Coping with Binge Eating Disorder or BED and Recovery Tips

Living with a disorder that is related to eating habits can be difficult, as you have to often face your favorite food. You can cope with such situations by using the following tips:

• Give yourself some space. Never criticize yourself.
• Keep a note of all the situations that trigger the symptoms and plan to deal with them effectively.
• Boost your self-esteem by idolizing positive role models and remind yourself not to look at the skinny models, as they do not represent a perfect body structure.
• Find a good friend with whom you can share about all the daily instances. In-group, you may come up with a solution to tackle the situation.
• Meditate or do yoga poses that will nurture your mind and body.
• Note down your feelings in a book and try to connect the dots. This will help you in connecting with all those situations that trigger the symptoms in your body.

Getting support: Breaking the pattern of binge eating can be difficult at times. This is when you can take support from the friends and relatives. Therapists can also help in creating a support team that will prove to be helpful in getting rid of binge eating disorder. Many groups, including self-help groups and other therapy groups also help in tackling the situations effectively.

• Group Therapy: A professional psychotherapist will lead the group therapy sessions and will help in curing all the symptoms by offering necessary help.
• Support Groups: Trained volunteers often lead the support groups that offer help for binge eating disorder, which will include offering advice and support to the needy.

1. Begin the day by eating a balanced diet or a breakfast that is rich in protein content. Starting the day by eating a healthy meal will keep your stomach full and keep away the thought of munching on your favorite food.
2. Do not think about dieting. Dieting can in some way or the other trigger binge eating in your body. Instead of giving up on eating, consider including some healthy foodstuff that will prove to be healthy.
3. Isolation and secrets are often a part of binge eating disorder. When you think about recovering alone, it actually brings in more problems. Getting help from various support groups will help in keeping you away from the isolation and bring you out of the situation. Through various group sessions, you will get a chance to know different people who are suffering from the same disorder. These people can help you in many ways.
4. Do not let hunger trigger your senses. When you starve your body, the level of blood sugar will drop instantly. When your body craves for glucose, you will tend to eat anything that you find. Instead, use a satiety scale that will help you in counting the amount of nutrients that you consume.
5. Learn to listen to your body if it is hungry. This will let you understand how much and why you are eating a particular food. Your body needs to feel healthy, so learn to listen to it and respond.
6. Indulge in exercise every day. Doing exercise does not mean you spend long hours tiring your body. This means that you can take some time out of your daily schedule to walk or run for a few miles. This can also be replaced with your favorite activity like window-shopping or lifting weights. The more you start involving in physical exercises, the more you will love it.
7. Learn to eat mindfully. When you eat mindfully, you will understand the actual taste of the food that you are eating and notice it as well. When you learn to eat mindfully, you do not tend to overeat and this can help in interrupting a binge. Thus, mindful eating works as an effective tool for fighting the disorder.
8. Include protein rich food in your diet. Protein will help you in feeling full for a long time. Look out for foods that are rich in protein and make a list of such foods that will feed your brain.
9. Keep a timer for eating your meal. When you feel an urge to munch on foods, set a time limit. Try to indulge yourself in some other work while the timer is on. Discouraging the urge will ultimately put a stop to it.
10. Meditate daily. Meditation will help you in slowing down the urge and keep your brain calm as well. You do not have to make a big deal out of it. Take a few minutes away from your day and breathe deeply. You can slip into the bathroom, close your eyes and take few deep breaths just to wash away all the stress.
11. Keep a specific time for eating your meals. When you are starting to recover from the binge eating, it might be difficult for you to cope up. Set a clock for consuming various meals during an entire day. Set specific parameters and ensure when to eat the meal. Never forget to include at least three meals in your daily course.
12. Diet coke leads to addiction. Give up on it. There are some facts, which mention the relation between weight gain and diet coke. This may be either true or false. The fact is however true that binge eaters often substitute food with diet soda. This can however cause lethargy, loathing and discomfort, which will contribute to binge eating.
13. Keep on reminding yourself that you can have a food later in day or the next day. Binge eaters often feel that a food is pale and cannot be eaten later during the day. On special occasions when special delicacies are made, think if you can have them tomorrow. It is not necessary that you consume the food right away. It can be eaten either some time later or the following day.
14. Know the relation between your mind and the symptoms. Know when your mind is triggered and the instances when the symptoms are stimulated. If watching a movie makes you munch on popcorn, find a way to combat it. Likewise, think about all the instances and find a way to tackle them. Look for healthy means that will keep you engaged while doing various activities and keep you from binging.
15. Get a complete sleep. Binge eating is often caused due to insufficient sleep. Being more mindful and aware of the matters can keep your mind calm. This will let you get a deep sleep and bring down the symptoms of binge eating.
16. Learn to love yourself. Carry out some meaningful tasks at least in a day. This might involve things that you love doing like pampering your skin and nails. By nurturing yourself, you will learn to value yourself and feel good about your body as well.
17. Be compassionate towards your body. Loving yourself is the only way to put back all the bad things and engage in something fruitful. Never indulge in doing fat chats with others. If you look at yourself, never say that you are fat. Instead, look at it in a healthier way. Never discuss about any other person’s body or speak about various diet plans.
18. Learn to tackle your urge to binge eating. Even if you feel overwhelmed about eating, stay strong. Remember that you are much stronger than your urge to binge.
19. You are a human. There are instances when you are not perfect. If you slip from your daily routine, start over. Take a shower or do anything that will bring back the motivational drive to you. Feel fresh by just washing your hands and legs or do anything that will make you feel fresh.

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Also Read:

• Binge Eating Disorder
• Treatment & 10 Strategies for Tackling Binge Eating Disorder