I’ve struggled with binge eating and emotional eating for years. I’m overweight, and I’m finally ready to work on my health—not because of what other people think, but because I want a healthier relationship with food and with myself. If you’ve recovered or made progress, what helped you break the cycle? Any advice would mean a lot.

Hi everyone, I’m conducting a research study at City St George’s, University of London, exploring experiences of sleep during and after recovery from an eating disorder.

I’m looking to speak with adults who consider themselves recovered from an eating disorder and who experienced sleep difficulties during their illness. Participation involves a confidential interview, where we will discuss experiences of sleep, eating disorder recovery, and how sleep may have changed throughout illness and recovery.

Please note: the interview will not ask for specific details such as exact weights, calorie amounts, food diaries, measurements, or descriptions of eating disorder behaviours. However, some questions may involve reflecting on experiences during your illness, recovery journey, and any challenges you experienced with sleep, which some people may find difficult or emotionally challenging. You will not be required to answer any question you do not feel comfortable with.

If you're interested in taking part, please complete the short screening form below. Thank you for supporting this research!

https://cityunilondon.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Y4TMPrBiDYAdng

I’ve been dealing with disordered eating for years now. It started in my early 20s and somehow followed me into my 30s. Some weeks I restrict hard, other weeks I completely lose control and binge. The cycle is exhausting and I’m tired of it controlling so much of my headspace.

I’m 34 and it feels like it should’ve gotten easier by now, but it hasn’t. The constant thinking about food, the guilt, the all-or-nothing mindset… it’s draining.

I recently heared about Oztrim and I’m thinking about trying it. From what I understand it’s meant to help with appetite regulation, which is honestly one of the hardest parts for me.

Has anyone else in a similar spot found something that actually helped quiet the food noise a bit?

So I decided I won't eat today because yesterday I ate way too much. I jeed to lose weight, probably at least 30 pounds and I am struggling.

How do you handle this? If I let myself go I would easily be able to eat more but I should not, how do I resist this?

i’m at such a loss. every thing feels so gross and unappetizing nowadays because all i see is food as numbers. i either jusy have no appetite or start overeating and throw away half my food cuz i remember all the numbers. i can’t do this anymore i genuinely despise food and don’t see the point of really trying anything anymore because the very thought of food just feels like such a monumental chore that carries so much burden and stress
edit: should also add i run minimum 100km a month and have been for the past 13 months, so it makes it difficult to restrict how much i want to and that really makes me anxious. thinking of cutting out running entirely which would suck cuz i enjoy it.

This is kinda a vent and a cry for help. I am still a minor and live with my family because of this whenever they get food ordered they tell me to get something to oand I'm too afraid to say no because it ends up turning into a 'your starving yourself for attention' so I never say no and that's led to my BED. I've started dieting severely and working out extremely and lost 6 pounds, but I don't see any difference. I got sick for a few days and took a break, but I never got back onto the dieting, and I thought It's because I finally feel just ok enough to not care, but once again we got food tonight and they gave me a flavor of drink I really don't like and will never like so I offered it to my sister and she basically yelled at me telling me i was way overreacting and after that I felt like I'm a huge fucking cow once again and don't want to eat anymore but because of it I've only thought more and more about food. This is always my experience, I'm going to go off for a day or two then someone brings up a food topic, and I feel like their only seeing the fat all over me and that I have to stop eating again. Does anyone know how to fix my issue with constantly thinking about food and not sticking to my weight loss routine?

What are the tips or methods that you have tried to get rid of food noises or emotional eating and also addiction to sugar?

So for context I am a 25 year old man and I live in a small town my whole life and worked remotely the past 6 years. Over the last 10 years or so my habit has basically been after school, college or work I watch a show/ play a game and order food maybe twice a week but usually very calorie dense food. The other days I eat what I want and a lot of the easy tasty stuff life coco pops, sausages,burgers etc... I can get myself to do most things like going to the gym a few times a week and walking most days fairly easily but food is honestly the hardest thing I face mainly cause its in my thoughts 24/7.

After work I find I have nothing to make me feel good or engage me and I always just turn to food. I have this idea of where I want to be fitness wise but in reality I struggle with boredom a lot and its the only thing I feel I can turn to. This is even the case after going to the gym and my walk I just have a lot of time to myself. I have no reasonable activities where I live besides that unless I want to drive an hour over and back to the city. The worst thing is I have gone through the process a thousand times of 'I will eat better I will follow this plan etc...' but I end up missing the high of a really dense takeaway or eating anything tasty to fill the time.

My question is what can I realistically do? At this point I feel like I have a problem because its the one thing in my life I actually feel like I honestly have no control over. I have more of a desire for f*cking food then sex. I feel like my next and only option would be ozempic but I don't like the idea of really admitting I cannot do this.

I'm(26M) at a point now where I've slowly lowered how much junk food I eat. Instead of eating fast food four times a week, I changed it to once or twice a week. Instead of eating chips straight from the bag, I switched to eating almonds here and there when I get hungry. And I've replaced what I eat for lunch and dinner with healthy alternatives. Like eggs, sandwiches with hummus and plenty of lettuce, and chicken breast.

I only really save junk food days for my days off work. Kind of like a treat to myself. But I swear, every time I eat junk now, I get really depressed and really tired. All these negative thoughts race through my mind like "I'm never going to meet anyone who truly makes me happy" or "I'm such a lonely person" and all that crap. Is it just me or does anyone get this way. If this is how I react when I eat junk, I guess I'm doing something right with how little of it I'm eating now.

