Do you struggle with unhealthy eating habits? Are you worried about your diet and getting proper nutrients? If so, just know that you’re not alone and that a ton of people have body image issues. Binge eating is just one of those that are serious and frequent among most young adults. Have you ever struggled with it yourself? If the answer is yes, now you can work on it and discover most of it down below. Keep on reading and find out why binge eating happens, as well as ways how to recover from it the right and healthy way. Here’s all that you should know.
What is a binge eating disorder?
Binge eating is also known as overeating. It happens when you eat pretty much anything that is nearby, and you have an issue controlling or stopping yourself once you begin. Binge eating is also known as BED. After being done with a meal, most people start to feel ashamed, disgusted, and guilty. It is different from anorexia and bulimia, yet very popular in the US. In fact, eating disorders affect at least 9% of the population worldwide.
10 Tips on How to Recover from Binge Eating Disorder
1. Talk to dietitians
Source: nbjobs.ca
The nutritional treatment promotes a balanced perspective on food. It’s not about slimming down or refraining from binge eating. With the right person and a bit of help/guidance, you can learn to control your urges.
The therapist can help you break your binge-eating cycle and recover control of your eating habits. It is critical restoring the ability to recognize when one is hungry vs when one is full.
2. Be prepared
Bingeing is not a good way to kill time when you’re bored. It’s difficult to consider other options while you’re in the midst of a binge. Build a toolbox or a list of options to utilize in place of bingeing. Example of it?
Why not try to paint, draw, or walk?
Pursuing hobbies and interests is a great way to break the cycle of binge eating for good, but to also try out something good, healthy, and new for yourself that can act well as a replacement.
3. Diets will leave you crashing
Source: nutritionist-resource.org.uk
Overly restrictive diets have been linked to binge eating disorders. Fasting was associated with binge eating in a study including 496 female students. In a study of 103 women, cutting out certain foods increased cravings and health risks. This is why you should make healthy swaps instead of going on a diet that restricts certain food groups or severely reduces calorie intake. Try to focus on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and reduce your intake of sugary snacks.
4. Do not skip meals
Maintaining a regular meal schedule can be an effective method for preventing binge eating, especially if you tend to cook quite often for yourself or your family. Skipping meals leads to binge eating and increased cravings.
Two months of research showed that compared to eating three smaller meals per day, eating just one large meal per day significantly increased blood sugar levels, and was bad for you in the long run.
5. Try out meditation
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Mindfulness entails tuning in to one’s internal experiences.
By learning to recognize satiety cues, this method reduces the likelihood of binge eating. The results of a preliminary study suggest that integrating mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy can improve both eating habits and self-awareness.
If you want to know when you’re full, pay attention to your body. Listen to it, and question it. Eating leisurely and savoring food encourages healthy eating.
6. Water is your friend
Drinking water before a meal will help curb your appetite and prevent you from eating too much.
Studies have shown that drinking more water can help people feel full on fewer calories.
Drinking 17 ounces (500 ml) of water before a meal decreased calorie consumption by 13% in research with 24 elderly people.
How much water you need to drink every day can change from person to person, depending on your age and whether you work out or not. Overall it is important to stay hydrated, so drink when you’re thirsty.
7. Try out yoga
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Yoga’s breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditative practices are all designed to help you unwind and calm down.
Yoga has been shown to minimize emotional eating and encourage healthy eating habits. By lowering cortisol and other stress hormones, yoga is useful for relieving anxiety and stopping emotional eating from happening all over again. If you are not as active now might be a good time to change this.
8. Sleep it off
Sleep plays a role in appetite, cravings, and binge eating.
Those with BED reported greater difficulty sleeping than those without. Not getting enough sleep, aiming for at least 8 hours per night, is linked to gaining weight in most cases. You should get at least 8 hours of sleep every night to rein in your appetite and avoid binge eating, but to also let your body rest and recharge.
9. An emotional and nutritional journal
Source: everydayhealth.com
Keeping track of your food intake and emotional state can be beneficial. It helps people realize their emotional and food triggers and overcome them so that they can eat healthily.
Keeping a food diary has been linked in multiple studies to successful weight loss and maintenance, especially in the long run. You can do this little trick on your phone or in an actual paper journal to keep track of it all.
10. Know where to ask for help
Sometimes, doing it on our own or ”cutting it” won’t just cut it right. It is okay to ask for help from a team of professionals, just figure out who to ask. For any big or small inquiries, check here! The comprehensive care program includes options for adolescents seeking treatment for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or exercise addiction, serving the treatment needs of adolescents in St. Louis and the surrounding areas. With the right help, you will get your eating habits under control.
