Let's face it, for the next week, binge eating or overeating might be a problem. Lots of temptations with food and drinks.
If you're trying to keep your weight down and not hurt the progress you made in the last 12 months, you're going to need a plan. Check out 8 ways you can avoid binge eating!
1. Have A Plan In Place
Get yourself on a regular eating pattern. Try to fit three meals and 2-3 snacks in everyday. Put it on your to-do list and make it a priority. Don’t go more than 3-4 hours between meals. Consistently putting small amounts of food into your system can help resist the urge to binge eat and from extreme hunger. Did you ever notice on days when you forgot to eat during the day, you feel nothing you eat can make you feel satisfied in the evening?
2. Know Your Triggers
Once you’re on a decent routine with your meals, look for what triggers your bingeing episodes. Food journaling can be especially helpful with this. Document how you feel before and after you eat. Make note of the times you binged or ate without actually being hungry. Were there certain emotional triggers? Social setting? A candy jar at your grandmas? Taking HONEST notes can help establish patterns therefore helping you figure out your triggers.
3. Avoid Trigger Situations
Knowing your triggers- like for example- downing a entire bag of chips in front of your favorite tv show, can help you avoid them. Plan to give yourself the best chance for success. Perhaps this means doing something else while your watching your favorite tv show, like walking on the treadmill or knitting.
4. Seek Expert Help
There are different ways to go about changing the way you think about food. Seeking an expert in eating disorders is your best first step to address this from all necessary angles. If you don’t know where to find an expert, ask your primary care doctor or your insurance provider for a recommendation.
5. Stop Labeling Food as ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’
Every time you label food as a ‘Bad’ food, or see yourself as a failure for eating it, it takes you further away from that healthy place you’re trying to reach. Most often, people have feelings of guilt and actually end up more likely to binge. Eat the one piece of decedent. Chocolate cake. Enjoy the heck out of it. Move on with your life. Otherwise you’ll find yourself wanting to eat the entire cake later on.
6. Ditch Comparison
Do you find yourself thinking negative thoughts about your own body when looking at the model on the cover of your monthly fitness magazine? Ditch it. End of story.
7. Self-Care Should Be A Priority…
Make it one. Self-Self-care is so much more than maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet. Self-care is also the way you think and talk about yourself and your body. Remember, your entire being does not revolve around food and weight. Also keep in mind that the way you talk about yourself in front of your children is HUGE. Whether you think they are listening or not, they are! I made it a point to tell my daughter when she was little that mommy went to the gym because she wanted to be strong. Not because she didn’t want to be fat.
8. Recognize The Cycle
Be HONEST with yourself about what you are experiencing. Recognizing that it is an issue and taking action is the most important step.
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Michael Allen
Author Bio
Michael has been working with clients in the gym and countless adults in a physical therapy setting since 2013. He spent 3 semesters working at Towson University with student-athletes from nearly every sport at the school. He served as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for Kennard-Dale High School during the 2019-2020 school year. His goal is to always get better and give you the safest and most effective use of your time at First Capital Gym.