Bulimia

[nkresho]

Does anyone here have experience self-managing bulimia nervosa with GLPs? In a lot of ways it looks like an ideal match. If the drive behind the binge gets silenced, then the urge to purge should disappear too.

I came across a metanalysis on NIH that I found quite interesting.


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Beyond that, there isn't much other information or research available...

Binge eating has been something I've dealt with for as long as I can remember.

I recall being a young kid on christmas mornings, easter mornings (those giant baskets loaded with chocolates and other candies), the day after a big halloween candy haul, where i'd consume enormous amounts of candy and sweets. My household allowed it because it counted as a "special occasion".

As a child I had times when i remember putting away 6 or more donuts, one right after another, and kind of attempting to conceal it from everyone else in the house by eating really fast so no one would catch me. In college i remember finishing an entire hamburger helper box (plus the 1# of ground beef added in) in one sitting without truly feeling full.

Lately, i have been doing keto, shedding a lot of fat by tightly limiting carb intake. Over time the cravings for sweets and carbs faded since it had been so long without them.

Then, i found some new temptations. A company called choczero makes "keto-friendly" sweets. I was rationalizing to myself that i could absolutely eat these and remain within my limits. At first i'd have a couple and be fine. Then it reached the point where i'd consume the entire box in one sitting. Then sit there feeling powerless and totally out of control. Deeply regretful about what i had just done. Those of you who have dealt with bulimia know what usually comes next, and it always did for me. Getting steadily worse over time.

So yeah, started reta yesterday and started reintroducing carbs with the plan that i'd be tracking my macros carefully. I fully intend to but am very hopeful that the binging behavior can be curbed or eliminated by the introduction of the reta.

Has anyone else noticed improvements in binging tendencies using reta or other GLPs?

 

[woundcarping]

Binging and bulimia look connected but they are not the same thing. Binging was my pattern, purging never was.

For portion control, GLPs have been an enormous help in my case.

 

[nkresho]

Sure, binge eating disorder can exist on its own, without bulimia. But the reverse doesn't really hold—bulimia requires the binge.

That out-of-control, compulsive eating is only half of bulimia. Like most people here, I'd guess, it feels like something we can't fight, and it ends up running the show. We consume past what we know is reasonable—past what our rational mind tells us. It might be starting with a serving and finishing the whole tub. Or it might be a food we already knew we shouldn't touch, but the craving wins and we eat it anyway.

What bulimia adds is the guilt that lands afterward, plus the push to purge and "undo" the mistake (having eaten something we knew we shouldn't). It works like a "back" button or an "undo" button.

And mentally, we can talk ourselves through the whole sequence ahead of time. I'm aware I won't be able to resist that treat, but I'm also aware that once I'm finished, I can fix it (and in the end protect my physique) by getting it out of my system.

It gets even murkier because we're only human, and this doesn't mean every meal leads to a binge and purge, or that every bite triggers purging. Only particular circumstances produce that guilt and the urge to purge that follows.

Body image plays a big role as well. Seeing something in the mirror that doesn't match what you want drives you to push harder. When body image is distorted, that only makes it worse.

 

[Elocin]

Eating disorders never really leave you — they're a lifelong companion. Someone can go many years without bingeing or purging, then slip right back into it without much warning. My diagnosis came at 14; I'm 38 now.

In my own case, Tirz has made a difference. That said, I'm also on Vyvanse for ADHD, and it's prescribed for BED as well. Since I began Tirz, I haven't had a single b/p episode.

Researchers are currently looking into whether GLP-1s can help treat addictions. Given that, it stands to reason they'd be useful here too.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Whether GLP medications are a good fit could hinge somewhat on your weight; they may not be the best choice when someone is underweight.

I never pursued an official diagnosis or a dedicated treatment, but I clearly dealt with food addiction and binge eating disorder. What I noticed, particularly once I had lost weight, was that even modest servings of rich, calorie-dense, highly rewarding, or high glycaemic index foods would set off overwhelming hunger roughly 1 or 2 hours afterward. My guess is that this involves sharp rises in blood glucose, the subsequent drops, and some odd brain chemistry that together produce intense hunger. Because it becomes so difficult to stop once that hunger starts, I ended up putting weight back on.

