How to Stop Binge Eating

Are you a binge eater? Continue reading to learn about compulsive eating and how to stop it.

Professor Tom Laurie has been motivating and teaching students all his life. Tom is a true Renaissance man who has had many exciting careers as a flight instructor, professional pilot, high school teacher, IT company CEO, Bed and Breakfast owner and college professor. He uses his education background and his lifelong addiction to food to formulate his winning losing strategy for successful weight loss. Let him teach you in The Losing Attitude for Dieters how to better your life and lose the weight you need to lose.

There's a Little Binge Eating in All of Us

There are some foods that I absolutely have no control of eating when they are around.  In my house, there is no such thing as leftover pizza.  If I make a batch of old fashion oatmeal cookies, they literally call my name out all night long from the cookie jar.   When it comes to those jelly orange slices, I live the Lays potato chip slogan, "Betcha' can't eat just one."  What foods can't you keep in your house?  Pop Tarts? Chocolate?

Binge Eating Disorder

The classical definition of binge eating is when a person consumes large quantities of food in a very short time until that person is uncomfortably full.  If you do this every once in a while, then you are not unlike most of us.  If you do this often, if you try to hide this behavior and if you get depressed because of your binge eating then these could be symptoms of an eating disorder and you should seek medical help immediately.

How to Stop Overeating

Have they ever had to roll you away from the Thanksgiving Dinner Table?  I know it started young for me.  A seemingly inconsequential comment from an aunt or uncle, "Don't you boys have great appetites!" was always enough to spark my competitive juices, not to mention my salivation juices.  There was no way I was going to allow my younger cousins to eat more than me.  Competitive eating isn't only on ESPN!

Have you ever had a rough day at work?  I know I have, and at those times the idea of grabbing some Chinese food sounds a lot better than going home and preparing dinner.  The next day I always feel sorry for eating so much and that sometimes leads to more binge eating.  I know it feels good when I'm eating too much, but I never feel good about myself in the long run.

I have three major triggers for my binge eating; there are foods I just can't keep in my house, there are social environments that I need to stay away from, and I have to be real careful when I'm feeling down.  Knowing what causes your binge eating is the first step in controlling it.

A second step is to try to recognize when you are in the midst of a binge eating episode.  There have been times when I realized what I was doing and I was able to stop.  This of course involves throwing away some pretty good food or leaving a fun place.  Just like many things in life, the first time you stop yourself is the hardest.  The more I am able to stop myself the more emboldened I get, and the better I feel about myself  the better I am able to stop myself;  I like this upward spiral.

In my book, "The Losing Attitude for Dieters", I propose a plan for controlled binging.  I know that if I go too long without pizza, then I'm going to get myself in one of those situations that I can't control and I will eat way too much.  Therefore, I plan to eat pizza on certain days.  I try to work out and then eat a light breakfast.  On these days I plan to eat a large salad for lunch and then I have pizza for dinner.  There is a pizza place I go to where I can buy great pizza by the slice, so I get four cheese slices for myself and exactly what the rest of my family wants.  This is the key: if I bought an entire pizza then I would eat an entire pizza.  In the end, I get my pizza fix and my calorie intake for the day is reasonable.

Many people not only get depressed after they binge eat, but they follow an episode of binge eating with a "compensatory behavior".  These episodes of purging, excessive exercising or fasting can be symptoms of an eating disorder and can be controlled with the right help.  If this sounds like you, then be careful and get some help.

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