Successful Steps to Stop Binge Eating
- Thread starter ladyshiva
- Start date
I am currently on Step One. Step One, if you've read my blog, has two objectives. The first is to record everything. I have to record the date and time of when I ate, what I ate, how much I ate, if I was binging, if I purged afterwards, and how I felt while I was eating. I also record if I exercised, what type of activity I did, and for how long. I record when I went to sleep and when I woke up and how many hours I slept.
I record all of this because I think at heart we are creatures of habits, but sometimes we can't see the patterns of our behaviors. I need to record when I binge so that I know if I'm progressing or not.
The other objective in Step One is to sleep for six to eight hours. Getting enough rest is important in order to stop binging and to lose weight. Sadly, I have not been on a good sleep pattern. My sleeping pattern has been chaotic. I have to repeat Step One. I'm really, really mad at myself. Because I was so down on myself it lead to a binge.
I know that I'm going to binge while I'm following this. I know that it will take a lot of time and dedication. But I'm committed. I know I can do this.
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I record all of this because I think at heart we are creatures of habits, but sometimes we can't see the patterns of our behaviors. I need to record when I binge so that I know if I'm progressing or not.
The other objective in Step One is to sleep for six to eight hours. Getting enough rest is important in order to stop binging and to lose weight. Sadly, I have not been on a good sleep pattern. My sleeping pattern has been chaotic. I have to repeat Step One. I'm really, really mad at myself. Because I was so down on myself it lead to a binge.
I know that I'm going to binge while I'm following this. I know that it will take a lot of time and dedication. But I'm committed. I know I can do this.
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Before you eat it do you think you can associate eating with feeling horrible? Like the first time you touch something really hot and it burns you, you never want to touch anything that hot again - except you can get some good feelings from eating too. Its the bad feelings you need to associate binge eating with.
Also do some quite intense exercise because you will start to think you will waste all your effort that you invested in the exercise if you just binge eat afterwards.
Also do some quite intense exercise because you will start to think you will waste all your effort that you invested in the exercise if you just binge eat afterwards.
PLB
Moderator
Hey lady shiva,
Thanks for posting that! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress! Just be careful about pushing people to read your blog... The link is able to stay at the moment because there are not ads on it, but if you're not actually sharing information and/or interacting with other members on the forum, then it will be deleted. Other than that, it should be all good!
Thanks for posting that! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress! Just be careful about pushing people to read your blog... The link is able to stay at the moment because there are not ads on it, but if you're not actually sharing information and/or interacting with other members on the forum, then it will be deleted. Other than that, it should be all good!
gogirlanime
New member
I have binges too and here are some tips I have that have worked for me
Stopping binges tips
-Don't buy anything unhealthy to keep in your house so at least you have time to remind yourself "no" if you head to the store to buy something bad
-Keep teaching yourself to say in your head "no, I can't, I'm not allowed to" or, "eating this simply is not an option I am not allowed to, eating this brings me one step closer to premature death"
-Keep yourself preoccupied when you have a craving get up and go do something, if you are genuinely hungry and haven't reached your calorie limit for the day then eat something, preoccupy yourself by spending extra time to make a delicious, elaborate, and healthy meal
-Make snack alternatives like Kool-Aid with stevia instead of soda, or strawberries with a little bit of sugar-free hershey's syrup,
-When you do snack or "cheat" eat it as slowly as you can tolerate to savor your "reward"
-Take an appetite suppressant
-Drink a lot of water it will keep you full and will flush out excess salt and sugar in your body that makes you crave, most of the time when you're hungry you're actually thirsty
-Write notes everywhere in the house that says things like, "you're not hungry, you're bored and you're just craving, find something to do" or "put the ice cream down, have you gone to the gym today" and change the locations and messages of these often so they surprise you, put them in places you'll forget you put them.
-If you do keep snacks in the house, pre-strike them and put bright stickers on them that say "NO! cheat day only" or lock them away in a box and on the key and box it should say "cheat day only"
this helps me a lot, but it boils down to willpower I know you can do it, it's hard, but it's not impossible at all!
Stopping binges tips
-Don't buy anything unhealthy to keep in your house so at least you have time to remind yourself "no" if you head to the store to buy something bad
-Keep teaching yourself to say in your head "no, I can't, I'm not allowed to" or, "eating this simply is not an option I am not allowed to, eating this brings me one step closer to premature death"
-Keep yourself preoccupied when you have a craving get up and go do something, if you are genuinely hungry and haven't reached your calorie limit for the day then eat something, preoccupy yourself by spending extra time to make a delicious, elaborate, and healthy meal
-Make snack alternatives like Kool-Aid with stevia instead of soda, or strawberries with a little bit of sugar-free hershey's syrup,
-When you do snack or "cheat" eat it as slowly as you can tolerate to savor your "reward"
-Take an appetite suppressant
-Drink a lot of water it will keep you full and will flush out excess salt and sugar in your body that makes you crave, most of the time when you're hungry you're actually thirsty
-Write notes everywhere in the house that says things like, "you're not hungry, you're bored and you're just craving, find something to do" or "put the ice cream down, have you gone to the gym today" and change the locations and messages of these often so they surprise you, put them in places you'll forget you put them.
