90 Minutes

  • Like many of us here, I was so good for weeks at dealing with binge feelings and staying on track. Then this weekend - including last night - all heck broke loose. I started to think about it - like REALLY think about my day. After some self reflection I realized that I only have to manage my feelings for roughly 90 minutes a day, which begins after my daughter closes her eyes and ends when I climb into bed. Granted, this is still a challenge for me, but somehow it seems more manageable when I quantify the "binge danger zone" in this way.

    Anyway, not sure if this will help anyone today, but I just needed to share!

    Hugs to all.
  • What an amazing insight!!!! I'm going to think about this as I know my danger times are whenever I'm at the computer or in the evening (I'm retired so more free time!) -- but not sure I've narrowed it down to specific times. One would think that if I do that, then I can figure out a way to keep those little hands busy with something besides shoving food in my mouth!
  • Ooooh. It does make sense to find out when you are most vulnerable to binge. I need to get more in touch with myself and figure out what triggers me.
  • Thanks guys! It's only sort of worked for me lately, but I'm still trying. Good luck to you!
  • Good exercise. For me it is the afternoons. I think oftentimes what I need is a good nap or a walk but instead I eat.
  • That's a great way to think of it. It's the same technique I use when I have to wait in line for something. I'll start to get annoyed, and to combat that feeling, I say to myself, "How long will I possibly be in this line? Ten minutes? I can handle that!" Somehow, just putting a time on it makes it SO much more manageable.

    Without even consciously recognizing it, I've actually been doing this to combat my nighttime snacking as well. Night is my worst time (for many of us, I think), but I can often combat the urge to snack then by just objectively recognizing my pattern: intense urge to snack, usually between 7 - 9:30; this passes, though, and normally, I'm not even hungry for breakfast. Just objectively reminding myself of this helps.

    Also, along the same lines, I remember reading that if you can just hold off binging for 15 minutes---setting your cell phone timer for that amount of time--most likely the urge will pass. I have tried this before, and it works (if I can wait the 15 minutes).