After a long and stressful day, we feel like the whole weight of the world is on our shoulders. All we want to do as soon as we go home is to change into some comfy clothes, sit in front of the TV, watch our favorite show and binge on some cookie dough and ice cream. These habits, are what relieves us from
the stress and is something we usually do to treat ourselves. Diving into that carton of ice cream topped with marshmallow and hot fudge, with a side of chips may feel like heaven now, but sooner or later you’ll either feel guilty or sick.
Even if you’re not a binge eater and go on extreme binging sessions, you’ve likely experienced the need to satisfy an unquenchable hunger that causes you to overeat or eat far more than you’ve bargained for. This often leaves you with the feeling of guilt and a swollen stomach. This is not an uncommon problem. Everybody once in their life has experienced binge eating, but some of the most common violators are women. Women are more likely to binge eat at least once a month and feel an immense guilt afterwards. This is often caused by stress, PMS or an emotional need.
Don’t let the need to binge to get control of you. Get back to a binge free life with these simple strategies.
Stuff Yourself with Something Else
Once you start to feed the urge, everything after it seems like a complete blur. You started with a few pieces of chocolate and end up with a half empty gallon of ice cream and a few empty bags of potato chips. This will surely cause you to feel guilty due to the high calories you’ve consumed and the nega
tive effects of the after sugar high will surely make you feel worst. You can stop the urge by stuffing yourself with something you hate and hopefully healthy. We all have a certain healthy food that we just can’t seem to swallow down. This is the perfect time to take those out of the pantry. Actually, it’s best to keep all of your foods that you don’t like to eat within reach and keep your trigger foods way hidden. So, instead of reaching for that sugary and comforting food, you have no choice but to pick up that broccoli. As soon as you munch on something your taste bud don’t agree with, usually the brain follows. Preventing that destructive binge. Though, there will be time even if your taste buds hate the food you eat; you’ll continue to eat it. This is often due to the fact that binging has become a habit that needs to be fulfilled and it doesn’t matter what you use to fulfill it. Eating something healthy is a great way to fill your stomach up without causing too much harm to your body. In the long run eating something that isn’t as fulfilling as a high sugar or fatty food won’t feel as good, and may help you to stop the binge
completely.
Trigger Foods
Some people are sugary sweet types, some are salty and sour and other just like fatty foods. These negative eating choices often smash into one once we feel the need to binge. Pretty much logic steps out when we start our binge, this is due to the chemicals that produce when we eat satisfying foods.
These chemicals often give us a momentary warm and
euphoric feeling. Making smarter choices regarding your trigger foods can help you reduce your overeating. The next time you go grocery shopping avoid going to the lanes filled with trigger foods such as junk foods, sugary foods and high sodium snacks. Not having these trigger foods can surely reduce the need to binge.
Breathe
Binges usually happen due to emotional or mental needs. Whether you feel stressed, depressed or just simply looking for something to calm you down, you reach for the nearest fast food joint. You can reduce the need to binge by simply breathing. Once you feel like you’re about to have a session, sit down and breathe in through your lungs for eight counts and out through your nose for another 8 counts. This can help by relaxing the mind and reducing the compulsion to overeat.
We hope that these tips will help you get over your binges. People that tend to binge, develop unhealthy eating habits over time and at times may lead to a serious eating disorder or health risk. Binge eating may feel good and a great way to de-stress, but the after effect is not worth it. If you really feel like de-stressing yourself with a bar of chocolate, then do
so. Just don’t make it into a regular habit that you cling to every time you feel down or stressed. Do you have your own tricks to prevent the binge? Share it with us!
