New Diet for Binge Eating
The first thing that you can do to put an end to binge eating is to go on a diet. Not a deprive-yourself-of-foods diet, but a good mental cleanse. A new “lifestyle” change to embark on.
People ask me what helped me overcome binge eating disorder and I have to tell them that it was my self-talk that really helped. I use to talk down to myself all of the time. I would beat myself up and make myself feel as guilty as I could if I binged. Of course, all this is good for is to lower your self-esteem. Nothing good comes out of being mean to yourself. Simply put: You won’t get better and beat binge eating unless you come up with another plan.
The most important thing to do for yourself is to monitor your thoughts about yourself. Write them down in a journal if you have to. When you find yourself thinking a negative thought, quickly replace that thought with a positive one. Instead of saying “I am so ugly and fat” replace it with “I am beautiful”. If this is too hard for you to do right off the bat, try picking something about yourself that you like and use that instead. “I have pretty eyes” works just fine. For the next few days, really watch what you say about yourself and counter any bad thought with a good one.
Another thing that you can do is to break out of your comfort zone little by little. You don’t have to do something drastic initially. If walking down the street you make eye contact with someone, put a smile on your face. You might have just brightened someone’s day (and it’ll make you feel good too). Step outside of what you do on a daily basis and change it up some. Instead of going home right after work, meet a friend or go to the gym. Keep yourself active so that you don’t think about bingeing. Do things that make you feel good about yourself!