Hi Peggy,
I binge eat too. I think about food every few minutes. Part of it is seeking comfort, part for distraction from things I don’t want to deal with, part carb driven hunger, part the lovely sensory experience of those textures and tastes, and part is a side effect of my medication, and some is probably just a deeply ingrained habit! Plus I enjoy the creative part of baking and the satisfaction of doing it well, and only have two people to feed with it all.
With all that pushing me to eat, I found the restriction of the 5:2 “starve” days made me very aware of the many, many times each day I felt driven to eat, and this awareness helps, because, the drive isn’t from hunger. It is a very strong “I want” that having strict restrictions means you learn to deal with.
I can’t ignore it, but I have learned I do not need to satisfy it. I learned I can get through a day of it, and feel fine.
You will learn this too. Find distractions. Find things to do that don’t involve food. Eat slowly and savour what you can eat. Tell yourself that was the food you needed, and find something else that fulfils the other hunger. Find lots of other things to do, so you don’t get bored with one. Do you have anything you wished you could do? Sign up for a course in it. Read a book, go for a walk, pull out weeds, dust the top shelves. Anything but eating.
You can do it.
For me awareness was the key.
One minute at a time. One hour at a time. One day at a time.
I have lost 24.5 kg.It has taken me a long time, and has had quite a few long plateaus, but it is still happening. 18.5 kg more to go.