Breaking Up With Binge Eating

Stopping eating when we feel satisfied is simple, in theory. But if you've tried it, you know that in real life it can be anything but simple! In this episode Georgie covers how to develop the skill through 6 steps. Whether you have no idea what satisfied feels like, or if you sense the feeling struggle with obeying it, you'll find answers in this episode. Learn more about Breaking Up With Binge Eating at NutritionLoft.com. 

To keep binges at bay, it's best -- at least initially -- to eat frequently enough and avoid getting hungry. But as you probably guessed, that can prevent weight loss if you kept it up forever. What's a person to do if they want to eventually be able to lose weight? In this episode, we walk you though the steps we use with our clients to move away from binge eating and towards a healthy lifetime weight, getting to know and relate to hunger in new, positive, healthy ways. 

Most people who join our coaching program don't just want to recover from binge eating or emotional eating, they also want to lose weight! But as many people have discovered, trying to choose weight loss behaviours often triggers binge eating. This raises the question, "how will I ever lose weight in the future if right now I need to eat so often (and without any form of limits) to avoid binge eating?" The answer: Right now you may need frequent meals and snacks and absolutely zero limitations to stay binge-free, but it won't always be that way.  If you build up your skills through practice, in the future you will be able to handle more challenges and stay binge free, including things that might overwhelm you today. In this episode we share a progression of emotional skills. These are the type of things that our clients learn BEFORE they move anywhere near a calorie deficit. When you have these skills built up, you are more able to resist binge eating in the future, and are in a better place to take small steps towards losing weight.So if you want to lose weight in the future, take the time to master this progression, step by step. Keep your current focus not bingeing, and building up your emotional power, and you'll be ready for the weight-management progressions coming up in the next few episodes! 

One of the most common triggers for binge eating or emotional eating is being in distress. In a previous episode we covered alternative actions you can take to feel better - but in this episode we explore what sort of internal dialog works to de-escalate our fears, stress and tension from the inside out! This skill will allow you to become someone who can comfort yourself without needing other people to reassure you all the time. You won't need to numb or distract yourself with food when you are having a hard time, because you will know exactly how to pick yourself up, like a best friend would. These four simple steps will make you stronger, as soon as you start using them. 

It can feel like it comes out of "nowhere". One minute we are fine and the next we are shoving Oreos into our mouth as fast as we can. How does this sudden and complete shift happen? Why does a meltdown sneak up on us so easily?Knowing how to pick up on the right signals ahead of time means you can prevent yourself from attacks of runaway eating. You can keep your cool, and defuse the tension before it explodes.But if you don't know where or when to look for the warning signs, of course you'll keep being caught off guard, and keep suffering from tsunami emotions that knock you over without warning. That's no good! Let's start today with learning more about which silent signals you want to pay attention to, so you can stay steady, in-control, and binge-free.

We love to be in control. We get to do what we want, then!  But sometimes, it feels like we aren't actually calling the shots over what we get to eat.  And that's frustrating and angering. It can seem like the circumstances of your job or family situation are screwing you over, or that you are powerless in the face of your emotions or urges. In this episode we'll talk about how to handle those moments, and all the choices you have which you might not even have known about. Plus, we'll talk about how to squash rebelliousness for good, so it never derails you from you eating intentions again! 

Heading to party? Whether it's a bridal shower, holiday shindig, or a birthday bash, there's likely to be cake. Or cookies. Or both. And maybe candy too. For someone who feel vulnerable around these types of foods, their mere presence can ruin your night! Either you spend your entire evening gritting your teeth trying to NOT TOUCH THEM, or you eat one, sneak another, and end up sliding down the slope of "what's one more?" and eating who knows how many. But it doesn't have to be this way. Other people just like you have navigated parties with sweets and come home feeling good about how it went. In this episode we go through our top 5 tips for staying in control of your choices at a party with ample desserts. 

Emotional eating or binge eating often begins with a very normal human need: a need for comfort. Nothing in the world is more natural than wanting to feel better! Yet feeling like we need comfort can leave us unsure of what to do. Is it a sign we are too needy? Do we deserve comfort? What will help if we don't use food? In this episode we'll walk through exactly what to do when you are in need of comfort, in 3 steps. 1. We'll cover how to make peace with the fact you need comfort, instead of wondering what's wrong with you. 2. We'll roll out the map so you know where you can get it. (We'll talk through tons of ideas in this episode, including how food can actually help!) 3. We'll cover how to get it, when life may have placed some obstacles in your way. You and your happiness are worth it. 

Somewhere in between ultra-rigid control and "screw it" eating, there lies a land of peaceful, healthy eating. In this episode, we'll go over how to land in this feel-good place, where you break free of thinking about weight loss all the time, and yet still choose food like you care about yourself. You CAN lose the obsession with your weight and still give a damn about what you eat. And it feels incredibly good to do so! 

Why do I binge eat? Why don't other people develop this same habit? And most importantly, what needs to change so I can STOP? We answer these questions and more in this episode of the Breaking Up With Binge Eating podcast. (Plus there's a special announcement on how to fast track your success). Binge eating is a cycle. It is most commonly initiated and continued because of two factors: Physical drivers Emotional driversIn this episode we'll talk about how individuals vary in their personal "fingerprint". You own struggles might be mostly due to #1, mostly #2, or a solid mix of both. Regardless, there is a way to meet your needs better, and we'll show you how.