How To Stop Binge Eating

You want to know how to stop binge eating? Ah, right. That’s probably why you clicked on this blog post. Cool, I’m going to give you some solid tips to help you stop binging out on chips, ice cream, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and whatever else tickles your fancy.

You are not alone!

One of the first things I want to start off with is letting you know, you are not alone! It is a very common muggle struggle!

And I don’t like to say ‘fix it’ because ‘fix it’ implies something is wrong with you. Binge eating doesn’t mean something is wrong with you, it just means you’re human. It’s not normal, but it’s common.

The most important thing I want to say first about this is that if you struggle with binge eating, there are people who are specialists who can work with you to teach you how to stop binge eating. If you are nervous, anxious, or worried about being judged or not knowing what to do, go see a specialist.

Good foods & bad foods…

Now, the major overarching concept that I think is very important for people to understand regarding binge eating, is it is not a food issue.
A lot of people ask me, “what foods can I eat to stop binge eating?” or “what foods cause binge eating?” and this mindset, ironically, leads to more binge eating.

Why? Because this mindset separates foods into “good” and “bad” foods.

For a lot of people, this is very weird to hear, but I adamantly, firmly and severely do not believe in good foods and bad foods.

I think that anything in excess or not enough is bad for you.

There is no such thing as good food or bad food, or a right food or wrong food. There is no such thing as a fattening food or fat burning food.

So basically, if you want to lose fat, the only way to do it is being in a calorie deficit. It doesn’t matter where the calories come from, from purely a fat loss perspective, as long as you are eating in a calorie deficit you will lose fat.

Now, that’s not saying go eat shit. That’s not saying go eat pizza and ice cream and twinkies and donuts. But it is saying that IF you have them, IF you include them in moderation in your diet, and as long as your calories are in check, you can still:

• Burn fat
• Get more defined
• Improve your body composition

And I say this because when people are binge eating, a lot of the time the issue is that they eat something that they think is bad, and then this is the negative pattern they go in:

1. They eat it
2. They think they f*^ked up
3. They say “Well, I already f*^cked up, I might as well keep going. I’ll get back on track tomorrow. I’ll get back on track on Monday.”

The process of eating something they deem as bad then perpetuates the negative cycle of “I screwed up, I might as well keep screwing up.” And that is SO, so important to understand.

If that resonates with you, keep reading because I am going to break down some things you can do that will hopefully help you learn how to stop binge eating.

Everything is okay in moderation. Creating this moderation control will help you a lot.

But what else can you do aside from seeing a specialist and stop deeming food as good or bad?

Stop weighing yourself

if you are emotionally tied to what it is telling you. In other words, if you feel happy when the number goes down, or sad/angry when it goes up,

GET OFF the scale.

Now, when you start to get that binge feeling coming on, set a bright line. What this means is you set a hard, steadfast rule for yourself. This will help give you control and it takes away uncertainty and ambiguity.

I want to preface this by saying, it’s not fail-proof or a magic pill, but it does work.
So give it a sincere shot!

One of the things I recommend to my clients and Inner Circle members when they feel a binge binge coming on is to tell themselves “I’ll eat it in 20 minutes”. This gives you permission to eat it, so you don’t feel restricted, and if in 20 minutes you still want it, then eat it. But give it a full 20 minutes.
That is a bright line. And more often than not, by the time the 20 minutes has passed, the urge is gone.
Now, what I want to leave you with is one final thought process. YOU CAN’T F*^K UP. Even if you slip and compulsively eat, you didn’t screw up.

The only way you will screw up, is if you GIVE UP. The most important thing is that you get back on track.

Want more on this topic? Watch this video.