Binge Eating Can Be Overcome - Try These 5 Easy Tips!

Ouch! It was your neighbor's Memorial Day barbecue - who would have thought you'd have four burgers? With all the trimmings? Plus a nice plate of barbecued pork, a plate or two of potato salad . . . and whatever was in that punch they served, thank goodness you only had to walk next door to get home! Whether or not you're on a diet, you probably feel guilty for binging like that - hey, anyone would! So, what's the answer? How can you overcome binge eating and regain all the wright loss momentum you lost?

First, don't think all is lost. In addition to the guilt you're likely feeling, you probably are feeling as if the food you binged on has already added pounds and pounds to your weight, and set back your weight loss goals significantly.

To add a pound, you need to consume around 3200 - 3500 calories. There are some fast foods that would only take two or three servings for you to reach this limit, but generally speaking, it's actually pretty difficult to eat that much in a single sitting. If your binge was world-class, you may have set yourself back a pound or so. Once you analyze the figures, you'll see that a single instance of binging isn't a disaster.

Second, guilt isn't the answer. You may honestly believe that the best thing to do after a binge is to starve yourself, both to punish yourself and try to get rid of whatever weight your binge added. You'll do yourself a lot of good if you ignore that particular impulse. When your body senses that it's being starved, it reacts with a number of survival mechanisms, including slowing down your metabolism to reduce the amount of energy spent. That will help to produce food cravings in you, which could lead to another binging episode.

Your best response to a binge is to return to a wholesome diet of healthy food. Your metabolism will remain on a more level keel, and you'll be able to get a better grip on the cravings that lead to binging. Make a fun project of it - go to a good supermarket and get yourself nothing but wholesome, nutritious food. Your nutritional profile should improve, and you should also be able to resist the temptation to go on another binge.

Third, drink plenty of water. When you drink lots of water on a regular basis, your stomach feels full, which helps control the cravings. Water also helps flush toxins out of your system. The benefits of water are countless, and many consider it to be an indispensable component of any weight loss program.

Fourth, fiber is your friend. Processed foods and junk foods are usually low in dietary fiber, and eating them to excess can lead to such digestive tract afflictions as constipation and bloat. Not only will fiber promote regularity, it will help you feel full, one of the elements of overcoming binge eating.

To ensure the health of your digestive system, eat foods that are high in dietary fiber, because they'll keep you regular while routinely eliminating toxins and other wastes from your body. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and should be a part of your daily diet, together with whole-grain breads and pasts and beans.

Fifth, get some good exercise. The math on losing the calories is pretty straightforward as well - when you consume calories, whatever you don't burn is converted to fat and stored on your hips.

Adding a few minutes to your workout routine, or adding to your day-to-day exercise with such techniques as parking your car in the furthest corner of the parking lot, so that you walk more, are ways you can bulk up your exercise program to compensate for your binge. Even a little bit adds up over time and you can quickly make up for any weight you've gained after overeating.

While it might seem difficult to overcome binge eating, the reality is that it's not. You really just need to take responsibility for your overeating by reasonably compensating for it. It might be that the guilt and self-loathing you can feel are more harmful than the impact of a single binge - you'll see, once you add up the calories you consumed, that you didn't hurt your diet as much as you thought.