu on top.
Thanks so much for responding! I will definitely try the recipes you suggested!
Thank you for writing this article. I have recently started dieting again ( Im 54 and gave up 20 yrs ago)…but after reading Bright Line Eating …I felt HOPE that this would be the cure all diet…but …not a ‘diet’…rather a ‘lifestyle”!! Yeah right! ! I lost weight and felt GREAT….but of course I could not maintain the restrictive diet ( no sugar or flour of ANY kind – inc honey/dates etc….PERMANENTLY- no cups of tea or coffee , no snacks.and carbs, , limited fats , limited fruit etc etc) It kick started a binge pattern in me. I soon put on nearly all the weight , felt like crap again and so did a detox with he intern to heal and cleanse my body eliminating all carbs , sugar, etc and again lost weight …felt GREAT….but this time….SHIT HIT THE FAN….and i had a melt down. I began CRAVING…beyond anything I have ever known….I began BINGE and fell into depression darker than anything before. I did what I thought was LOVE my self by detoxing and parasite cleansing…..and my body literally TOOK OVER and said ” Ohhhhh Noooo you dont”. I felt hopeless, helpless, powerless and literally like I have NO control over my eating. Since then…i have decided I am NEVER dieting again…..or restricting …..and then i read your article for confirmation . I thought I was going insane. It is literally beyond out control. Some people can do it. Some cant. We are all unique with unique issues around food and weight. So from now on I am eating what I want when I want and I already feel SO much lighter ! Thank you for sharing your story and reaffirming my decision .
I don’t think your cured as you’ve traded one obsession for another. stopping bingeing should never be about weight loss – it should be about stopping bingeing! Period. Also the way you start your article with how embarassed you are does nothing for those dealing with binge eating It’s a mental illness that requires treatment – not something to be ashamed of. your article is a big diservice, sorry
Joan, I am curious about where you’re coming from – what is necessarily obsessive about weight loss? Besides, maybe I misread, but I thought Megan specifically said she didn’t focus on weight loss and that’s how she healed. And as far as the embarrassment with binge eating, that’s actually one of the diagnostic criteria – that feeling of shame when one binges – that’s what they help with (in part) with the mental health treatment. I think it’s helpful for Megan to mention the shame/embarrassment because it’s a hallmark feature of the disorder of Binge Eating (before recovery). It’s a symptom. She’s just describing where she started, not where she ended up. The shame is part of the disorder itself, is another way of putting it, and it’s also completely normal – so normal that it’s literally part of the diagnosis. We all feel so alone with this, that it’s nice to know we’re not the only ones who felt embarrassed. And I found the article to be personally really helpful, and it appears from the comments, I’m not alone. I’m sorry that something here struck a cord with you, but I think you may have misunderstood a little bit and that’s why it seemed insensitive to you.
Did you find journaling helpful as you worked through this?
I didn’t journal too much, but maybe it would have helped? I found focusing on things outside of food and my body helped the most.
I have been trying to diet but every time I do I seem to make it worse I’m binge eating or just eating snacking feeling ashamed that I’m eating because I feel like I’m over eating I have gained more weight after my baby after dieting I way more now then when I was 9 months pregnant I’m ashamed and embarrassed I just want to hide from the world
I just came upon this post when I googled “how to stop bingeing junk food” – because I’m finally, honestly acknowledging there’s a serious problem.
I’ve jokingly referred to myself as a ‘carboholic’ since I was in my early 20s (I’m in my early 40s now) and I’ve come to realize that’s a truer statement than I may have thought. I’ve always been a junk food junkie, since childhood.
When I discovered the primal/paleo way of eating, I realized the disservice I had been doing myself over the years – asthma, allergies, eczema, autoimmune disease, ADHD…. I’m like a poster child for a gluten-free, sugar-free existence, right? Ugh.
I found primal/paleo in 2010 and that started my ride. I discovered that most fruits triggered my sugar cravings, and that certain vegetables triggered a physiological response that wasn’t great. Doctors always just wanted to recommend the standard American diet – lots of lean meat and whole grins – and that’s just not what I need.
Then I found carnivore, and was able to maintain that for about a year – it was one of the best things to ever happen to my body. My skin looked amazing, my sleep was fantastic, my energy levels were, well, LEVEL, and my asthma, allergies and autoimmune disease all but disappeared. But then my divorce happened and I slowly (then not so slowly) slid down a hill of despair, littered with Oreo cookies and Twizzler nibs. :o(
I’m struggling, hard. No therapist has been helpful. They continually tell me how smart I am, and how I just need to do x, y, and z. The ADHD makes my impulse control almost non-existent, and my executive function leaves much to be desired.