-If you do keep snacks in the house, pre-strike them and put bright stickers on them that say "NO! cheat day only" or lock them away in a box and on the key and box it should say "cheat day only"
this helps me a lot, but it boils down to willpower I know you can do it, it's hard, but it's not impossible at all!
I have been binge free for 4 days in a row. It seems like it's been weeks. I've dropped 18 lbs in the past month. I haven't worked out at all or restricted my calories. Here's what I did:
1. I made sure that I ate every three-four hours.
2. I made sure that my portions were the correct size
3. I got more sleep
4. I wrote down everything I ate and how I felt when I ate it
5. I drink nothing but water and a treat for me is soda or lemonade or juice
6. I ate more salads with my meals (turkey burgers with side salad of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers and the 2 TBSP of salad dressing)
7. I cooked my own meals.
8. I limited as much processed foods from diet as I can. I love granola, instead of buying something with HFCS, I just made my own with honey. I make my own pasta sauce from canned tomatoes. I really try to make everything from scratch except for bread, as I hate making bread.
9. I stopped feeling defeated by my weight
10. I started doing things that made me happy, like playing video games or writing short stories.
1. I made sure that I ate every three-four hours.
2. I made sure that my portions were the correct size
3. I got more sleep
4. I wrote down everything I ate and how I felt when I ate it
5. I drink nothing but water and a treat for me is soda or lemonade or juice
6. I ate more salads with my meals (turkey burgers with side salad of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers and the 2 TBSP of salad dressing)
7. I cooked my own meals.
8. I limited as much processed foods from diet as I can. I love granola, instead of buying something with HFCS, I just made my own with honey. I make my own pasta sauce from canned tomatoes. I really try to make everything from scratch except for bread, as I hate making bread.
9. I stopped feeling defeated by my weight
10. I started doing things that made me happy, like playing video games or writing short stories.
seliwyma
New member
Hi Ladyshiva,
I've suffered from binge eating disorder for the past 6 years as a result of untreated PTSD. I've definitely come a long way in terms of recovery. The binge days still happen...but the binges are smaller and the days happen far less frequently, so that's good!
One thing that has really helped me is to remember to frame my thoughts positively rather than negatively. I actually got the idea from watching a Derryn Brown show where he regressed a woman and told her if she pressed the red button it would kill the kitten "DO NOT PRESS THE RED BUTTON." She got herself in such a state and ended up pressing the red button. The whole point was to show that we always want to do what we're not allowed to do. If you say "do not eat that chocolate," "do not binge"....your brain is still thinking about those things. Instead, frame it positively.
At the worst stage of my eating disorder, about 3 or 4 years ago, I decided that, rather than telling myself NOT to binge, I would tell myself this; "today I am happy and healthy." I chanted this in my brain like an absolute madwoman as I walked past every corner shop and takeaway that would usually be my downfall....and it worked. It was still hard, definitely, but it worked much better than simply telling myself not to do it.
I hope that helps!
I've suffered from binge eating disorder for the past 6 years as a result of untreated PTSD. I've definitely come a long way in terms of recovery. The binge days still happen...but the binges are smaller and the days happen far less frequently, so that's good!
One thing that has really helped me is to remember to frame my thoughts positively rather than negatively. I actually got the idea from watching a Derryn Brown show where he regressed a woman and told her if she pressed the red button it would kill the kitten "DO NOT PRESS THE RED BUTTON." She got herself in such a state and ended up pressing the red button. The whole point was to show that we always want to do what we're not allowed to do. If you say "do not eat that chocolate," "do not binge"....your brain is still thinking about those things. Instead, frame it positively.
At the worst stage of my eating disorder, about 3 or 4 years ago, I decided that, rather than telling myself NOT to binge, I would tell myself this; "today I am happy and healthy." I chanted this in my brain like an absolute madwoman as I walked past every corner shop and takeaway that would usually be my downfall....and it worked. It was still hard, definitely, but it worked much better than simply telling myself not to do it.
I hope that helps!
Professor Tom
New member
I know that I am prone to binge eating. It's like my binge low level light comes on and I have to do it.
To combat that I plan a binge so that I encounter the binge on my terms. On the day I plan to binge I get up and have a light breakfast. I try to make this on one of the days I play basketball when I can burn off almost 1000 calories in a session. I then have a salad for lunch.
