How to stop Binge Eating?

Jayne Scott

Member
I often get calls from people asking me for advice on how to stop binge eating. So today I've decided to share my experience on this topic.

But first…

What is binge eating?

From my experience, binge eating is a compulsive eating disorder whereby a person would eat large amounts of food usually in short spells. Binge eating is often done in private and most people suffering from this problem acknowledge that they have an issue, but feel that they can't control their urge to just eat even when they are not really hungry.

The fact that most people that suffer from this problem tend to keep their eating disorder private, is a clear sign that they do know that binge eating is not a normal thing to do, but they can't control or stop their actions anyway.

What triggers binge eating?

What triggers binge eating in an individual may vary from person to person.
However, one common denominator in most sufferers is depression. Depression is a mental illness that can cause a person to react in a number of different ways and binge eating disorder is one of such reactions.

What steps can I take to stop binge eating?

#1. Seek professional help:

The first thing you need to do is to get professional help. Book an appointment with a psychologist. You need to find out the root cause of your binge eating disorder.

Once you do, you will be on course in dealing with the problem. There is no quick fix when it comes to binge eating. You will need to take baby steps towards getting control of your impulses and a professional can help you in this regard.

#2. Don't classify food into good or bad:

After you have sought out professional help, you still need to take action in order to overcome your addiction to eating. One way to do this is by not classifying food as either good or bad. Know that food is just food. Of course some foods are much healthier than others, but at the core they are all classified as food.

When you stop classifying food as either good or bad, you lose up a bit and you are not on edge whenever you need to decide on which food to eat. You just eat because you need food to survive or you also need food because it tastes good whether it's a high nutrient food or not.

#3. Don't make hard work of what food to eat:

It is not uncommon for bodybuilders to restrict their diet based on their need to stringently stick to a particular meal plan. While meal plans are great for achieving bodybuilding goals, you also need to enjoy eating and not see food/eating as a chore.

When you are very strict on the food you eat during a workout regime, you may lose control when that regimen comes to an end even if its just over a weekend.

Balance is important when you eat. There's nothing wrong in chowing down on a nutrient-poor meal from time to time. When your mind is not trained to see food as either good or bad, you tend to better recognise food for what it is.

What you need to do is to be more modest with your calorie target during the week of training. Eat different types of food that helps you achieve your calorie target while still allowing yourself to enjoy eating food. Avoid over restricting the food you eat during the week.

#4. Always eat breakfast:

The old cliché that breakfast is the most important meal of the day holds true. You need to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to start your day on a sound note and having breakfast is the best way to go.

If you skip breakfast for whatever reason, you may find yourself feeling hungry later in the day. This may result in binge eating as you munch down on whatever is available at home to satisfy your cravings.

#4. Eat bigger meals in general:

You can stack up your meals with more protein and vegetables to keep you feeling full for much longer throughout the day. Scaling down your meals to control body fat can cause you to feel hungry more often than you would probably like. And this can lead you to binge eating.

#5. Give yourself time and space:

The final step to helping you stop binge eating is a way of gaining control of your compulsive urge to eat. What you need to do is to time yourself whenever you have the urge to binge.

If you often have the urge to binge say every couple of hours or so, find something else to do. Go for a walk, go cycling, go mow your lawn, just do anything other than eat at the time you have the urge to binge.

When you get back from your activity (at least after about half an hour) and you still feel like eating, you can now treat yourself to some food. The difference here is that at the point when you were in the mood to binge, you took control by doing some other activity.

You were not controlled by your urge to eat at that point in time, so now that you are done with whatever you went out to do, you can allow yourself a snack or two if you want to.

The difference now is control. The table has turned and you are now in control of the situation. With time you will be able to control when and how you eat which is what it's really all about.

The good news is that the more you practice this technique, the better you get at controlling your eating habits.

So that's that folks.

Remember that if you find yourself eating compulsively and your habit is out of control, you need to seek the help of a professional. Do not be shy to admit that you indeed have a problem that needs resolution.

Happy bodybuilding!!
 
Just like if you are a married guy, and don't want to cheat on your wife, don't around naked women.

Same with food, don't buy junk food, and it won't be in front of you to tempt you all the time.
 