So I devised my own way of eating. It was not keto, but it aimed for the lowest glycaemic index possible, protein making up 40-50% of calories, very little fat to keep calories down, and low calorie density, ideally 1 kcal per gram of food, so I could eat decent amounts and still blunt hunger. I also cut out all highly rewarding, high calorie foods completely. That took me from 145kg down by about 70kg. Holding onto that loss was hard, and I felt hungry much of the time, yet I kept away from high calorie foods entirely and stayed at that weight for a year. The upside was that avoiding those foods stopped the episodes of extreme, uncontrollable hunger.

Next I spent a year on ozempic, which dulled hunger somewhat but left me nauseated. Then I moved to tirzepatide, later adding reta and eventually cagri, and 3 1/2 years on I am down to 64kg. Throughout, I have more or less continued to completely avoid any foods that could set off extreme hunger, treating them as too addictive for me to eat in sensible portions without losing control.

I share the view that research into GLP medications and binge eating disorder looks encouraging. I have not come across much on bulmia, though some of the same problems apply. I also suspect it does not help that the professionals who mostly handle eating disorders lean heavily toward cognitive behavioural management and tend to oppose medical treatments, which I believe makes them overlook how useful these drugs might be (I have nothing against cognitive behavioural therapies in general).

Provided you are not underweight, trying tirzepatide to see whether it helps with hunger and binging is not really a difficult experiment. In my case it cuts down how much I think about food, lowers cravings for high calorie foods, lets smaller portions make me feel full, and makes keeping the weight off far easier. The strict high calorie food restriction is certainly not for everyone; it seems to work for me, but it is limiting, awkward for social eating, and demands a kind of extreme discipline to sustain long term, even though its whole point is to prevent loss of control.

 

[NagChamp]

I get exactly where you're coming from. For a huge chunk of my life — literally half of it — I struggled with bulimia. In the end I went through outpatient care and reached a point people would call 'recovered', meaning binges and purges became very uncommon for me. The catch was that the food noise never went away, and honestly it has dictated how I live ever since, despite the fact that I could usually cope with it and keep my weight in a healthy range.

One of the main reasons I'm on Tirz right now is to get that food noise under control, because having a voice in my head that talks about food nonstop was draining. I've just finished week 4 of Tirz, and the food noise has quieted down (today it's slightly louder than normal though — could be hormones).

So far this has changed everything for me, and I've experienced a kind of freedom I can't recall ever feeling before. I picked Tirz instead of Reta specifically because of how it handles food noise suppression, even though I train regularly and Reta appears to be the GLP that weightlifters tend to favor.

Wishing you the best! I hope you get to feel that same freedom!

 

[Elocin]

NagChamp said:

I get exactly where you're coming from. For a huge chunk of my life — literally half of it — I struggled with bulimia. In the end I went through outpatient care and reached a point people would call 'recovered', meaning binges and purges became very uncommon for me. The catch was that the food noise never went away, and honestly it has dictated how I live ever since, despite the fact that I could usually cope with it and keep my weight in a healthy range.

One of the main reasons I'm on Tirz right now is to get that food noise under control, because having a voice in my head that talks about food nonstop was draining. I've just finished week 4 of Tirz, and the food noise has quieted down (today it's slightly louder than normal though — could be hormones).

So far this has changed everything for me, and I've experienced a kind of freedom I can't recall ever feeling before. I picked Tirz instead of Reta specifically because of how it handles food noise suppression, even though I train regularly and Reta appears to be the GLP that weightlifters tend to favor.

Wishing you the best! I hope you get to feel that same freedom!

Exactly this. It captures what I went through to a T.

lessthanhalf said:

Whether GLP medications are a good fit could hinge somewhat on your weight; they may not be the best choice when someone is underweight.

I never pursued an official diagnosis or a dedicated treatment, but I clearly dealt with food addiction and binge eating disorder. What I noticed, particularly once I had lost weight, was that even modest servings of rich, calorie-dense, highly rewarding, or high glycaemic index foods would set off overwhelming hunger roughly 1 or 2 hours afterward. My guess is that this involves sharp rises in blood glucose, the subsequent drops, and some odd brain chemistry that together produce intense hunger. Because it becomes so difficult to stop once that hunger starts, I ended up putting weight back on.

