Binge eating!!

Right so i started dieting about 3 months ago to lose a bit of weight for the summer.. it all started out fine and i lost weight by eating 3 healthy meals a day with no snacking except on fruit and vegetables. I lost alot of weight and had reached my goal. However whilst on holiday things started to go a bit wrong and i started eating thigns like ice cream, chocolate and other fatty foods. I would then make up for it by starving myself the next day and then eat badly the day after that. Once i got back from holiday i put myself on a strict diet of under 700 calories a day (which i know was bad for me but i was so scared of putting on all the weight i had just lost!). I stuck to this for a while but then started to have huuuuge binge eating sessions where i would eat 3000 - 4000 calories in one go. To make up for it i would control my calorie intake for the next few days but this seemed to make my binge eating worse and i would binge for 3 days in a row. I have now got into this horrible cycle of eating under 700 calories a day for 1 week and then binging like crazy for 3 days and i dont know how to stop it. please can someone help and does anyone else have a similar problem?!!

i know exactly what you mean! its so difficult, ive been on the same strict diet but then keep thinking o well today will be my cheat day! its not good! i have been able to avoid it for the past week by... taking a picture of myself where i purposefully make myself look disgusting and fat and pin it next to a picture of what i would like to look like  on my fridge and bedroom wherever especialy the kitchen cupboards! it helps a lot! honest. another thing i have been doing is painting my nails late at night to avoid late night binges, just basically keeping the hands and mind busy! if you dont fancy painting your nail, have a show or text a friend, or go online and chat to people, go for a rerally long walk when youre not hungry for like an hour or so cos by the time you are hungry you have to come all the way back again, so will have burned a few calories aswell!. another thing i have found good is if before i think about eating something think about how much exercise you would have to do to burn it off, its very scary! Also if you really cant resist there is this hot chocolate you can but which has 37 calories in it per mugful, and it has a range of ice cream aswell which is delicous! and even more so as it doesnt have many calories! i woul;d also suggest that instead of 3 main meals try 6 small meals with a few snacks inbetween and drink tons of water!

well sorry for it being so long, but those were just a few things which i found really helped! i really really hope you found this useful! and good luck! just give them a try!  

Thanks so much for your tips! I will deff try keep myself busy at night times to distract myself and i just hope i will eventually be able to break this cycle!

hey lucy! im lisa, im 17. i have the SAME problem! my family & i went to puerto rico in the beginning of the summer and i have pictures that im proud of where i was thin at my ideal weight but then i figured that once i was there i could eat what i wanted and stay there. before i know it im binge eating like 2 days worth of food at one midnight snack.  then i feel like crap and i end up not eating more than like 700-800 cals the next day and stay on that a few days till im absoluetly starving and just binge eat again and its a never ending cycle. and it kills self confidence because you feel like you have no self control.

the good thing about binge eating for me, and it seems like you have this case too, is that when we're on good kicks, were good to do. when we are trying to reach a goal we can do it. so for now im trying to work to get back to the shape i was in but then when we get there thats when we have to maintain it to avoid binging.

my advice for you that helped me as i got ready for my vacation was to write the number of my ideal weight on my hand or somewhere where no one will see except you and if they see it they wont know what it is. i wrote that on my hand every day and when id go to eat something unhealthy id see that number and remember i shouldnt. i also agree with penny09 that thinking of how much it takes to burn off those calories is a motivator. girls our age burn 93 cals running 1 mile.. aka ive eaten like the entire US borders worth of calories in one sitting. try that! good luck!

love lisa

You two are lucky.

I haven't even gotten to the "I'm where I want to be" part yet.

I slip up so much it's ridiculous.

I get bored and frustrated easily and end up doing what you all do, just without enough motivation to get back on track since I hadn't lost anything to begin with.

I just say, "Oh well, didn't lose anything anyway" and just eat whatever I can. Feel disgusted later, and then starve for days. Repeat. :/