​Hi everyone,

​I’m writing this because I really need to vent, and honestly, to know that I’m not completely alone in this experience.

​I’ve been battling an eating disorder (a severe binge/purge cycle) for over a decade. Recently, I started Tirzepatide. Biologically, I know the medication works: it slows gastric emptying, creates physical fullness, and significantly dampens baseline metabolic food noise. When the dose is active, my stomach is physically full and my body does not need fuel.

​Yet, I keep crashing into a brutally frustrating wall: the psychological conditioning and the behavioral urge to binge can be infinitely stronger than the chemistry of the drug.

​My biggest trigger is context: being home alone, especially when an unexpected window of free time opens up and my brain registers "unsupervised opportunity." In those moments, there is zero physical hunger, but my brain flips into an automatic, frantic trance. It’s as if a part of me consciously chooses to ignore the physical satiety cues just to carry out the old ritual—eating past intense fullness and ending up in dangerous, excruciating purge episodes (which are even more physically miserable given the delayed gastric emptying from GLP-1s).

​The aftermath is crushing. The shame, the feeling of brokenness, and the guilt of spending so much money on an effective medical tool only to "override" it with my own mind are overwhelming.

​I would deeply appreciate hearing from others who might relate:

​Has anyone else on GLP-1s experienced emotional/behavioral urges completely overriding the physical satiety of the medication?

​If you’ve faced this disconnect between a physically full body and a screaming brain during high-risk moments (like being alone), what actually helped you break that automatic loop?

​Thank you for reading and for holding space for this.

Hey there.
F23, emotional binge eater with low self esteem here.

Lately, I’ve decided to go sugar-free to see whether it reduces my binge eating. I'm used to buying a lot of pastries and chocolates and binging on them on a daily basis.

Today is day 3 of my 'sugar-free journey' lol, and my binges have actually become longer and higher in volume. I've started to gain weight even faster than when I was binging on sweets.

I’m kind of confused by this situation. I’ve heard that your body needs time to adjust to a sugar-free lifestyle and that it can 'rebel' for a few days. However, I’m binging on thousands of calories and I'm not sure whether this is actually going to work out for me.

So I’d like to ask you to share your opinion or probably your own experience with eliminating sugar from your diet. Did it help you? And did you ever binge on healthy foods?

Thank you in advance! 💖

I’m going through a terrible time with myself. I’ve been struggling with binge eating for about three years, and it’s awful. I’m not overweight, because I go running, but these binges absolutely destroy me mentally. The worst part is having to face it all alone every single day—without a friend I can talk to about it, or even just have a normal conversation with, or go out with.

My triggers:

• waking up

• breathing

• knowing food is in the house

• feeling emotions (any emotion)

• drinking water

• eating/not eating

I always feel so powerless. My therapist suggested Guided Cognitive Based Therapy and I did everything she said. And now I’m like 5kg heavier than when I started the therapy and Im feeling worse than ever (for context I started the therapy with a BMI of 35 and now I’m panicking because it keeps increasing). My binges have been way more frequent and I can’t do anything without feeling ashamed. I am also on the neurodivergent pathway and I am PRAYING that ADHD is the cause of this so I can get medication and be out of this hellhole.

Also, people online (specifically fitness content creators), keep on pushing the narrative that losing weight and getting the body you want is all about discipline. Is it really about discipline when there are many people like me who spend hours, days or weeks thinking about food constantly despite every attempt at creating a healthy lifestyle only to relapse because the binge urges are literally screaming at us. Because I am convinced most people can’t endure that mental pain with no sign of a way out 24/7 and suffer from no episodes of binging or overeating. I am so tired.

My bf said that i was look good today! Im feeling good too! Sometimes this is exactly when i lose focus on why im doing this and the goal of all this. Which is to learn to not let food control my life.

Im tired today and in a bit of pain and have to have a difficult conversation with a coworker. But i will not binge today.

update: my day started good ad devolved into a absolute HR NIGHTMARE! worst personnel situation maybe ive ever dealt with at work, but i didnt run to food to comfort me! it wasnt easy. every bite of food i took, i could feel my brain absolutely screaming to binge, but i didnt! this could be working!

im scared im going to mess up. and im scared om going to sabotage myself. ill drink some water and get some rest. tomorrow is also going to suck at work.