So I devised my own way of eating. It was not keto, but it aimed for the lowest glycaemic index possible, protein making up 40-50% of calories, very little fat to keep calories down, and low calorie density, ideally 1 kcal per gram of food, so I could eat decent amounts and still blunt hunger. I also cut out all highly rewarding, high calorie foods completely. That took me from 145kg down by about 70kg. Holding onto that loss was hard, and I felt hungry much of the time, yet I kept away from high calorie foods entirely and stayed at that weight for a year. The upside was that avoiding those foods stopped the episodes of extreme, uncontrollable hunger.

Next I spent a year on ozempic, which dulled hunger somewhat but left me nauseated. Then I moved to tirzepatide, later adding reta and eventually cagri, and 3 1/2 years on I am down to 64kg. Throughout, I have more or less continued to completely avoid any foods that could set off extreme hunger, treating them as too addictive for me to eat in sensible portions without losing control.

I share the view that research into GLP medications and binge eating disorder looks encouraging. I have not come across much on bulmia, though some of the same problems apply. I also suspect it does not help that the professionals who mostly handle eating disorders lean heavily toward cognitive behavioural management and tend to oppose medical treatments, which I believe makes them overlook how useful these drugs might be (I have nothing against cognitive behavioural therapies in general).

Provided you are not underweight, trying tirzepatide to see whether it helps with hunger and binging is not really a difficult experiment. In my case it cuts down how much I think about food, lowers cravings for high calorie foods, lets smaller portions make me feel full, and makes keeping the weight off far easier. The strict high calorie food restriction is certainly not for everyone; it seems to work for me, but it is limiting, awkward for social eating, and demands a kind of extreme discipline to sustain long term, even though its whole point is to prevent loss of control.

This point matters a great deal. They can certainly serve as a useful tool, but the effect can cut both ways. In my view, reaching a stable place in recovery should come first, and only then should someone consider adding them in.

 

[tubby]

It's also worth keeping in mind that almost every "disorder" has a combination of intricate and diverse causes and pathways that differ between individuals, ultimately producing the same outcome. I mean, clearly bulimia won't occur absent the binging behavior, but regarding the binging behavior itself, my suspicion is that's where pathways might differ somewhat between people. A lot of people mention a significant decrease in "food noise" and addictive behaviors overall, which theoretically sounds perfect for that kind of issue, but who knows.

I'd be quite astonished if no bulimics achieved resolution via GLP use, and I'd equally be astonished if every bulimic achieved resolution via GLP use. So for you (as an individual), I suspect the most useful answer is to think about trying one to see if it's personally helpful for you.

One aspect I might emphasize a bit more is selecting one according to your weight. If you're currently skinny, I probably wouldn't choose the one with the highest average weight loss results to start with. Also keep in mind that when you see average figures like 20% or 30%, that's usually an average result at the highest dosing of a specific drug, and there's no reason to believe you'd need to increase to a higher dose if it's only the psychological benefits you're truly seeking.

 

[JourneyToPerfection]

I understand where you're coming from. For more than 20 years, my patterns swung between anorexia nervosa and bingeing (I have no gag reflex at all, so purging was never something I did).

I'd consume food continuously, sometimes reaching a point where I'd accidentally vomit, and then I'd keep eating anyway. Once it began, I had no ability to stop—it was compulsive.

It turned out that undiagnosed ADHD was behind most of it; my brain doesn't regulate properly, so I was chasing dopamine. After I started adhd medication and got on a steady routine, the compulsion to binge essentially disappeared. 5 years have passed, and during a depressive episode I might have had 1 partial binge, but it was nothing like before.

There have still been stretches where my mental health fell apart and I starved myself. I work with a therapist and have a management plan set up with my best friend (who is a psychologist too) to support me when it resurfaces.

But the urge to binge is gone now.

 

[tubby]

lessthanhalf said:

Whether GLP medications are a good fit could hinge somewhat on your weight; they may not be the best choice when someone is underweight.

I never pursued an official diagnosis or a dedicated treatment, but I clearly dealt with food addiction and binge eating disorder. What I noticed, particularly once I had lost weight, was that even modest servings of rich, calorie-dense, highly rewarding, or high glycaemic index foods would set off overwhelming hunger roughly 1 or 2 hours afterward. My guess is that this involves sharp rises in blood glucose, the subsequent drops, and some odd brain chemistry that together produce intense hunger. Because it becomes so difficult to stop once that hunger starts, I ended up putting weight back on.

