HOW I STOPPED BINGE & EMOTIONAL EATING | How I Overcame Binge Eating 

So relatable! I was a gymnast until I was 18 and I literally never ate. I was a size 00 all through high school. Fast forward 40 years and I’m binge eating and can’t get it under control. It’s always the “I’ll start fresh tomorrow,” but tomorrow never comes. It’s so frustrating. You are so not alone in this!

You are speaking my language. My binge eating has ALWAYS been about comforting myself. It really doesn’t matter if I’m happy (I’m celebrating!) or sad (I need comfort), I binge. I’ve always made a joke of it by saying, “I love to eat!”, but there’s a shame associated with it too. Thanks for telling your story. Some of the tips you gave will be very helpful. ❤

I’ve been binging for 20 years. Sometimes it feels hopeless. Sometimes I feel I have it under control. My binges are never related to how much I’ve eaten during the day, or how hungry I am. And they rarely come out of the blue. I usually know hours before it’s gonna happen that night (always at night!). And I get weirdly excited knowing a binge is coming and I’m gonna eat whatever I want. Generally chocolate, cookies, ice cream, sweet cereal (mainly sweet stuff, sometimes I throw in some Pringles to offset the sweetness so I could eat more sugar). The last time though I walked aimlessly around the supermarket looking for something to binge on, and there was nothing I wanted. Even my favorite binge foods… I’d eaten them so much recently I didn’t feel as excited as usual. Of course I bought them anyway (only the first few mouthfuls are pleasurable… after that it becomes more of a challenge to eat everything). So I know now I’m entering a ‘non-bingeing phase’. Maybe this will last a few weeks. Or months. Maybe even a year. But I don’t feel I’ll ever be free of it. Like this is just my thing. If a friend told me she felt like this, I’d drag her or drive her to the doctor straightaway. But for me… I genuinely think I’ve given up.

I have to tell you... yesterday, I brought my 15 yr old son on a fast food binge/ run with me, and last week, he asked me if I had a stash of chocolate... I cried. Then I listened to this podcast, and it hit me in that way that I confessed to my husband. I told my counselor I joined WW and 3 friends! I apologized to my son. I just wanted to say thank you for voicing something I've kept hidden since childhood, and I'm 48 now!

I think it’s very generous and brave of you, to share your struggles with binge eating disorder. I’m glad your able to let that guilt go and be the ‘lightbulb moment’ for others. I’m sure your channel is helping more people than you know 🥰⭐️⭐️⭐️Big hugs!

Eating disorders are so under diagnosed because of that bias against larger bodies. I’m so mad at your old coaches for you. They don’t know what kind of damage they can do to young women who may not be done developing! It takes time but you’ve really done a good job of recognizing situations that are toxic to you and finding your way out of them. Your confidence really shows 🥰

I can’t believe I woke up to this video. I just had one of the worst binges in my life last night. Your such a light for others. I’m lost, I don’t know why I can’t stop?

What you were talking about with how you were as a child and hiding food and being worried about your next meal - I relate to this SOOOO much and I have never heard anyone talk about this. I also don’t know where this compulsion came from and i wish i did. Thank you for opening up to us about this.

I hit rock bottom last winter. I turned to God. I get my strength from my faith. One day at a time. 🙏🏻

I appreciate your rawness in videos like these. It’s such a hard topic to discuss due to the fear of shame and embarrassment. Thank you for normalizing this for anyone out there struggling with binge eating or that don’t even know they suffer from this condition. I never had a great relationship with food, but didn’t binge eat until the pandemic. Once the shutdown was over in my area, it was so hard dealing with the world in general. And people can be so mean nowadays! I dealt with the stress by binging almost every night. I gained 50 pounds in 6 months. I would order a whole pizza on my way home and try and eat the whole thing as fast as I could. And then be miserably full and uncomfortable afterwards along with the guilt and shame. I was already in therapy so we had to shift gears and really focus on the binging because it affected every other aspect of my life. It took at least 7 months of daily work and therapy twice a week to help get me through it. I’m doing so much better but have a slip up every now and then. I really have to front load my day with breakfast, snacks and lunch to make sure the evenings aren’t as vulnerable for me. Your advice was spot on! I’m using WW to try and lose the weight that was gained. Your food suggestions and snack ideas have been so very helpful! Thanks for being an inspiration to so many, including me 😊 To anyone struggling out there, please seek help. It’s available and you are worth the time and effort I promise. We don’t realize how our mental and physical health are so intertwined.

