Originally Posted by WereBear

You've lost your coping strategy. Which is fine... it was going to kill you after torturing you for years, right? So... you need more and better ones.

I completely believe in food addiction and the effect of carbs on the brain. It's easy and cheap but you "dig your grave with a spoon." And I used to binge. The key to recovery is to realize it has both an emotional, and a physical, component. You have to address both.

Emotional:

• "I get bored" is an excuse. What did you eat in your old life? I bet it was round after round of the same five or so things. Bingers have their favorites. Foods and combinations that work in the short term. So "bored" is trying to con yourself. It is food. Not drugs. That is why you feel bored. You aren't getting a drug jolt from what you eat.
• You are eating your feelings. You aren't going to get picked up by the police for driving while eating that sack of fast food, but you are using a drug all the same. Instead of actually grappling with certain things in your life, you are just falling face first into the cheap drug. Start addressing the reasons you want to binge, and revel in the thrill of getting these burdens off your psyche.
• You have lost your "central purpose." Let's face it, eating this way simplifies a lot of things. Not clothes or self-esteem, but the whole structure of what do you do/how do we have fun/what is there to look forward to/how do I reward myself/how do I soothe myself/how do I compensate for feeling awful? You need new ways of handling all those things. Fun ways. Ways that work so much better.
• Are you feeling "peer pressure"? Some people, whether they know it consciously or not, feel oppressed by the lack of available food, going out to restaurants, and the constant reminders that a sugar fix is minutes and dollars away and everyone else is enjoying it. If that is the case, you need to work on your priorities. For me, deciding that "I don't eat that anymore" removes the decision process. It is the decision that makes you feel bad and worried that you are missing something.

Physical:

• You have been starved of nutrients. Carbs not only have few nutrients, they drain your body of your mineral and vitamin stores. Supplement to feel better. I use chromium picolinate to fight cravings and niacin to relieve my anxiety.
• The sugar roller coaster keeps you unsatisfied. I love focusing on the fact that after my meal, I am actually satiated. I spent years hungry. Now, the freedom from the constant screaming hunger is more soothing than stuffing junk food ever was.
• Outwit the "ease of use." Make once, eat many times. It's fun to put some songs on, make a big batch of something, and make your own frozen meals. Find a convenience store staple like hard-boiled eggs and dill pickles to have a little treat sometime. I love those Italian cold cuts rolled around mozzarella.
• Expand your time frame. You cheat when you focus on that first bite. And stop. Push yourself to remember afterward; the overstuffed feeling, the nasty hunger that won't go away, the shame, the misery later.

I love Dr. Fung's book The Obesity Code, and he has a podcast of the same name. Lots of great ideas there about resetting your body.

It is more than just eating low carb. It's revamping your whole life. But isn't that what you want?