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. 

 Here’s a question I received about Calorie Counting.

"One thing I always wonder about calorie counting:
how do you account for cooked foods or whole meals?
For example, an apple is easy: it's so & so calories.

However if... (like we did today for dinner)... your meal consists of
a) potato salad b) cucumber salad and c) cheese pie

How would you go about counting all that?
Would you have to input all recipes & divide by helpings
to know what you've eaten?"

And Here’s my Answer to that Question.

DietPower, the software food journal I use,
has a simple function that allows me
to input label info from new foods into its food dictionary.
It also has a simple function that allows me to input new recipes,
using foods that are in its food dictionary.

I would use the search function in its food dictionary,
and find potato salad,
then input how much I ate (1/2 cup?)
Same thing with cucmber salad and cheese pie.
Each of the 3 specialized foods could be as easy for me to input as an apple.

During the past six and a half years,
the DietPower program has been extremely helpful to me.
After I've input a food or a recipe once,
it becomes part of the program and is forever in my software dictionary.

As part of the process of entering a recipe the first time,
I have to determine how many servings are in it.
The program then immediately responds
with correct nutritional values, including calories.

When I first started using the program,
I'd put in one of my favorite recipes
and divide it so that one serving was the amount I usually ate.

SURPRISE... sometimes I found my chosen serving
was TWO or THREE times more than the calories I thought I was eating....
so then... (during the initial input process)... I adjusted the recipe
to a more reasonable number of servings
such as 12 servings, not 6 servings.
This taught me how much I should be eating,
and served as a Forever reminder as to just what size
my serving of that particular food should be.

When I log my food for each day, I just use DietPower's search function
Up comes my food or recipe,

I put the amount I ate...1 serving, or 1/2 serving or whatever,
and instantly I have all the nutritional values of what I ate...
or what I PLAN to eat... because sometimes,
when I see the total calories in advance, I alter my plan.

I've now been using DietPower a very long time
so most of my standard recipes are now in its Dictionary.
When I cook a new recipe, I just add it in.
I also enter as a Recipe,
frequent combinations of foods I eat,
such as a particular Sandwich or even a complete standard meal.
That way I am able to log an entire meal as easily as I could log an apple.

If I am going to eat in a restaurant,
I plan approximately what I will eat in advance.
I Look online and find that item or a similiar item,
and put the restaurant nutritional info for that food item into DietPower.
Then, after my meal, I make minor changes to reflect what I actually ate.

Anytime I eat something I haven't prepared, I can always find
something similiar in the DietPower food dictionary, 
or find the nutritional values of a similiar food somewhere online.
Once I put that food into the DietPower dictionary, it is there for future use.

Most people eat about the same foods month after month,
so once the initial work is done, tracking food is very easy,
and takes only a few minutes each day.

I find doing this a very enjoyable and extremely valuable HABIT.
Any Skill or Habit takes work to estabish in the beginning,
but the payoff can be remarkable.

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

3 pound chuck roast
2 sliced onions
3 stalks sliced celery
12 oz canned tomato juice (salted)
2 Tablespoons granulated Beef Bouillon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
2 Tablespoons Thickener - like Corn-Starch or Xanthan Gum

Directions:

Slice onion and celery
Place onion in slow cooker
Place beef on top of onion.

In a bowl, stir the bouillon into the tomato juice.
add garlic powder and salt and pepper if desired.
Pour the mixture over the beef,
Scatter the sliced celery on top.

Cover slow cooker, set it to low and cook 8 to 10 hours,
OR, set it to high and cook for 6 hours.

After cooking, remove meat from crockpot,
mix  thickener with enough water to dissolve it,
then add to tomato sauce mixture, stir together,
and cook until sauce thickens.

Makes twelve  servings (approx 3 oz meat)

1  serving (approx 3 oz meat)

Calories: 356
Carbs: 5.5 grams
Protein: 34 grams

                           
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.
 

 
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 stalk celery cut into small sticks
1/4 cup raw Jicama, peeled and cut into sticks
1 ounce raw Sugar Snap Peas
1/2 cup raw sweet green and red bell peppers, seeded and cut into sticks
1/2 cup raw sliced cucumber
1 ounce raw baby carrots
5 pieces of grape or cherry tomatoes
5 pieces of raw common buttom mushrooms

Directions:

Cut up veggies as directed and place on plate together.

1 serving is:

Calories: 70
Carbs: 16 grams
Protein 5 grams