‘stop binge eating’

I needed a couple of days to relax after my vacation, so that’s why I haven’t blogged.  It’s funny - We go on vacation to relax and have fun and then when we return, we need a vacation from our vacation.  Ha, ha.

Not sure if you’ve ever wondered about the topics that I choose to blog about - where they come from, etc., but lately, I’ve found my “inspiration” from the emails that you write me.  It’s nice to be able to help a few people with the same question all at once.

The latest, most popular question has been about alcohol and binge eating disorder.  When anyone (with binge eating disorder or not) has some alcohol, your guard gets lowered.  Perhaps you were doing great with eating healthy and cutting out your binge trigger foods, and after 2 glasses of wine, you find that those french fries do in fact look yummy and that one will not hurt.  

This happened to me a lot when I was bingeing.  I would be so proud of myself a certain day because of my eating, then the phone would ring, an invitation to happy hour would be accepted, and on the way home I would stop and get fast food.  Just about every single time.  I felt like such a loser because I couldn’t control my willpower.  Have you ever felt like this?

Clearly the most obvious solution is to give up alcohol, right?  If you feel like abstaining from wine, liquor, or beer would suit you best, do it!  It will really help curb those unwanted binges and I’m sure that some pounds will melt away too.  You will feel better and not be tempted as easily.

However, if you are like me and happen to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner (not every night, just to clarify!), then here are some things you can think about so that you end it with your one glass:

1.  Make sure not to overdo it.  Don’t binge on food and alcohol.  Have a drink and call it a night.

2.  If you are the kind of person that can exercise at night, do it instead of snacking.  Personally I’ve never been able to go to sleep when I exercise late in the evening, so this option never worked for me. 

3.  Before you start really feeling the alcohol, ask yourself if it is really worth it.  You might want a glass of wine with dinner, but if that one glass leads to another and another, how will that affect your weight, your bingeing, and your overall feeling about yourself?  

4.  Go for an after dinner walk with your pet, significant other, or friend.  Make the decision to only have a glass of wine with dinner and no more after that.

5.  Think about how not drinking will really help your bank account… When you pair that with curbing future binges (due to alcohol), you will have saved some money for sure!

Before I give you the 3 steps for binge eating disorder help, I want to talk about what goes through your mind initially when you think about overcoming binge eating.  With any goal, especially binge eating disorder, it might sound great at first, but then fear sets in and you get scared.  Fear puts up an obstacle that discourages us from achieving our goal.  

Here are three steps that you can do for binge eating disorder help:

1.  Think small.
As much fun as it is to think about not binge eating anymore, it just becomes too overwhelming at the beginning.  After a few minutes of feeling good about not binge eating, your mind will start to fast forward to parties in the future, years in advance, future stress/anxiety, and all the other things that used to cause you to binge eat.  All of this will cause you to want to throw in the towel because it will seem too hard.  Too much to actually do in order to get to the not binge eating phase.  

So for binge eating disorder help, you must think small.  Instead of letting your mind focus on how you won’t binge eat the next week, only focus on one day at a time.  Take it really small, even if it feels too easy.  This will really help you to make big steps in the future.

2.  Be creative.
There are always more ways to achieve a goal than the first thought that comes to your mind.  Learn to be creative.  If you feel like exercise will help you curb your next binge, but you don’t actually want to get to the gym… Why not do some lunges at home?  If your favorite television show is on, do some kind of exercise during the commercial breaks.  Run up and down the stairs.  Just start off small, be creative, and build from there.

3.  Reward yourself.
It will be easy to become frustrated because you are starting out so small, so it’s important to reward yourself (not with food!) for your small (but important) successes.  For example, if you were tempted to binge, but withheld, why not treat yourself to a manicure or a massage.  If you have been writing in your journal and found how helpful that has been, why not purchase yourself a brand new journal?  Rewards don’t have to be expensive.  Think of anything that you enjoy doing and reward yourself the next time that you have a success.  Remember to never downplay a success either…  After all, it’s all those little successes that add up and are imperative for binge eating disorder help! 

Obsessing over food, even though you aren’t particularly hungry?  

Don’t worry, this happens to so many people.  I get emails asking me about tricks to stop this because it often leads to a binge.  The majority of time people do binge because of an underlying emotional issue that happened in the past… but there are also the people who can’t recall why they exactly started to binge eat.  They just know that they enjoy food and feel like they can’t eating, which turns into massive binge sessions.  

With binge eating, food is our “drug” and anyone that has binge eating disorder knows that it’s really hard to pass up food.  We need it to survive, for energy, to be productive, so what do you do when food is constantly on your mind?

Here are some tips that used to help me stay away from the pantry and focus on things other than food and binge eating:

1.  Chew gum.  Most of the time when we crave food, we just want something in our mouth.  I mean, we aren’t hungry, so just chewing something will often times give us the satisfaction we are looking for.  (Pick the kinds of gum where the flavor lasts so that you don’t get bored.)

