Curbing bingeing
Ana7172015
Posts: 8 Member
Hi all!
Just beginning my weight loss journey (again) and have some ways to go. Overall, I think I eat fairly healthily at meal times and enjoy exercising but my Achilles heel has always been bingeing. This generally happens when I'm stressed/exam season/unhappy with life- I really feel like this is going to be something that I have to get past if I want to lose the weight and would love to hear any solutions people have utilised to reduce binges.
N.b I've tried not having any 'unhealthy' food that I'd classically binge on in the house but I only live a minute's walk away from the shop so I just ended up walking there and spending a small fortune in junk last exam season!
Thanks in advance!
Just beginning my weight loss journey (again) and have some ways to go. Overall, I think I eat fairly healthily at meal times and enjoy exercising but my Achilles heel has always been bingeing. This generally happens when I'm stressed/exam season/unhappy with life- I really feel like this is going to be something that I have to get past if I want to lose the weight and would love to hear any solutions people have utilised to reduce binges.
N.b I've tried not having any 'unhealthy' food that I'd classically binge on in the house but I only live a minute's walk away from the shop so I just ended up walking there and spending a small fortune in junk last exam season!
Thanks in advance!
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Replies
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Same! Herbal teas instead of snacks and brushing my teeth after meals have been really helpful tricks for me.5
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Brushing my teeth sounds like such a good idea, I'll definitely try to incorporate that!1
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Honestly it takes practice. Will power isnt necessarily the right term since bingeing isnt exactly a choice, But i feel its a good thing to mention. Its like a muscle. More you use the willpower muscle stronger it gets and it definatly helps. Reach for lower calorie items whenever possible. Practice stopping a little faster each time. Stop if possible and go for a walk to get away from further temptation. Baby steps.
Best to practice stopping before it happens to. Learn your triggers, Are you bored? upset? mad? Are you just used to reaching for food? Is it habitual or mindset that starts it? Aim yourself away from temptations when you know it may be an issue. Do you binge late nights? after work? Find something to keep your mind/hands busy during these times. Each night i know i eat more so i dont eat until later in my day so i can have a few snacks before bed, And i do a whole beauty routine. Brush teeth really well, Wash my face and put on a facemask, sometimes if urges are to bad ill paint my nails it takes time for my nails to dry so i can drink water/tea and most times the temptations pass.
Really its all about listening to yourself and practicing the little things. You want to learn middle ground between indulging and bingeing.8 -
That's really helpful, it's given me a lot to think about thanks!0
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Id also like to add that while i dont cut anything out of my diet (at all if i really want whatever ill eat it)
But i have found a few things in particular to help curb binges before they start.
1. Focus on my macros- While its not necessary at all for weight loss i found learning what my body likes (for me its high carbs moderate protein and fat) I was able to keep my hunger at a managable level
2. keep my bad binge foods out of my house, If i want it i walk to the FAR store and buy single servings- Me being lazy and nursing that fact actually worked in my favor here hah
3. Generally focus on fitting in alot of vegetables and different proteins and fats to keep my body nourished which again kept me satisfied enough to not reach out and begin a binge out of hunger.
4. When i felt out of control mood starting i go outside. Something so calming about a nice walk and walking tends to dull my hunger.
5. Pushing my hunger- but not to much. When i begin to feel hungry i drink a large glass of water and plan to have my meal in an hour. Helped me stretch out my calories without ever actually getting that hungry that id reach for something unhelpful to my weight loss
6. Be gentle on yourself, Its not all or nothing. 1 bad day doesnt ruin all your good ones unless you let it. baby steps. Every day is a new day. Just do the best you can with each one.
While i realize binging isnt even about hunger majority of the time, It is important to note that keeping my body overall happy and healthy definatly helped me. Hell, After a while of mostly "good" eating my tastes changed and even if i did binge it was mostly on much healthier things. Minor win5 -
It is hard but it's good that you recognize what makes you want to binge. I also find it hard to not comfort myself with food when I'm upset/stressed/whatever. My advice is just to find something (healthy) to replace the binge with. Take a bath, go outside, read a book, watch a funny movie, call a friend, take a nap or whatever. Do something that'll make you feel happy, because that's really what you're trying to do. It's all about retraining yourself and creating new habits. Good luck!2
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Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. when I was at my worst I spent a lot of time restricting my calories and was just too tired to keep battling the urge to binge and sort of justified the binges as I'd not eaten much that day. I've started eating better and that's definitely helped reduce the impulses when emotionally challenged.
Baby steps!
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I still binge once in a while and have Three specific reasons.....1) days when I'm outside my routine 2) when I get overly hungry and 3) when I didn't get enough sleep the night before.
I try to catch myself in the moment and at least acknowledge what's happening. And no matter what, I log every last thing. My worst day was 6,000. Don't let a bad meal become a bad day, or a bad day become a bad week. It's easier said than done, but forgive yourself and move on.5 -
I try to keep a list of things I need to do handy. Some things are big projects and some are small. Some are tedious like sewing on a button, and others are enjoyable like calling a friend. When I feel the urge to eat, I look at my list and choose something to do. I'm not telling myself I can't eat, just that I need to wait till later. Usually the urge to eat passes after I begin a project.
I'm a huge procrastinator, and realized that I used eating as a way to avoid doing tasks. Because I'm shy, even enjoyable tasks like calling a friend got postponed. Not attending to things I need to do causes so much stress, and I'm now learning day by day that the feeling I get after a task is completed is so rewarding, compared to the feeling I get after I eat to fill the time and dull the anxiety. It's probably not something I will ever be expert at, but I'm determined to improve.3 -
I binge terribly when studying, and now I'm delaying doing my dissertation because I know what happens lol. But I do need to get on with it! So I plan on stocking up on high protein foods with the thinking that I'll get full and naturally stop (hopefully)... Also logging them all in advance and then deleting any I don't actually eat. If I can see the calories I could save it might give a bit of an incentive. All just ideas at the moment though.0
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i binge mostly when i'm bored or sad. yesterday i had loads of calories left for my evening meal and snacks but did i stick to plan, NOPE! instead i binged and i'm suffering for it today. I definitely need to use some of the techniques described above. I've always experienced the Sunday blues so will know to plan ahead next time to avoid this from happening again. If only it were that easy.0
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