So I devised my own way of eating. It was not keto, but it aimed for the lowest glycaemic index possible, protein making up 40-50% of calories, very little fat to keep calories down, and low calorie density, ideally 1 kcal per gram of food, so I could eat decent amounts and still blunt hunger. I also cut out all highly rewarding, high calorie foods completely. That took me from 145kg down by about 70kg. Holding onto that loss was hard, and I felt hungry much of the time, yet I kept away from high calorie foods entirely and stayed at that weight for a year. The upside was that avoiding those foods stopped the episodes of extreme, uncontrollable hunger.

Next I spent a year on ozempic, which dulled hunger somewhat but left me nauseated. Then I moved to tirzepatide, later adding reta and eventually cagri, and 3 1/2 years on I am down to 64kg. Throughout, I have more or less continued to completely avoid any foods that could set off extreme hunger, treating them as too addictive for me to eat in sensible portions without losing control.

I share the view that research into GLP medications and binge eating disorder looks encouraging. I have not come across much on bulmia, though some of the same problems apply. I also suspect it does not help that the professionals who mostly handle eating disorders lean heavily toward cognitive behavioural management and tend to oppose medical treatments, which I believe makes them overlook how useful these drugs might be (I have nothing against cognitive behavioural therapies in general).

Provided you are not underweight, trying tirzepatide to see whether it helps with hunger and binging is not really a difficult experiment. In my case it cuts down how much I think about food, lowers cravings for high calorie foods, lets smaller portions make me feel full, and makes keeping the weight off far easier. The strict high calorie food restriction is certainly not for everyone; it seems to work for me, but it is limiting, awkward for social eating, and demands a kind of extreme discipline to sustain long term, even though its whole point is to prevent loss of control.

I used to think the same thing, and it's basically the angle a keto diet gets marketed from. But something caught me off guard: I spent a couple of months testing a diet built around a lot of starch, with protein and fat both kept very low, and I was convinced I'd tumble straight back into that same cycle. It never happened, which genuinely shocked me.

During that stretch I ate only potatoes. Coming off low-carb, that sounded incredible. My guess is that a big part of why it worked out is that the trial was almost entirely plain potatoes, aside from a little salt, something tomato-based such as salsa, and a very small amount of olive oil to coat them. The first few bites are extremely appealing, yet somewhere around the 4th or 5th potato, they somehow stop being so appealing.

What I took from that is that for me, a high glycemic load by itself might have been required, but it wasn't enough on its own to set off the blood sugar roller coaster unless some other piece of the ultra-palatable quality of highly processed food was also present. With processed foods I'd have gotten hangry 3-4 hours later and started wanting the next meal. With fairly plain potatoes, that simply didn't occur.

I'm not out here promoting that way of eating. I did drop some weight on it, and to my surprise I neither felt terrible nor lost any strength at the gym. And of course, all of this was before GLP.

 

[nkresho]

It will definitely differ widely from one person with the disorder to another.

In my case, it only truly started showing up once I got close to — or actually hit — my goal weight, which happened fairly recently. By then it was more about protecting everything I had already worked so hard for.

I liked the way I looked, and I wasn't really pushing hard toward a lower number or some particular reflection. I want to believe it wasn't body dysmorphia, since my sense of how I actually look feels fairly accurate. Others have backed that up too, so I don't doubt my perception much on that front.

I would see — or start thinking about — whatever food my brain was craving for a binge. Usually sweets. Then I'd rationally tell myself I could eat it, but that meant I couldn't "keep it down." So purging would have to follow.

It's a very odd thing to try to put into words... Even as I type this, it strikes me as strange.

 

[tubby]

nkresho said:

It will definitely differ widely from one person with the disorder to another.

In my case, it only truly started showing up once I got close to — or actually hit — my goal weight, which happened fairly recently. By then it was more about protecting everything I had already worked so hard for.

I liked the way I looked, and I wasn't really pushing hard toward a lower number or some particular reflection. I want to believe it wasn't body dysmorphia, since my sense of how I actually look feels fairly accurate. Others have backed that up too, so I don't doubt my perception much on that front.