You have me in tears, my behavior through my whole childhood and adulthood. I’m still struggling with it

So So much for making this video. Though I am a much older than you, I can very much relate to your story and your pain. At one point I tried talking to a counselor who dealt with food disorders but she really didn’t recognize binging as a serious disorder. Or more importantly she didn’t recognize what were some of the underlying reasons. I’ve spent the last 10 years finally unpacking all kinds of things and as of today I am 65. So bravo for you both for sharing the video and for doing the work to get you to this point.

Even tho I've watched your other binge eating videos this one really got to me. So emotional over here. Thank you for this and being so vulnerable for us, I know I really do appreciate it. I struggle with boredom binge eating, its awful. You are awesome Nikki and I am so proud of everything you've overcome and the progress you are making. You inspire me to not only do better but WANT to do better. P.S. I wish you lived next door

Amazing book that changed my life. “Brain Over Binge” by Kathryn Hansen. I have no connection to her but found her book a year or so ago and it’s amazing. Explains how your brain physically can be changed to make eating normal again.

When your thumbnail has before and after pictures, I am just amazed at your success. The mental part of it is definitely the key. Wish I had figured it out earlier in my life. Glad you did.

I have so much going on in my life right now. I binged yesterday. Felt sooooo sick all night. My anxiety gets so bad, all I want to do is comfort myself with food. I am 61 years young. Have been doing this since my teens. I am going to try to eat bigger portions as you said. Thank you for all of your tips and tricks. Glad you overcame it! xo

Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I am just learning that I have struggled with this my whole life! I was always sneaking food as a kid - I think because my parents had me on diets for as long as I can remember. I still struggle with feelings of “what can I eat?” every time I’m home alone and there is no one there to judge me. I had never thought of bingeing as an eating disorder because as you said, I always associated eating disorders with getting thin. I’ve also never lost weight without being hungry. It’s so inspiring to hear how you’ve made peace with food and been so successful getting and staying healthy! Thank you!!

I can relate. The last 6 months I’ve been over eating mainly at night, I’d eat over 2,500 calories within 2-3 hours. I feel like I just can’t break the cycle. I think I do it bc I feel emotionally empty.

You are such a blessing. Being so open. Do you know if your mom had trouble eating during pregnancy from nausea or you had feeding issues as an infant or toddler, or some kind of feeding trauma? In foster parent training they taught me the brain remembers starvation even if it is before the age we can remember or even inutero. I'm so glad you are past where you were and your transparency is such a blessing to me specifically.

I relate to everything you’ve said in this video. It makes you feel even worse when none of your friends can relate to your situation and you just have nobody to talk to about it especially because of how embarrassing it is. Thats how I feel at least. Thank you for this video.

Wow… I had no idea this was a disorder. This issue has been the thorn in my side my entire life. And it wasn’t something I knew how to explain to my family/friends which made it feel even more embarrassing so I hid it even more. You inspired me to try WW a couple weeks ago, and it’s going well:) I only just came across this video, and it’s very encouraging! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, strength and hope.You have undoubtably helped others by doing so. This issue (and other addictions) run in my family. I've been sober and in recovery for 22 years, but my 20 year old son struggles with binging nonetheless. They say the only way to keep the recovery you have is to give it away. I'd say you did that today.🙏💜

