Binge eating is one of the most common eating disorders in todays society. It is more common in women than men. 3.5 percent of the woman population deal with this disorder, while 2.0 percent of men are affected by it. I found this subject to be quite interesting as I did some research on it. I will share some tips on dealing with this serious eating disorder, and hopefully they will be helpful to someone who may have it.
1. Jump-start your day off with a good breakfast. A good breakfast is a key to any number of nutritional, as well as medical needs one may have. You’re less likely to fill up on high calorie foods later in the day if you start your day off with the proper nutrition your body needs. Some nutritious breakfast ideas are high fiber cereals with milk and fruit, such as a banana(I call the banana the almost perfect food) or eggs with breakfast meat such as ham or bacon, with whole grain toast. Yogurt’s with berries mixed in, and fruit juices are nice nutritious accompaniments, and don’t forget that 8 ounce glass of milk to top your breakfast off. Skip the danish or donut which is filled with all those empty calories we don’t need anyway. Getting the right nutrients is essential. Even if you binge eat, the chances are you are not getting the proper nutrients to sustain a healthy body.
2. Avoid dieting. Dieting will only lead to more binge eating episodes. Once you start to deprive yourself of something, the tendency to make up for it becomes a strong urge, so the purpose of the dieting is basically defeated. Rather then diet, don’t stock up on a lot of food. If you don’t have the food, the temptation to eat it can’t be satisfied.
3. Don’t isolate yourself from everyone. Isolation will only lead to a lot of self-pity and a feeling of worthlessness. Disgust, depression and guilt will set in leading to further binge eating. Going it alone is not the answer. You need support to deal with this problem otherwise you could end up with mental, as well as physical health issues. If you can’t conquer the problem, there are a number of therapy options out there as well as support groups to help.
4. Some anti depressants, anti convalescents, and anti obesity agent medications have been known to help. My suggestion on this though is only use it as a last resort and under strict professional medical supervision. I’m a firm believer is using oral medications only when other options have been tried and failed.
5. Physical exercise is also a good course to pursue if you have problems with binge eating. When you have the urge to open that refrigerator or cupboard door, jump on the treadmill instead, or go for a walk. It will take your mind off eating, even if it’s only momentarily.
There a number of good websites that carry a lot of information on the problem of binge eating. Two of my favorite ones are binge.com and mayoclinic.com/health/eatingdisorders. They have a lot of information on nutrition and therapy as well as other solutions to help you with this eating disorder.
Sources: www.bingeeating.com
www.mayoclinic.com/health/eatingdisorders
acquaintances with this problem
