I recently heard someone say:

"I  plan on making the most out of tomorrow’s holiday.
Even if that means I'll be shoveling plain sugar into my mouth
and eating until I vomit."  

The above-quote is a good description of binge behavior.

Some people are only joking when they say that they are going to eat sugar until they vomit or feel like it. This may only mean they will actually have a few pieces of candy and/or cookies which will seem like a lot to them. 

But, some literally do Binge on a regular basis, and this means they  actually do eat a large amount, such as one or more family size bags of candy/and or cookies and these people...despite a great deal and time and effort.... are not able to overcome this "addiction-like behavior".

People are mentally and physically different. One-size-does-not-fit-all.

I think there can be no doubt that Taubes, author of  Why We Get Fat is correct when he says that sugar is a special kind of food,  because it seems to "hijack" the brain.

Sugar seems to be an issue with almost everyone, however the definition of "bingeing" seems to differ between individuals.
For some, "bingeing" means "giving in" to a piece or two of cake
and for others it means eating the entire cake."
Most people equate "bingeing" with "Emotional Eating",  but perhaps Taubes is correct when he says that this isn't merely a mental or behavioral issue. 

Maybe there's actually a large physiological issue ... maybe our respective bodies are different in more ways than size.

Some of us seem to be more sensitive to carbohydrates than others. There are some people for whom even "healthy" complex carbohydrates ... such as baked potatoes and whole kernal corn... can trigger binge behavior. 

 

Personal Diet Modifications have their place,
but making any Food Plan into a Habit,
requires Consistency and Patience.

It is impossible to successfully make a Food Plan into a Habit,
if one changes the Plan every time one fails to meet its Guidelines.
No one is successful all of the time.

 To build a successful eating Habit it is necessary to:

Recognize a failure,
Accept that failure,
Resolve to reduce future failures,
Continue working to follow that Food Plan.

We have to overcome obstacles one at a time
Goals don't come easily,
but there is no accomplishment without work,
and no "win" without something to beat.

It's natural to get discouraged when roadblocks appear.
We invest time and emotion into creating the perfect plan,
and then something comes along and screws it up.

  Sometimes all we have to do
is to get back up and move forward again.
Obstacles are like that Wizard behind the curtain—
--once we see them up close they are much less intimidating.

Next time we take a step backwards,
let's not pile up guilt.
All we have to do is take two steps forward
and we'll still be further along than we were before.

It doesn't matter how many obstacles we face.
We only have to beat the most recent one.

Nobody’s Perfect.
I’ve spent much of my life trying to fix my various flaws.

One of my life’s dynamics has been thinking
that if I could fix everything that’s wrong with me
it would make everything else around me okay too.

Finally, insight came that instead of focusing on fixing my flaws,
I need to Accept them…even love them.

For a long time, I thought that if I Accepted the things I felt were wrong with me,
I’d never be able to change them.
But really, love is what leads to real healing and transformation,
and ultimately it is the only thing that can actually create changes in us

 In truth, all of what each of us perceives as personal “flaws”
is a subjective value judgment, based on our own interpretations
our own perspectives.

We can obsess about certain aspects of our bodies:
on our appearance; on our personalities; on our lives or work circumstances,
and judge them to be “bad” or “flawed”.

But in truth,
they are what they are.
We are the ones who place the “bad” meaning or interpretation on them.
It is very human to experience a sense of feeling flawed
in certain aspects of our lives and at particular times in life.
There's nothing wrong with us for feeling that way.

However, feeling flawed can rob us of our energy,
our passion, our happiness, our confidence and our lives.

It's one of the most painful ways we can allow our egos to run us,
and it can have devastating consequences if we aren’t conscious of it.

Here are some ideas about how to move from feeling flawed
to a place of acceptance, peace and love.

Acknowledge what's true for you, personally. The first step is telling the truth.
Trying to avoid, run from or pretend our flaws don’t exist doesn’t work..
Admit and express the underlying emotions. If we can identify,
acknowledge and ultimately express the true emotions we feel about
these perceived flaws, we can create a real sense of freedom for ourselves.

