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Hi my dear friends, welcome back to another blogpost about binge eating. Again, I know this topic is going to be sensitive to some of you so if you feel uncomfortable reading it, you can leave at anytime.
Okay, so what is Binge Eating? Guys, it's important to know that Binge Eating is different from Emotional Eating (Comfort Eating). Let me explain it briefly.
We all experience emotional eating in our life and it happens only occasionally. When we have had a bad day or feeling upset, we sometimes turn to food, and it seems that food has the magic in comforting us. But binge eating is linked to habitual over-consumption of food and it's a lot more serious than emotional eating.
So what's the signs and symptoms of binge eating?
1) Frequently dieting (both mentally and physically):
I restrict myself from eating certain food e.g sweets, carbs & snacks... And my mind at that time was all about food, dieting and what I am gonna eat in the next meal.
Guess what, I could never lose weight in any of the diets.
If you find yourself over-obsessed with weighing food and counting calories of every single food you eat, you should be alert!
2) Eating unusually large amounts of food quickly in a specific amount of time and feeling that your eating behavior is out of control:
I could finish a whole pack of crisps, chocolates, cookies, a whole jar of cashew nuts and slices of bread in one go... The unconscious eating was horrible.
3) Frequently binging alone or in secret:
I only binged when I was alone at home/dorm. I remember once when my parents were asleep, I sneaked into the kitchen and binged and threw the food packages away from the house coz I didn't want to let them know.
4) Frequently feeling depressed, disgusted, ashamed, guilty or upset after binge eating:
I would blame myself and cried for the whole day after the binge episodes. I couldn't concentrate on my studies, my piano practice and my social life. Then, I would do A LOT of exercises (mainly cardio) to compensate for extra calories, or I would skip a meal to "punish" myself.
So what's my tips to stop binge eating?
1) Quit dieting:
To stop binge eating, your first step is to stop dieting. I know it's hard to forget about all the dietary rules but trust me, if you are still in the mindset of losing weight and restricting, you can never heal completely. Try to start by stop counting calories and weighing food, and eat your fear food.
These two pics show my lunch/dinner then, they are definitely not filling for me :(
The portion is pathetic...
2) Eliminate the "all-or-nothing" mindset
No food is born to be "good" or "bad', you can eat your favourite food at anytime and still be healthy. How? By moderation! Want an ice-cream? Grab one! Want a burger? Why not? Eat the food that make you happy ! This is extremely important in developing a positive relationship with food. Then, you will gradually change to a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
I've found that the more I resist a kind of food, the more I want it. After stopping myself from eating sweets, I craved for sugar even more, and it's more likely for me to binge on it. Thus. the desire will be never ending if you don't allow yourself to have it.
This is so bad! Don't do that to yourself :(
3) Remove temptations
The most direct way to avoid binge eating is to clean out your kitchen and house. Don't buy the trigger food and bring them home. Stock up the nutritious food instead of buying the junk food. Personally, I find this way helpful in reducing the risk of binge eating unhealthy food.
I had a nutritious poke bowl in Sydney and it tastes so yum! Who says healthy food are all blend and boring?
4) Identify and address binge eating triggers
People binge eat in response to different emotions such as loneliness, sadness and boredom, or other triggers. Identify your own triggers helps you to manage them and reduce the likelihood of binge eating.
For example, if I binge out of sadness, I will step out of my house to meet friends, talk to someone or just have walk. These are great distractions for me to prevent binge eating.
I did gain weight from then to now, but I am much more happier than before.
5) Seek Help
Last tip for you here! Yes, seek help from the people you trust if you feel like binge eating. We often overestimate our control over binging. I used to tell myself a million time that I have control over it but in fact, I couldn't overcome it without my family, my therapist and my friends' assistance and support. So don't be afraid or ashamed to tell a trusted person or a professional.
There are actually so many other ways to stop binge eating that I can't list them all here, but I really hope my story and tips are helpful. If you are struggling with it, give yourself time to get through it bit by bit. It's not going to last forever and I know you are doing good enough.
That's all for today, thank you so much for reading it. Hope to see you in my next post. Bye~