2.  Get out of the house.  Even now that I don’t binge, I find that when I am home I tend to gravitate towards the pantry to snack just because it is there.  If I am out running errands, I notice that I am preoccupied with something else and I don’t have the feeling to just snack.  Instead of raiding the pantry and the frig., get out of the house.  Run errands, exercise, go for a walk, even go upstairs if you can.  It really helps when the kitchen is not visible to you.

3.  Support.  Think about the people, websites, or articles that really motivate you to stay on track.  Visit blogs, look for videos online, or read a good book that will really get through to you that you shouldn’t go into the kitchen.  The food and binge eating is just not necessary.  Many people find support through a good friend too - Whatever helps you, do it!

4.  Healthy alternatives.  This is a big one for me and really helped me get through so many binges in the past.  It seemed that I never craved healthy foods to binge on.  Instead I wanted fast food, junk food, and anything that was bad for me.  When I used to crave candy, I would have something sweet, but that was healthy - like fruit.  When I wanted Taco Bell, I would make a bean burrito at home because I knew that it wouldn’t be as bad for me as Taco Bell was.  Just learning to make healthier alternatives when you are craving food can really help curb a binge.

The next time you can’t get food out of your mind or a craving just seems too strong, try some of the above tricks.  If you have any tricks that help you, leave a comment - You never know who you will be helping with your tip.  And, let’s admit…  We all want to end binge eating disorder, whether it’s sharing what worked for you, or just having support.  

I thought it would be helpful to post some of my favorite tips in overcoming binge eating disorder.  I have mentioned all of these before, but it never hurts to refresh your memory!  

The 4 tips that can help you overcome binge eating disorder are:

1.  No more negative talk!  
If you constantly put yourself down, what do you think that does to your self-esteem?  Not only will negative talk lower your self-esteem, but you will never feel good about deserving to overcome binge eating disorder… and you must feel like you deserve at least to overcome your eating disorder if you truly want to get better.

2.  No more binge food!  
If you keep all of your favorite binge foods in the house, throw them out or donate them.  Having binge foods in the house will only keep it fresh on your mind.  When you remove the trigger foods from your pantry and/or refrigerator, it will be that much harder to actually have a binge because now you will have to go to the store to buy what you want.

3.  No more holding emotions in!
Get a journal and actually use it.  Make sure that you are very honest when writing in your journal.  You will want to write about your bad days and your good days.  Capture everything!  Writing about an especially rough day will be amazing for you because it allows you to get your feelings out in a healthy and non-destuctive way.  It will help curb bingeing even more!

4.   No more boredom!
Many people binge simply because they are bored.  To help get rid of binges out of boredom, take up a new hobby.  Take music lessons, organize all of your pictures that are not in an album, take a dance class, take your dog for a walk, or learn another language.  You want to have a new hobby to do when you become bored and might want to binge. 

This past week I’ve remembered how convenient binge eating disorder can be in life.  Usually I function best throughout the day when I have somewhat of a routine…  There has been no routine this past week because I’m working on a few things for my husband’s 30th birthday next Tuesday.  It’s absolutely taken so much of my time, while giving me a lot of time to think about binge eating disorder.  

Overcoming binge eating disorder is best when you have a routine to go by.  A routine leaves no question on snacking when you aren’t hungry or when you are bored.  It also leaves no room for question on when you will eat lunch.  It’s a routine and it works.  

So my week has been running here and there and being couped up in one of the empty bedrooms upstairs.  I’ve had to run out and it’s been around lunchtime that I’ve done this.  Instead of thinking about coming home, making lunch, and eating it, I’ve thought that picking something up would just be more convenient.  I did get a bean burrito from Taco Bell the other day, but that is beside the point.

For someone that has overcome binge eating disorder, there is not a temptation for me to binge.  I feel like it’s so far in the past…  but I can also think and appreciate how convenient it would be to stop at fast food places and binge for others.  Most importantly, considering we are leaving for Vegas on Monday, I’m overwhelmed.  You mix that feeling with not having a routine in place right now and it can spell d-i-a-s-t-e-r for you.  A binge can seem like just what you need to calm and re-group.  

But, as you know, it won’t help.  In fact, after I ate Taco Bell the other day, I felt nasty.  I felt like an extra 5 pounds was added immediately and I also noticed how eating that burrito affected my mood.  Maybe that’s just me though…

If you have a routine in place throughout the day, do you notice that it helps you to not binge?  If you don’t have a routine, do you think you will start?  Do you see how it could help you try to overcome binge eating disorder?

Don’t let binge eating disorder be convenient.  Have a routine in place to curb future binge eating temptations!

