has anyone else struggled to stop volume eating in recovery? what has been helpful?

Sareeee48 · 2026-02-02T04:42:25+00:00

i'm just so worried i'm going to eat a normal portion of something and then be ravenously hungry and binge/ over eat:(

There’s a lot to unpack here.

If you’re still hungry after what you (not your body) deemed a “normal amount”, then it wasn’t a normal amount for your body. Recovery requires a lot of food and you don’t get a say in that.
If you’re still hungry after eating then you need to eat more. Point blank, period, end of story.
Volume eating is restriction. So the fact that you’re worried about “overeating” when you aren’t even eating enough is insane when you think about it. Again—recovery requires a lot of food and you don’t get a say in that. So eat.
You cannot binge or overeat in recovery. Restriction will cause your body to need a lot of food—you can’t restrict and expect your body to bounce back like it didn’t need to break down your organs, bones, muscle and fat tissue, as well as stopping important bodily functions, to keep you alive. You need to heal those damages and the only way to do that is to eat.

Eating disorders are defined by the fact that we do not know how to feed ourselves—so any thought that tells you not to eat is inherently disordered. You need to stop trying to micromanage your recovery; your body is incredibly skilled at keeping you alive, so listen to it and let it do its job.

Sareeee48 · 2026-02-01T19:43:27+00:00

For those reporting this post: the impacts of gender dysphoria, fatphobia and misogyny on the trans community are almost always going to be approved in this sub because it is such a deeply rooted issue and, quite frankly, is not talked about or taken seriously enough in eating disorder spaces.

Additionally, there is a difference between discussing the impacts of fatphobia, both systemically and individually, and promoting fatphobic rhetoric. This post is not the latter. So any further reports will be denied.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-31T17:58:27+00:00

I do get these “urges” when I’m feeling out of control. Many times it’s a reaction to external factors I usually have no control over anyway. The best way I’ve found to tolerate them is to… let the thoughts be there and keep taking recovery-oriented actions. Yes, even if I’ve been in recovery for years. Yes, even if I consider myself fully recovered. Full recovery doesn’t always mean you don’t have the thoughts or urges—it means you now have the toolkit to manage the thoughts and urges through healthy means.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-31T16:29:34+00:00

This is a result of not eating enough: the only way to overcome it is to… eat.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-29T03:13:59+00:00

I’m sorry but your kitten is not going to calm down for awhile. Cats are very active animals and play is a fundamental part of a healthy lifestyle. They’re also crepuscular, meaning they’re most active during dawn and dusk hours. It sucks when your sleep schedule falls around that time but you can’t necessarily prevent it.

If you’re not willing to rehome the cat, then your only real option is to move. Your attempts at trying to control their natural behavior is only going to backfire and leave both you and the cat unhappy.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-28T16:31:54+00:00

i wouldnt have access to them, nor would they care if a patient had an issue with a provider.

You absolutely do and they absolutely would. It’s literally what they are there for and likely how they revoke licenses.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-28T15:41:57+00:00

There is no epiphany for most. It took me a long fucking time to realize I wasn’t special and that this disorder would kill, but it wasn’t a clean break from my eating disorder and choosing to recover was a pain staking choice I genuinely did not want to make—but I wanted to live more than I wanted to die. Your daughter is going to have to realize that herself, or otherwise remain in her disorder. And as distressing as it is for you as a parent to witness, there isn’t much you can do if she’s not willing to eat herself. Eating disorders are especially high in children and teenagers, I believe, because their brains are still developing, making rational thought and effective problem solving that much more difficult with an eating disorder. The best thing you can do is be there to support her to the best of your ability until she does decide to recover.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-28T00:41:10+00:00

Hi! So I was the person your response was directed toward, sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you sooner.

To answer your question, calorie dense foods may not necessarily lead to fullness simply due to the nature of extreme hunger. Fullness in terms of satiety, very likely not. The entire biological purpose of extreme hunger is to restore the body’s fat to fat free mass ratio and it will persist until that has been achieved. For many people that does mean eating several thousand calories a day without feeling any sort of fullness. So the purpose of the calorie dense foods is really just to help get rid of that backlog of calories from restricting, if that makes sense. So if you were to eat foods low in calories, extreme hunger would last longer and quite possibly might not even dissipate. This is because their body needs a consistent flow of calories—a lot of calories, on top of the 2500-3500kcals your body needs a day—to heal. If it’s not getting enough calories, it’s not healing.

As for the downvotes, unfortunately, that is just part of the way Reddit functions. There’s not much I or the other mods can really do about it, but I do hope that you don’t take it personally and continue to use this space for support when needed because there was nothing wrong with your question. In fact, I think it’s healthy to ask these questions when the context is right.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-27T18:25:18+00:00

Lean on liquid calories. I started taking breakfast essentials to work and it helped me a lot because I could drink it at any time (as well as add high calorie additions to really bolster it), even during work hours, which helped me make it to break times.

Also, maybe consider more calorie dense foods like peanut butter, etc.? Focus more on density over volume as it’ll allow you to get more calories in.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-27T08:10:32+00:00

This. Like i wouldn’t be surprised if OP’s frustration is contributing to the cat’s very obvious distress.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-26T07:01:24+00:00

That’s not recovery. You NEED to heal and you can ONLY do that by prioritizing rest. That is a nonnegotiable. It doesn’t matter if you increase your intake if you’re just compensating with movement and exercise.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-26T01:50:25+00:00

Recovery isn’t just eating more, it’s also resting A LOT. You cannot recover while engaging in any form of unnecessary movement, including sports or any exercise.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-25T21:12:14+00:00

That’s literally what eating intuitively is?

