Binging, more so than dieting, is filled with shame and guilt.
Binging makes you powerless, fearful and completely out of control. Binges are intense, immediate and almost primal.
I’ve you’ve tried all the tools in your tool bag, have read all the blogs and books out there but you’ve still not found the solution, it’s easy to feel hopeless and disappointed in oneself and all the advice out there.
If breathing, ritualizing, forgiving, adding more pleasure to your life, etc. hasn’t worked yet, it’s easy to want to give up and live with the pain that comes with the constant and overwhelming urge to eat more than feels uncomfortable.
I’ve been there and I know pressure, the senseless dieting to make up for the weight gain during the binges, the praying, the tears, the overwhelming sense of being defeated by your own urges.
No matter how severe your binges are, I believe that there is a way out and a way in to more balance and connection to the body. Here are more thoughts and strategies on how to learn to let go of your binges (or not quite yet).
Binging can be a necessary strategy
Are you trying to fix yourself without healing the root issue?
Are you listening to the messages that are being held in the binges? When did your binges start? What triggered them? When do they happen less often? At what times do they occur all the time? At what time of the day do you usually binge?
Inquire, dig some more and see if you can find a common theme that’ll shed some light on your binges.
Macronutrient balance and eating rhythm
When you’re a severe binger, looking at your eating rhythm and your macronutrient balance are two of the more practical steps to take. Most often, binges occur in the late afternoon or in the evening because of mental or physical restriction of food. Eating regularly when you’re prone to binging is important, starting with breakfast and ending with dinner.
If you’re eating too many unhealthy carbs or too much protein, it’s easy to get into the biological and mental binge mode. The more balanced your “normal” meals are the better. This means, no crazy high protein, low carb diets or all veggie days and instead choosing meals with protein, carbs and healthy fats throughout your day.
Restore electrolyte balance and short-circuit stress response
If you feel a binge coming up or if you notice that you’ve had too little to eat in the day, try some miso soup, veggie broth, banca tea, twig tea or a “green” drink. This might not prevent psychological binges, but it’ll help with the physiological ones.
There’s nothing wrong with your behavior
Your binging is a message from your body and you get to approach it with compassion and love and still see yourself as whole just as you are.
Your body is sending you a pretty loud message that must be heard. If you keep ignoring the message that is being send to you, your binges will continue. However, that doesn’t make the binges or your behavior wrong. You may just not be ready to listen to them.
Focus on everything else
Instead of obsessing over your binges, focus on everything else.
How do you spend your day? How do you behave in your relationship? What’s up with your career? Where else are you lacking nourishment in your life? How often and how lovingly do you move your body?
How do you feel about your life in general? If things are off in other areas, it’s best to start making changes there. Your overall wellbeing and your binges are closely connected.
The power of binges
A binge and the act of binging has an immense power to it and you get to explore all that power that is within you waiting to be expressed in all of the areas in your life.
You might perceive binging as a negative force but having this force within you is immensely positive. You get to tap into your power in your own time and use it for all your heart’s desires.
Healing takes time
And sometimes we’re just not ready to let go of our crutch. Binging might still serve you in profound and necessary ways. The healing that has to happen inside in order to give up your behaviors may not have taken place yet. You may not have found the real source of your despair and that is OK.
Give yourself the time to fully, wholly heal and stay inquisitive, knowing that you will get to the root of it all if you just – gently and compassionately – keep going inward.
Embrace the act of binging
During a binge, instead of fighting it, surrender into it. Embrace the act of binging and notice all the emotions behind the drive to stuff food into your mouth.
Food can be such a wonderful ally supporting you through digging up any deep emotional blocks. The more you embrace it the more likely it is that you’ll get to the core of your behaviors.
Binges carry an immense potential of not only healing your relationship with food and yourself, but your entire life.
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