By the time I get do dinner I am probably a negative 500 calories to the good. My favorite binge food is pizza and I will usually have about 6 slices which comes in at a whopping 2500 calories.
The bottom line is that I have binged on my favorite food and still had a pretty good day at just below 2000 calories!
Planning binge is not the healthiest thing I do, but it sure keeps me on track.
Tom Laurie
author of The Losing Attitude for Dieters
To combat that I plan a binge so that I encounter the binge on my terms. On the day I plan to binge I get up and have a light breakfast. I try to make this on one of the days I play basketball when I can burn off almost 1000 calories in a session. I then have a salad for lunch.
By the time I get do dinner I am probably a negative 500 calories to the good. My favorite binge food is pizza and I will usually have about 6 slices which comes in at a whopping 2500 calories.
The bottom line is that I have binged on my favorite food and still had a pretty good day at just below 2000 calories!
Planning binge is not the healthiest thing I do, but it sure keeps me on track.
Tom Laurie
author of The Losing Attitude for Dieters
Laughdrjr
New member
Hello Ladyshiva,
I noticed that you haven't updated your blog since May and my hope is that doesn't mean you are experiencing the pain of binge eating right now.
One of the best tools I ever encountered for stopping binge eating during my journey to my ideal weight is to, simply, stay in the moment.
I noticed that whenever I binged, it was always connected to some uncomfortable feeling I was experiencing. And, in my experience, most of my discomfort was related to anger/resentment (which arises from living in/focusing on the past) or fear (which arises from living in/focusing on the future).
It may sound like some time-worn homily, but this is literally true: the past and the future are illusions. The only moment that is real is right now.
In fact, if you want to get technical about it, quantum physics teaches us that what we call "the past" is merely a remembered string of "right nows". And, conversely, quantum physics teaches us that there is no such thing as "the future" because, when it arrives (which hopefully it will) it will become "right now".
If you're like me, with practice living in the moment, you may come to find that there is never a "right now" when I do not have the personal tools and resourcefulness to be emotionally and physically safe and sound.
When I am living in the present moment, binge eating becomes a much less appealing solution. In fact, it is not very appealing at all.
Living in the moment takes some practice (especially if you've been living, thus far, without doing it). I have never become "perfect" at it and don't think any of us are ever supposed to.
Some good tools to learn to live in the moment are:
Practicing 15 minutes of quiet meditation each day
Stilling your mind (choosing to turn off your mind's incessant chatter) as often as possible each day
Paying attention to your breathing
The last two tools can be practices anywhere and at anytime, without interfering with your normal daily routine. Take it easy on yourself and simply recommit yourself to practicing these tools if you "slip" and revert to living in the past or the future.
Good luck to you and let us know how your journey is progressing.
Thanks for reading,
Greg Kuhn
I noticed that you haven't updated your blog since May and my hope is that doesn't mean you are experiencing the pain of binge eating right now.
One of the best tools I ever encountered for stopping binge eating during my journey to my ideal weight is to, simply, stay in the moment.
I noticed that whenever I binged, it was always connected to some uncomfortable feeling I was experiencing. And, in my experience, most of my discomfort was related to anger/resentment (which arises from living in/focusing on the past) or fear (which arises from living in/focusing on the future).
It may sound like some time-worn homily, but this is literally true: the past and the future are illusions. The only moment that is real is right now.
In fact, if you want to get technical about it, quantum physics teaches us that what we call "the past" is merely a remembered string of "right nows". And, conversely, quantum physics teaches us that there is no such thing as "the future" because, when it arrives (which hopefully it will) it will become "right now".
If you're like me, with practice living in the moment, you may come to find that there is never a "right now" when I do not have the personal tools and resourcefulness to be emotionally and physically safe and sound.
When I am living in the present moment, binge eating becomes a much less appealing solution. In fact, it is not very appealing at all.
Living in the moment takes some practice (especially if you've been living, thus far, without doing it). I have never become "perfect" at it and don't think any of us are ever supposed to.
Some good tools to learn to live in the moment are:
Practicing 15 minutes of quiet meditation each day
Stilling your mind (choosing to turn off your mind's incessant chatter) as often as possible each day
Paying attention to your breathing
The last two tools can be practices anywhere and at anytime, without interfering with your normal daily routine. Take it easy on yourself and simply recommit yourself to practicing these tools if you "slip" and revert to living in the past or the future.
Good luck to you and let us know how your journey is progressing.
Thanks for reading,
Greg Kuhn
Blaine Podaima
New member
The best way to stop binge eating is quit eating foods with carbs. People only binge on carbs. When was the last time you binged on salad. After you remove foods from your diet you will start to crave them less and less.
Jane Zumers
Banned
Well what did you do on it?What happened?Can you please share some stories?