How to Tackle Binge Eating

To begin with, what is binge eating? Binge eating is a tenacious temptation in your brain that rears its head every time you are bored or overwhelmed. This temptation literally overpowers all other thought processes to make you reach out for food that you know you do not need. And then, guilt, disgust, frustration and heavy dieting starts! Sounds familiar? Well, you may just be a victim of binge eating. So what can you do about it? Plenty! Here's our list.

• Emotional Hunger: Learn how to listen to your body. This is a way of bringing your mind and body in alignment by being aware and mindful. As soon as you feel a hunger pang, stop and think: is it emotional hunger or is it actually your snack or meal time? Once you learn to distinguish between the two, it is a matter of making a habit out of distracting yourself from emotional hunger by taking up a hobby or a pleasant activity that will also make your brain work in a different direction.
• Focus on your Food: Usually, binge eating happens around unhealthy food that will give your taste buds a temporary kick. This kind of food is generally fatty, fried or sweet. So next time, focus on what you are eating. If you are eating a healthy, regular meal, then focus on the fact that you are doing something positive. This greatly defeats the cause of binge eating as you will chase the positive feeling rather than looking for temporary gratification which leads to more permanent guilt later.
• Regular Meals: Eating your meals regularly at fixed times also dulls the temptation to binge. Regular meal times also set your biological clock and hunger ticking at the right times. If you avoid eating at meal times, then your mental hunger can get mixed up with a need for instant energy that your body requires due to a missed meal. This will make you reach out for unhealthy food in unhealthy portions.
• Maintain a Food Diary: Keeping a food diary of everything you ate during the week and then going through it later will give you a lot of perspective on what you are doing wrong and how you can avoid the same.

Distancing yourself from wrong food and portions, and digging deeper into the emotions that trigger chronic binge eating may be answer you are looking for!

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