How to Stop Binge Eating

Weight Loss Tips - How to Stop Binge Eating
April 01, 2010 12:42 PM EDT (Updated: April 05, 2010 01:47 PM EDT)
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(Welcome to my Weight Loss Tips Series! I lost 115 pounds through diet and exercise and have kept it off for seven years. Now I share my vast weight loss expertise with you! My articles are ideal for anyone with a lot of weight to lose, and can also be helpful if you're just looking to shed a few pesky pounds. Enjoy!)

We've all been there. It's late at night, everyone's gone to bed. There's a cheesecake in the fridge with your name on it. That leads to a bowl of cereal, which leads to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and before you know it, you've eaten a day's worth of calories all after 12am. You feel bloated and awful.

Binge Eating. Having once been very overweight myself, binge eating was my main problem. I didn't tend to starve myself like many binge eaters do before consuming a calorically gigantic meal - I did eat really poorly all day long (fast food three meals a day, anyone?) and then I let myself eat whatever I could get my hands on in the evening.

I weighed 265 pounds by the time I was 21 years old. I had high cholesterol, back pain, leg pain. And I was miserable.

When someone is obese, they probably live a lifestyle that supports their weight problem. Many people with weight problems are Binge Eaters. In fact, binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the U.S.

If this is your issue, you are NOT alone.

Here are some things to keep in mind when combating Binge Eating.

It's NOT About the Food: The key to understanding binge eating, as with all eating disorders, is to realize that it's not a weight management problem. It's an emotional issue. I used to think I just really loved food, that it was my weakness. I thought I was a bad person because I couldn't stay away from the stuff. But nothing could have been further from the truth. My issues were all emotional.

An article in this month's Oprah Magazine called "What Are You Hungry For? Hint: It's Not Food," highlights a new book called "Women, Food and God," by Geneen Roth. Roth believes that we choose to overeat based on deeply held negative beliefs about ourselves, that our relationship with food mirrors our relationships to ourselves, our feelings about our bodies, lives and what we think we deserve. I really think she's on to something with that concept.

Consider Helping Yourself: Dealing with the emotional issues of binge eating isn't always easy. The best treatments can sometimes be expensive and time consuming. However, a new study by Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, reports CNN.com, found that self-help treatment for binge eating can be just as, if not more affective than traditional treatment methods. Patients followed a 12-week, self-guided program from a book called "Overcoming Binge Eating." (CNN notes that the author of the book was in no way affiliated with the study.) 63% of that group was able to stop binge eating. Those are amazing odds.

Grab a Notebook: In the Kaiser study, patients kept food diaries and jotted down triggers that caused their binging behavior. Sometimes it can feel tedious to write down everything you eat, but once you commit to doing it for at least a week, you can learn a lot (maybe more than you ever wanted to know!) about your habits and patterns. It's also a very helpful tool to write down how you're feeling when you sit down to eat.

Keep it Simple. This Isn't Rocket Science: Clinical psychologist and Kaiser study co-author Lynn DeBar notes that some of the simplest suggestions outlined in the self-help program made the biggest difference. Suggestions like not waiting too long between meals seemed to make a big difference for many people.

Eat Breakfast!: Do like your mama told you and EAT SOMETHING IN THE MORNING. I just cannot stress enough how important this is. When I first began to conquer my binge eating, having even a light breakfast made all the difference in the world. Select a food from this list of filling foods, or choose something nutritious that you enjoy. It can set the tone for your whole day.

Choose Foods You Love: Just because you're not binging anymore doesn't mean you're not EATING anymore! Reach for foods you adore that are packed with flavor, food that will make you feel thrilled to have taste buds. Chances are, if you've eaten something you really enjoy, you'll feel more satiated.

Read Up: Binge eating is a emotional illness, to put it bluntly. But just like many emotional issues, therapy and medication are not the only options. There are tons of fantastic books on the market that speak directly to binge eaters and work to address the problem from the inside out.

These two of the books that really helped me on my journey to overcoming binge eating:

"Fit from Within," by Victoria Moran. Moran encourages us to focus on living a quality life, enjoy each morsel of our food, and most importantly, listen to our bodies. Best of all? Very short chapters!

"Stop Stuffing Yourself: 7 Steps to Conquering Overeating" This book was put out by the Weight Watchers corporation. It has a ton of great tips for how to quiet the impulse to overeat. It offers realistic, reasonable suggestions for how to work to overcome your food issues.