I would see — or start thinking about — whatever food my brain was craving for a binge. Usually sweets. Then I'd rationally tell myself I could eat it, but that meant I couldn't "keep it down." So purging would have to follow.

It's a very odd thing to try to put into words... Even as I type this, it strikes me as strange.

One more thing worth noting: a low-dose GLP doesn't automatically mean you'll drop weight. How often someone carries out bulimic behavior obviously factors into where their weight ends up settling. It's quite plausible that if you weren't doing it, you'd be putting on weight instead. A GLP would probably counteract that increase. And if a GLP did let you stop the bulimic behavior, the time previously spent on it becomes available for an ordinary meal.

So for you, it's arguable that a GLP could result in either weight gain or weight loss, depending on the dose. At a substantial dose, weight loss would be the expected outcome; at a low dose, it's much less clear.

 

[nkresho]

What I'm really hoping the GLP will do for me is cut down on or stop the binge episodes altogether. If it can do that, it would make a big difference in heading off the shame and guilt that usually come afterward. As I see it, weight loss is far less important in this picture.

What I'm after is being able to walk away from a food after a few bites or a sensible "serving," instead of finishing the entire container. My rational mind already knows the right answer — the exact amount that fits my macros, whether that's 1 cookie, 1 handful, or 1 serving size — but sometimes the compulsion just takes over, pushed by an overwhelming, intense urge to devour everything. I end up feeling a bit like Gollum with that ring. My "precious sweets"! I'll turn away from anyone watching, hunch over the container so no one can see me finish it, barely chewing and going as fast as I can. It doesn't actually satisfy me; it only satisfies the inner "Gollum" that insists I feed it.

From experience, I've come to expect that the "Gollum" will take over, so I plan around it — let him eat the whole container, knowing full well I'll have to "address it" afterward. Then I purge and feel better, truly better, that I didn't really eat the entire package. I just got the urge out of my system.

I'm sorry to anyone raising an eyebrow who doesn't catch my nerdy LOTR references.

 

[tubby]

nkresho said:

What I'm really hoping the GLP will do for me is cut down on or stop the binge episodes altogether. If it can do that, it would make a big difference in heading off the shame and guilt that usually come afterward. As I see it, weight loss is far less important in this picture.

What I'm after is being able to walk away from a food after a few bites or a sensible "serving," instead of finishing the entire container. My rational mind already knows the right answer — the exact amount that fits my macros, whether that's 1 cookie, 1 handful, or 1 serving size — but sometimes the compulsion just takes over, pushed by an overwhelming, intense urge to devour everything. I end up feeling a bit like Gollum with that ring. My "precious sweets"! I'll turn away from anyone watching, hunch over the container so no one can see me finish it, barely chewing and going as fast as I can. It doesn't actually satisfy me; it only satisfies the inner "Gollum" that insists I feed it.

From experience, I've come to expect that the "Gollum" will take over, so I plan around it — let him eat the whole container, knowing full well I'll have to "address it" afterward. Then I purge and feel better, truly better, that I didn't really eat the entire package. I just got the urge out of my system.

I'm sorry to anyone raising an eyebrow who doesn't catch my nerdy LOTR references.

Should you decide to experiment with GLPs, I'd really appreciate it if you'd come back to this thread and share how it goes for you. It's always enjoyable to find out whether the outcome matches what someone anticipated, or whether something surprising pops up. My guess is that your perspective could make for a particularly compelling read, given how much effort you seem to have put into reflecting on and dissecting the underlying nature of what you're up against.

 

[dancs]

Hey — I hit "like" on every post in here, but honestly I skipped reading them. The OP's message was the only one I went through.

So if anything I'm about to say has already been covered by someone else, my bad.

I had a full essay drafted, and then I scrapped the entire thing, dammit..

Anyway, stacking reta with tirz is going to give you a huge amount of help — that is, assuming you aren't at a normal weight.

Here's the list of things I'd tell you to look into;

Tirzepatide

Retatrutide

Mazdutide

Survodutide

Cagrilintide

Eloralintide

Tesofensine

And for support, these peps;

5-Amino 1mq (go with the oral version if you can.)

