First off, I'd ask what kind of bread you are eating. If it is wheat bread (even sprouted) you are exposing yourself to exorphins (morphine-like compounds) that, in certain individuals, and in certain individuals more than others, make bread an addictive food.

I recommend reading this interesting research paper "Opioid Peptides Derived from Food Proteins:The Exorphins"

Second, I'd recommend ditching the "jam jelly" for a whole fruit such as sliced banana or strawberries. Even if the product you are using is "made with real fruit" it is still a highly concentrated form of sugar and as such allows a large quantity to be consumed in a short amount of time. There is also research to suggest that sugar consumption (at least in rats) is addictive.

"Hoebel has shown that rats eating large amounts of sugar when hungry, a phenomenon he describes as sugar-bingeing, undergo neurochemical changes in the brain that appear to mimic those produced by substances of abuse, including cocaine, morphine and nicotine."

The third, and possibly most important element, is that of the psychology of bingeing. As a recovering binge-eater myself, I can relate to this part of your post..."I'm now in the cyclic mind set of oh, the day is already ruined, I might as well get all take advantage." In my experience, this thought follows a period of over-restriction. If this is the case with you as well, I would suspect that your "normal" eating habits also need to be considered as a factor contributing to an eventual binge.

To speak more directly to the question of "how to stop!", I would say that if you are in the middle of an episode, do something to change your environment or situation. For example, get outside and go for a walk, call a friend, etc. This can help you create some psychological space.

I also recommend that whatever the outcome (you eat yourself into a food coma or you do in fact pump the brakes and halt the bingeing episode) remain cognizant of the primary attribution error.

Essentially, this means that you will have the tendency to blame yourself for "failing" to stick to your diet, not having enough "willpower", etc. The truth is much more complex than that. There are factors of environment (both internal and external) as well as psychological needs (such as the need for autonomy/control) that are playing out. These have nothing to do with who you are as a person, however, and to change the outcome (your behavior) all you really need to do is to focus on how you can shift the environment in your favor (eliminating foods with the tendency to cause a binge, such as bread and sugar, managing stress, ensuring that your "regular" diet is providing enough calories or flexibility so that you don't feel restricted in the first place, etc.)

Hope this helps.

Wow my first answer was way too long so here's the cliff notes: You are on a journey to reinvent yourself. So old self just kicked potential new self in the ass and hard. Potential new self went down. Potential new self lost this round in a big way. So fine. Why? Cause game's still on baby. You're gonna spend some time figuring out old self's MO. You're gonna clue in to old self's tactics and the next time old self comes after potential new self potential new self's gonna at least be able to put up a damn fight. Today you were unarmed. A sitting duck. Next time,if you do your work, you will have something to fight back with. And each time potential new self is going to get better at the fight as long as each time potential new self learns something about old self and his/her ways. Then eventually old self will give up and potential new self is no longer just potential. (And stop eating the damn bread!)

Honestly I don't think it matter if you stop now or just eat it all. Just make sure all of it is gone or in the trash before you go to bed tonight. Tomorrow you have work to do.

So see is where it all gets really good. You're going to sit down tomorrow and look at what happened and figure out why and how. Look all the way back to before you began rationalizing that bread of any kind was a good option for you because you supposedly needed more carbs and this was the best thing you could come up with. Right. Hopefully you're going to see how the old scripts that play in your head got you all twisted around and something that makes absolutely no sense somehow made sense to you in that moment and started a very destructive event for you.

And this should go without saying but I know you know better than to even try to argue that the only way you can get enough fat into your diet is via almond butter and you need bread to eat the almond butter. You seriously are not going to try that on us are you? If you feel you need more carbs you know darn well what your healthy options are and bread of any kind is not on the list. Almost butter is a pretty sorry excuse for a daily source of dietary fat. I suspect you know this as well. How about oh, I don't know, butter on a potato maybe? Sweet potato chunks cooked in ghee or duck fat or bacon fat or. Extra olive oil on your salad or veggies? And on and on and on and not a slice o'bread in sight.

You have to look and see the truth of what happened and how you rationalized some crazy stuff to get what you wanted (your beloved almond butter and jelly sandwich and then some). Now you're going to see how your mind wants to work and you're going to figure out some ways to spot this nonsense going on inside your little head before diving face first into the loaf of bread the next time. Have a slice of gluten free bread or make some almond bread once a month and put jam on it and enjoy. Do that deliberately and with full knowledge that it's not necessarily "on plan" but you are going to treat yourself to something that you enjoy and accept that it can't be a part of your regularly scheduled life any more if you want to be healthy.

