In my opinion, while the action of binge eating
does cause physiological stress (body pain),
The psychological stress (mental pain) involved with binge eating
comes from the self-berating that many people abuse themselves with.

Some people think that ‘self-sabotage” and self-punishment
is the cause of binge eating.
Some blame the nagging and berating voice in their head
as the “saboteur” that causes them to binge.

However, perhaps it is the food itself; an excess love of food…
a personal desire for the taste and for the feeling of full-ness
that is sometimes the true culprit.

I've had a lifetime of binge eating.
20 years of professional Therapy didn't resolve the activity,
however, it DID get rid of the "nagging and berating voice in the head".

I’ve come to a personal conclusion that it doesn’t much matter
what each individual CAUSE of binge eating is
because most of the circumstances around me aren’t under my control.
Good things happen. Bad things happen.
Strong feelings make me want to eat. Period.

I am aware of this, and I work not to follow those desires.
Sometimes I still Binge. . in that I engage in emotional eating to excess..
However, it not a form of "self-punishment",
and I don't hate myself for it.

My bingeing behavior is always going to part of me, lurking in the background.
I have learned to Accept

*  that, to date, I have done all I can to fix the problem;
*  that I'll continue to work to resolve it as much as I can;
*  that this behavior is sometimes part of who I am; and
*  that I'm still okay even when I make that behavior choice.

Building a positive Habit takes energy.

In the beginning, habit takes mental energy,
to remember to be "good",
and follow a new type of eating behavior.

A person has a finite amount of mental energy
to spend on being virtuous.

Once we cross over the line from consciously "being good"
to just having the Habit,
we aren't using as much energy on it day to day,
and it becomes easier.

  It helps to try and move towards thinking about one's new eating behavior 
as mostly "allowing" oneself to eat the right amount of food,
instead of as denying oneself excess.
It helps when we think of ourselves as well-Treated
because we are in the process of eating correctly.

Going through most of our week
thinking of what we're doing as some sort of self-imposed suffering
for the benefit of our future self....becomes wearing.
This is especially true if our calorie deficit
is high enough to frequently cause gnawing hunger.

Thinking of what one is doing as a positive, can be in and of itself rewarding.
It is better not to classify our eating behavior as delayed gratification.
Many months can go by without one arriving at one's weight goal,
and maintenance of that weight goal seldom allows a drastic eating change.

It is best to reject surmising about WHAT extra foods you can eat at goal,
or mental bargaining about WHEN you will be able to eat differently.

Every day we are faced with hundreds of decisions,
but just because we’ve made some wrong choices in the past
doesn’t mean we are destined to make them for the rest of our lives.

When making choices:

Think about what’s most important to you.

When faced with any decision, the crucial thing
is to consider what matters most to you,
regardless of how insignificant that decision might seem.

It is unlikely than any one choice in a given day will alter your life,
but all those small choices add up
and will eventually impact you for better or worse.

Keep your emotions in check.

In an emotional situation, delay decision making
by waiting for a specific time to pass, before making a final decision.

In this way you can calm your emotions to a reasonable level
and start thinking clearly about the consequences of your options,
as well as which decision will support your life goals.

Weight-loss and Maintenance of weight-loss
feels hard because it IS hard.

How does one get past the desire so satisfy one’s instant desire
enough to stay on track for a long-term goal?

 That’s a tough one.

We might think we want to reach our weight goals more than anything, but sometimes, we obviously don’t…because our behavior shows that we want to use emotional eating as a way to cope MORE.

I find that it helps to engage in positive self-talk and surround oneself with positive images and thoughts. Frequently running my playlist of positive videos helps me do this,and you might find that to be a helpful tool for you as well. 
 This Tool can be found here on DietHobby in the section:
RESOURCES, Words of Wisdom playlist.

The world is full of emotion-causing events, some good, some bad. We have to want to achieve our weight goals
more than we want to feel food in our mouths, taste its deliciousness and feel overly full.
We have to want something else more than we want food.
This is going to be an individual matter, and can be different for everyone.

 Some TIPS to help with the instant gratification issue are:

* Track all your food in a computer software program,
like DietPower or something similar.

* Only have a small portion of a food one craves.

* Have none at all of a food one craves IF it is going to trigger a binge; 
run away from the danger zone where temptation exists.

* Choose an eating plan and work to stick to it,
whether it is 3 meals a day and no snacks; 
or a larger amount of mini-meals; or counting calories or carbs; or etc. 

* Drink plenty of water and zero calorie beverages.

* Make sure you always get enough protein.

* ALWAYS order small, and before you begin eating,
put part of it in a to-go box.

* Use small plates and small bowls.

                       

Most of us have days where we feel that we have tried
and tried but our results are still going nowhere.
We can’t seem to get inspired and excited
about weight-loss and weight-loss maintenance.

We’d like to take a break from it all,
but the food-intake behavior involved with that
wouldn’t maintain our weight,
and we’d only pile on more pounds.

Motivation can only come from inside,
No one is going to come along
and smack us in the face to get us going.

  So what to do?

For me, this is where Persistence, Patience and Consistency comes in.
No matter how I feel, I keep on working …in some manner…
toward keeping my food-intake at or below my calorie burn level.
I continue to record all my food into DietPower every day,
and I work to focus my mind to reflect on positive thoughts.

Eventually, my feelings will shift into a more positive area,
and there’s a good chance that when they do,
my body will still be in the “normal” weight range.
 No Magic,
just a determination toward my committment
to continue on with making a consistent effort.