Binge eating; HOW TO STOP

KNITTING. seriously. it keeps your hands and your mind busy. teach yourself if you don't know how. even if you have a snack next to you, you'll find it hard to put the needles down to eat. especially when you start getting into more complicated patterns.


added bonus: you'll lose weight, and end up with really pretty hand made items that remind you of being healthier

"Dear Elle,

I love you, but please don't put that in me. You love cucumbers, and you love apples. If you really need something salty, make some chutney, slide some of those delicious baked turnip chips that you love so much in the oven and do the healthy alternative for me.

Love,
Your body"

As someone who has struggled (and still does, sometimes!) with a TON of self-worth problems, I love this. There are SO many positive ways that we can influence our actions and emotions. A lot of the time, though, we have to learn them as adults because we received so much negativity growing up. (I'm not saying never say no to your kids--I know a childcare center that uses that philosophy, and I think it's weird.)

My general solution is not to keep stuff that I'll eat in gross quantities in the house, although sometimes that doesn't happen, and I know it isn't feasible for everyone, especially those who don't live alone. Like I bought a Costco-size bag of chips for a holiday party almost a month ago, and they're still in my house. Eating some right now, actually. I counted them out and made them fit in my day. Today. A few nights ago, though, I dove nosefirst into the bag and ate way more than I typically would, although I know that's a lot less for me than it might be for some other people.

And you know what? It happened. I let it happen. The next day, I picked myself up and plopped myself back on track. Didn't beat myself up over the chips, or the bar of Toblerone, or whatever else I might have eaten that night that I perhaps would have been better off not eating. I let it serve as a reminder to me that I should probably keep some other food in the house (oops) and walked past it.

Something that might work for you if you like words--if you catch yourself about to dive into something, pause and write down what you're feeling. I've definitely fallen prey to eating because I'm bored, and if I realize that's about to happen, I'm much better at NOT doing it.

I did it the other day. I ate potato chips, some Mexican food, and 3 Little Debbie cakes before I realized what I was doing. The best thing to do is REALLY feel the guilt of eating all that. Realize that behavior does NOT get you what you want.

I would caution against feeling extreme guilt over eating as it sets you up for a horrible relationship with food. I think the better thing to do is try to understand WHY you ate what you did and develop ways to avoid repeating that behavior in the future and then move on. Ruminating on what you can't change isn't going to do anything for your emotional well being and might lead to ANOTHER binge because you're feeling so low.

I have had trouble with binge eating for most of my life. Lately, I've been really working on forgiving myself for slipping up and jumping back into moderation the very next day. Sometimes I have to really do some mental work and bring myself to recognize that it's OK to be hungrier than usual some days, and it's ok to eat enough to become satiated. You shouldn't have to punish yourself for actual hunger, your body needs these nutrients for a reason. I know I tend to place unrealistic expectation on myself with fitness and nutrition, and it's super hard to keep things steady!

Well one thing that will help is to get all of the bad food out of your house. If that's not possible, stick sticky notes on all the doors and cabinets that contain food that say "are you really hungry?" "Do you want to eat?"

You've done step #1: Acknowledge after the fact

Step #2 is, Acknowledge during the act. Do you ever recall afterwards, that a little whisper of a thought floated by saying something like, "Do I really want that" or "just one more"...? Next time, make an agreement with yourself to count to 20, then go ahead and eat it. Step #2 is about increasing your awareness. When this is becoming easier to catch all those floating doubts, then you are ready for step #3.

Step #3, Reprogram your head/Do something else. Count to 20. Have a glass of water. Go for a walk or read a chapter in your favorite book or knit a few rounds. Then if you still want to eat it, put it on a plate, go sit down and eat it. Want more? Repeat, but double the walk or reading or the knitting. When you are declining to eat it after your first walk, et cetera, at least half the time, you are ready for step #4.

Step #4 Evaluate your Health Habits. By now you are Actively Aware of a desire to binge eat (reflexive eating not due to hunger, however large or small the binge, however nutrient dense or devoid of nutrition). Although there may be environmental or psychological triggers, work on eliminating any physical triggers. Evaluate your sleep patterns, exercise routines, daily fresh air, nutrition macros, meal times. Improve these things then decide whether environment or stress is playing a part.

Step #5 Reprogram your palette/Drink a cup of plain unsweetened black tea. So now when you have a desire to binge, you can rule out a physical need to eat or realize that it is time to prepare a meal for yourself. If you are truly hungry, have your prepared meal. If it is a desire to binge, do step #3, then come back and have a cup of unsweetened black tea, before you ask yourself if you still want it. If so, make another cup of tea and put whatever the desire is on a plate, then go sit down and eat it. Enjoy/savuer whatever. Now drink that second cup of unsweetened black tea. It clears my palette from wanting more. By the time I get to step #5, I have already dealt with my head wanting more and can easily say something like, "not now, perhaps tomorrow."

SO SORRY MY HAND SLIPPED PERSONALLY!:flowerforyou:

HI I am finding if I FEEL A BINGE COMING ON I PERSONAY :flowerforyou: LFILL UP ON FIBRE BASED FOODS, AND LITRE OF WATER CLOSE BY BE MOST OF THE TIMES,,,GOOD LUCK

good Idea I should keep water on hand too!!

Do you make a reasonable-sized portion of whatever and take it out of the kitchen area? Or do you eat right where all the food is, within easy reach? Do you eat mindfully (really taste it, feel the structure, eat slowly on purpose)?

If you eat a large volume within minutes, the brain hasn't brought to conscious level yet that you are already satisfied after half of what you ate; takes about ten minutes for the feedback loop to register in your conscious mind, hence eat slowly.

And I second/third the suggestion to go to the source. Why do you eat so much? Stress? Emotional struggles? Illness? Something else?

Meal planning is something that requires a certain level of dedication and it might help to have a weekly menu somewhere near the fridge/pantry. You "invest money", "don't waste the healthy food you bought", "get to eat the good stuff now" and other similar thoughts could be tied to the meal planning to make yourself take a lifestyle change seriously, to truly commit to it and realise you need/want to change some things for it to happen. Just an idea.

this happens to me all the time! im no doctor or anything, but im pretty sure its not a binge disorder. What helped me, was paying more attention to what I'm eating, if i got hungry between meals id usually go for whatever i crave as well... its hard to say no to Ben and jerry's cookie dough for me! so basically, i switched to healthier options, it sounds really stupid and obvious, but it amazed me how when i ate healthy foods i wasnt snacking as much between meals, just try it, anyway, it could work for you