There are 4 things I’m going to discuss that need to be considered when working towards breaking the constant binge cycle you may be experiencing. Bingeing messes with how you feel about yourself, how you live your life, and has a huge impact on your health. And, if you have been experiencing it for a long time, it can be hard to break the cycle. But here, persistence is key. And if you do falter, don’t wait for the next day, re-start your focus at the very next meal.
In my experience with Bulimia and binge eating, these 4 components are crucial.
Thoughts – according to research, we can have about 60,00 thoughts per day. Some positive, some negative, and others inquisitive thoughts. So there is a huge amount of decision making going on all of the time – how exhausting.
But the thing is, we can decide which thoughts are helpful and which are harmful.
In her book Brain over Binge Kathryn Hansen a former bulimic reminds us that a thought is just a thought and we don’t have to act on it. And over time we have created a habit by responding or acting on a thought that has become, what she calls Neurologic Junk.
She looks at 5 components
- View Urges to Binge as Neurological Junk – by doing this you can see this message as useless.
- Separate the Higher Brain from Urges to Binge – she explains the urges weren’t really hers. And told herself – ‘I was not, my habit’. She explains how the urge or thought came from the ‘Lower Brain’ and the ‘Higher Brain’ can veto the thoughts by simply not acting on the thoughts.
- Stop Reacting to Urges to Binge – ‘Once I separated my higher brain from my urges to binge, it became possible to stop reacting to my urges, meaning that I stopped letting my urges to binge affect me emotionally.’ –Kathryn Hansen-
- Stop Acting on Urges to Binge – when you stop acting on the urges this gives you back your super power.
- Celebrate Success – this is an important component as it will help you change your thinking around food and urges.
I’ve read this book several times and it is one of the tools which has helped me.
Habits – habits become automatic the more we do them. The urges or thoughts we discussed above remind us of our habits, good or bad. So we now know that not acting on a thought can help with binge eating and in turn stop a bad habit.
But, sometimes it’s hard not to act on the urge. And this is where it can be tricky.
For me, I focus on what triggered me to binge in the first place, and you can too.
The first thing was being alone at home. Don’t get me wrong I have no problem spending time with myself but my lower brain sees this as an opportunity to bring on those urges big-time.
The second thing is sitting in front of the television watching NetFlix. So when I binge I’m too busy paying attention to the movie or series I’m watching to consider how much food I’m shovelling down my throat.
Another thing that triggers me strangely, is being too full after eating a meal. I don’t know why my brain responds that way, but it does.
What is important here is to break the habits that trigger the urges. This can take time, and knowing your triggers will help you overcome the urges for good.
To do this, carry a small notebook with you, and at the time you get the urge, go back in your mind over the last 10-30 minutes and try to pinpoint the trigger or triggers. It might be a combination of things.
You more than likely have several, but knowing what you’re working with is truly helpful.
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear teaches us about the science of how habits work. This is the Habit Loop.
Cue—Craving—Response—Reward
And it’s the reward we seek, the pleasure of consuming the food. So, if you think about it, sometimes the cue could have been building up long before the urge/craving occurred.
He explains how to break a bad habit:
- Make it invisible – Meaning reduce your exposure to the cues.
- Make is unattractive – Reframe your mindset and highlight the benefits of avoiding the bad habit.
- Make it difficult – Increase friction and the number of steps between you and your bad habit.
- Make in unsatisfying – Ask someone to watch your behaviour or get an accountability partner.
Start forming new habits around your health to also help counteract your bad habits, and over time the healthy habits will hopefully prevail.
- Start walking every day
- Eat foods that support your health
- Meditate or find a way to relax and revive – other than food
- Aim for at least 7+ hours of sleep per night
- Drink water. Depending on your activity level about 1.5- 2 litres per day.
Food choice – was a big ah ha moment for me. Early into my study in Weight Management I was led to two books which changed my thinking when it comes to weight loss but particularly binge eating and cravings. One was The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, the other was Always Hungry? Both well-worth reading if you want to have a better understanding of weight loss and cravings.
I found out it wasn’t just the urges or the habits, it was certain foods that made me want more.
In Port Macquarie, 70% of people are either obese or overweight. This is alarming. And one of many things contributing to this is our food choices. The other is inactivity.
We have become a nation who enjoys socialising at every opportunity and with it, regular indulgence in foods that should be considered very occasional foods.
I attend about three Coffees & Chats in a month, not to mention other outings but now, I pick only one where I might choose something to go with my coffee but only if I feel hungry – which isn’t very often.
When I discovered and understood Low-Carb Living and its close diet partner the Ketogenic diet, and started using it as a tool to curb my craving, I felt such relief. I found it’s so debilitating trying to navigate craving without this type of diet.
There is so much mis-information and wrong understanding of what a low-carb or keto diet is, which is not helpful.
Simply by reducing carbohydrates in your diet, and depending how intolerant to carbohydrates you are, will help reduce blood sugar in the body in turn reducing your insulin level, which allows stored body fat to be released. Simple as that.
Going back to the obesity epidemic, the best way to remove body fat is to reduce carbohydrates in your diet. When we eat a diet rich with highly processed foods, and foods high in carbohydrates and snack between meals, it doesn’t give your blood sugar levels or insulin levels a chance to go down – meaning they are continually elevated which prevents stored body fat from being released.
Eating Adequately – I mentioned snacking before. If you are eating adequately at every meal – meaning a meal of protein (naturally occurring fats in protein), good fats, and a small amount of carbohydrates it should see you through to the next meal. I found this very useful when I started eating low-carb as most of you will probably discover, your breakfast choice will probably need an overhaul.
If you eat enough – to satisfied, not full, you give your body a chance to digest food, helps improve metabolic health, and curbs cravings.
References:
Websites
Brain over Binge https://brainoverbinge.com/
Atomic Habits https://jamesclear.com/
Diet Doctor https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto
Dr Eric Westman Adapt Acamecy https://ericwestmanmd.com/
Books
The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD & Stephen D. Phinney, MD, PhD
Always Hungry? by David Ludwig, MD, PhD