MOTS-c (if your body condition has been shit lately, SS-31 has to come first for 4 weeks)

AOD-9604 (1 semi major study came back showing only minimal results BUT a few things were left out of that study, which weakens how credible it is. Plenty of anecdotal reports claim AOD does make a difference.)

 

[Moonshine72]

nkresho said:

Does anyone here have experience self-managing bulimia nervosa with GLPs? In a lot of ways it looks like an ideal match. If the drive behind the binge gets silenced, then the urge to purge should disappear too.

I came across a metanalysis on NIH that I found quite interesting.


Checking your browser - reCAPTCHA


Beyond that, there isn't much other information or research available...

Binge eating has been something I've dealt with for as long as I can remember.

I recall being a young kid on christmas mornings, easter mornings (those giant baskets loaded with chocolates and other candies), the day after a big halloween candy haul, where i'd consume enormous amounts of candy and sweets. My household allowed it because it counted as a "special occasion".

As a child I had times when i remember putting away 6 or more donuts, one right after another, and kind of attempting to conceal it from everyone else in the house by eating really fast so no one would catch me. In college i remember finishing an entire hamburger helper box (plus the 1# of ground beef added in) in one sitting without truly feeling full.

Lately, i have been doing keto, shedding a lot of fat by tightly limiting carb intake. Over time the cravings for sweets and carbs faded since it had been so long without them.

Then, i found some new temptations. A company called choczero makes "keto-friendly" sweets. I was rationalizing to myself that i could absolutely eat these and remain within my limits. At first i'd have a couple and be fine. Then it reached the point where i'd consume the entire box in one sitting. Then sit there feeling powerless and totally out of control. Deeply regretful about what i had just done. Those of you who have dealt with bulimia know what usually comes next, and it always did for me. Getting steadily worse over time.

So yeah, started reta yesterday and started reintroducing carbs with the plan that i'd be tracking my macros carefully. I fully intend to but am very hopeful that the binging behavior can be curbed or eliminated by the introduction of the reta.

Has anyone else noticed improvements in binging tendencies using reta or other GLPs?

I get what you're saying. As soon as winter arrives, I go into hibernation mode and eat a lot of carbs plus some junk food. What I put on during winter, I tend to shed roughly 80% when the weather warms up. I want to get back into skiing, because that would help me avoid falling into that seasonal depression loop.

 

[Don]

Honestly, for someone trying to develop a better long-term relationship with food, I don't believe a strict keto diet is the ideal route. From my perspective, slashing carbs too aggressively can backfire by intensifying sugar cravings, since those items turn into "forbidden" foods that are tougher to keep in check.

When carbs are part of a balanced way of eating, it tends to be simpler to create healthier versions of what you're craving without feeling totally deprived. Take desserts you spot online or a sweet tooth moment: you can whip up improved alternatives using things like bananas, cocoa powder, eggs, protein powder, or milk. On keto, the choices shrink a lot, and a lot of people wind up leaning on "keto sweets" that can still set off bingeing.

As for how I eat now, I schedule the bulk of my carbs around training and treat them mainly as fuel. Even when I'm staying lean, I can have something like sugary cereal before a session because I know that energy will get burned during a hard workout. Once training is done, though, I go with better carb sources such as rice or potatoes.

I'm not claiming carbs on their own fix binge eating, but I do believe that going to extremes with restriction can worsen food obsession for certain people. A more adaptable and lasting strategy could be more beneficial over time. I'm also someone who deals with large portions and a preference for sweets like Ice Cream, Cakes, Chocolate, bakery etc., so keto didn't work for me based on my experience, nor for the people I "coached" around me.

 

[tubby]

dondada109 said:

Honestly, for someone trying to develop a better long-term relationship with food, I don't believe a strict keto diet is the ideal route. From my perspective, slashing carbs too aggressively can backfire by intensifying sugar cravings, since those items turn into "forbidden" foods that are tougher to keep in check.

When carbs are part of a balanced way of eating, it tends to be simpler to create healthier versions of what you're craving without feeling totally deprived. Take desserts you spot online or a sweet tooth moment: you can whip up improved alternatives using things like bananas, cocoa powder, eggs, protein powder, or milk. On keto, the choices shrink a lot, and a lot of people wind up leaning on "keto sweets" that can still set off bingeing.

