Be it a post club Mcdonalds or a post break up ice cream pint, overeating for the wrong reasons or binging not only leaves us in physical discomfort, but is detrimental to our mental wellbeing.
For most of us, binge eating will occur when we least expect it, meaning there’s no time to close the flood gates. In between sobs of despair and screams of frustration, you’ve suddenly consumed three peanut butter sandwiches, a couple chocolate bars and a great deal of self-hate, and you’ll be wishing you knew how you could of prevented this.
It’s easy to search for the quick fix, purging. You’ll imprison yourself to your bathroom floor and chain yourself to the toilet and punish yourself repeatedly for letting yourself lose control. You might put your trainers on and run out the door on a ten mile mania run. You shun food for the next twenty-four hours, convinced this will balance the calorie distribution.
But all of these ‘quick fixes’ only set us up for another failure. Yes, a binge is a slip up, it’s an awful, damaging slip up that often makes us crave a quick fix to correct our mistake. But we should not take binge eating so light heartedly, it cannot be fixed over night. We need to look at the deeper meaning of why it happens in the first place, we need to challenge the bad thinking patterns that result in these binges, and we need to think in a different way in order to fully understand our actions, so we can prevent it happening again.
I have suffered from disordered eating for some years, and it is not a straight forward illness. It’s deceitful, shameful, full of self-hate and pity, and worst of all, it is always changing. My bad habits change from year to year, and when I feel that I have challenged and overcome one thing, suddenly something else will seep it’s way in and poison my happiness. Binging for me has always been the hardest one to overcome, but I am 100% certain that it is something that can be overcome.
1. Don’t beat yourself up Like i said previously, these quick fixes we seek after a food binge are also harmful to our mental wellbeing. Do not purge, do not try and punish yourself for something that has already happened. Binging carries enough self hate in itself, you don’t need the added loath that comes with purging/starvation.
2. Think about why it happened How did you feel just before the binge? Did something upset you? What was running through your mind? Think about all these things and write them down in a journal, try and figure out what lead you to binging in the first place.
3. Keep moving If the weight of the food is painful and causing you discomfort, do not lie down. Lying down will cause heartburn and make you feel worse, go on a light walk, engage in some light yoga or maybe just do the hoovering. This will make you feel better physically and mentally.
4. Talk Maybe you don’t want to talk about the incident, but talking to somebody about the most trivial things even can make you feel better and less alone. Phone a friend, go down to your local coffee shop, don’t shut yourself off.
The Next Day
5. Don’t weigh yourself the number on the scale will most probably be inaccurate anyway, so why bother? Yes technology has come a far way in the last decade, but they are yet to devise a scale that can calculate your self worth. Instead of weighing yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and say ‘Good Morning, Today I chose to take care of myself!’
6. Healthy Mindful Eating Personally, I am still not at a place where I can happily say that I eat intuitively, if I was then these emotional binging episodes wouldn’t occur would they? So the morning after a binge, what I like to do is make a nice healthy breakfast, and to be mindful of what I’m eating. Yes I try and opt for what I want, but I also make sure it’s healthy and the right portion size. When I’m eating i appreciate each mouthful and eat slowly, food is medicine after all nourishment for the mind and body.
7. Have a great day Now you are ready to move on from yesterday, dwelling on what has already happened is completely futile and will only lead to more self-hate and harm. Make a list of all the things you’d like to get done that day, then start on them. This will make you feel like you are moving on from the binge, and that a new positive day is possible.
I hope this helps somebody who is feeling lost and confused the day after a binge. You are not alone and have nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about. It is a mental illness, and so you need to challenge your thinking patterns. The most wonderful thing is that you can decide to change your life for the better right this minute.
If anyone would like to personal message me for more information then please do, I have no official qualifications, but I have a lot of experience.
Happy Lows 