Recovery Plateau

For about a year I was fully bulimic.  I would only binge and purge massive quantities of junk food and eat nothing else.  This caused me to gain a ton of weight.

For the past 6 months I have been giving my all at recovery, i.e. eating a balanced, healthy diet and working out in moderation.  I can do well for about 2 weeks before hitting a relapse where I get really discouraged and gain back all of the weight I worked so hard to lose.  Picking myself back up is never easy.

What I'm wondering is has anymore else been stuck on a plateau where they have recovered some, but not quite enough to be normal and happy for an extended period of time?  I'm also up for suggestions on what I can do to make recovery real and permenant?

Bad habits are tough things to crack.  The way it works is that you can control them for a while but they will surface from time to time.   That's normal.   The trick is to go a little longer each time between setbacks.  'Permanent' is a little pie in the sky... no-one in reality is permanently free of their bad habits.  They're either managing them well or less well, that's all.

I think you may be struggling if you're trying to lose weight at the same time as recover from a binge/purge disorder.  Weight-loss by definition requires some kind of calorie-restriction.... even if it's only minor.  And prolongued calorie-restriction will eventually trigger overeating, even in people who have never suffered with an eating problem.  It's just a fact of life.

So set your calorie intake carefully as a first step.  Not too low... a 500 cal deficit only.  A lot of overeating is triggered by plain old hunger.    Eat regularly and choose healthy foods so that you have a steady stream of energy for the same reason.   And the next step is to give yourself permission to have a 'day off' every so often.   (Sounds like once a fortnight would fit your schedule)   A day where you deliberately eat more than normal, enjoy a few treats and relax the rules a little.  By doing this in a controlled way at an appointed time and with a happy heart you're less likely to relapse.

Good luck