Binge Eating
by
Stephen Lau
Compulsive eating or binge eating disorder is uncontrollable eating, often accompanied by frustration, guilt and shame, setting the groundwork for depression and other behavioral disorders. It is a psychological disorder using food to cope with disturbed emotions.
The vicious binge eating cycle
The compulsive eating cycle may begin subtly and imperceptibly with using food to deal with emotional problems or stress. This psychological problem may lead to other psychological problems, such as weight gain.
To resolve the weight problem, the alternatives may be dieting or purging. The former is often the precursor of binge eating (a component of different eating disorders), while the latter may result in bulimia.
Why is that?
Dieting, ironically enough, is often the first stage of binge eating. Dieting creates deprivation, which makes an individual feel deprived of the enjoyment of eating. Individuals with less self-control may succumb to the desire of wanting food during a diet.
Failure in dieting (or worse with repeated failures in one diet after another) engenders frustration and self-deprecation, leading to depression (For more information, visit my website Rethink Your Depression.), which often causes an individual to turn to "comfort food."
Or, an individual may resort to resolving weight problem through purging (using fingers or laxatives to induce vomiting after binge eating), precipitating the development of bulimia.
The individual, beset by the fear of being unable to stop eating voluntarily, may turn to binge eating again, and thus creating the endless vicious cycle of compulsive eating, followed by guilt, shame, and helplessness, leading to more binge episodes.
These cyclical problems of abnormal eating feed on themselves.
The binge eating profile
Compulsive eating individuals may have the following traits:
· low self-esteem
· poor or unrealistic self-image
· self-denial
· pursuit of perfection
· fear of growing up
· futile self-reassertion from a dominating person or possessive parent(s)
The dos
· Do make a daily commitment to focus on changing your lifestyle. Make an agreement with yourself that you will spend some time each day to think about how to adopt healthy living and change your eating habit to eat healthy again.
· Do detach yourself emotionally from food. Yes, eating may temporarily detach you from your emotions, just like watching TV may take your mind off your stress or problems. However, binge eating cannot solve your emotional problems - they only exacerbate them further down the road.
· Do eat only a set number of times each day. It is just like making fewer shopping trips to the supermarket will save you money; eat fewer times - just close your mouth! You need to have a business-like approach to eating - disciplined eating plays a role.
· Do set regular mealtimes: breakfast, lunch, and dinner - with 4-5 hours in between. Never-ending mealtime is a recipe for binge eating and overweight.
· Do make your food choices based on your nutritional needs. Understand that the purpose of eating is to give your body nutrients, and neither to make you “feel better” about yourself nor to alleviate your guilt. Remember, every food item you choose gives you either good health or poor health.
· Do avoid reading cookbooks or watching cooking shows. They increase your appetite for food more than they increase your culinary skills.
· Do keep yourself busy to take your mind off food. Knitting and gardening often do wonders, if you find exercise too strenuous.
· Do remember that binge eating hurts not only yourself, but also your loved ones too. Compulsive eating hurts relationships.
· Do realize that no one can lose weight for you. Take full responsibility for your actions and choices. The food is there, but it doesn’t mean you have to eat it.
· Do follow the suggested portions outlined on a food package. They are there for a valid reason - to make sure you will not overeat. Don’t nurture the feeling that no one has the right to tell you how much to eat.
· Do remember that saying “NO” is an essential part of healing and recovery. Enjoy what you eat is different from eating everything you enjoy. Think about that! Learn how to change gradually your eating experience.
· Do hold up your head and be confident, irrespective of your size and shape. Low self-esteem is often the culprit in binge eating. Just stand tall, push your body back, and hold your head high!
The don'ts
· Don’t plan your weight loss, and don’t set any target. Why not? Be realistic because the road ahead may be long and bumpy, and any disappointment and frustration will lead to more episodes of binge eating.
· Don’t be over ambitious or zealous. Taking a Herculean task is nothing but sabotage that feeds your self-denial. Take small but deliberate steps. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and you need to take that first step to recovery and ultimate good health.
· Don’t pay attention to the contradictory messages of the media, or the cultural focus on thinness and perfect body shape.
· Don’t be misled by food myths, such as food satisfies (giving a bottle to a crying baby; or rewarding a child with a candy). In the adult world, using food to satisfy your emotional feelings may be a shortcut to eating disorders.
· Don’t substitute “high fat” with “low fat” or “high sugar” with “low sugar. Simply eat less of what you crave. Learn how to overcome food cravings.
· Don’t be allured by food advertisers, who often use human characteristics to make you become emotionally attached to their products (such as McDonalds and Kentucky Chicken).through a human relationship with food. All commercials aim at creating the craving for food, which is the source of binge eating.
· Don’t strive to live up to the media’s unrealistic standards of body shape that is out of reach for the general public.
· Don’t search for a perfect diet: there is and there will never be one. In fact, imperfection is only human. Your search is only procrastination for taking positive action. You are simply searching something outside of yourself, instead of tackling the problems within yourself. Avoid all fad diets, such as Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watcher, and many others, which lighten only your wallet but not your weight.
· Don’t waste your time finding out the weight loss of another. To tell the truth, there is no secret: you simply eat less. Instead, use the time to exercise or prepare a healthy
End Binge Eating Once And For All details a step-by-step plan to overcome compulsive binge eating disorder. This inspiring book shows you not only how to achieve a positive body image but also how to become a much stronger person emotionally. The information improves yourself and every aspect of your life positively. In addition, you can continue to eat most of the foods that you normally binge on. It is not a diet, but a way to end food addiction permanently!
