::binge:eating::

I am ashamed to say it but I can be quite the binge-eater. I can eat so healthy for a few days and then *BAM!* I eat everything in sight. This usually hapens on Fridays and Saturdays...I feel like I should reward myself with food after the week I'd had. It is NOT a good thing to do. I will tend to see a loss during the week and then after the weekend I am right back at square one. It is especially frustrating when you are trying to lose weight. I wake up every morning after a binge thinking that I am going to do better this time but that doesn't always happen to be the case...it's frustrating and disheartening at times. 

Why do we even binge eat? This is a question that I keep asking myself every single time I do it...I can never find the answer...why can't I stick with a goal? Instead of a nice healthy soup for dinner on the weekend I will reach for the white fatty pasta or get battered fish with mashed potatoes and gravy...now, everything in moderation right? As long as I don't eat two battered fish and have 2 cups of gravy on my potatoes...but regardless of portion control you just feel like plain shite after eating the most unhealthiest foods of life. If I fail miserably at one point during the day then this sets my brain into override and I think "What the hell, I screwed up so far so why not just eat whatever I want later on?" -- bad idea. 

The next day your heart sinks once you get on that scale. 

It's funny...at 11:11am on November 11, 2011 I wished and told myself that I was going to be fitter and healthier...and this is what I wanted...I can't expect someone to do that for me. That is impossible, my friends. And I have tried some of the diet pills out there to no avail. Just a waste of money. 

It's all about eating healthy...portion control...non-processed foods...and exercise. Some level of fitness at some point during the day. I want to start being a part of the bodyrock movement {www.bodyrock.tv} and even THAT I can't do...I mean, of course, I have 15 mintues out of my day to do a workout. It's the whole: finding workout clothes, changing, finding space to do the workouts, but then the boyfriend calls, he's on his way home, what's for dinner...blablabla...EXCUSES! I know that these are just piss-poor excuses. 

What is everyone's motivation to staying fit and eating healthy?

 I know that if I can get to my first goal than the rest his history and I will be able to get to a point in my life where I will be fit and healthy...it's not a diet..or a fad. It's a lifestyle...and I NEED to adopt this mentality...if I don't; then I am setting myself up for a lifetime of yo-yoing and this isn't something anyone wants to be a part of. 

Anyways...enough about my story...after eating a disgustingly unhealthy lunch and feeling like a bag of $hit now I googled binge-eating and found an article on the Positivity Blog that maybe can set me in some sort of positive and healthier direction & try to understand what the heck I am doing to my body. I think this is why I want to take nutrition as an online course too. So that I am aware of all the bad crap I am doing to myself. 

So here is the article.

7 Helpful Tips to Stop Binge Eating

by Henrik Edberg

Note: This is a guest post by Andrew Bolis of HowToStopEating.com.

Weight loss, the million dollar question, how do I lose weight? Well, I got to ask you, how did you gain weight in the first place?
Being overweight isn't the real problem, it's just a symptom of overeating. Forget dieting and exercise. 

In order to lose weight and keep it off you need to get to the root of the problem. If you are overweight and are trying to just exercise or diet then you are trying to cover up your unconscious overeating with a bandage. Underneath the bandage the overeating habits will still be there. And even if you were to lose weight, you won't be able to keep it off unless you take a deep look at why you eat. 

Binge eating is the most common overeating mechanism. Binge eating is simply eating too much food. Often people binge eat to deal with stress, fear, anger or other tough emotions. A common binge eating episode is eating a whole tub of ice-cream at the end of a stressful day. Another common binge eating episode is dieting and crashing. This was my biggest problem when it came to weight loss. I would diet extremely, eating too little, and I'd be able to keep it up for a few days. However, on the 6th or 7th day I would crash, and binge eat - basically eating all the fatty sugary foods I've been avoiding.

Binge eating is something I personally dealt with for years. Which is why I wanted to give you 7 tips to stop binge eating, or avoid binge eating in the first place. 

1. Do NOT diet.

Dieting doesn't work. I've tried all the diets. I would be able to keep a diet up for a few days. But then I would have a day where I would crash, and binge eat. Rather then trying to diet to lose weight, try to slowly improve your eating habits. Instead of eating 5 junk foods a day, try eating 4 for the next 7 days. Once you have done that successfully then trying eating 3 junk foods for the next 7 days, etc. 

2. Eat fatty or sugary foods in controlled moderation.

Do not deprive yourself of foods you crave. Otherwise you will keep increasing your craving for that food. One day you will crash and binge on that food. Eat fatty and sugary foods you craved in controlled moderation. Control the portion size. It's not a good idea to order a whole large pizza for yourself if you only plan on eating 2 slices. Rather it's better to order a personal sized pizza. 

3. Understand that weight loss is HARD.

Commercials for weight loss products make weight loss look so easy. It's NOT. Losing weight and keeping it off is one of the toughest goals on can achieve. However you can achieve it slowly over time. Trying to lose weight too quickly by eating very little or exercising for extremely long sessions will nto work. It will lead you to crashing and binge eating. 

4. Forgive yourself.

There will be days where you are too weak to say no, and will binge eat. It's ok, forgive yourself. Don't let the feelings of guilt creep in. Don't try to be a perfectionist. You are NOT perfect. Rather forgive yourself, and move on. If you let feelings of guilt and disappointment creep in, you probably will feel overwhelmed, give up, and binge eat some more. 

5. Tell a friend. 

Tell a trusted close friend or family member about your binge eating or overeating habits. More often than not they will be very supportive. They will even ask you what they can do to help. Request that they ask you every now and then about your progress with improving your eating habits. This will help you stay accountable with your commitment to stop binge eating. 

6. Read up on how to stop binge eating.

If you can't stop binge eating, and this is a very serious problem for you then make a commitment to get it handled. Read everything you can find on the subject. You can start by reading many of the tips articles I have on my website How to Stop Eating. 

7. Team up with others who are trying to stop binge eating.

Check out the Food Addiction online support group. It is free to join and will keep you motivated. Also subscribe to my FREE tips newsletter. 

Andrew Bolis writes on the subject of binge eating at HowToStopEating.com. You can also check out his YouTube videos on how to stop binge eating.

-S.*

{Source: www.positivityblog.com / Image from Google Images}