How Binge Eating May Be Your Cue That You Need To Look Within

~Change Your Mindset, And Your Body Will Follow~

On Monday of this week, I started a new workout regimen that I coupled with a “meal plan” that I formulated for myself.

I haven’t been feeling my best lately, and I know that changing up my meals and adding movement may help.

I was feeling confident, and everything had been going wonderfully well …. until Friday night.

Friday Evening I  Binge-ate* An Abundance Of Highly Processed, Allergen Aggravating, Foods.

(*Binge-eating is defined as consuming an excess amount of food in a limited period of time.)

~In the past, I would have felt extremely ashamed, started a soliloquy of second guessing, beat myself up over it for days, and I would have sabotaged my entire weekend with similar binging behaviors.

But am I doing any of that this time?

No.

Am I feeling guilty or ashamed or embarrassed?

No.

~Instead, I Looked Within To Figure Out The Cause Of This Behavior.

You see, most weight gaining behaviors can be linked to a mental / emotional trigger or trauma. (Sometimes from something significant that has an underlying effect on your entire life.)

Whether it’s binge-eating, skipping meals, overeating, unhealthy choices, etc, there’s typically something being mentally held-onto within yourself that you need to acknowledge, work through & fix before you can see long lasting, sustaining, physiological change.

[This is the reason why many people who lose a significant amount of weight will gain it back within a rather short amount of time after losing it. They acknowledged the physical result of their coping mechanisms (their weight gain), but they haven’t dealt with or processed the trauma, (the actual source of their problem).]

So Instead Of Starting A Stream Of Self-shaming, I Looked Within And Asked Myself Multiple Questions:

-How am I currently feeling?

-What has me feeling this way?

-What is currently going on in my life that has me feeling this way?

-Why am I exhibiting this behavior?

-What action (that isn’t eating) can I take to help eliminate these feelings?

From my questions, I realized that lately I’ve been feeling upset, anxious, & out of control and that I was overeating in an attempt to help ease these feelings, without doing anything tangible to actually change the things that had been causing me anxiety.

 So Here’s The “Science” On Stress Snacking

~While there is a definite, documented correlation between stress and our appetite, people will react to this stress in different ways. Some people skip the snacking, even ignoring their hunger cues for multiple meals & other people are emotional eaters, who attempt to dissipate their stress with food.

Why Are Some People So Quick To Snack When Stressed?

-As part of our “fight or flight response,” our brain emits a hormone called cortisol, (known as the stress hormone) when we’re stressed. As per biology, our body responds to this hormone by activating our appetite & cueing our cravings in an attempt to “fuel for the fight” with energy dense foods. (Which tend to be high in Sugar, Salt, Starch & such.)

Not only can the overindulgence itself lead to worrisome weight gain, but studies have shown that stress slows the metabolism to a grinding halt & that eating doesn’t actually dissipate your stress. It has actually been shown to increase stress & anxiety levels! So while binging may be an effective temporary distraction from your stress, it isn’t actually an effective combatant or comfort.

A better, more effective strategy to squash stress would be to find the source of your stress & face it head on…

So I wrote down a list of things I could do immediately, the next day & over the course of the next week to effect the reasons behind my anxiety.

(I know deep, emotional trauma can’t be solved entirely overnight, but there is always the ability to take an immediate action that will ultimately affect the entirety of your mental health.)

*Then, I Chose To Forgive Myself For The Way I Chose To Deal With How I Was Feeling And I Reassured Myself That Tomorrow Is A New Day And That I Will Get A Fresh Start.

-I gave myself grace.

-This tiny transgression doesn’t erase all of my previous days of movement and eating whole foods!

-My body still ingested all those vitamins and minerals. (And is already using them!)

-My body is still experiencing the effects from the exercise. (And is working to recover & build new tissue with the nutrients I ingested.)

Sure I went “off plan” for the day, but the great news is that tomorrow is a new day and I will get a fresh start and the ability to nourish myself again tomorrow.

So, if you find yourself having just finished a binge…

~Give yourself grace

~Look within.

~Know it’s okay to move forward.

And be sure to ask yourself next time you’re self sabotaging, “Is there an underlying reason for me to be exhibiting this behavior?”

You’ve got this!

Xoxo

~Stephanie