Emotional binging

lilMimi24

Hi all, i am posting just to get some advice. I have done really well recently, lost about 20lbs over the past 4.5 months which is good going for me! Just over the past day or two things have really been getting on top of me, i have been reduced to lying in bed and binging on anything i can find, i feel like i am exhausted and looking for respite but surely food is not the answer, it only makes me anxious and depressed yet i don't know why i am turning to it. What do you do when you feel like everything is getting on top of you? Does anyone have any advice on stopping the binging in its tracks, if it doesn't last longer than 2 days surely it won't harm my weight loss but i am just so scared of continuing tomorrow. I need to empower myself but i am not sure how, also i am running a race on saturday and can't bear to be swollen and weighed down....

yopeeps025

You got some things bottled up. Time to let them out.

SaraNicoleWilliams

You need to attack the thought process that makes it okay for you to get emotional comfort from food. I am working on that right now. As for me, the little voice inside my head more or less says to me "you deserve it! Things are hard right now, you deserve a cupcake/pint of ice cream/etc!"

I have been working on counteracting that voice by remembering that food is not something you deserve. Food is simply fuel to energize your body. That is its intended purpose. When you eat more than you need for energy, then what's the point? And why on earth would I "deserve" it?

I also try really hard to focus on the feeling I know I will have after I do something like, say, sit down and eat an entire pint of ice cream. I try to think really hard about how my stomach will hurt, and how I'll get so thirsty and I'll be too full to really drink any water, and I'll think about how bloated and uncomfortable I'll feel when I try to pull on my jeans the next morning.

I don't know what you normally think when you think about turning to food, but you need to really look at those thoughts and dissect them, until you can completely disarm the faulty logic. I'm not saying this is the case for you, but some of my emotional issues that make me turn to food stem from the fact that I am uncomfortable in my body right now. When I think about it like that, it becomes slightly easier to realize that if I turn to food and overeat for a moment's comfort, then I will be suffering more emotional pain later.

If you are able, you should also consider seeing a therapist! I think it can be helpful to talk through things out loud, sometimes hearing it can make you realize what the issue really is.

Stay strong!! Hold on to that race, and think of how good and accomplished you will feel when you finish it! And then, with the calories you burned in the race, you can decide on a treat that will truly be a reward.

Local_Atlantis

Exactly right - it's not the food that is the problem. It is your compulsion to eat. You need to identify why you are emotional and address the issues themselves. Once you address them, you will no longer be driven to food for comfort.

As for stopping cravings, I always think that chewing gum is very helpful. It occupies your mouth and it gives the illusion of eating. Even when you have finished the gum, the mint flavour in your mouth tends to make you not want to eat anything. It makes some foods not taste so good.
Failing that, drink a massive glass of water. It will fill up your stomach.
Or combine the two and drink a big cup of peppermint tea.

Good luck and stay strong! xx

onefortyone

Great job with your weight loss so far

And yes, definitely try to let your emotions out. I have found blogging (in a private blog, not for the public to see) to be really helpful to me - it lets me get out those scary, awful emotions that I don't regularly want to burden people with.

But that is only one part of practicing self-care. Make nutritious food choices, and make time for things you enjoy, whether that's a hobby or just your favourite show on Netflix. Self-soothe with bubblebaths and hot chocolate, or by devouring your favourite book. And not just journals, but writing in general is very soothing - developing a different world and different characters and ignoring your own problems for a while.

I have never 'stopped binging in its tracks' and I don't believe this is possible. What you have to do is get ahead of it - recognise your triggers, and avoid them. Make the decision that today, I won't go home and eat the whole package of X, even though that's what I'd normally do after a day like today. Make the decision that tomorrow, you will eat within your calorie goal, and plan out meals to help with that. Some days I choose to eat at maintenance instead of my deficit, just to keep some control over my urge to OVEReat - the last thing I want to do is gain.

Food really isn't the answer.

TavistockToad

You need to stop eating your feelings