I ate ice cream like a pig, had secret late-night McDonald’s & Taco Bell binges – then I left my husband & lost 100 lbs
A WOMAN’S secret shame saw her wolfing down several portions of pasta, a whole tub of ice cream, and fast food in a single night.
Desiree Van Nice, 25, lost over 100 pounds after she addressed her binge eating disorder.
The secret eating addict had reached 253 pounds at the height of her binging.
After slimming down to 158 pounds, Desiree swapped out her size XXL clothes for a size medium.
The California native said she became ashamed of her weight and felt the need to hide her giant portions out of fear of people judging her.
“To hide all the takeout packaging I’d take the trash out and make sure I hid everything underneath the rubbish we already had, I was so ashamed of myself,” she explained.
“If I made lasagna, I wouldn’t be eating a normal portion, it would be at least three big portions instead of just one.
“Then at night I’d sometimes grab a whole tub of ice cream and eat that and then I’d DoorDash all the fast food I could, one day it would be Taco Bell and the next it would be McDonald’s, it got really bad.”
Desiree described spending anywhere from $15 to $40 per takeout order, which she got up to four times a week.
Realizing that she was no longer happy in her marriage, she divorced her husband and decided to reinvent herself.
Desiree replaced late-night takeouts with a heavy cardio routine and a controlled diet.
“Now my diet has more structure to it, my body is actually getting what it needs during the day so I don’t get the junk food cravings I used to get,” she explained.
She added that being on her own helped her focus as she was no longer prioritizing her relationship over her own physical and mental well-being.
During her 10-month weight loss journey, she began doing cardio and lightweight training every day.
She also switched up her diet, sticking to a maximum of 1,500 calories a day and increasing her protein intake to 160 grams to support her workouts.
Desiree reflected on her journey, recounting how she used food as a crutch during difficult times.
“I used food to cope with being sad all the time and being alone but I didn’t want anyone to think I ate like a pig so I had to hide it,” she said.
It became so much for her that she even started to hide junk food packaging at the bottom of the trash.
“I’ve always been bigger my whole life but I never really noticed it until I got older, the older I got the more I realized how big I was,” Desiree explained.
“When I went on a cruise with my friends it was like a moment of realization that I needed to change something, I just felt uncomfortable in my own skin the entire time.”
While she admits to initially struggling, Desiree soon became determined in her health journey.
“It was hard to stay focused at first, I started off with a healthy meal then ruined it by making burritos on top of what I already had,” she said.
“I used to eat random foods at random times instead of building actual meals so it meant I was starving by the night and felt like I had to binge to satisfy the hunger.”
She explained that her controlled and balanced diet means she no longer has intense cravings.
Desiree credited her newfound independence as another major factor in both her weight loss and mental health journies.
“There were so many things I was holding back on doing because I was building my life around my relationship,” she explained.
“I learned I needed to find my happiness on my own before I could think about loving anyone else.”
She described how she had previously disregarded her body and failed to take care of it.
“I found it hard to love myself and I couldn’t focus on what was best for my body,” Desiree said.
“I was unhappy with my life before but I’ve put everything behind me and completely reimagined who I am, I’m finally proud of myself.”