Friday, August 19, 2011

Postponing a Binge




Eating issues are frustrating to say the least! There are times they won’t be too important and other times when they feel overwhelming. Please understand, this is not unique to you. Most people struggle from time to time. Sometimes the urge to binge will be strong and those cookies will be calling your name. You may or you may not choose to grab a handful!

Whatever you choose, the idea is to break the pattern of mindless eating. Give yourself time to breathe. Be creative. Relax, exercise, have fun and then re-evaluate your need to binge. You will often find that you feel good about yourself for making this effort and the powerful urge to eat has subsided. At other times you will still feel the urge to eat but it may not be quite as strong and you may be able to resist it. As suggested in The Taming of the Chew, make a list of alternative behaviors and choose one to engage you as a way of moving away from the urge to eat. If you still feel like binging after 15 or 20 minutes doing something else, you can always continue the activity you were doing or choose another activity from your list to further postpone a binge. Usually at that point you will feel in control and the urges will have subsided.

If not, however, and you choose to eat, please take a minute to decide what you will have. Choose your behavior and make a plan to take care of yourself in the aftermath. Remember, no matter what, do not punish yourself for choosing to take care of yourself with food this one time. At other times you can and will choose different ways to behave. No one is perfect and we all make less than self-loving choices at times. Occasionally your Chew is bound to win. This is true for all of us and it’s OK!

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Have a fabulous day! Dr. Denise