I grew up in OC, California. The culture I was surrounded by was women who were pretty obsessed with maintaining their looks. My parents were never the type of people to restrict my food a lot or force me to exercise too much. But there was definitely a huge emphasis on being thin, eating healthy, and especially exercising. I was always thin as a kid. I never liked having to work out and I often craved more food than I needed or certain types of food. But I stayed thin. As an adult I discovered I have ADHD and ASD. This is why exercising was never pleasant. I’m sensitive to heat. I don’t like itchy sweaty clothes. I don’t like being out of breath. I don’t like soreness. I don’t like the sick feeling you sometimes get when you push your body too hard. I don’t like getting cramps. Exercising can be a very unpleasant and overwhelming sensory experience for me. Eating on the other hand, had always been comforting. I don’t have many sensory issues when it comes to food. Textures and flavors don’t bother me that much, other than overcooked or soggy vegetables. Food is something I genuinely love and tbh, food is sometimes the only way I can motivate myself to do things I don’t like. If I don’t feel like cleaning my house I tell myself I can eat afterwards. If I don’t want to go to work I tell myself I can get a nice lunch on my break. I just use food as comfort and motivation and it’s really unhealthy, but it does work to comfort and motivate me. Which is why it’s so hard to stop. I also had a very difficult situation in college, which is when this issue really started. I definitely binge ate a little bit as a kid, but it only became a big issue in college after all the stress I went though. I ended up failing out of college and that made everything worse. I did go back though, and I recently graduated and I’m very proud of myself. Emotionally I’m doing a lot better now. But I do still struggle with BED. It’s been 5 years and I’m just sick of it. I want to stop. I want to get it under control. My mom literally called me this morning in near tears telling me she’s scared I’m going to kill myself if I don’t stop because obesity is the #1 cause of death in the US and my dad has a plaque disorder and high cholesterol even though he’s the fittest person in the world (this man is 56 and mountain bikes like 8 miles every day) and my mom doesn’t know whether I have that same disorder or not. It hurts a lot to hear how much my parents worry. I worry about the same kinds of things. But for whatever reason it’s still so hard to stop. I’m trying to get help now. I recently signed up for a free online group. I dream about meeting my family after a period of months and just being this thin, beautiful, athletic women they all want me to be. I’ve sobbed thinking about that.

Wow, it feels like this video could have been about me. Especially the bits about hiding food and eating at night. Thank you for speaking openly about this - it helps to be reminded that I'm not alone with this. Hopefully it's helpful for you too.

I love how vulnerable and genuine you are. Such a great video !!!

I relate to you so much, it’s kind of wild. I have reached my goal weight but maintaining has been the most difficult part of my journey. This is my second time losing the weight and I refuse to gain it back a third time. Thanks for being there always!!♥️💕

Outstanding video. I caught myself mindlessly eating Halloween candy while scrolling through Instagram and came upon a recent story from you showing your transformation. Stopped me cold. You are an inspiration. ❤️

Your being so transparent is so beautiful to me. I am 47 years old and have had this condition my whole life but didn't know it was a real condition until coming across your video! I am currently doing WW and am struggling with portion control but winning the fight. I'm only 9 days in but finding you on you tube has been such a blessing. You inspire me to overcome and triumph! I literally thought I was the only one...

You're describing everything I've done from a young age too. I used to sneak food from the age of 7. It was hot dogs and American cheese for me. Then when I had my first job, I'd spend money at the nearby fast food place and park at the park in a secluded area so no one would watch me eat it. Quantity was so important to me too.

Thank you so much for your bravery and willingness to be vulnerable sharing this with us. I too have dealt with binge eating in the past. Mindful eating really helped me too. Thank you for all you do. You’re truly an inspiration.

This LITRALLY change my life I’m not joking I could not thank you enough

This makes so much sense to me! Your explanation was very helpful. I have recently realized that this is a struggle for me. Lack of sleep combined with anxiety makes me turn to food for comfort or distraction. Thank you for addressing emotional eating! I'm going to try the tips you gave at the end. 👍

Thanks for this. I've had the same problem since I was a teen, but never had a name to put with it. It's a merry go round of lose, gain, lose, gain. I so appreciate your honesty. ❤

BED is the bane of my existence. Thank you for talking about it!❤

Thank you so much for sharing this. I just learned that I suffer from binge eating even though it's been going on since I'm a teenager. I'm currently working on being more mindful and am struggling a little. This video really helps. I have also been making some of your recipes and man they are yummy and that helps curb the binge episodes cuz I know I have a yummy meal waiting for me. Also, I'm not a meal prepper, so I've adopted your idea too prep ingredients so I can mix and match through the week. Thank you and Adam for all you guys do and share ❤️

Thank you for sharing your story. Long time follower, but I don’t comment often. I’ve also struggled with this for years, and I recently started taking steps to heal. Thanks for letting us follow along your journey. Blessings to you.

