Any advice for a new member?

Hi, new member here. Let me give a little bit of background information on myself.
  I started off my teenage years as a pretty scrawny girl, naturally. I watched what I ate, but I didn't deprive myself. I loaded up on healthy fruits and veggies and lean protein, because that's how I was brought up.
When I entered college, I developed a new habit. I would attend all my classes during the day, come back to my dorm, and binge eat. The binges started off tiny, around 500 calories or so (hardly a binge), but soon escalated to the point where each eating session set me back 5000-6000 calories. I would eat until my stomach was sore. It is now my sophomore year at a university, and I am 15 pounds heavier. My binges occur at least 3 times a week.
  I am still in my healthy weight range, with a BMI under 25. However, my pants are fitting tighter and I always look bloated and puffy. My friends and family tell me I don't look heavier, but I can tell they don't want to hurt my feelings. I feel that if I drop about twelve pounds, I will be back at my "happy", fit, lean weight and feel better physically and mentally (not to mention I'll fit into my jeans again).
  My "diet" started yesterday. I ate perfectly well, until I was satisfied, and moved around a lot. I felt great! However, I woke up this morning, ate breakfast... and CRASHED! It's 5:14 pm now, and I have eaten about 5000 calories, mostly carbs.
Does anyone know of any specific threads that can support my weight loss goals, or help me with my binge-eating behavior? Is there somebody out there that's going through the same thing?
  Any replies are greatly appreciated. I am so excited to be on CC!

I would recommend easing yourself into this diet. I am a carboholic. I would eat so many simple carbs it was ridiculous. Boxes of cheese its and cans of pringles, you name it, I ate it. Any time I would try to completely cut myself off from carbs (I tried South Beach, what a miserable two days I spent practically passing out) my body would go insane!

So this time, instead of depriving myself, I slowly limited the amount I kept in the house. This is a little difficult with roomies, I know, but don't eat their stuff! =P Start by allowing yourself like 500 calories worth of chips or something this week. (This should likely be above what your daily calorie goal.) STOP when you reach that amount. You might have to portion it into bags or something. And don't give yourself too hard a time if you screw up.

Drop down to 300 next week.

The next week, just eat what's still left over. Ideally you shouldn't have been buying these carbs and you should have been slowly taking white bread out of your diet and replacing it with wheat, etc, so you won't have any in the room.

Then on week four you should be set. Indulge lightly, like maybe a small bag of chips once or twice a week. Start factoring into your daily calorie limit.

This is much more managable. I didn't do this exactly, but only because I didn't think it out this well. However, I now am carb independent! I get my carbs from things like baked potatoes and pasta and whole wheat bread and I'm not so addicted to them any more. I rarely feel like eating potato chips now and I used to be able to eat a whole party sized bag of Lay's Sour Cream and Onion in one sitting. O_O!

But I also realized that a more satisfying treat for me is sherbert. 70 cals for 1/2 a cup, and I simply can't give up ice cream. So I have that as my sweet snack instead. Find something that you would like as your "allowed" snack and soon your body will know that that's what it's allowed and that your brain is the boss!

Good luck! =)

(BTW - I gained 30 pounds in college! O_O This is my last year and I didn't want to be fat anymore. I lost 12 in the past three months so you can certainly do it too!)

Thank you so much!

Wow, people on this site reply really quick! I wasn't expecting to see a response for at least two days.
Also, does anyone have any foods or beverages that keep you full and have very little calories?
I tend to crave these things:

Cold, sweet foods (i.e. frozen fruit, ice cream, frozen pastries, smoothies)
Crackers
Peanut butter
Granola
Cereal
Chewy protein bars (like powerbars)
Bread

Ha! Notice these are all full of carbs...

Alright, I will give you some advice that may/or may not be helpful.

First, are you eating enough for breakfast and lunch? Because if you deprive yoursel in the morning, then you get home, and you want to eat everything in sight.

Second, when you feel like you will binge, find a replacement activity. Chew gum, drink water, drink tea, go for a walk, play FreeCell, read a book, add me as a friend &write me a message about how you want to binge but instead you will be good. Something to help prevent binging is to allow your treats, but in small portions. This is why 100 calorie packs are you friend. (as long as you don't eat 10 100 calorie packs in one sitting). Also, every time you feel like binging, you could try eating a HUGE garden salad with light italian dressing or something. It would make your stomach feel full for very little calorie.