I usually meal prep lunch and dinner due to a lack of time, so I meal prep lunch once a week and make dinner 2-3 times a week. I always have food at home, and I know it's healthier and organic, but I always want takeout! I bought a stovetop espresso maker that makes quite literally the best espresso I've ever tasted, and yet I find myself getting coffee from coffee shops. Everyday around lunch time, I find myself checking what restaurants I have around me to get food. It's crazy because I cook really delicious healthy meals and alternate between different cuisines and vegetarian/fish/meat/chicken, but for some reason after cooking them always start to crave other things. How do I make this stop? I feel so guilty as well because my husband eats and loves the food I make, but then ends up eating my portions too because I eat other things. What can I do to make this stop?

I found myself ordering pizzas late at night. Making diet food but overeating even on diet food. I love food. I don't think i love anything more than i love food. Food give me comfort. Food give me something to look forward to. Food give me pleasure. Food give me a friend. Right now i'm in a bad place. Food is my only escape.

For the last year, I have developed a severe binge eating disorder. I have over the year worked myself up to eating 5000 calories a day and have been eating at that amount for the last 6 months. I’m an average height woman in my 20s and gaining weight rapidly. I can’t stop eating even if I’m not hungry and it is all I think about. I have no discipline and no idea why I can’t stop even when I try some tricks. Whenever I eat healthier or less, I just get bored and end up going back to eating bad foods and a lot. Please help and give me some advice.

I’m not sure if I will be able to explain this properly or to the correct intensity but I will try. I’ve used food as a source of happiness basically all of my life but until the last year or two I didn’t realize it. I have been trying to lose weight which includes reducing the amount of foods that make me happy. Because of this, I feel hopeless, bored, and like there is nothing to look forward to. I used to be able to look forward to a meal that I would know would bring me joy and happiness, even if it was short lived. I have pretty much laid in bed all weekend. I want happiness, I want to feel joy, I want something to look forward to but there is nothing. There are no hobbies that I like enough to stick with or that bring me that kind of happiness. I can’t focus enough to read but even that won’t bring me the kind of happiness I desire. This sounds so messed up typing it out almost like a weird joke but it’s honest. I have no one to tell it to either. My friends are basically on the opposite end of the disordered eating and don’t eat enough. I have no significant other to discuss it with. I just know someone will get on here and say something about exercising so I’ll go ahead and let you know I do exercise. I can’t exercise all day though or even for hours. It’s too hot out to do much of anything other than swimming also and I don’t have easy access to a pool. I don’t know where to go from here. It makes the temptation of getting something yummy so much harder.

Hi I'm a 16 year old trying to lose fat but Im having a hard time being consistent on eating less. the food is just really good and my grandma always be buying them delicious street food any advice on how to control or stop myself?

I’m on vacation, staying with and visiting family and also trying new foods. The trying new FOODS (REAL foods) isn’t the problem for me here, but the lack of structure in meals (e.g. me asking my aunt “When/Will we eat dinner?”, and her replying “No rules here, we eat whenever and wherever”. And I was flabbergasted - how will I ever function?)
Here in my aunts house she also bought a lot of- shit? Like cookies, chips, full-sugar soda… I don’t want any of that. I don’t want to sound egotistical, and I am fully aware of the fact that I’m not the only one here, and that my aunt also has prepared or left some veggies for me along with real (healthy) food, but the problem isn’t just “healthy vs unhealthy”, it’s about me not wanting to eat something, but not being able to not do it.
Just yesterday, our first day here, I ate some of the foods, which I wouldn’t really want to eat, and I think tasting it is okay, but I didn’t have to do more than that. It wasn’t a binge, but it wasn’t just tasting. I don’t want that to happen, and it also consumed a lot of my mental energy, along with making me too anxious to want to eat dinner.
This anxiousness is probably also from thinking I binged or just having stopped a potential binge, and that’s just scary.

How should I deal with this? It’s not as simple as thinking “I don’t want it, so I won’t eat it” or “I don’t want it, but I’ll eat it” or “I don’t want it, but I do want it? I’ll eat it”.

Lately I found out I get ice cream (or other snacks like that) like how a person gets a cigarette. I eat one when I had a rough day or when I'm stressed, and after I use it, I feel better. Relaxed and happy. But I know that's not good. I know it's just a trick engineered from food companies to make me feel better. But I haven't found any replacement that's easy to get a long of AND as cheap. I thought pokemon cards, but everyone scalps them now. Anything else it's too expensive or doesn't fit in my small ass apartment.

I (17f) went to the dmv and I told my sister privately I didn’t like the picture, I go in the car with my family and she says “(my name) didn’t like her picture” my mom goes to look at it and says under her breath “she needs to loose weight” I could hear it clearly, my brother and dad who weren’t paying attention didn’t hear it. It’s rlly not about the situation I can say a dozen experiences of where I’ve felt ugly or less than because of my weight and looks it’s about the fact that instead of feeling like starving myself instead I only wanted food. I’m not even hungry I’m on some weight loss drug that makes me not want to eat (starting yesterday). I just wanted the food for comfort, eating makes me happy, i try not to look at myself in the mirror i hate how i look.

Do you agree with me that I think people underestimate how exhausting constant thoughts about food can be? Like, it’s not always about being hungry. Sometimes it’s the mental conversation happening all day about thinking if we should eat this, did I already ruin it today?, or should I start again today?, and why can't I just control this?. And this constant negotiation can be really exhausting. When people finally eat, others can only see the action, not the hours of thoughts, emotions, and decisions that came before it.

I wonder if we can talk more about what happens before the eating behavior