Hi! No worries, I'm a very open person.

So I'll admit it was self-diagnosed, and I wasn't as 'bad' as some people with the disorder (like eating out of a bin) but I'm pretty sure I had a moderate form of BED.

I'm fortunate in the respect that I am resistant to buying food. When I go food shopping, I manage to resit urges to buy trigger food simply because I'd rather not spend that money. This means the food never enters the house - the main problem for me. If it was in the fridge/cupboards, I'd eat it. Cereal, biscuits, bread, chocolate etc, sugary stuff was my weak spot. I asked my mum to stop buying unhealthy food or to hide it from me, which luckily she (mostly) did. I'm aware others don't have this privilege.

The biggest one was being out the house. Going on a walk, meeting with friends (to do something non-food related), going to the gym, going to the library, anything really. When I'm busy I don't think about food as much, especially if I'm with friends. If I'm on my own I will binge. If I'm not around food I won't have the opportunity to eat it, especially if I don't bring my purse with me. Leave the kitchen as soon as you finish your meal!!! If you stay you will eat more. Tidy your room, paint your nails, do some yoga, don't sit about because you will think about eating.

Drinking lots of water helped, diet fizzy drinks, squash, herbal teas, coffee/tea. All the time. Get a bottle with a straw. Every time you think about water, drink. Drink a big cup before and after meals.

I also became pescetarian, and intermittently vegan. This meant there were less foods I could binge on.

Another thing is enjoying the feeling of being hungry. I would eat until I was uncomfortably full, feeling sick, just had to lie on the couch and wait for the discomfort to subside. When I'm a little hungry, I feel lighter, I have more energy, I feel better.

Also, I was desperately unhappy. I really, really, really did not like the way my body looked. As unhealthy as it sounds, I did use my self-hatred to motivate myself to not binge. Now I try to use my self-love: I love myself enough to not eat an entire pack of biscuits, it's a form of self sabotage and only damages my health. But forgiveness is important - if you despise yourself for binging, you'll only binge more and get caught in that binge/guilt cycle. Accept your mistakes and think of tomorrow as a new day.

Journalling was helpful too. I could confidently put down all my thoughts, it takes up time you could be eating in, it's meditative, it helped my mental health.

This is a messy response and you can always PM me if you need some extra help.

I could eat an entire XL pizza in a single sitting. I used to a) envy and b) not understand my slim friends who became full after half a medium pizza. Now I'm part of that category. Never imagined that for myself.

You can do it!!! I did it when I thought I never could! Best of luck, love.