What a mind-blowing post🤯 I didn't know there was a name for what I do 😢 You're right -- the shame and isolation is awful. Just knowing I'm not alone is tremendously uplifting. Thank you for your honesty ❤

Thank you for being so open and honest. You are such an inspiration. I can definitely relate. I need to lose about 35kg, feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.

I am a binge eater too. I was doing better - lost 70lbs but had a slide back (10lbs) after the unexpected death of my brother and my marriage struggling. I definitely binge eat when emotional and to make myself feel better. Which works until I realize I am hurting myself instead and then the self slamming talk begins. Your tips and words helped and I know I can do it again. I appreciate your honesty and openness. I will be kinder to myself inside and out. Thank you.

Probably the best video I have watched in 10 years about controlling eating and weight loss. I just made the same breakthroughs but so great to have them reinforced. Smart lady, I am much older, and figured this out much later.

OMG! Thank you. Talking about going to restaurants-We’d go to smorgasbords and I would eat a ton of food. When I look back I can hardly believe it. But I still have binge times-it’s combined with addiction to sugar. I’m 69 and finally feel like I have a little control over my eating. Love your channel💕🙏🏼

My thing has always been sneak eating. I still do it when I go grocery shopping, etc. Get a piece of cake or ice cream, eat it in the car, toss the packaging before I go home. I hate that I do that. I am 61 years old! I am starting back at WW Saturday. Seems every 2-3 years, I end up gaining some weight back (15lbs) after maintaining for that time.

I just started intermittent fasting and was brave enough to post my channel 😃 congratulations for overcoming this 🧡

I did not know this happened to anyone else. I knew about emotional eating, but not binge eating disorder or that others experience it. I dont usually have the purging afterwards or anorexia, so I didn’t think it was an eating disorder. Thank you so much for sharing, and thank you all in this space who have also shared.

Brave and helpful! You will touch many hearts with this video. We are in this together!

Ive been there too. I had professor tell me if I lost 20 lbs I’d be beautiful. He said if I’d only take up a sport to get some exercise. He suggested handball. I didnot play handball but his words have stuck with me to this day. I still battle with my eating practices. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for your honesty. ColIege is a very stressful time and eating disorders of every type often develops then. That is when my bingeing started too. I am sure a lot of people can identify with your struggles (I know I sure can). I joined weight watchers after college years after college and it helped me gain a sense of control over my eating. There still are occasional episodes of bingeing but they are very few and far between. Thank you for your tips on how you deal with this. Your vlogs are very helpful. 😊

Nikki, thanks so much for sharing this. I deal with not being able to control my portions so I can totally relate. Sometimes I feel like I can't get enough food. I need to be more mindful with my eating as well.

I've never related to one of these videos more. The way you explain binging is exactly how I experience it, and makes me feel so much less alone. Thanks for sharing :)

Really appreciated your honesty and how well you explained yourself in this video. While I haven't experienced binge eating, your discussion of your experience helps me to have more empathy and understanding what others may be going through. You reaching out to possibly help others who may be hiding is a wonderful thing.

I’m so proud of you, you’ve overcome so much and worked so hard to get to where you’re at. Truly inspiring ❤

Binger! Sweets mostly! It is very difficult to control sometimes! Emotionally triggered for me! Thank you for the video.

Shame on those coaches! They should had asked u what support u needed to understand u , what caused the emotional eating not to threaten u like that! You are inspirational to overcome yr Ed problem. I’m still trying to cure mine.