I’ve made a list of a few behaviors that can really provoke binge eating disorder.  It’s not the “magic” pill to take and have binge eating disorder disappear, but I think that if you can change some of your behaviors towards food, you will notice a change in your eating disorder.

Here are 6 behaviors that can lead to a binge session for you:

1.  Crazy dieting.
So often we think that we have to take the most drastic measures to not only get binge eating disorder under control, but to also lose weight.  We starve ourselves and do other crazy things with the hope of shedding a few pounds.  Instead we are so hungry that we end up giving this method of dieting up and start to raid the pantry and end the day with a full-out binge.

2.  Eating proper food combinations.
There is no proof that eating carbs with protein is better than eating just protein alone.  So many people buy into this because we want to be able to get binge eating disorder under control and we want it to be easy.  The whole diet industry has confused us all and we don’t know what to do for the maximum weight loss so we are apt to try anything.

3.  Carbs are the enemy.
This is one of my favorites.  Yes, I tried the Atkins diet years ago and I did lose weight.  I was successful for a while, but I had the worst headaches and lowest energy level that you can imagine.  Any kind of a diet can work, but what you have to ask yourself is if you can keep up with something like that.  For me, I wanted potatoes, not boiled cauliflower that looked like mashed potatoes.  It just didn’t cut it for me.  And of course I would end up bingeing non-stop for a few days after depriving myself of carbs.  So, carbs are not the enemy - They are just like everything else and should be eaten in moderation.  That’s all.

4.  Fat-free items are the best.
Who has actually eaten a whole bag of fat-free or low-fat chips just because they have less or no fat in them?  I’m soo guilty of this too.  It’s like you are given total access to binge because hey, it’s low-fat.  Not the case.  It’s good to watch your fat, but your body also needs fat too.  Buying into the whole fat-free-so-I’m-safe thing just doesn’t work and will most likely lead you to open the pantry and see what other food you can binge on.

5.  Grocery shopping without a list.
When I go to the grocery store (even now) I always bring a list.  I know that without a list I will deviate and stroll down the chip aisle and pick up some junk.  I just know it… especially if I’m hungry.  How many of you bring lists with you?  It really helps to keep you in check without buying a bunch of stuff that you don’t need, that isn’t healthy, and that will help you binge eat on later.

6.  Buying in bulk.
I know it might be cheaper to buy in bulk, especially right now in the economy when money is tight… but it doesn’t help binge eating disorder.  Having tons of food just gives you the go-ahead to binge, binge, and binge some more because it’s right there.  If you can refrain from buying in bulk, I recommend buying little pre-portioned snacks to get you through the day.  If you need to buy in bulk, fill a little bag with the right size portion of the snack.  Hopefully this will help you stop a binge. 

Since October 2006, I have personally responded to over 1,000 emails from people like you who have asked a lot of great questions. 

Many were the same questions I had asked myself when I first learned of Binge Eating Disorder.  Others were questions I had asked myself when I was learning to overcome Binge Eating Disorder.  And there were many, many other questions that came in that didn’t even come to me.

So many questions… so many answers.

Recently, I spent countless hours going through each and every email that I’ve ever replied to over the last 3 and 1/2 years and broke everything down into 8 categories:

1. Binge Eating Disorder
2. Body Image
3. Food
4. Exercise
5. Health
6. Motivation
7. Websites
8. Weight Loss

To learn more, go to: http://www.endbingeeating.com/report.html

As you can imagine, this was a TON of work, but it has been well worth it because of the great feedback I’ve recieved from many of you.  The Binge Eating Disorder Q&A Special Report is over 80 pages long and covers nearly each and every single question you’ve asked or will ask yourself as you take your journey to becoming binge-free.

Also, for those of you who have read my ebook, “End Binge Eating”, you know that I never fully go into all of the details as to why I started binge eating.  Well, I did share my story with many of you via email… and because so many of you thought it was so helpful and could relate, I disclose everything for the first time in 3 and 1/2 years in the Binge Eating Q&A Special Report.

Here’s just one of many emails I’ve received from people like you, after she read my report:

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“Kristin,

I am 50 years old and have been a binge eater since about the third grade.  I must tell you that I am so ready to STOP bingeing.  I am 50 years old!  Enough already!  Although I’ve never been more than 20 pounds overweight, bingeing has still caused huge problems for me.  I’ve struggled with digestion problems, isolation, grouchy negative behavior, and have been stuck for years with this ineffective way of coping with stress and soothing myself when upset, bored, tired, angry, whatever.  I am coming to a new time in my life where my daughters are in college and my nest will soon be empty.  I am trying to “figure myself out” and dealing with my binge eating is long overdue.
 
