how to stop binge eating during anorexia recovery

binge eating is an inevitable fact during anorexia recovery - it is going to happen, and it is good because it is an indicator that you are in the MIDDLE of recovery. if you still have not experienced this, it will hit at one point - either when are you are ravenously hungry or when you ate your meal plan but still want more.

However, binge eating during recovery is like playing with cards. Recovery is a tricky road and should be taken seriously in regards to eating. However, you have to know how to play the cards well, or otherwise, you may be led to dozens of dead ends.

BINGE EATING PHASES (3 MAIN PHASES)
PHASE ONE - You are in this phase when you notice that even though you ate over 2000 calories, you are still hungry no matter what. This can be beneficial because now this proves that your hunger cues are coming back! Hooray, right? Unfortunately, feeling "full" comes WAY later. In this phase, you are eating over 6,000 calories of food, and this "binging" is occurring so frequently that even though you ate about 1,000 calories in the morning, you are still starving and ready to eat 5,000 at night.

• Expect to be eating so much fatty, junk foods. (I ate a whole pan pizza in one sitting and three tacos. In addition, M&Ms became my best friend, and i guess buying a family size bag of them was not such a good idea)
• Expect to be eating very frequently (For instance, binging everyday used to be my occupation. Every single day, I expected to do the whole process again).
• Expect to be eating at large, large amounts, and also, expect to feel "hungry." (Over 5,000 everyday for me)
• Expect occasional feelings of bloating and swelling (My face was so bloated due to water retention that it literally looked like I had a large bobble head but a small body).
• Expect to be looking at pictures of food even when you are not hungry (Yeah, I had so many thoughts)

PHASE TWO - You are still eating a lot of junk food. However, your "binging" sessions have subsided and became way less. Instead of binging every day, the routine became every two days or once in a week. Your portions are getting smaller, and you are actually for once feeling full.

• Expect to feel full at this stage (For instance, when I ate 5,000 calories like the usual, I was going to throw up and I felt so nauseous. It came down to 3500+).
• Expect to have less frequent binges.
• Expect to have cravings for now real food (Trust me - this one hits home. You will be wanting fruits and vegetables at some points)

PHASE THREE - Your binging has now came to almost a stop. It has been over 30+ days that you have not binged. You do not think about food as much, and you know when are full. Your cravings are now more towards healthy, real food since you probably have been binging on unhealthy foods for a long times. 

• Expect to stop binging for 30+ days.
• Thoughts of food would vanish from your mind
• Feelings of fullness will return
• Your cravings are towards fibrous foods instead of junk, processed foods.
• Now you can eat intuitively. You can trust yourself when to eat or not eat.

THIS STAGE IS SO CRUCIAL. DO NOT MESS IT UP. LIKE I SAID, PLAY THE CARDS CORRECTLY.

HOW TO NOT MESS IT UP (or end in a dead end):

• Do not purge after binging. You are adding fuel to the fire. I tried running mine out, and I tried doing loads of exercise at first, but all I did was adding more fuel to my fire. It made it worse and especially more lengthier. You do not want this eating disorder to replace your old one.
• Do not take any low-calorie sweeteners, diet cokes, or stevia. When you are at phase two, if you are still eating/drinking any of these artificial sweeteners, it will mess up with your fullness signal. This point of this extreme starvation is for your signals to return.
• Do not plan on restricting.

HOW TO STOP THE BINGING EARLY:

• Here are some advice that I can give that helped me so much:
• Whenever you binge, write it down on a journal. Write what really triggers it, and what food was responsible (This incredibly helped me because I saw this pattern in my binges. Even though it did not ultimately stop it, it made this extreme hunger end faster)
• I stopped taking any low calorie substitutes or sweeteners. It turns out that it really did fuel my appetite 100x more. When I stopped all sorts, my appetite decreased.
• THIS HELPED SO MUCH: I started eating an almost paleo diet in phase two. I started eating real foods like raw vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. This stopped every single craving of junk food I had. I kid you not: my taste buds have changed because of this, and now, I actually crave trail mix as my desert instead of donuts, chips, or ice cream. Maybe that is why many turn to veganism? High volume foods that have loads of vitamins instead of processed foods that lack nutrition.
• Last, but not least, STOP THINKING ABOUT FOOD. JUST take a deep breath and think to yourself: what do you want to do for the rest of your life that is SUSTAINABLE and could be MAINTAINED? STOP talking about food, and STOP having arguments with your parents about food. Go out with your friends and do something, or get a hobby. Thinking about food is just not going to let you go of your mentality. Try it for one day and promise yourself: I won't think about food. You will be amazed by how much empty space you have in your mind.
• DIET MENTALITY always struck me. It was either "go home or nothing." I stopped this mentality by not restricting any foods at all. For instance, let's say that I was cravings oats. I am not going to substitute oats with one single ricecake because it is "healthier." I am going to eat my God damn oats because I want it now. If I am not going to have it, then I will binge on it two days later. I know myself, or for instance, if I want that block of chocolate, I WANT IT NOW. You do not have to eat the whole chocolate bar. Just eat at least a small block, and you will be so much more satisfied than contemplating over the food you missed.

Hope this helped. Like I said, do not mess this extreme starvation phase up. Usually, people will end to binging IF they continue to purge and make the same mistake over and over again. 

Play your cards well.