I want to first thank you for being so open and honest. I hope you know how incredibly helpful this is that you are sharing your story. You were literally describing everything I have been going through. Since Covid I’ve been working from home and I have a job that is extremely stressful. When you described your binge eating-shoving the food in that you don’t even like so fast you can’t even breathe and you feel like you can’t stop is exactly what I’ve been feeling. I love that you gave real practical tips. Thank you for giving so many of us hope. ❤

I totally relate to this. Late night eating, sneaking food and mostly sugar as a kid. I was a martial artist as a kid and ate whatever I wanted and never gained weight, but at the same time I would eat so much in secret especially as a teenager and young adult. Started WW a week ago and this has been so eye opening how much I was eating. Thank you so much for sharing this. My heart is with you❤

Thank you for sharing you story Nikki. You are truly an inspiration to us all and definitely not alone. I feel I am a binge eater and it's a hard habit to break but hopefully through counseling and self awareness I will get to where you are.😊

I did not know this happened to anyone else. I knew about emotional eating, but not binge eating disorder or that others experience it. I dont usually have the purging afterwards or anorexia, so I didn’t think it was an eating disorder. Thank you so much for sharing, and thank you all in this space who have also shared. I think we all have our own reasons for having come to this. Thank you everyone for opening your hearts. Love to you all.

Thank you for sharing, Nikki. You are brave. I am twice your age and still haven't told many people that I suffered from binge eating in college after a sexual assault that really hurt my feelings and confidence. I remember making the same kind of things you did (processed) and eating until it hurt. It was only years later I made the connection between the binge eating and the stress. The adults in my life didn't understand and their "two cents" brought on shame and made it worse (much like your coaches.) What helped me was reading Geneen Roth and intuitive eating books. I love following your journey and as you can see from all these comments... you are touching a lot of people's lives with your videos.

Thank you for sharing your struggles with binge eating disorder. This topic was one I didn't know much about,and you explained everything so clearly. I so enjoy your videos and watch them on a regular basis.

Thank you, thank you, Nikki! Now 72, I have have done binge eating since being a child. I’m a volume eater and never ate food because I was hungry .. realized I’m an emotional eater. Following a WFPB (Whole Food Plant Based) life style (sugar-free and oil-free) has stopped the binging. I think it’s because I realized I hadn’t been eating enough! I understand calorie density and now comfortably eat large volumes of healthy WFPB foods. You are not alone! Thank you, Nikki

You are so brave and kind to share your experiences with others in hopes that it will help someone else… not many people would or could do that! Im so sorry that you had to deal with being shamed about your weight. Those coaches were ignorant!! You are truly inspirational in so many different ways. Thank you for sharing. You are such a beautiful person both inside and out!🤗💕

Thank you for sharing your story and being vulnerable to shed light on a topic many people struggle with . I relate on so many levels.

Thanks so much for sharing your struggles. I can totally relate to what you've gone through. You are such an inspiration!

Thank you for sharing! Makes me feel better knowing I’m not alone. I still have a long way to go with my mental side of things.

I’m so sorry about the exp with the coaches. A good coach will see something like that and get involved in your mental health. What they did was the complete opposite. 💔 Thank you for sharing!!

Thank you so much for talking about this. I’ve struggled with binge eating for years and didn’t really understand what was happening until I opened up to my partner about it. Hearing your story and recommendations for managing binge eating is so helpful. Sincerely, thank you 🙏 ❤

Thank you so much for sharing. That behavior started young for me, too. I was always afraid there wasn't enough because my my mom ate a lot. I'm still struggling with it till this day.

You’re not Alone 🙏🏻💜🐰🐣🐾🐾

Working on the mental part, acceptance of myself at any size was key, then your Instagram popped up. I was ready to try WW again (4th time) because of how you eat: doable, filling meals. “I can do that” and I am. Thanks. Caution: WW, like anything else, can feel restrictive and worsen bingeing (for a BED person) if one doesn’t do it in conjunction with the mental health part.

This is so comforting knowing Im not the only one. Thank you for sharing your story ❤

Thank you so much for this. Thank you for your vulnerability and suggestions. Been this way over half my life, still struggling with it and it’s been really helpful to hear this ♥️

Thank you for being so open and sharing your experience! I started binge eating at the beginning of the pandemic and I just joined WW 2 weeks ago to help me stop.

I totally relate i am much older than you and i have this experience from a young age. I am slowly getting better, its a journey. I love your WW videos a lot as well. Thanks for sharing

Thanks Nikki for this video and ALL your videos. You are so real!! I am 54 now have struggled with binge eating my whole life! So I can relate. I think we do it to fill up a void that can't be settled with food...but it does feel soooo good, like you said. Its like Dr Jeckle and Mr. HYDE!!! I needed to hear this today 1😃🙃

Thank you for this! WW helps me too! I went off for 3 months and gained 16 pounds- almost half the weight I’d lost on WW! I need the accountability. I appreciated hearing your tips and that WW also worked for another recovering binge eater. I wish you the best!