Excellent material!
I noticed on my own as the guys above have already said. Drink water, more vegetables and slow carbohydrates.
And of course, don't go hungry to the supermarket.
And of course, don't buy anything that can throw you off balance.
 
Any thoughts on IF? I need to get back down to a lean enough state to cycle again. I'm about to start TRT though so that should help. I lose so much muscle dieting hard and doing heavy cardio as a natural. I really want to get down to a lean state as quick as possible.
 
Any thoughts on IF? I need to get back down to a lean enough state to cycle again. I'm about to start TRT though so that should help. I lose so much muscle dieting hard and doing heavy cardio as a natural. I really want to get down to a lean state as quick as possible.
@valuum

IF in what sense? 12-12hours?

It works as long as you don’t pig out when you come out of your fast.

Keep your protein high and start the trt... that should minimize muscle loss. Also keep lifting weights heavy 3-4 days per week.

Then start with 30m cardio everyday and slowly work your way up to up to 90m a day. (Add 5m a week)

Also, in conjunction... lower your calories slowly (keeping protein high) for example about 50 - 100 less every week.

Do this for 12-16 weeks and you should drop quite a bit of body fat. How much did you want to lose?

Good luck with your weight loss journey and let us know how it goes!
 
Common mistake I see a lot of guys make is when they get too restrictive with a particular nutrient. A lot of ppl get on this no carb kick and then they fall apart in the evenings, whereas if they consumed a few complex carbs during the first half of the day it might not be as easy to go off the rails
 
Any thoughts on IF? I need to get back down to a lean enough state to cycle again. I'm about to start TRT though so that should help. I lose so much muscle dieting hard and doing heavy cardio as a natural. I really want to get down to a lean state as quick as possible.
Basically, I don't think you should do heavy cardio and make a big deficit. And of course you need plenty of protein. And of course, both the load should be increased smoothly, and the deficit should also be created smoothly in food.
 
Common mistake I see a lot of guys make is when they get too restrictive with a particular nutrient. A lot of ppl get on this no carb kick and then they fall apart in the evenings, whereas if they consumed a few complex carbs during the first half of the day it might not be as easy to go off the rails
I will add my observation, they limit food very sharply and a lot and they start training a lot and do a lot of cardio. And the body goes into stress mode and gets tired
 
A goal always helps, no doubt. But the goal and timing must be adequate, otherwise it will only be to the detriment. Like a runaway horse. No result, no health.
 
I often get calls from people asking me for advice on how to stop binge eating. So today I've decided to share my experience on this topic.

But first…

What is binge eating?

From my experience, binge eating is a compulsive eating disorder whereby a person would eat large amounts of food usually in short spells. Binge eating is often done in private and most people suffering from this problem acknowledge that they have an issue, but feel that they can't control their urge to just eat even when they are not really hungry.

The fact that most people that suffer from this problem tend to keep their eating disorder private, is a clear sign that they do know that binge eating is not a normal thing to do, but they can't control or stop their actions anyway.

What triggers binge eating?

What triggers binge eating in an individual may vary from person to person.
However, one common denominator in most sufferers is depression. Depression is a mental illness that can cause a person to react in a number of different ways and binge eating disorder is one of such reactions.

What steps can I take to stop binge eating?

#1. Seek professional help:

The first thing you need to do is to get professional help. Book an appointment with a psychologist. You need to find out the root cause of your binge eating disorder.

Once you do, you will be on course in dealing with the problem. There is no quick fix when it comes to binge eating. You will need to take baby steps towards getting control of your impulses and a professional can help you in this regard.

#2. Don't classify food into good or bad:

After you have sought out professional help, you still need to take action in order to overcome your addiction to eating. One way to do this is by not classifying food as either good or bad. Know that food is just food. Of course some foods are much healthier than others, but at the core they are all classified as food.

When you stop classifying food as either good or bad, you lose up a bit and you are not on edge whenever you need to decide on which food to eat. You just eat because you need food to survive or you also need food because it tastes good whether it's a high nutrient food or not.

#3. Don't make hard work of what food to eat:

It is not uncommon for bodybuilders to restrict their diet based on their need to stringently stick to a particular meal plan. While meal plans are great for achieving bodybuilding goals, you also need to enjoy eating and not see food/eating as a chore.

