Curbing bingeing

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Ana7172015
Ana7172015 Posts: 8 Member
edited August 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
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!

Replies

  • Ana7172015
    Ana7172015 Posts: 8 Member
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    Brushing my teeth sounds like such a good idea, I'll definitely try to incorporate that!
  • Ana7172015
    Ana7172015 Posts: 8 Member
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    That's really helpful, it's given me a lot to think about thanks!
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
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    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!
  • Ana7172015
    Ana7172015 Posts: 8 Member
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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!

  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
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    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.
  • smh_cliff
    smh_cliff Posts: 146 Member
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    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.
  • Focus83
    Focus83 Posts: 20 Member
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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.