As for how I eat now, I schedule the bulk of my carbs around training and treat them mainly as fuel. Even when I'm staying lean, I can have something like sugary cereal before a session because I know that energy will get burned during a hard workout. Once training is done, though, I go with better carb sources such as rice or potatoes.

I'm not claiming carbs on their own fix binge eating, but I do believe that going to extremes with restriction can worsen food obsession for certain people. A more adaptable and lasting strategy could be more beneficial over time. I'm also someone who deals with large portions and a preference for sweets like Ice Cream, Cakes, Chocolate, bakery etc., so keto didn't work for me based on my experience, nor for the people I "coached" around me.

This can go either direction. A certain amount of "bad" foods works fine for certain individuals, who then treat themselves within reasonable limits. For others, the moment they come into contact with the problematic item — be it a food, alcohol, or another substance — stopping becomes impossible and they consume it excessively. It differs a lot depending on the individual.

 

[Don]

tubby said:

dondada109 said:

Honestly, for someone trying to develop a better long-term relationship with food, I don't believe a strict keto diet is the ideal route. From my perspective, slashing carbs too aggressively can backfire by intensifying sugar cravings, since those items turn into "forbidden" foods that are tougher to keep in check.

When carbs are part of a balanced way of eating, it tends to be simpler to create healthier versions of what you're craving without feeling totally deprived. Take desserts you spot online or a sweet tooth moment: you can whip up improved alternatives using things like bananas, cocoa powder, eggs, protein powder, or milk. On keto, the choices shrink a lot, and a lot of people wind up leaning on "keto sweets" that can still set off bingeing.

As for how I eat now, I schedule the bulk of my carbs around training and treat them mainly as fuel. Even when I'm staying lean, I can have something like sugary cereal before a session because I know that energy will get burned during a hard workout. Once training is done, though, I go with better carb sources such as rice or potatoes.

I'm not claiming carbs on their own fix binge eating, but I do believe that going to extremes with restriction can worsen food obsession for certain people. A more adaptable and lasting strategy could be more beneficial over time. I'm also someone who deals with large portions and a preference for sweets like Ice Cream, Cakes, Chocolate, bakery etc., so keto didn't work for me based on my experience, nor for the people I "coached" around me.

This can go either direction. A certain amount of "bad" foods works fine for certain individuals, who then treat themselves within reasonable limits. For others, the moment they come into contact with the problematic item — be it a food, alcohol, or another substance — stopping becomes impossible and they consume it excessively. It differs a lot depending on the individual.

Naturally. He said he has trouble with those binge episodes, so I shared what I've seen myself and from others around me, particularly for that situation. When binge episodes aren't a problem and smaller amounts feel satisfying, pretty much any diet approach can work.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I don't believe every carb affects appetite or hunger the same way. Potatoes get labeled as high glycaemic index, yes, but they also carry very little energy per unit weight — especially the low carb varieties, which sit around 50 kcal/ 100 grams. That makes it genuinely difficult to pack away a huge calorie load from them. Consider that half a kilo of potatoes amounts to just 250 kcal, provided no oil or fat is added. By contrast, 3 slices of bread delivering a comparable carb calorie count go down far more easily and quickly, and they don't leave you as full. To avoid losing weight on potatoes alone you'd have to consume roughly 2 kilos daily, which is a substantial amount and likely beyond what most people could comfortably manage. With bread, on the other hand, it would be very easy to eat enough to gain weight even if it did not include butter or margarine . And based on what I've experienced, plus some experimental confirmation of this, low glycaemic index carbs by definition cause lower glucose peaks, but also cause far less in the way of sudden dips in glucose afterwards, which is presumably the trigger for hunger, or binge eating episodes. I also suspect that the low calorie density of potatoes blunts how much glucose spikes and then dips, even with a fairly high glycaemic index, simply because volume limits how many calories you take in at one sitting.

When it comes to binge eating and bulmia, I can see GLP's helping through several distinct routes. The early satiating effect would presumably reduce the inclination to keep eating after a certain point. The reduction in food noise would reduce general thinking about food as much and lead to less episodes. And the overall reduction in hunger would reduce the basic drive to eat. As well as the alterations in reward circuitry functions, that are thought to reduce many different types of addictive behaviour would help as well. There is no obvious reason they would help with the purging aspects, except by reducing the binging so it is no longer needed.