Overcoming Your Binge Eating Disorder
Get treatment for your binge eating disorder.
A binge eating disorder is characterized by an excessive and overwhelming desire to eat. This desire causes the individual to eat very large amounts of food and is often paired with a behavior called purging in which the individual eats large amounts and then throws up the food, fasts or takes part in excessive exercising to make up for the overeating. Unfortunately, binge eating is a very dangerous situation because unlike addictions to drugs or alcohol, food cannot just be eliminated from the situation. Without eliminating food entirely, how can one overcome a binge eating disorder? Here’s a look at some steps to take in overcoming a binge eating disorder:
Talk about binge eating with friends and family – or anyone. If you can at least talk to someone about your binge eating then you can get help with your fight to overcome binge eating. If you don’t want to talk to your friends or family, contact an eating disorder rehab center or talk with your doctor or a counselor about binge eating. Once you have talked about the disorder with even one person you have opened up the door to help and you are no longer fighting your binge eating disorder alone.
Don’t purchase large amounts of food from the grocery store. If you have a binge eating disorder then one of the easiest ways to prevent yourself from binging is to only have small amounts of food on hand at home. Instead of purchasing a week’s worth of food for the house, consider buying only enough to make meals for a day or two. This will help to eliminate the ability to overeat.
Consider anxiety, stress and other causes of binge eating. If you notice that you binge when you are stressed or unhappy consider trying to stay involved in more activities that make you happy to help prevent the binge eating sensation. Try to relax and have some fun, stay involved with friends and family and consider the possible causes of your binge eating as well as how you can better work to prevent it.
Leave the past in the past. You cannot make changes to your past. It has already happened and it’s done with. Accept the past as the past, accept the fact that everyone makes mistakes and move on for a better future. If you can begin to forgive yourself then you can begin the road to recovery and overcoming your binge eating disorder.
Don’t try to diet. Just because you overate one day does not mean that you must then counteract the binge eating with a diet. Dieting often results in binge eating because so many foods are limited during a diet that it makes the ability to be successful in the diet nearly impossible, anxiety rises and a binge eating session is more likely.
Learn more about your binge eating disorder. The more you can learn about your binge eating disorder the better your chances are for a full recovery without relapse. You can learn about your binge eating disorder by talking to a counselor about it, attending group therapy sessions for binge eaters and reading self help books that focus on binge eating disorders.
Keep a food diary. Talk to a nutritionist about the foods that you should be eating and about how much you should be consuming and then write these goals down in a food diary. Then, keep track of everything you eat and drink so that you can reflect on your eating habits in a positive way. When you have an urge to eat, write down what you are going to eat before you eat it. This can help to curb your craving and also gives you something to reflect on when you have done well.
Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although it may be tempting to skip a meal because you previously ate too much it’s important that you keep your meals and your eating on track to curb any additional cravings for food that may go out of control. Always eat breakfast and try not to skip lunch or dinner either. Studies show that binge eaters are less likely to binge later in the day if they eat breakfast every day.
Get help. If you or someone you know suffers from binge eating and is unable to stop overeating on their own, talk with an eating disorder rehab center specialist for more help. Eating disorder rehab centers provide specialized treatment and care for those who suffer from various eating disorders including binge eating. You can’t eliminate food from your daily diet but you can learn how to control binge eating urges and live a healthy lifestyle.
