I think life can so easily get in the way, the fact you lost weight in the past is something to hold on to, it shows you can do it, plus you haven't gone back up to your start weight so that is a positive in itself. I have done almost every diet and lost weight and gained weight each time, I think personally for me the trouble was I put myself on a diet which by nature feels restrictive and almost like punishment for my unhealthy ways. I now truly believe that as a binge eater myself diets do not work long term as such, you need a change in lifestyle, rather than another quick fix type diet.
The key for me is tackling the weight through numerous paths, so food wise, I am doing healthy eating / calorie counting but I am not being too restrictive yet I am sticking to my daily limit based on my weight and calorie needs, the food I am eating is far healthier and more filling and I am enjoying it. I also don't bring my trigger foods into the house, so basically anything that I would eat that would trigger a binge is not allowed into my house, yet my house is full of food just not binge foods, that said I do always allow myself a nice treat usually in the form of a meal out with family or friends at the most once a week or usually once a fortnight as it rewards me and allows me for that one night to have my treat foods but in a situation where I will not go anywhere near as over the top as I would if at home alone with them!
Exercise is the next thing, we always need to move more if possible but its not got to be the gym it can be anything, if you like a gym environment that is great but there are many other options, for me its daily dog walks, I push myself on them each week to do more and more and it works, it can be anything that gets you moving more, cleaning the house counts, doing the garden, I don't know whatever you can do that gets you moving.
Thirdly and most importantly in my opinion is mind set, we need to always work on our mind set, its a daily task we should put time aside to work on, we need to develop ways of dealing with life stresses or just normal emotions without the use of food as a binge eater this is not easy but can be done with practice. I find personally using say upbeat music, watching a funny film, getting out for a walk, having a nice relaxing shower / bath, a lovely hot cup of tea, hot chocolate etc etc just anything to change our mood from a more negative one to a happier one makes us less likely to say allow our low mood to lead to a binge. Of course many of us eat when we are happy etc as well but in my experience I eat far more when upset or angry so either facing why I am upset or angry or looking at ways of changing those feelings without the use of food helps me to keep on track. It could be useful looking into mindfulness etc as that can really help. I am doing DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) for my binge eating and the techniques I am learning in therapy is helping so much.
To a certain extent we all have to find our own way, what works for one will not def work for another person, my personal belief is healthy / sensible food plan plus more exercise plus work on mind set is the best way as its not about punishment as far too many diets can leave you feeling punished or hard done by and that is not what I believe it should be like. Em xx