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nikki x

Thank you for sharing your experience! It's nice to know I'm not alone and appreciate your guidance on how you to help myself.

Thank you for your open and honest vulnerability while sharing your past. I recently stumbled across your channel as I'm wanting to get healthy. This video really helped me and I was so surprised to feel so related to your story. I've been wanting to be serious about my health and I think this has really helped me. Thank you, thank you!

You are like my soul sister! I was the exact same where I would eat a ton of food when I was in elementary school through middle school gained so much weight. I joined the volleyball team in high school and didn't notice it as much because I was active. In collage, I started to notice the weight gain and started to get really depressed. Then, I started losing weight out of no where and was diagnosed with Crhon's Disease. I blame my eating disorder for my disease. Now, I just keep gaining weight. Thank you for sharing your journey and experiences. At least I know I'm not alone and I can change.

I did definitely have this as a kid. I wasn't obese but chubby. Then I became Anorexic & 40 years later still have long & serious episodes that go on for months. Now in the middle of being anorexic, maybe a few times a month I will binge & hate myself after. I don't enjoy it but I'll just keep stuffing my face. I don't have binge disorder because it doesn't go on that long . It actually feels a lot worse than the starving. Thanks for the informative video. Glad to see you doing well.

Thank you for being so brave to share your story. I wish your coaches would have noticed that maybe something underlying was going on when you came back from winter break and offered you help instead of making things worse for you. Praying for you and your recovery.

This was so brave to speak of what happened to you. I’m sure so many have gone through different stages of this😘

@8:17 Don’t be embarrassed of this story. It helps me so much! Plus, I hear it as a story about difficult coaches rather than you doing anything wrong.

Thanks for sharing. Currently struggling with this. I appreciate your honesty.

Hi Nikki, Thanks for sharing your early age binge eating story in such detail! I can’t help to wonder, as you said volleyball has caused so much stress on you. You have always been super active when you played and the binge eating situation never stopped. Do you think being super active has also caused you to eat in an excessive amount? I started binge eating myself when I restricted certain food for weight loss. I did keto, low carb diet, macro tracking… I realize all these diets has cause me to binge eat. And I stopped. I turned to being more active, weight lifting, cardio, and counting steps. But I also realize the more active I am, the more amount of food I want to eat, and I feel like I’m constantly looking to indulge large amount of foods. I wonder, when you stopped playing volleyball and started focusing on your eating disorder recovery, has your activity level stay the same as before, or did it change? Do you feel that your binge eating act has any correlation with your activity level?

Recently realized I have a binge eating disorder as essentially EVERY descriptor has applied to me. One thing this video made me realize was that I've always hated being "watched" while I eat and substantially prefer to eat alone, and that's totally why. I don't want to feel "judged" for my eating.

Not sure how I found your channel but I love it so much! I have been binge watching daily. I have made so many of your recipes and really enjoy them. My husband does as well. I won't succeed if I feel I am eating "diet" food. You show us how to make what would normally be fattening food into healthier versions! You and Adam are seriously beyond cute. I love your snack videos where you two are together. Keep up the fantastic work. You are so friggin inspirational!! Sometimes when I want to throw in the towel and eat a Costco cheesecake, I come on and watch one of your videos and it stops me! 🤣

Thank you so much for sharing Nikki! I've had this issue for so many years!You've given me a lot to think about! 😊💗

Nikki you are such a sweet great person. Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished. Thank you for your honesty. Keep going love your channel 💕

Thank you for sharing your journey. You are such an encouragement!

So brave of you to share. Thank you. I can relate. Was/am doing similar things and especially the self-hate afterwards. I find that working out helps me because I feel like I am in control, less stressed, and I don't crave as much. Figuring out "triggers" like being too stressed or eating carbs (pasta, bread, chips....) will make me crave sugar and not want to stop. Water with a lot of lemon will curb the want for sugar... so that helps! Trying to walk when stress; still working on that one.