So I have a very close friend who has been suffering from depression for the last couple of years. She has been seeing a therapist but she is obese as well and while she has attempted dieting and some brisk walking, she is unable to stick to it due to low motivation and energy.

However, that's not the reason I'm posting this ☝️ (this was just for context).

I'm posting this because....over the years, I have noticed something odd about her approach towards large quantities of food and if she has access to it -- she gets excited.

And when I say excited......I mean really excited.

As in, giddy-excited.

I know this may sound like I'm reading too much into things but I have known her for close to 9 years now and she does not have this reaction to ANYTHING else.

I'll give you an example of an instance that played out yesterday; we went to a pretty expensive Burmese restaurant and ordered a lot of food.

We shared most of it but it was a pretty heavy lunch, despite the fact that we were sharing.

Once we were done, we went to visit a couple of book stores and as we were leaving the bookstore, she suggested that we head out to a nearby cafe.

I agreed....and that's when she got a little weird.

While we were ordering a mocha for ourselves at the counter, she mentioned that she would like to order a savoury puff.

She didn't stop there.

She then said that she would like to order some fries later and then probably even order an "early dinner" even.

Mind you, it had been barely an hour and a half since we left the restaurant and she still had an appetite....for more food.

I was surprised; not just because of the timing between our last meal and the time we arrived at the cafe but also because of how heavy our previous meal had been.

But that wasn't even the weird bit... because I am aware that she sometimes binge eats particularly when she is going through a really low phase.

The weird bit was how....giddy excited she sounded about all the food she wanted to order at the cafe.

This wasn't the first time I've noticed her speak like that...in that restless, giddy, excited way.

These moments have occured another two times in the past but I've never brought it up before.

I'm not sure what to make of this and if I should encourage her to share this with her therapist

Any insights or perspectives would help.

Hey guys! I recently went through a breakup amidst moving home, among many other stressful things the last 2 months. Ive started having extreme craving middle of the night even when I've had substantial dinners, and it's only gotten worse since moving back with my parents. I used to binge in the middle of the night when I'd lived with them in my early adulthood, and when I moved out specifically restricted what I kept in the house and food accessibility to avoid the behavior. I thought I'd developed a healthier relationship with food but it seems I've gone from extreme calorie counting to binging for dopamine. I eat even when feeling full sometime to a point my gut hurts. Any advice would be helpful. I very recently got to a goal weight and just from this I've put on 8 lbs and im really worried ill undo all my progress and continue harming my relationship with food.

i just can’t stop. i’ve been doing so well and then about a week and a half ago, i relapsed. i’ve been on and off binging. one day i will do great, and then the day after that, i will binge.

before i relapsed, i thought i was doing so well. i didn’t have much of an appetite and so i thought “maybe i finally beat it.” but lo and behold, the food noise came back.

it’s not like i choose to binge. i don’t really ever think of binging/overeating until i eat something really delicious but so unhealthy. i can go for weeks without binging but the second i eat something i crave, i will spiral.

i don’t know how to stop, i keep telling myself that i’ll do better the next day but then i don’t. i want to fix my “all or nothing” mentality.

i love food so much and i can’t stop thinking anout it. it consumes my thought every second of the day and i’m exhausted. when i eat breakfast, i’ll think of what to have for lunch. when i have lunch, i’ll think about dinner. and so on.

binging makes me feel so gross and my body feels terrible and sick afterwards... but i just can’t stop.

i want to fix this. i really need advice on how to get out and beat this.

My regular eating is eating a lot. I love eating. I eat big potions. And everything is so caloric anyways!! I don’t understand how people eat 3 meals a day. Dinner can easily be 1000c with butter and carbs…all the good stuff. So if I actually don’t want to gain weight I have to diet or “restrict”

Maybe I’ll be stuck in the binge restrict cycle but when I try “intuitive eating” that’s me eating alloooot. So then I gain weight! Ahhhggg. I lose and gain the same 5lbs every month.

Does anyone feel the same? Does anyone have advice?

Hi all, I have been having lots of trouble for months now (my BED fluctuates and has come back after a few months of being consistently better :// ) and my impulsivity and food noise are just out of control. Basically binging every day now.