Third, don't beat yourself up, and try to find out why you are binging. I know that when I binge, it is because I am stressed or I have something on my mind, and end up eating instead of dealing with it.

And finally, even if you binge, start fresh the next day. Dont let one bad day ruin all your effort.

Good luck

Smoothies can be OK...just throw in some non-fat yogurt for protein.  I also like sugar free Jello....big bowls of it, and you get hardly any cals at all.  Mini pitas to dip in hummus (lots of protein and little fat) 

Check the labels on things like bread and cereal....you can find lower cal versions of both which are really tasty.

I also have to agree about easing into this.  The first few days of my lifestyle change I could hardly imagine being full on 1200-1300 cals a day but now I'm quite satisfied (least most days:-)

I think sometimes when people find themselves bingeing there is an emotional component behind it. Sure, sometimes it's just that you're really hungry, but eating 5000 or more calories is eating way past the point of being full so it's obviously not just that. can you try journaling when you want to binge to see if maybe you can find a pattern? Could be you're feeling lonely, homesick, sad or something. Journaling could help reveal for you why you want to binge in the first place. Just a thought :) Good luck!!

Nothing wrong with Smoothies as long as u make them yourself with some Fresh Fruits, non fat milk or yogurt, etc.. 

I usually dont use any sugar of them..  I can trow half a banana if i want it to be sweet.

The Bars arent so bad.. I use either Special K, Fiber one chewy ones (They are 140 calories but TONS of fiber..i love the chocolate one) or Kashi Lean Bars...  I wont eat more than 1 per day, and i dont eat them every day..  Is just the perfect thing when i have to go out..  Special K snack bites have lots of vitamins too.

Eating trough the whole day is good too.. I try to eat every 2 hours in the day and then every 3 hours after supper. 0 So before u go to classes, eat a nice breakfast and carry a bar or an apple in your backpack...   (ill rather have the fruit but sometimes the bar is just easier).  It will keep u full enough so when its time to eat, u will eat less..  eat supper like a nice turkey sandwish with whole grain bread and lots of veggies on it..  then when u get back to ur apartment eat another fruit (in this case i would go for a citric one like orange or mandarins).  At dinner u wont eat as mush...

Also make sure to get whole wheat bread instead of plain one.. and about drinking, if you can do it, just drink water..  Dont drink your calories..  an Orange is better than orange juice... 

I'll reiderate the sherbert. I allow myself at least a cup a night (unless I go way over) and that's an average of 150 calories. Not too bad, for some ice cream. =)

Also, smoothies aren't too bad if you make them yourself. It's fun to be creative!

I found it easier just to cut cereal like breakfast bars out of my diet. Not filling enough for the calories they're worth.

Granola also not that bad. I eat Bear Naked with fruit chopped up in it and vanilla soy milk and it's a pretty tasty, more filling than regular cereal. But I also eat cereal. Primarily low cal options like rice krispies or something and only when I'm in a hurry. The trick her though is to actually measure it. I'm used to eating a whole BOWL of cereal - which is like three cups! But if I measure out a cup and a half, that's at least half the calories.

Bread is okay if you're eating like a sandwhich a day. I'll often eat a peanut butter sandwhich - measuring the peanut butter out and on whole wheat bread.

You just have think moderation, not deprevation. =)

my choice is protein shake -- shake's a better choice over protein bar cos i can feel a little full after i drunk the protein shake, but bar... it's more like a snack and dun really feel i ate anything?..

I always strave right after my exercise, but then i will drink 12 oz shake and so i won't go get bread or crisps or chips or fast food that very easy to get in 5 minute~

protein bars, protein drinks, fruits, whatever~  smoothies is good... but once you crave for something to eat... you still gotta wait 10 mins to prepare it... and you need a blender ... what if I was away from a blender (such as in a gym)? so, the ready to drink protein shake it's the one~

Anyway, I'm also new in this group.  My problem on diet control is that.... once when i get stressed or get busy, i will totally forget to calculate or to drop down what kinda food i ate, or hardly can spend 30 mins just for a walk. 

last month was my 1st attempt on kcal counting + exercising, but like... for the 1st week, i was really good, eat healthly, keep my food and exercise schedule, everything was good~  but on the 2nd week, cos my friend's wedding party coming, and i need to prepare lots of stuffs, night out for meeting, lunch meeting and it turns out 2 meals eating out, no exercises, no log, no nothing~

Does anyone know any tricks or treads to keep that on track even on those eat out meetings day?

thanks~~~~~  ^__^