Hi! I’m 24 and recovering from a restrictive eating disorder. I hope I can help.

I find it remarkably easier to eat as much as I’m supposed to, and to stick to healthier choices, if I’m exercising regularly. When I feel like I’m making good choices for my body and health in the way of exercising, I’m more willing and ready to extend those healthy choices into my diet. Additionally, exercise will change your body composition and more than likely give you a body that you’re happier with - more muscle, less pudge.

In order to avoid the bingeing, you need to be eating enough on a regular basis. Binge brain kicks in hardest during restrictive periods - you’re not getting enough calories, so brain panics and tries to get you to eat any and everything to make up for it.

If you want to continue counting calories, calculate your BMR and eat that many calories every day. This won’t take into account the calories you burn exercising or just moving around living your life, so you will still lose weight.

I personally have stopped calorie counting, because my brain would always (regardless of my mindset going in) turn it into a need to eat as few calories as possible. I also recommend weighing yourself AT MOST once a week. Daily weigh-ins were an extremely hard habit for me to break, but now after ~6mo of weighing less often, the number on the scale barely even fazes me when I do weigh in. I’m much more interested in how I feel, and how I feel about my body, than I am in the number.

Hope that helps a bit and I’m more than willing to expand on anything or answer more/specific questions you may have!