Forgive ourselves. Self-forgiveness is something that some people
don't have much experience with. Many of us have been trained
to be hard on ourselves, and to believe that forgiveness must come
from someone or something outside of us.
However when we are able to forgive ourselves,
we create the space for real change and healing to take place.

Appreciate. To appreciate means to recognize the value of something.
Sometimes dealing with our personal flaws teaches us a great deal about ourselves.
When we learn to appreciate and be grateful for what our difficulties have taught us,
we can move away from self-pity,
because It's impossible to experience gratitude and victimhood simultaneously.

Love. The ultimate antidote for all suffering is love.
Our ability to bring love to our flaws, to care for them with kindness
and compassion …like we would care for a child, a pet or a loved one,…
is what will ultimately cause the transformation we're looking for to take place.
When we love our flaws, we create an environment where we're either able
to make the kinds of specific behavior changes we truly want,
or able to learn to love and accept ourselves,
whether any change in the “flaw” takes place or not.

All of these things are much easier said than done.

Admitting the truth to ourselves, expressing our real emotions,
forgiving ourselves, appreciating our flaws, and loving all aspects of ourselves,
both the positive and the negative, gives us the opportunity to actually transcend our flaws.

Doing this takes a great deal of intention, support, compassion and patience.
It’s easier to take a pill, to get busy and distracted, to whine and complain, or to
pretend things are fine or continue with the other avoidance techniques we are good at.
But this is the way to can genuinely heal ourselves and end our cycle of suffering.

                           
DENIAL:  "If I don't know it, it isn't true",
is a big problem in weight-control,
and many people prefer ignorance,
in order to avoid facing unpleasant facts.

Here's a news quote concerning
the implementation of that New York city law
which requires chain restaurants to post calorie information.

It points out the truth that many people are not happy to learn
that their food choices are extremely high-calorie.

‘Take off the labels’

“Some people actually tell us we should take off the labels,
because it discourages them from ordering what they want,” he said,

Despite the eye-opening revelations, whether New Yorkers will switch
to lower calorie meals remains to be seen. They may just switch menus.

That’s what Fowler, the woman who was dining recently with her friends
at T.G.I. Friday's, decided to do.

“I’m so upset,” she said, noting some entrees — like the Jack Daniels ribs
and shrimp dinner — contain almost 2,000 calories, and the desserts were
more of the same (the brownie obsession is 1,500 calories).
“I wish they wouldn’t have done this.”

But then Fowler noticed that the waiter had handed her friend an old menu,
which didn’t have calorie counts on it.

“You got a menu without anything on it?” she asked her friend.
“Can I have yours?”

The mentality of the woman mentioned above is a common one.
She would like to feel guilt-free while eating high-calorie foods.

It does feel great not to be responsible for our poor food choices.
and
It is difficult to be Accountable for the food choices we make.

However, Calories always count,

whether one consciously chooses to control calorie intake
by actually counting them,

OR

whether one chooses to unconsciously control calorie intake
by limiting the amount of food they eat,
........through counting points or food exchanges;
........by the nutritional content of their food; or
........by the frequency of their eating events.

The fact that Calories always count
is an unpopular, rather unpleasant, Truth that many would like to forget,
and I sometimes experience hostility from people for the reminder.

There are some people whose bodies allow them to control their calorie input
by the implementation of a few rules.
and within those simple rules or guidelines, their bodies show them what to eat.
One of these ways is commonly known as "intuitive eating".

Some people think everyone is born with that ability, however,
there are a great many adults whose bodies lack that capability.
Those people need to exercise more conscious control of their food intake.

There are many ways to limit calories without counting them,
and some of those ways can bring great success.
I personally have found a way to make calorie counting an enjoyable Habit.

I keep a food journal in my computer.
Every day I click a few buttons to enter all my food, and my software program
DietPower, tells me my calories and other nutritional values.
In this way I become aware of my eating Truth.

I am Accountable for all my food choices.
I've been on many different "diets" or "food plans",
but for the past six and on-half years, I have detailed records of exactly what I've done,
and the choices I've made.  This is what I've done to be successful.

To be Accountable is a difficult, adult thing.
But whether we count calories, or limit the calories of our food intake in some other way,
Calorie Accountability is necessary for successful weight-control.