Thank you for sharing. This video really helped me understand my own binge eating issues. You are certainly not alone!

Thankyou for your honest advice. I so can really relate to the inhaling food !!!❤😊

Carbs, carbs, and more carbs! Im so sick of myself! I had it under control a few years ago doing strict keto. Then i moved in with my daughter’s family. Carbs everywhere! I fell off the wagon big time. Sneaking food has always been a problem since childhood. Praying very hard!

You are amazing, and you are not alone! So relatable and real, THANK YOU!

I have never had a big appetite, was always skinny until I had ovarian cancer at age 45. I then started gaining weight, which I definitely wasn’t prepared for, started trying to diet and find the right eating plan for me but to no avail. Now at 69 and breast cancer also an issue still looking for the answers! Still eat minuscules amounts of food,but I am still overweight by a lot!

I used to be a certain weight range through high school; I was active up overweight. When I went to college, I gained the freshman fifteen and was almost obese and the biggest reasons were portion control, which had always been the problem and something I still have to work on, and my "workout buddies" telling me they didn't want to go to the campus gym until seven or eight at night when it was too late to go so my activity plummeted. Thus, my second semester I said to myself I was the only one who cared and if no one else was going to hold me accountable, I was going to go when I felt like it. I got back down to my high school range and even dipped down a bit more (though that didn't last long.) My major weight loss was due to working two full time jobs, which I don't recommend to anyone. I reached the weight I was at before puberty and five inches shorter, which was on the middle of a healthy weight for my height. And despite statistics, I stayed there for six years. Then, I entered grad school. I gained the freshman fifteen in a year and a half and currently am remaining at the same two pounds despite changes to my diet and stress. Long story short: I flunked out and am on hold to see if I can be readmitted to redo my C's and complete the program. My stress is gone and I have more time to work on myself while I wait. But while in grad school, I knew I didn't have the willpower to resist snackish foods if I knew they were in the house. I asked my mom (because my parents were kind enough to let me live with them for grad school) not to bring those foods in or to put them where I wouldn't see them so I wouldn't know they were there because I couldn't resist. This conversation happened at least three times and was met every time with, "Oh, I am not worried about your weight." Countered with, "But I am, which is why I am asking for your help." The discussion would end and she would still buy the snacks sometimes showing me before she put them into the pantry if I was in the kitchen making tea or something. So again, you have to be the one to care the most because many times, the people around you are not going to help you even if you ask. I threw the snacks in the trash once, to which my dad offered to take them into work with him if it really was that big of a problem for me (though he started to backpedal on this after a few times doing so because this was a weekly occurrence.) Yes, stress is a big factor in your eating habits because not only does it make your emotions run wild, it also messes with your sleep and takes up a lot of mental energy, the latter of which is why you usually binge at the end of the day when most of your willpower is spent if not gone. What I am trying to get into the habit of doing is drinking a full glass of water and waiting 30min before eating; I know this isn't doable for a lot of people because it makes me go to the bathroom within five minutes if I take it all at once. And I will drink more in an open container like a glass than a waterbottle even if I can see inside. And something I know that worked before is having a snack cup or bowel like you would put large amounts of condiments for serving or cracking an egg into to whisk it; I got some at an asian grocery store and measured them to be able to hold a serving of cheezits without spilling over. Finally, I try to go for a brisk walk after eating, aiming for a minimum of 8k steps a day but a preferred 12.5k. It takes 20min before you can feel full so by doing a light activity for digestion, I can determine after if I really am hungry or if I ate enough and just need a bit of water. It took 1.5 years to put on the weight so I shouldn't expect it to fall right off either. I am just in a better place to resist foods others bring into the house that don't align with my goals (or I feel I want to eat just because it's there) and have the time to work back to where I felt the best. Good luck to everyone on a journey like these in the comments.

GREAT video. Thank you so much. I definitely have binge eating disorder. Very challenging. It feels a lot like an addiction. You are inspiring

We all have a story to tell Thank you for sharing yours !

You're not alone!! Thanks for sharing. You are doing great on WW keep going strong.🥰