When that urge to start overeating begins it can be almost impossible to ignore and it can become really overwhelming.
That first taste can soon become an uncontrollable need to continue eating, and then once it’s over, you can be left with some really intense emotions such as guilt and shame that can take such a massive toll on your mental health.
Binging is much easier to control if it can be managed before the binge actually starts, but that in itself can feel like an impossible feat. But it isn’t.
Throughout this article, we’ll go over some strategies that will help you avoid binge eating.
Long-Term Strategies
The best way to tackle binge eating is to think long-term.
If you can change some of your habits and familiar habits, it is possible to control the binge before it actually begins, where managing it becomes increasingly more difficult.
Here are a few things you can try.
Have A Meal Plan
Having meal plans throughout the day can be really beneficial. And ensuring that you create a regular pattern for your eating habits is imperative to avoiding that binge.
Quite often, a binge will come about from rigid dietary restrictions or intentional undereating. This may be a result of guilt from a previous binge.
While eating regularly may seem like a scary thing for you right now, it will definitely help in the long run.
Because you are eating more regularly, you will feel less hungry. It is the hunger, more often than not, that will initialize a binge.
Health Over Weight
It is important to try and take the emphasis away from your weight, and instead focus on health as weight can be a strong trigger for many people suffering from binge eating disorder.
This desire to lose weight, often means that you will restrict food, but as mentioned above, this can lead to severe hunger which can lead to you binging.
If instead, you focus on just ensuring that you are staying healthy, you may find that you eat more, are less hungry, and therefore are less likely to binge later on in the day.
Learn Your Triggers
Everyone has their own personal triggers and it’s really important that you learn what these are so that you can avoid them, or try to tackle them.
For example, often there is a deeper meaning behind a binge.
So say you feel emotionally hurt, you’re feeling unimportant or ignored, and you may seek comfort through food which leads to a binge.
If you can identify the deeper problems, you can then work through those issues and find solutions, instead of channeling these emotions into other more destructive behaviors.
Remove Temptation
You can’t binge on items that you don’t have. If you are really struggling with certain items of food, and they seem to be kick-starting a binge the best way to avoid them, is to not keep them in the house.
If it requires much more effort to obtain them (such as having to walk to the store to purchase them) then it’s likely that you’ll be able to gain more control over the situation.
Find Other Ways To Feel Good
Many people who suffer with binge eating disorder also tend to have underlying depression.
A good way to try and control a binge is to find other sources of happiness and pleasure that do not involve food.
This may be difficult at first, but try to find a hobby or an old interest that perhaps you’ve lost that will be beneficial for you.
Things like art or sports are always a good option. And physical activity is known for doing wonders to improve your emotional and physical state.
When You Get The Urge To Binge?
You can follow all of these tips, but there’s still a chance that you’ll still experience that urge to binge.
Here are some tips for when you can feel an oncoming urge to binge.
Recognize The Issue
Do not simply try to ignore the urge. It is important that you recognize that you are going through a difficult time.
And the initial step to overcoming this disorder is acknowledging when you are experiencing the urge to binge.
This self-awareness will make managing your emotions a little easier.
Try To Change Your Mindset
Now that you’ve acknowledged the urge, you need to try and combat it. You’ll need to try and find a way that works for you.
But there have been suggestions that writing a list of values and goals and keeping it by your cupboards or fridge can be helpful to remind you of why you shouldn’t let this feeling overpower you.
Distract & Delay
The issue with binge eating urges is that they can be so powerful and come on so quickly, and once you give in to the feeling, it can feel impossible to stop.
Ignoring the issue altogether can seem too hard to do too. So try to just delay the urge for an hour or so.
Get up and go for a shower, take the dog for a walk, anything that will keep you busy for a period of time.
You may find that by the time you are done with your activity the urge has gone by itself.
Final Thoughts
Binge eating disorder can be a very overwhelming and powerful issue to try and overcome, and it won’t happen overnight.
However, by using these techniques you can make it slightly easier to manage by trying to curb those urges before they actually begin.
However, if you continue to struggle with this eating disorder, and you feel that it is an all-consuming issue that you cannot deal with alone, reach out to friends and family, or a medical professional.