When you are very strict on the food you eat during a workout regime, you may lose control when that regimen comes to an end even if its just over a weekend.

Balance is important when you eat. There's nothing wrong in chowing down on a nutrient-poor meal from time to time. When your mind is not trained to see food as either good or bad, you tend to better recognise food for what it is.

What you need to do is to be more modest with your calorie target during the week of training. Eat different types of food that helps you achieve your calorie target while still allowing yourself to enjoy eating food. Avoid over restricting the food you eat during the week.

#4. Always eat breakfast:

The old cliché that breakfast is the most important meal of the day holds true. You need to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to start your day on a sound note and having breakfast is the best way to go.

If you skip breakfast for whatever reason, you may find yourself feeling hungry later in the day. This may result in binge eating as you munch down on whatever is available at home to satisfy your cravings.

#4. Eat bigger meals in general:

You can stack up your meals with more protein and vegetables to keep you feeling full for much longer throughout the day. Scaling down your meals to control body fat can cause you to feel hungry more often than you would probably like. And this can lead you to binge eating.

#5. Give yourself time and space:

The final step to helping you stop binge eating is a way of gaining control of your compulsive urge to eat. What you need to do is to time yourself whenever you have the urge to binge.

If you often have the urge to binge say every couple of hours or so, find something else to do. Go for a walk, go cycling, go mow your lawn, just do anything other than eat at the time you have the urge to binge.

When you get back from your activity (at least after about half an hour) and you still feel like eating, you can now treat yourself to some food. The difference here is that at the point when you were in the mood to binge, you took control by doing some other activity.

You were not controlled by your urge to eat at that point in time, so now that you are done with whatever you went out to do, you can allow yourself a snack or two if you want to.

The difference now is control. The table has turned and you are now in control of the situation. With time you will be able to control when and how you eat which is what it's really all about.

The good news is that the more you practice this technique, the better you get at controlling your eating habits.

So that's that folks.

Remember that if you find yourself eating compulsively and your habit is out of control, you need to seek the help of a professional. Do not be shy to admit that you indeed have a problem that needs resolution.

Happy bodybuilding!!
Great post
 
jane this is a great post but some of us are on a lot of hormones that can seriously rev up our appetite on a physiological level. for instance, i just started taking GH again 2.4iu and i feel like i can eat a house. literal insatiable hunger. it usually goes away in a few weeks and it's much more controllable but right now it's a problem. what do you say about that?
 
jane this is a great post but some of us are on a lot of hormones that can seriously rev up our appetite on a physiological level. for instance, i just started taking GH again 2.4iu and i feel like i can eat a house. literal insatiable hunger. it usually goes away in a few weeks and it's much more controllable but right now it's a problem. what do you say about that?
Yeah, I understand. However, while your hunger is insatiable ATM, you can make do with eating whole foods & not junk food. You can feast away on salads or fruits. You could also make small packs of food and refrigerate if you have the time. Whatever you eat, just make sure it's not sugar-based for obvious reasons. Also, you could indulge in activities that would help take your mind off food, even if it's just for 1 hour, then you can eat when you know you've used up a substantial amount of energy and need to replenish your calories. Your thinking should be to eat healthy (even if it seems much), then do activities that make you feel like you have burnt calories and need to replenish the calories by eating. You trick your body into believing that you need the food because you have used up energy rather than just eating to satisfy an urge. Hope this helps, Goodluck.
 
Like an alcoholic you have to get the alcohol out of the house.

You can't have a bottle of booze on the counter when you're an alcoholic and you can't have a bag of Cheetos when you have no self control. I don't even think you can have self control when you're surrounded by junk foods.

So empty out your house and leave only foods that have high nutrient density and low calories and your taste buds will adjust after a few weeks.

There's no other way to control yourself. I'm not gonna keep a gallon of rocky road in the freezer because I know for a fact I'll sit down and eat half a tub if given the chance.
 
Carbohydrates increase appetite. Protein and fats satiate. You won't binge eat if you are eating avacados and beef....because that fat is going to get you full fast.
 
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