I have only been able to put a name to my disorder in the last few months and I appreciate your website and products.  I admit that I researched binge eating disorder and came back to your website many times before actually purchasing your e-book.  As I read in your Q and A what caused you to start bingeing, I saw myself in your story.

I also binged because of becoming aware of boys and feeling uncomfortable in my skin.  You talked about the thrill you felt as you raided the kitchen–I hadn’t thought of it in that way, but now I realize that my reaction at the time was the same.  I somehow felt powerful to be in control when my parents were out of the house.
 
Your e-book has resonated with me in so many ways.  The journaling, affirmations, personal growth, and exercise recommendations are right on.  I think the biggest thing that I have gotten out of all your material is that I have to change my way of thinking.  To do that, I recite affirmations daily.  The best are the ones you recently sent out with your newsletter.  They are written from the point of view that I am ALREADY healthy.  Honestly, if I can change my thinking, I know that I can beat this thing.  Thank you for all you are doing to help.”
– Sue, CA
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To learn more, go to: http://www.endbingeeating.com/report.html

Good news:  I’ve decided to launch a brand-new binge eating disorder eCourse!

I’m really excited about it and it’s filling up fast…  So I’ve created somewhat of an outline so that you can decide if this is something for you.  Yesterday we sent out the email with the announcement and we started out with 20 spots.  It makes me so happy that so many of those spots are now taken and I can’t wait to start the lessons.

You can take a look at the site for all of the details:  http://www.endbingeeating.com/ecourse.html

I’ve come up with a tentative outline so that you can know what to expect:

Week 1:  Managing Your Life  
Learning to say no,
Realizing your self-worth,
Accepting yourself,
Managing stress,
What works and doesn’t work, and
Figuring out patterns of bingeing, along with your various thought patterns.

Week 2:  Self-Esteem
Healing the past for your low self-esteem,
Inventory of all areas of your life:  Binge Eating/Health, Money, Relationships/Friendships, Family, Hobbies/Fun, Spiritual).

Week 3:  Changing Your Thinking
Two Fears and how they hold us back,
Self-Limiting beliefs and how to unlock your potential and accomplish what you thought was not possible,
How you see and feel about yourself, and
Being aware of self-talk and getting rid of what is not true.

Week 4:  Changing Your Life
Four causes of negative thinking and how to stop,
Learning to take control over your thoughts and actions,
Seven steps to change your future and end binge eating disorder,
Mental roadblocks that hold us back,
The one thing you have control over and what you need to implement to start changing your life.

Each week will also have exercises and things for you to think about and change.  In addition to the lessons, I also have some tips that I will be sending out periodically to you.

If this sounds like something you are interested in, you can enroll at: http://www.endbingeeating.com/ecourse.html

If you enroll, I truly look forward to working with you!!
 

When you think about how to stop binge eating, your mind can get very overwhelmed on what to do first.  Here are four thing you can add to your life now to help you stop binge eating.

1.  Stop any negative self-talk.  If you find yourself thinking negatively, counter that thought with a positive one.  Do not beat yourself up anymore, instead praise yourself and try to make you feel good about yourself.  If you can’t make yourself feel good, who can?

2.  Get rid of all binge foods in your house.  It’s much harder to eat food that isn’t there.  This might be hard for you to do, but it’s well worth it.  Think of how much harder it would actually be for you to have to go to the store each time you wanted to binge.  The more out of reach the food is, the better!

3.  Journal.  Here’s the catch though:  Buy the journal AND actually use it by writing in it!  In your journal, write about your feelings throughout the day.  Also write about any temptation to binge and how you were feeling at that point in time.  Write what you did about the binge: was it too strong for you to overcome or were you able to beat it?  If you were able to beat it, what tactic did you use to help?

4.  Take up a new hobby and do it when you feel the urge to binge.  Scrapbooking, taking a dance class, knitting, walking, going to the gym, and playing an instrument are all very good things to do to get your mind off of bingeing.  Even getting on the computer and coming to this site for additional support and help is a good idea.  Post in the forum and get ready for motivation and support!

I know that these 4 tips seem extremely simple… and they are.  The hardest obstacle when trying to stop binge eating is actually doing these things in place of binge eating.  It will get hard, but try one (or all!) of these tips the next time you want to binge.  Keep building upon it and you will start seeing successes!!  

Remember that when you marry your intention with action, miracles happen!

PS - This has nothing to do with how to stop binge eating, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to the George Michael concert tonight with my mom.  I haven’t been too excited about it, but I think we’ll have a blast!  I’ll be sure to update you tomorrow - Everything I’ve read so far says that his concert is awesome!  

Title: Stop Binge Eating, Part I.  I just posted a new video on YouTube, which is something that I *promise* that I’ll be doing a lot more for you.  If you have any ideas on topics, or if you have any questions about Binge Eating Disorder that you would like me to cover, please reply to this post.  Here’s the video!