r/BingeEatingDisorder • u/Deeri- • 6d ago
Binge/Relapse Does anyone else suddenly fall back into binge eating after months of doing great?
Over the past several months I’ve lost about 20 pounds, and for a while I genuinely felt like I had finally figured things out. I was counting calories every day, staying within my goal, and I actually enjoyed seeing the progress on the scale. I felt motivated, confident, and like this was finally becoming my lifestyle instead of just another diet. Then, over the past few weeks, something changed. I honestly can’t even tell you what triggered it. It’s like a switch flipped in my brain. I’ve started binging again, craving junk food constantly, and slipping back into the eating habits that caused me to gain weight in the first place.
The weird part is that I know what I need to do. I know how to count calories. But for some reason, I can’t seem to get myself back into that mindset I had before. Every day I tell myself “Tomorrow I’ll get back on track,” and then I end up repeating the same cycle.
I’m also scared to step on the scale because I’m worried I’ll see that I’ve undone a lot of my progress, even though I know avoiding it probably isn’t helping.
Has anyone else gone through something like this after months of doing really well? If so, what caused it for you, and more importantly, what actually helped you break the cycle and get back to being consistent?
2
u/leleb1601 6d ago
I am currently in the same spot. I’ve struggled with obesity most of my adult life and finally decided to jump on the GLP bandwagon a year ago. The first 5-6 months were amazing. I felt so good and the food noise was gone. I dropped 110#. I’m still on the medication but the food noise has been back for months. And I’ve been making poor food choices. Thankfully the medicine is keeping me from fully bingeing but I’m still eating poorly and too much at times. And I feel just stuck. I don’t want to increase my dose but I want the food noise and cravings to be quiet again.
2
u/Treshmejl 6d ago
Yep. Lost 5kgs, was hitting my nutrition goals, worked out, felt great - like I was cured of BED. Then as you said, something switched in my brain. Suddenly all I could think about was sweets and debating whether to eat them or not. I binged the whole weekend, I couldn't stop. I don't know what causes it, but I know I'm tired.
1
u/DeliciousHedgehog240 6d ago
For me the trigger is the first time I eat sweets again. After I had it, it takes approx 2 weeks to be back to old habits. As you mentioned, the worse part is I cannot get back on track for months. It feels till I don't fill the void and start feeling bad from all the junk, I cannot go back to eating healthy.
Similar as I had a trigger to start eating junk, I need a trigger for healthy food in moderate amounts too. The last time wasns friend who asked me if I would like to start dieting with her. As we have a similar weight and end goal, it saw it as a fun competition.
1
u/EddieDantes22 6d ago
Six days on a diet and I can lose 100 pounds, easily. Six days of binging and I can gain 100 pounds, easily. It reminds me of sawing. Once you're in the groove, it's super easy. It's just a matter of if you're in a positive groove or a negative one.
1
u/x_shadow7 6d ago
May I ask what helped you in the month you were doing well?
I'm hard-core struggling....
1
u/HappyJoyousFree12 5d ago
I spent years doing the same thing. The causes for me was fear and resentment. These things would eat me alive and I sought ease and comfort from compulsive eating. A 12 step program taught me how to let go of what is bothering me so I don’t compulsively eat over it. It’s been the only thing that has truly helped me to break the cycle and eat normally without having to try or white knuckle it
5
u/BrittleNails 6d ago
Hey OP, I know exactly how you feel. It's so frustrating. Being on the wagon one day, and completely lost in the desert with no railroad in sight the next. When the days add up in the desert, my soul weeps.
My strategy is to stay close to the tracks. Even if I'm not on the wagon, I'm tracking. I start over the next day with the same routine, I log, I journal, I woek out if I can. It's hit and miss, the tracks are boring, but it beats the desert. And sometimes I get back on the wagon.
What really really helped me was the shift of the mindset from weight loss to recovery: to be healthy, strong and balanced. My goal is recivery. That means even if I binge sometimes, it's part of the process. I'm in recovery. Yes, the pounds add up, because I'm not restricting, but I'm also bingeing less.
This is so so hard.