Tip for Overcoming Overeating

Something that seems to really help those of us who struggle with binging/overeating/bulimia/etc., is to remember that food absolutely does not have any power whatsoever over us. The most helpful thing to do, when wanting to binge or feeling weak, facing a particular food, or whatever, is to look at the food and remind yourself of these deceivingly simple sentences:
It is just food. It isn't that big of a deal.
It's always been there, will always be there. It's not a big deal. This isn't your one-and-only, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eat it.
By imbuing food with all these thoughts about how wonderful and seductive it is, how badly you want it, how it's your only chance to eat it, etc, you are building it up to be something it is not.
Perhaps food really does seem to have a hold over you, over your life. Maybe it does seem like something that you can't control. Let me tell you, IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY POWER OVER YOU, EVEN IF IT *SEEMS* TO. The power it (falsely!) seems to exert over you is all in your mind. It's false, it isn't reality. You're giving away your power to something that never has and never will be able to control you. Food doesn't have that power--food CAN'T have that power.
And I hope that by reminding you of that, you can feel empowered to walk off, go about your life.
I had the interesting experience of having a friend describe to me what a binge feels like internally to them. It was described to me as "there is a lot of noise, chaos, and turmoil internally." There's anxiety and stress raging within and there is an intense voice within telling them to eat and eat and eat and not stop, shove as much in as fast as possible, dont think dont think dont think!!, etc.
To those of you who suffer from binging and experience this noise, this craziness within, I encourage you, if you can, in the moment, to stop yourself and get as still as possible externally and internally. Find your center. Ground yourself. Be calm. Clear your head, silence the voice, focus on your breath. In and out. In and out. Ask yourself, "How am I feeling right now?" "What is my heart saying?" "What's really going on? What do I really want? Why am I feeling this need to numb out with food, or stuff myself with food, and self-destruct like this?"
Additionally, I highly recommend starting up a meditation practice if you struggle with food/binge eating. It doesn't have to be anything long, elaborate, fancy, difficult, or crazy. Just 5 short, easy minutes once a day in a place that you feel safe and comfortable in; a place where you won't be disturbed or distracted. Sit in whatever is most natural and comfortable to you, close your eyes, and become aware of your breathing. You could even do the breathing exercise I talked about in my last video.
It's most helpful to me to repeat a phrase or word/chant if I'm having trouble getting myself into a meditative, still state of mind. If you have a similar dilemma, maybe try that out for yourself too. Or, feed yourself positive affirmations instead of endless amounts of food that never really do fill that insatiable inner hunger. Affirmations to get you started could include anything like, "I am love. I am loved. I am lovable." "In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete," or something similar that resonates with you. You don't have to believe it, either. Just say the words to yourself.
Lastly, a very important step in your self-healing journey to ending this vicious cycle of out-of-control eating is to get in touch with yourself. Befriend yourself. Learn about yourself. Cultivate self-love, self-respect, appreciation for the wonderful Be-ing that you are.
How do we get in touch with who we are? I suggest asking yourself often how you feel. In addition to that, I suggest making a habit of daily journaling. Each day, write about your day, what happened, your experiences, and (most importantly) your unique, precious THOUGHTS and FEELINGS about what happened.
Life is way too short to waste it trying to escape or numb out from it. YOU are BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT, WHOLE and COMPLETE. YOU deserve THE absolute BEST. You deserve freedom from something that doesn't and can't rule you and your life. Just remember that.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• overeating
• binge
• binging
• night
• eating
• syndrome
• bulimia
• nervosa
• emotional
• anorexia
• disorder
• EDNOS
• not
• otherwise
• specified
• weight
• loss
• diet

[SecretSanity999]

@xCowsCanFly of course you can meditate before bed! =]

[SecretSanity999]

@see4ward Thanks! =]

[SecretSanity999]

@jennfriedman thanks for watching, and for the comment. i wholeheartedly agree...eating normally really does help combat urges to binge. a lot of times, in my case, and in other peoples cases, as well, our bodies are telling us to binge because we are deficient in calories or nutrients. its our bodies way of trying to get them, a survival mechanism.

[SecretSanity999]

oh, you're welcome! i hope it was helpful

[firegirl5954]

Thank you so much for this video.

[RhiaBuzz]

I'd already considered meditation but this video was still great to watch & you have convinced me to give it a try, thank you so much for posting this :)

[memorysticky]

keep making videos.  I'm going to watch them all as soon as I have the time. thanks sweetie.

[syra15Willow]

seriously i watched this video about 2 weeks ago, and i dont know what it is about you cus ive watched similar videos...but i havent binged/purged since. lol, THANK YOU. :) <3

[creapah]

if she was my chick i would overeat all the time :)

[xCowsCanFly]

thank you for this. i have problem with bingeing.

im going to start meditating from now on.. can i meditate before going to bed?

[see4ward]

Great post...