empowerME(nt)

First off, if you are like me, your binge eating was more of a food addiction. You hide it, are ashamed of it, and have tricked yourself into believing it never happens. I’m not going to lie to you, getting over binge eating is HARD. I cried like a little baby more than once because I just wanted food, and not because I was hungry. The first two weeks are difficult. But, if you’re really committed to making a change, then look no further. This is everything I did/am doing to get over my problems.

Start tracking your calories. I use myfitnesspal.com

There is nothing worse to make you feel like you ruined your hard work than a binge. The first thing to remember is that you did not ruin all your hard work. One binge is not the end of the world! 

The following are some tips that I have found to help me and others.

To Avoid Binge Eating

-Keep busy! Go to the library instead of staying home to study, make up some errands to go do, go for a walk/run. Keeping busy keeps your mind off food.

-Keep trigger foods completely out of the picture. Mine are peanut butter and ice cream, once I have those it’s all over for me. Buy only keep foods you absolutely NEED in the house, and you’ll be less likely to binge.

-Keep the same type of foods in the house. By all means, be creative with your diets, but if you bring ‘treats’ into the house like chocolate or chips, you’re more likely to break down and binge on those because it’s not always there.

-Plan out what you are going to eat the night before and leave yourself 150 calories to have an “impulse snack.” This has helped me a lot. Will power alone will not get you past binge eating. If you suddenly want a snack and do it in moderation, you’ll be less likely to go crazy because you “can’t eat it randomly”

-If you have a boyfriend/best friend/close parent/teacher. I highly suggest opening up to them. After god knows how many years of this I dealt with, I finally opened up to my boyfriend and was honest about the extent of my binge eating. He has been incredibly supportive and I’ve made a lot of progress.

-Stay away from the kitchen (or wherever your food is kept). I’m pretty lazy so if I’m up in my room I’m way less likely to get up and go get food. If i’m in the kitchen though, it’s so easy to walk over to the fridge or pantry and get something to eat.

If you feel like you are going to binge

-Go take a shower, be girly, and pamper yourself

-Write in a journal what you want to eat and why you think you want to eat it

-Stop, close your eyes, and determine whether it is physical or mental hunger

-If you are truly hungry and are a volume/emotional eater, try eating air-popped popcorn, carrots, cheerios, vegetables, fruit or any other low calorie/large serving food. Or just eat a meal. More often then not I’m sitting there so hungry and then I realize the last time I ate, and that it’s time for lunch or dinner!

-Drink Diet Coke! Yes I know, we’re supposed to stay away from soda on diets. But this really fills me up and it’s 0 calories. And it’s good. 

-Go for a walk/run, enjoy nature around you

-Hang out with friends

-Watch the biggest loser! Or another tv show you love :p

-Make a motivation wall with quotes/pictures/your weight counting down so your goals are always staring you in the face and you are visually seeing what you’re working toward

-If you are in the car and about to go through a drive through, JUST KEEP DRIVING. Go to a store and use that money to buy something to make/do/wear. I found a lot of solace in crafts/scrapbooking. It keeps my mind off of eating if it ever gets bad.

If you have already binged

It’s OKAY. Take a deep breath. Drink water. Take this opportunity to write down what you’re feeling. When you want to binge again, read what you wrote. Are those feelings worth it? 

Don’t use your binge as an excuse to eat poorly the rest of the day. You binged, move on, and eat healthy the rest of the day.

It is incredibly hard realizing that food isn’t going anywhere. If you find you can never get full, put more protein and fiber into your diet. Almonds, greek yogurt, grapes, watermelon, berry berry kix, bananas, and cottage cheese are only a couple suggestions of food that I have found to be incredibly filling.