I keep trying to climb back onto my carnivore wagon, for a 30-day reset and within a week… I’m gnoshing on all the things, like a troll in the corner… just shoveling it in.
Today I ate two bags of nibs, a whole row of Oreos and Taco Bell for lunch. wtf. I’m so sick of this cycle. Sorry to ramble for so long. I’m just so relieved to have found this post, and still so frustrated with myself.
I love your name, ‘sunshine’ : ) I can relate to EVERYTHING you said. For me, if I eat sugar/simple carbs, it’s a downward spiral for the day of eating everything I shouldn’t, like I have no control over it. I will say eating according to ayurveda has helped me overall tremendously (typically the above is just for a day, then I’m able to get back on track). I’m going to be praying for you because I’ve found that only God can help me with this (self control issues), and when I stay close to Him, he does ; )
Blessings . . .
I can’t tell you how much reading your story helped me this morning, after eating really ‘good’ for the past couple weeks, and then having a huge binge on sugar and junk food yesterday (I’ve been dealing with this my whole life .. just turned 58. Had bulimia from age 16-30). I’ve recently learned about ayurveda through my natural health doctor, am a vata body type, so have been eating according to that. It’s been very beneficial, but is very limited so if go off it with say a donut (like yesterday) it sends me for the rest of the day on a sugar-craving spiral. I’m going to go see my natural dr. again soon, but in the meantime your story really encouraged me that I’m not the only one with these issues (I could relate to everything you said!) and I’m just saying it’s a new day, today I’m back on track, and with God’s help and by His grace I’m going to overcome the binge-cycle and be all I can be for Him! : )
Thank you again for being transparent and sharing your heart. As your last sentence says … you did help me, a person who is struggling! <3
P.S. this is the first time I've left a reply on a website ; ) I began a site (blog I think it's called ; ) a couple years ago and didn't continue it, thinking of starting to post again on it. https://messagesfromthefathersheart.wordpress.com/
Blessings to you …
Paula
MOST HONEST bingeing help, I’ve ever heard. Explains exactly what I deal with. Ty.
I am wondering what hints you (or others) might have of what to do in the moment when you have that urge. I recognize the urge and can talk to myself but I can’t seem to resolve or allay the urge until I start eating. It’s so frustrating!
I really want to thank you for writing about binge eating. What you described was me EXACTLY for decades.
I am 47 years old and very overweight due to binge eating. I remember binge eating in elementary school but was never overweight massively until after I got pregnant. I have ‘started’ diet after diet and the ‘perfect’ way to eat to finally lose weight for decades. I became massively overweight about 15 years ago due to binge eating and it has affected EVERY aspect of my life. I felt suicidal. My mom has a huge problem with food, even now in her 70’s, that greatly affected me.
I began seeing a therapist about 6 months ago when I read an article describing binge eating disorder. I had no idea I had an eating disorder. I knew I had a massive problem with food and thus have spent the last 20 years starting Atkins or Keto etc on a Monday. I could never do it. I still wonder if I am addicted to sugar/flour. However, I know if I try to restrict these foods, I go on massive binges to eat them before I ‘start’ keto the next day.
I have lost about 43 pounds since starting therapy the last 6 months. My therapist definitely does not have all the answers. The most helpful has been reading stories from those who recovered from binge eating like yours.
I still need to lose another like 80 pounds and I can feel depressed and hopeless about it. It’s hard for me to not try keto so I’m not addicted to carbs, but the way I’m currently doing (small changes, incorporating healthy foods, not restricting, learning what triggers my binges, dealing with feeling empty emotionally etc) has been the only thing to actually have me lose weight and keep it off. It is very hopeless at times, but I thank you for your honesty as it truly does help people, especially those who don’t realize they have this eating disorder.
Thank you for your honest article. I binge eat on biscuits and chocolate. I eat well balanced meals then ruin it all. I have been a ‘dieter’ for many years and I’m going to try what you did. I’ve had hypnosis and tried everything else.
Joanne
I’m in tears reading this because your description of your binge eating matches exactly what I do right now, what I did today, and I hate myself for it. I always feel like I’m the o ly person who does this and there’s no way out. It’s funny… I want to eat yummy whole foods, but I always end up binging on junk that doesn’t even taste good. For some reason, I won’t allow myself the good tasting food that would probably actually satisfy me. Thank you for your words and for giving me hope that change is possible.
this was helpful, thanks