Whatever you do you need to be honest with yourself, accept the twisted stuff your mind is attempting with you (because all of us suffer the same fate with our own twisted brains) and figure out how you're going to learn to recognize the thought spiral that landed you in the bag of bread which landed you into a free-for-all. If you do not take the time now to be honest with yourself and learn a new way you are going to keep repeating this cycle over and over again until you give up in frustration and become just another statistic. This is where the road splits friend. Good luck.

Its not hunger, its addiction. I can eat protein until im puking and still be going nuts for candy, pasta and bread.

Sometimes I get hunches, so I start reading some of the OP's older questions. Anyway, I read something that raised a bit of concern.

I was wondering if you could give us an update of how you're eating and exercising? In an old post, you noted that you are 5'5" and 100 pounds "with fat to lose", and worked out 5x a week at a minimum of 2 hours.

If you are still doing this, your intense carb cravings may be due to your body telling you that you need more fuel to keep your body nourished...

Go take a bath or take a walk. Get away from the food and do something to take your mind off of it completely.

After you're feeling better I highly suggest you remove all trigger food from your house. Toss them in the trash bin, they are not worth it!

Good luck. Hang in there.

I know exactly how this feels, and have been struggling with it because (of all reasons) I am on vacation from work and don't know how to eat anymore!

If I were you and had your presence of mind (getting on paleohacks to ask for help), I would go outdoors and take a nice, long leisurely walk, or maybe if you feel like it a brisk, sweaty walk.

Other options: A thorough pampering session with a hot bath (I usually pluck my eyebrows or paint my toenails).

Try to distract yourself. I think reaching out helps too, just acknowleding your behavior probably helps a ton.

One other thing, though, I find that eating grains just makes me want more grains, no matter how healthy they are. Don't know if this is a true phenomenon or a psychological one.

I've struggled with binge eating disorder for years, so I know exactly what you mean by "the day is already ruined," but I can promise you it's not. I also know it's incredibly difficult to think this way mid-binge, but just remember that by eating even more junk you will NOT somehow "get it all out of your system." What's already done is done, but you have to be positive. love yourself and start treating yourself well one minute at a time, starting right now.

It sounds like the nut butter and bread is a trigger for you. I don't eat nuts at all because I find it very difficult to enjoy them in moderation. I think a lot of people are this way. If you really do better with carbs, I'd suggest sweet potatoes or even white potatoes or white rice if even the sweetness of a sweet potato is triggering.

Start eating Protein and Fat and no carbs until things are under contorol. Mostly meat eggs and veggies.

FED at live caveman, hit the nail on the head with his number 3. I can relate and have had those binges in my younger days when I was very stressed and depressed, even suidicial at the time in my life. Thing is I didn't realize I was that depressed or suidicial and would start eating and could not stop. Its the most horrible feeling (and scary) in the world. Those that say change your enviroment are right. I would add seek out people to be around, not food or drink, but people and activites to help draw yourself out of this. I agree with the other comments about getting rid of the offending foods as well. Not removing them from your home only leaves you open to more tempting from them. If you have to leave to get them you have time to think and redirect yourself to the gym to push yourself through an exercise routine. After a good workout you are less likely to want to eat something that will deminish the feeling of a good workout. Good Luck!

Modern wheat is an opiate.

And, of course, I don’t mean that wheat is an opiate in the sense that you like it so much that you feel you are addicted. Wheat is truly addictive.

Wheat is addictive in the sense that it comes to dominate thoughts and behaviors. Wheat is addictive in the sense that, if you don’t have any for several hours, you start to get nervous, foggy, tremulous, and start desperately seeking out another “hit” of crackers, bagels, or bread, even if it’s the few stale 3-month old crackers at the bottom of the box. Wheat is addictive in the sense that there is a distinct withdrawal syndrome characterized by overwhelming fatigue, mental “fog,” inability to exercise, even depression that lasts several days, occasionally several weeks. Wheat is addictive in the sense that the withdrawal process can be provoked by administering an opiate-blocking drug such as naloxone or naltrexone.

But the “high” of wheat is not like the high of heroine, morphine, or Oxycontin. This opiate, while it binds to the opiate receptors of the brain, doesn’t make us high. It makes us hungry.

