The holidays are here, and though it is typically the season for festive gatherings with succulent indulgences, many of us find the guilty aftermath feeling of overeating and leftover party food stupors that lead us to our dreaded new year resolution goals of losing weight and eating right.
It should be no surprise that our feelings of being overweight and unhealthy are not the real problem (not just during the holiday season but throughout the year), it is simply a symptom of overeating.
To face the subject of weight loss in the eyes, people need to get to the root of the problem.
If regular eating habits of people who are obsessed over food, their weight, and appearances, overweight, or overweight and do not care about their unhealthy habits or are mindless while overeating, then this article will definitely drive them into a better direction toward healthier mental clarity and eating habits.
Trying to exercise harder or crash dieting to cover up unconscious overeating with a bandage is a dangerous and self-harming circular act of misery and confusion for the psyche.
Underneath the bandage, the overeating habits will still be there. And even if people were to lose the weight in this cycle, they will be most likely unable to sustain this type of behavior and keep their mental status content . . . unless they take a deeper look at why they eat.
A disorder characterized by an overwhelming desire to eat large amounts of food can be a difficult problem to overcome. Some may need the assistance of an eating disorder treatment center.
In fact, this disorder may be especially difficult due to the fact that food is a necessary part of life. Unlike those with a drug problem or a smoking addiction, food cannot just be eliminated from one’s life.
Binge eating is the most common overeating mechanism.
It 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 is one of the most common problems when it came to weight loss. People will diet to an extreme, eat too little an amount, and be able to keep that up for a few days.
However, on the 6th or 7th day, bodies and will powers would crash, and binge eating – basically eating all the fatty sugary foods they have been avoiding, would resume.
Dieting does not work and is not sustainable. Rather than trying to diet to lose weight and looking for a quick fix, try to slowly improve eating habits over time.
Lifestyle changes are many times hard to acquire, so make small changes to your daily routine and eating choices. 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. Perhaps just cut out soda for the first month. Maybe only eat sugary sweets on the weekends.
You do not have to go cold turkey and limit yourself in total. Remember small steps to the greater goal, but say NO to diets.
Try to refrain from depriving yourself of foods you crave. This is a great tip, otherwise people tend to think about their off limit food even more, increasing their desire and craving for that food.
One day you will crash and binge on that food. Eat fatty and sugary foods 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, order a personal sized pizza.
Commercials for weight loss products make weight loss look so easy, but it is very challenging. Losing weight and keeping it off is one of the toughest goals one can achieve, that is why we are all not walking models in petite size clothes with perfect health.
However, over time and a healthy mindset, tying to lose weight will become less and less frustrating, as the lifestyle change takes over.
Soon, exercising will become as regular and comfortable to fit in your everyday itinerary as brushing your teeth and watching the news at night.
There will be days where you are too week to say no, and will binge eat. It is perfectly alright to give yourself permission to feel different feelings and to forgive yourself.
Do not let the feelings of guilt creep in.
Do not try to be a perfectionist.
People are all wired differently and are NOT perfect. Rather, forgive yourself, fill negative thoughts with positive affirmations 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.
Most importantly, relax and set aside time to enjoy life and take part in a fun activity.
Tell a trusted close friend of 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.
If you have tried to stop binge eating and cannot, and this is a very serious problem for you, then make a commitment to get it under control. You deserve it. Read everything you can find about the subject.
Enroll in an eating disorder treatment facility or attend therapy session. Be willing to learn and make yourself vulnerable.
Check out the Food Addiction online support group. It is free to join and will keep you motivated.
Many times binge eating is a result of restricting.
It’s a vicious cycle:
❧ restricting then binging
❧ then restricting because of binging.
Gauge physical hunger. If you are hungry, eat. If you are not hungry, ask yourself why you want to eat.
Are you feeding an emotion?
Take the time to ask yourself what you really want. Many times binging occurs as a result of deprivation.
Take time to prepare the food, sit and savor the meal. Make each meal as satisfying as possible. Your body will feel full and satisfied.
Lastly, binging generally equates with rapid eating. Give yourself at least 30 full minutes to eat each meal. Put your fork down and push away from the table.
This takes practice but will allow time for your body to become aware of satiety cues.
Keep track of food and mood. Notice how you feel before you eat, and how you feel after you eat. With this detail, you may notice the eating habits and better determine why you binge.
Do you binge when you are stressed?
Do you binge when you are happy or sad?
Perhaps this tip will also help you to relearn stomach hunger and differentiate it from mouth hunger.