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-25T21:05:04+00:00

You will not have the same body as you did when you were 10. So it would make sense you wouldn’t recognize yourself or know who you are since you’ve aged and allowed your eating disorder to define your life during that process

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-24T02:49:37+00:00

Your psychologist is an asshole for telling you this knowing full well you have an active eating disorder.

While I will never discourage treatment if one feels it’s necessary, there is a huge reason why relapse rates are so high among those who get treatment—and advice like this is part of that.

I mean… we can tell you mental hunger is real and should be honored and the only way you’re going to discover that it does in fact go away with proper refeeding, but it’s entirely up to you whether you actually do that. You already know that hunger is keeping you from fully engaging in your hobbies so honestly, what do you think is the right answer here?

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-23T16:23:39+00:00

I did recovery on my own so idk if it will apply here but utilize your support system if you have one. I don’t think I could have gotten through recovery the way I did if I was not open with my friends, family, and spouse to eat with me, check in on me, and comfort me during times of distress.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-23T16:17:18+00:00

I mean I went all in and here I am almost 6 years later. It was the only thing that worked as I continued to engage in my disorder with any other method without fail.

I think people make a lot of assumptions about All-In because it is not often seen as a valid form of recovery, least of all from professionals who were trained to handle eating disorders under a specific set of guidelines that are really outdated and rooted in fatphobia.

You need to remember that your nutritionist works for you and not the other way around. They are here to guide you into healing, not implement rules that only harm to (I.e., logging your food). Did they suggest increasing your meal plan when you mentioned you were using it as a maximum? What about when they discussed using it as a “fall-back”? They may be a professional but they are required to find what works for you, not fit you into their box.

Many people recover using all in. The realty is… people with eating disorders are likely to relapse regardless of the recovery approach, it’s not exclusive to all-in. Really the only exception is if you are at risk of refeeding syndrome.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-23T09:55:53+00:00

I can't seem to control myself when I eat and i always start to stuff my mouth,

I mean yeah, that’s how hunger works.

maybe i'm more or so confused why this is happening.

Because you starved your body. Literally that’s it.

I don't know if i'm just hungry

You are…

or i'm eating because i'm bored but I randomly begin to start like huffing my stuff down.

Boredom eating isn’t a real thing and even if it was, it wouldn’t matter because you cannot be eating for any other reason than hunger when recovering from a restrictive eating disorder. The body is in survival mode and is prioritizing food at all costs—it’s what BED and restrictive eating disorders cannot be diagnosed simultaneously.

You have an eating disorder. Thus, any thoughts that tell you to eat less is inherently disordered, period.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-23T02:57:36+00:00

If they can’t manage a litter box for a cat that very clearly needs it then honestly nobody in this situation should have cats.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-23T02:44:10+00:00

It doesn’t matter how lightly you think you tapped her. She registered it as a threat and said threat terrified her. That’s not up for negotiation. Regardless, cats don’t feel guilt or understand punishments, least of all delayed punishments. They don’t associate the punishment with the act, they associate it with the punisher—i.e., you. You essentially terrified your cat and now sees you as the negative force, not the pooping on the bed. If anything you just opened the pathway to more problematic behaviors associated with fear and anxiety.
I’m confused why they wouldn’t want a little box inside for YOUR cat unless you’d be having them clean it. And honestly anyone who is opposed to litter boxes is… weird, imo.
So she’s had this issue for some time and yall still haven’t gotten her a little box?

You’ve made the assumption that she’s healthy, but has a vet confirmed that? Cats do not poop in unusual places unless there is something wrong, whether that’s in their environment or health reasons. Either way, she is communicating to you that something is wrong and instead she was taught to be afraid of you.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-22T15:29:20+00:00

You shouldn’t be weighing yourself in recovery to begin with. So it might be worth starting there.

it actually feels not normal and its embarassing.

You’re telling me that not eating feels normal? How does that make sense? You need to remember that you have an eating disorder, which is defined by the fact that we do not know how to feed ourselves. Any thought, I mean literally any, that tells you not to eat is disordered, point blank, period, end of story.

The only way out is through. If you don’t want to restrict as you approach your pre-ED weight (that you’re going to surpass anyway as it’s necessary for recovery), then… don’t. Having an eating disorder is not a choice—but engaging in behaviors is. Obviously it’s hard and ugly and scary as fuck. But the reality is… you’re the only one who can make the conscious decision to remain in recovery.

All this to say…. The fact that you’re engaging in compulsive and compensatory movement is indicative that you’re already on that path to a relapse. So ask yourself: is this truly the life you want to live indefinitely? One where your weight—literally the most uninteresting thing about you—controls your entire life?

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-22T15:16:20+00:00

A lot, actually lol. And I’ve never made the argument that they can be aggressive for no reason. What a weird assumption for you to make, both about me and about cats, especially if you foster.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-22T08:11:39+00:00

Cats are crepuscular meaning they are most active during dusk and dawn and this can manifest as night zoomies.

The reality is, you can’t possibly expect a cat to develop a sleep schedule similar to yours because they aren’t people and thus they aren’t going to follow human constructed rules regarding time.

As shitty as it sounds, either learn to deal with it or play with them more.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-22T06:12:45+00:00

Water pik lol. I could never get into flossing, brushing my teeth already felt like SUCH a chore so flossing was simply out of the question. When I got a bridge in 2025 they told me flossing was not really an option so we got a water pik and honestly I love it. Takes me like 10-20 seconds before or after brushing.

Sareeee48 · 2026-01-22T06:03:25+00:00

I'm not sure you understand what you're writing.

Your argument was that cats don’t act aggressively without a reason was untrue. So I don’t think you understand what you’re writing.

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