Chances are if you are reading this… you know what it feels like to binge. The “I need to unbutton my jeans” kind of feeling. The truth is… there is no way to keep yourself from never binging again. We’re human! Food tastes good. We get distracted. We get overly hungry. It’s all normal. Finding food freedom will help you reduce how often it happens AND change how you respond.
I am going to go over the do’s and what not to do’s when you eat too much. (And no it does not include skipping breakfast and running 10 miles the next day!) Your body deserves love and respect – even when you binge. Keep reading so you can go into the holiday season with tools to help you beat the binge guilt.
First things first… Why do we binge?
If you struggle with binging, you probably have once thought “ugh I wish I just didn’t like food!” When I was deep in my disordered eating phase, I literally tried to convince myself I didn’t like pizza (who doesn’t like pizza?!?!) because I would always eat “too much.”
Food is enjoyable and that’s not a bad thing! It’s comforting and an important part of our cultures, memories, and relationships.
Trying to avoid it is just going to make you want it more! Restriction is one of the #1 things that leads to binging. Our brain wants what it can’t have. When you aren’t giving your body enough energy, it will compensate for it through extreme hunger and cravings.
If you find yourself binging a lot, check in with yourself to make sure you are eating ENOUGH! Yes – you technically need to eat more to eat less. It sounds counterintuitive, but trust me on this one.
What not to do when you binge
As humans, we like to be really hard on ourselves. We think being tough will motivate ourselves to change when in reality it actually sets us back.
If a friend comes to you for advice, you are not going to start saying “you lack self control and don’t deserve to eat.” So why say it to yourself?
I am all for giving ourselves tough love sometimes, but we need to redefine what that is. To me, tough love is pushing yourself to go to the gym because you know you’ll feel better afterwards (not because you need to burn calories). Tough love is getting yourself to stop scrolling and go outside because it helps you feel better mentally. It’s understanding the difference between what you want to do in the moment and what you know will make you feel better in the long run.
Punishing yourself will not help you in the long run. Let’s avoid these common responses to binging:
- Believing those social media posts that say you need to run 1 mile to burn off a cookie
- Eat all the junk food in your house to get rid of it and start fresh tomorrow
- Skip meals to make up for it
- Do hours of cardio to burn calories
- Pick your body apart to “motivate” yourself to eat better
Trust me… you will be right back to square one.
Here’s what you should ACTUALLY do when you binge
PAUSE and just notice
What thoughts are coming up? How does your body feel physically? What emotions do you feel?
This can give you insight into why you overate and prevent you from going down a negative thought spiral. The negative thoughts will likely still come up (and that’s okay). The goal is not necessarily to prevent them but to not feel controlled by them. Just acknowledge that they are there and then move on.
Next, check in to how you are feeling. Were you distracted? Were you feeling sad? Were you extremely hungry before you started eating? Were you bored? By reflecting on how you were feeling before, during, and after binging, you can determine why it happened.
I want you to remember… sometimes eating past fullness just happens! It is not always something that needs to be fixed. I will likely be eating past fullness on Thanksgiving. I don’t eat until I am sick like I used to when I was in my dieting era. Other than being mindful of how I am feeling, I am not going to “force” myself to not eat “too much.” That will just cause me to binge. Instead, I just accept that I eat past fullness on holidays when I am really enjoying the food and spending time with family.
The holidays come around once a year, don’t stress about the extra food. Enjoy it, make those memories, and be kind to yourself🤍
If you want more tips on how to handle binging the foods you crave – check out my FREE guide on How to Approach Cravings with Confidence!