This is me! Binge eating is a huge problem for me. However, I have been having a lot of success not binge eating recently and I think it is because I really got into eating healthy slowly. It doesn't feel like I am 'dieting' or 'restricting.' Also, for me, planning was really important. I know exactly what I am going to eat the next day the night before. This feels tedious and almost stressful the first few days but now I hardly think about. It also helps me get through the day itself because I knew when I was going to eat next and what it was and this helps me control the urge to binge. If I didn't plan it I would get hungry and then make less rational decisions just because I am so hungry. I now keep a tupperware full of cut up carrots, bell peppers and snap peas at all times and it's the first thing I grab when those hunger pains set in. I also keep rice crackers around in really sweet flavors (or you can do savory if that's your poison) but I really only eat these when my cravings are out of control. With snacks like these you need to remember NOT TO TAKE THE BAG OUT. Before you eat a single one, count out the serving, put it in a bowl and put the rest AWAY. This little tip has helped me so much.
That's what I do now that I've got things more under control but when I first started I snacked a lot more because I was so much hungrier. I found though that as long as I just ate a serving of whatever I was craving that was still better than killing the entire bag. I also was careful to make really awful binge foods unavailable.
Another tip, I do most of larger meals early in the day. This solves the problem of getting hungry and binging later and it's also just better for you I think, because you have all day to burn it off instead of going to bed with it in your tummy (I hate that feeling).
Binging is definitely something I know I am going to struggle with for a long time, but slowly I have been incorporating good, healthy habits. When you change a little bit at a time it does make a difference and those first few pounds are great positive reinforcement to make a few more changes and then they really start to add up. I am sure all this is stuff you have heard before but sometimes it is nice to know that it is actually working for someone.
|