Binge Eating Disorder

To be clear, overeating  occasionally, is not binge eating. We all do it, especially during the holiday season and during times of celebration. Binge eaters overeat on a regular basis with a lack of control that many find extremely disturbing. Binge eaters tend to use food to cope with stress and emotional pain and although they may feel better at the time, they often feel much worse afterwards. For binge eaters, it can feel as though they are in the grip of a vicious cycle, but the condition is treatable.

A Dozen Tips To Help You Break The  Binge Eating Cycle.

  • Stop dieting. The hunger caused by strict dieting can trigger food cravings. The urge to overeat can then build throughout the day. Rather than dieting, fit is better to focus on eating healthy foods in moderation. Find healthy nutritious foods that you enjoy eating and eat only until you feel content.
  • Manage your stress. Stress and anxiety can cause us to turn to food as a way of coping with difficult feelings. So find effective ways to control stress such as exercising, meditating, using hypnosis or breathing exercises.
  • Exercise. Being active in a positive way is known to help us to naturally increase the brain chemical serotonin. There is evidence that low serotonin levels can play a role in compulsive eating. Exercise can help you lose excess weight in a healthy way, but it can also lift depression, reduces stress and improve overall health. Exercise also has natural mood boosting properties that can help us to avoid emotional eating.
  • Avoid boredom. Often we can resort to eating when we feel bored, so instead of snacking, distract yourself. Go for a walk, read a book or magazine, call a friend, or take up a new hobby such as painting or some other craft.
  • Get enough sleep. When we’re tired we sometimes feel the need to eat, to ‘keep us going’. Go to bed at a reasonable time and avoid alcohol before bed as this can reduce the amount of REM sleep. This type of sleep is essential in helping us to control our emotions.

    #sleep #insomnia
    A good night’s sleep is vital to help us make the right choices
  • Avoid alcohol. Alcohol can destroy all our best intentions. After drinking alcohol, our calorie intake can also rise dramatically. It is a known depressant and when we feel low we may be tempted to resort to binge eating again.
  • Avoid temptation. You’re much more likely to overeat if you have junk food and unhealthy snacks in the house. Give yourself a break, remove the temptation by clearing your fridge and cupboards of your favorite binge foods.
  • Listen to your body. Are you really hungry? Learn to tell the difference between physical and emotional hunger. If you’ve just eaten then you’re probably not hungry. Give yourself 20 minutes to see if the craving time will pass.
  • Eat regularly every day. It can be tempting to miss breakfast, particularly if you binged the night before. However, breakfast kick starts your metabolism and helps you to avoid snacking on high calorie food the rest of the day. Balanced meals at regular intervals supplemented by occasional healthy snacks can prevent or reduce the urge to binge-eat later in the day.
  • A little of what you fancy… Avoid a complete ban of certain foods as this can make you crave them even more. It’s better to allow yourself a few small treats each week to prevent a binge session at the end of the week.
  • Write it down! Keep a food diary, this will encourage to consider what emotions you were feeling when chose to eat what you did. Make sure you write down how you felt before and after you ate as well as during. Look for patterns in your behaviour as this will show you the connection between your moods and binge eating.
  • Get help!  Solution Focused Hypnotherapy aims to help you to create new healthier habits and make you more aware of how you use food to deal with your emotions. SF Hypnotherapy can teach you to relax and the free CD will help to encourage good sleep habits. SF Hypnotherapy can help you to accept yourself as you are and encourage you to deal with stress and anxiety in a more positive way. Book an initial consultation today by clicking here.

Copyright © 2015 Jenny Mellenchip.