Good commentary, and true that managing hunger vs trying to white-knuckle it through starvation is key.

All I would add (not necessarily disagree) is that another critical factor for success is an honest-to-gawd willingness to surrender the old habits in terms of the emotional effects one gets from poor eating, whether you consider yourself a food addict or not.

I see it as like quitting smoking: why are there still so many smokers when there are so many effective smoking cessation tools? Because you have to be really, really ready and committed to giving up the habit. You have to come to hate the cigarettes and be willing to give up the other things you're getting out of it: stress relief, social contact / camaraderie with others when you go for that smoke break, old familiar smell and taste, etc. Similar with the poor eating. You have to be fed up enough with whatever physical effects you're having, you have to be willing to stand up to your friends/family, you have to commit to finding better ways of de-stressing than noshing non-stop. You have to come to hate the habit more than you like what it does for you, and find new normals. Achieving good satiety and nutrition on food that you enjoy is certainly the most important tool, IMO, and well worth the effort to constantly figure that out. It's the Nicorette gum, the patch, and Zyban all thrown together. Just add social support.

The odd binge day isn't going to ruin you, but it has to become a rare thing and not the equivalent of a pack-a-day habit.