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Binge Eating to Home Page.
by
Stephen Lau
Compulsive eating or binge eating disorder is uncontrollable eating, often accompanied by frustration, guilt and shame, setting the groundwork for depression and other behavioral disorders. It is a psychological disorder using food to cope with disturbed emotions.
The vicious binge eating cycle
The compulsive eating cycle may begin subtly and imperceptibly with using food to deal with emotional problems or stress. This psychological problem may lead to other psychological problems, such as weight gain.
To resolve the weight problem, the alternatives may be dieting or purging. The former is often the precursor of binge eating (a component of different eating disorders), while the latter may result in bulimia.
Why is that?
Dieting, ironically enough, is often the first stage of binge eating. Dieting creates deprivation, which makes an individual feel deprived of the enjoyment of eating. Individuals with less self-control may succumb to the desire of wanting food during a diet.
Failure in dieting (or worse with repeated failures in one diet after another) engenders frustration and self-deprecation, leading to depression (For more information, visit my website Rethink Your Depression.), which often causes an individual to turn to "comfort food."
Or, an individual may resort to resolving weight problem through purging (using fingers or laxatives to induce vomiting after binge eating), precipitating the development of bulimia.
The individual, beset by the fear of being unable to stop eating voluntarily, may turn to binge eating again, and thus creating the endless vicious cycle of compulsive eating, followed by guilt, shame, and helplessness, leading to more binge episodes.
These cyclical problems of abnormal eating feed on themselves.
The binge eating profile
Compulsive eating individuals may have the following traits:
· low self-esteem
· poor or unrealistic self-image
· self-denial
· pursuit of perfection
· fear of growing up
· futile self-reassertion from a dominating person or possessive parent(s)
The dos
· Do make a daily commitment to focus on changing your lifestyle. Make an agreement with yourself that you will spend some time each day to think about how to adopt healthy living and change your eating habit to eat healthy again.
· Do detach yourself emotionally from food. Yes, eating may temporarily detach you from your emotions, just like watching TV may take your mind off your stress or problems. However, binge eating cannot solve your emotional problems - they only exacerbate them further down the road.
· Do eat only a set number of times each day. It is just like making fewer shopping trips to the supermarket will save you money; eat fewer times - just close your mouth! You need to have a business-like approach to eating - disciplined eating plays a role.
· Do set regular mealtimes: breakfast, lunch, and dinner - with 4-5 hours in between. Never-ending mealtime is a recipe for binge eating and overweight.
· Do make your food choices based on your nutritional needs. Understand that the purpose of eating is to give your body nutrients, and neither to make you “feel better” about yourself nor to alleviate your guilt. Remember, every food item you choose gives you either good health or poor health.
· Do avoid reading cookbooks or watching cooking shows. They increase your appetite for food more than they increase your culinary skills.
· Do keep yourself busy to take your mind off food. Knitting and gardening often do wonders, if you find exercise too strenuous.
· Do remember that binge eating hurts not only yourself, but also your loved ones too. Compulsive eating hurts relationships.
· Do realize that no one can lose weight for you. Take full responsibility for your actions and choices. The food is there, but it doesn’t mean you have to eat it.
· Do follow the suggested portions outlined on a food package. They are there for a valid reason - to make sure you will not overeat. Don’t nurture the feeling that no one has the right to tell you how much to eat.
· Do remember that saying “NO” is an essential part of healing and recovery. Enjoy what you eat is different from eating everything you enjoy. Think about that! Learn how to change gradually your eating experience.
· Do hold up your head and be confident, irrespective of your size and shape. Low self-esteem is often the culprit in binge eating. Just stand tall, push your body back, and hold your head high!
The don'ts
· Don’t plan your weight loss, and don’t set any target. Why not? Be realistic because the road ahead may be long and bumpy, and any disappointment and frustration will lead to more episodes of binge eating.
· Don’t be over ambitious or zealous. Taking a Herculean task is nothing but sabotage that feeds your self-denial. Take small but deliberate steps. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and you need to take that first step to recovery and ultimate good health.
· Don’t pay attention to the contradictory messages of the media, or the cultural focus on thinness and perfect body shape.
· Don’t be misled by food myths, such as food satisfies (giving a bottle to a crying baby; or rewarding a child with a candy). In the adult world, using food to satisfy your emotional feelings may be a shortcut to eating disorders.
· Don’t substitute “high fat” with “low fat” or “high sugar” with “low sugar. Simply eat less of what you crave. Learn how to overcome food cravings.
· Don’t be allured by food advertisers, who often use human characteristics to make you become emotionally attached to their products (such as McDonalds and Kentucky Chicken).through a human relationship with food. All commercials aim at creating the craving for food, which is the source of binge eating.
· Don’t strive to live up to the media’s unrealistic standards of body shape that is out of reach for the general public.
· Don’t search for a perfect diet: there is and there will never be one. In fact, imperfection is only human. Your search is only procrastination for taking positive action. You are simply searching something outside of yourself, instead of tackling the problems within yourself. Avoid all fad diets, such as Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watcher, and many others, which lighten only your wallet but not your weight.
· Don’t waste your time finding out the weight loss of another. To tell the truth, there is no secret: you simply eat less. Instead, use the time to exercise or prepare a healthy
End Binge Eating Once And For All details a step-by-step plan to overcome compulsive binge eating disorder. This inspiring book shows you not only how to achieve a positive body image but also how to become a much stronger person emotionally. The information improves yourself and every aspect of your life positively. In addition, you can continue to eat most of the foods that you normally binge on. It is not a diet, but a way to end food addiction permanently!
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Binge Eating to Home Page.
Overcoming Eating Disorders
Stephen Lau
Stephen Lau
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