Is it ruining your quest to be slim? Maybe bingeing is making you feel depressed, out of control, sad or stressed? It is easy to become trapped in the vicious cycle of bingeing as most of us will turn to food as a comfort or crutch when feeling low.

 

I am someone who has struggled and still does to a lesser extent with binge eating. I am not a psychologist or therapist just a personal trainer with lots of personal experience dealing with my own and my clients food issues.

 

Firstly, I would recommend trying to identify what initiates a binge for you. There will be ‘triggers’ either.

1. A trigger food or foods
2. A trigger emotion
3. A trigger situation

 

I usually find trigger foods are foods that you have perhaps labelled as ‘bad foods’ or foods that you somehow feel as off bounds eg pizza, chocolate, cake.

 

A trigger emotion can be anything that leaves you needing comfort for example sadness, anger or loneliness can have you reaching for food as comfort or to fill that void.

 

A trigger situation may be a celebration for example a birthday or when you are home alone, even a long car journey could trigger the need to stuff your face!

 

It is worth bearing in mind also that although our access to food is almost unlimited in modern society our physiology has not changed since cave men times. Meaning that we still have an in-built mechanism to make us fill up on hyperpalatable foods for our body to store as fat for leaner times or periods of famine. Early humans would hunt and gather food and often find it in short supply, so the body naturally wants to gorge when we come across sugar or fat to store for future use. That is why you cannot just eat one biscuit!!!

 

How do we overcome this? Gain back control of our eating and waistlines not to mention preventing diseases associated with obesity and overeating eg diabetes.

 

1. The first step is identifying and being aware of our personal food triggers then working out strategies to deal with them. Eg if you know you cannot stop at one biscuit do not buy a pack of biscuits. Avoid high sugar foods and opt for more protein rich, savoury whole foods that are more satiating.

Try changing your attitude to ‘bad foods’ no food is ‘bad’ or ‘good’ context is key small amounts of ice cream and pizza are ok and if included and enjoyed when managing a calorie allowance as part of a healthy diet. This gains back control and removes the forbidden fruit feeling.

2. Working out what your trigger emotions are can help too. Then creating alternative strategies to coping with those that do not include food eg call a friend or family member for a long chat after a stressful day instead of going home and diving into the biscuit tin. Take a long walk or do a workout if you feel angry to dispel the emotion and avoid reaching for food.
3. Anticipate trigger situations eg a birthday celebration and decide in advance whether you will indulge in cake sometimes even allowing yourself one slice guilt free can break that need to binge. Plan before a long car journey and take a pack of healthy snacks with you, this will prevent that stop at the service station to fill up on highly calorific foods.

Lastly if you are still really struggling seek help from a professional, talk to people about how you are feeling and take things one day at a time. If you do end up having the odd binge, try not to be too hard on yourself accept it for what it is and try to move on quickly making a plan for good food and exercise choices the next day.

 

If you need help with a healthy eating and workout plan for weight loss, I have online coaching options currently available. Click the link below to contact me to discuss yours.

https://www.thevegancoach.co/online-coaching/