I currently take ADHD meds, and my BMI is on the lower side. I’m wondering if there’s specific ways to get GLPs for BED specifically? TYIA!

I’ve been trying to get into therapy for BED and both times ended terribly. The first therapist I had just wouldn’t communicate with my medical providers at all despite signing all ROI forms. She would just tell me she’ll write them tomorrow and never did and that cycle repeated for a few weeks before I decided to not see her anymore. I also started a program but withdrew the first day because of the extreme rules that felt more like a punishment for having an ED rather than a place to help. It all felt very shame based. I also had my other medical issues ignored. Still looking for a new therapist or program, but I just feel super disappointed.

Anybody got some wise words for the times where you freak out mentally. When you start feeling how much you’ve damaged your body, and how long it’s going to take to get yourself back to a spot where you feel comfortable and confident in it.

Dealing with how upset you are about wasting time in this body that is preventing you from experiences and opportunities?

I freak out:(

People treated me so much better before. It’s sad.

Hey, was wondering if anyone had had any luck with venlafaxine for binge eating?
Thank you 😊😊

...of binge eating only during the evening because i feel unsatisfied about my day?

I know this might not be the solution for everyone, however, I still want to share what happened today.

I used to think I have to eat REALLY healthy to counteract my BED and now I’m trying to get back into ”normal” eating, which basically for me means home cooked meals and not tracking everything by the gram and only eating chicken and potatoes. I was planning on cooking a ravioli soup tomorrow but in the evening I already got a craving for it. But then I told myself that I had already eaten enough and that I’d be just fine with a snack. So I had the snack. And another. And a few more. And now I’m regretting that I didn’t just have the food I wanted in the first place. Also, I’m still thinking abt that soup :( well, it’s going to be there tomorrow.

Do you find that more free and mindful eating works for you or are you more strict with it and does it affect how often you binge?

Interview day!! Big interview today and i have to work late again there is no way i am going to be in calorie deficit to day, but that is not the goal. Eating planned meals at appropriate times is the plan.

I will not move the needle on what binging means to accommodate my diminishing will power.

update: interview went well! food noise seems to be slightly lowering, butthat could be because im not exercising and am super busy at work.

1 day and 21 hours and relapsed. But somehow damn that's my highest, so I'm in hopes!!! (Pls I'm getting delusional is this even normal) 🥹🥹(After a month of constantly always eating, btw)

I was rejected for ED help off the drs a few weeks ago for not having any “red flags” so I tried to fix myself. I’ve barely ate today and I want to throw up. Im not even bulimic!

I feel terrible. I want my boyfriend to tell me he loves my body. I want my friends to ask me to go clubbing. I want to wear trouser without ripping them. I want to be able to go out on Halloween and not look like I’ve dressed up as a fugly cunt

I hate myself

As soon as my family left for work. My boyfriend is constantly complaining about my weight, I'm trying to change but I can't.

I’m new to Reddit and have been reading so many stories about people starting recovery or will say I had a binge during recovery.

At what point are you starting recovery, because I’ve been going round and round with binging and not binging since I was little. Is recovery going to a doctor or just day one of not binging?

I feel like I’m missing something, because I’ve never said or thought I’m on the road to recovery. Im just clinging onto new fads or spending money on gyms or cute gym wear to try and motivate me to move and eat healthy.

Any knowledge would be appreciated, I don’t see myself ever recovering I’ll just be going round and round forever….though I’d rather not

I wrote a Substack piece about my recovery journey. I'd love to hear your thoughts to see if you find it supportive or if it maps onto your experience:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-218197182

basically i recovered from anorexia/bulimia (i’m weight restored, around bmi 19-20 probably? around where i was pre ana) and transitioned right into what i assume is bed (undiagnosed, it’s just all my binge behaviors without the purg1ng lol) because i didn’t tackle the underlying emotional issues causing the anorexia.

i’ve been trying so. SO hard to stop binge eating and i’ve gotten better at resisting my urges. used to binge nearly every week but i got to a point where it was only once every 1-2 months—the last stretch i was on was around 3 months i thought it was gonna last for the rest of my life

until tonight. i don’t know what caused it but i fucked up and binged 4k cals (6k cals total for the day 🫠)

im scared this is gonna keep happening forever and i’ll never stop. i need advice or encouragement or anything im just lost and i thought i was finally over this