This is the effect exerted by gliadin, the protein in wheat that was inadvertently altered by geneticists in the 1970s during efforts to increase yield. Just a few shifts in amino acids and gliadin in modern high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat became a potent appetite stimulant.

Wheat stimulates appetite. Wheat stimulates calorie consumption: 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year, for every man, woman, and child. (440 calories per person per day is the average.) We experience this, sense the weight gain that is coming and we push our plate away, settle for smaller portions, increase exercise more and more . . . yet continue to gain, and gain, and gain. Ask your friends and neighbors who try to include more “healthy whole grains” in their diet. They exercise, eat a “well-balanced diet” . . . yet gained 10, 20, 30, 70 pounds over the past several years. Accuse your friends of drinking too much Coca Cola by the liter bottle, or being gluttonous at the all-you-can-eat buffet and you will likely receive a black eye. Many of these people are actually trying quite hard to control impulse, appetite, portion control, and weight, but are losing the battle with this appetite-stimulating opiate in wheat.

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I gave away half a pie and through out all other bread/pasta/perogies in my house. If it is not there I cannot eat it. and I restalked all my usual high fat/protein foods

Out of control binging is a very scary feeling. It's mentally crippling and even though you KNOW you'll feel worse if you eat more, it's like your mind is on auto-pilot. I think figuring out why you are binging is an important first step. It sounds like you have a tendency to binge on high-carb foods. If you live alone, I second all the suggestions on here to limit purchasing them. If you also binge out of loneliness, boredom or sadness, I find self-distraction to be the best medicine. I could sit and eat an entire chicken with butter and vegetables and want to binge on more...I could eat a pound of beef and my mind will be aching for more and more and more to dull out the thoughts in my head. Binging is like a legal drug. It numbs the mind, gives you something to do physically when you don't want to think. But in the end, it never solves anything. It just ends in nights full of self-defeat, depression and shame.

I live with someone, so I don't think it's fair to make him get rid of any food that is a trigger for me since it's really anything (although carbs are worse because you can prepare a lot in a short amount of time cheaply). I can't make others cater to my illness. So I have try harder at self-distraction. I try to pad my schedule during my most likely times to binge. I'll arrange chat dates, for instance. So I know that I have a chat date at a certain time and I silently count down the minutes until it comes, knowing that I CAN'T binge while I'm talking...so the binge never starts.

I also keep an envelope of "things to do instead of binging". When I'm feeling lonely, bored, or sad, I reach into the envelope and force myself to do that activity for half an hour. Usually, this helps take my mind off of binging. Things on my list are: play violin, go for a walk, take a warm shower, color, write a letter to a friend, call my sister, dance to music, etc. Keeping an emergency list helps me when I feel weak and vulnerable...having something pre-prepared makes it easier during a mentally tough time.

I understand the hopeless feeling of, "I messed up today, and this is the LAST TIME EVER, so I might as well go all out" but you know deep down that there will be lots of bad days before there are more good days than bad. Stopping the cycle in the middle, although it sounds like an impossibility, is the first step. It's a small victory to stop NOW, even when you've already started binging. Be patient with yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Seek help if you need it, and don't give up because a lot of people have gotten over this monster. You can, too.

I have exact same problem with binges (especially the might as well take advantage of it mindset). I use fasting to break the binge. Usually a 36 hour fast (night,day,night). It doesn't necessarily prevent me from finishing out the binge day in a horrific episode of gluttony, but at least I can set some cut off (e.g., 8pm) and just stop there. Complete fasting makes it easier for me because it eliminates any possibility of gateway foods restarting the binge. Also, it provides a clean barrier to allow for a clean start. Also, then you get good and hungry so real food becomes very pleasing. I think it's much easier if you can just stay away from kitchen/restaurant for the whole fast, but with feeding kids, that's usually not possible for me.

If you are still hungry eat a huge steak and some raw nuts...that should stop your hunger pangs!!!

Check out Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen Bays. It's helped me a lot.

you received some good answers above. for me; i have to get out of the house. a trip to the mall to window shop gets my mind off food.

Buy pure L-glutamine powder ASAP. Take 2-3g in a glass of water, stir. Drink. Your cravings to binge should go away within 20 minutes.

Ephedra (Ma Huang)

You make tea out of it.

2 rounds of 30 bodyweight squats for time... will get your mind off food guaranteed.