One of the most common nutrition concerns and troubles that my clients tell me about is binge eating.
Working in the fitness industry, I see people of all ages and fitness levels have this struggle. It is important to note that if you binge eat on occasion or are stuck in a binge eating cycle, it does not necessarily mean you have a clinically diagnosed Binge Eating Disorder.
However, it is still important to recognize and address these unhealthy eating habits. Often, solving your problem with binge eating has very little to do with food. Read below to learn the reasons why you may be binge eating.
Coping with emotions
Learn proper emotional coping skills so food doesn’t become your escape from stress, problems and uncomfortable emotions.
Lack of sleep
Get quality sleep so your hormones and appetite are not adversely affected. Aim for 7 to 9 hours each night.
Becoming overly hungry
Improve your time management skills and prepare for your day ahead of time by bringing meals or snacks. This will help prevent you from getting too busy to eat and letting yourself get overly hungry.
Your diet is too destructive and too long
When it comes to actual diet or nutrition components having too restrictive of a diet can lead to increased desires to binge eat. When you diet for too long and/or don’t consume enough satiating foods, your willpower and discipline diminishes. Take diet breaks for your mental sanity.
You are not eating enough satiating foods
Eat whole nutrient dense foods. Many times people eat “diet” or “low calorie” or “low carb” packaged food items, thinking that it will help them lose weight. However, when you diet consists of mostly processed foods, you are missing out on quality foods and nutrients that are necessary for your body to run optimally leaving your body hungry and unsatisfied.
You are multitasking
Become more present when you’re eating, instead of trying to multi-task, so that you can learn to listen to your body and be aware of your biological hunger/fullness cues. This practice is known as mindful eating and will actually help you enjoy your eating experience more!
Social pressure to look a certain way
Develop a greater sense of self-confidence and appreciate what your body does for you. Transforming your body with a healthy mindset helps prevent taking extreme dieting measures that is caused by societal pressures to be lean or thin. Extreme diets are both mentally and physically unhealthy that usually end up backfiring with weight rebound.
You have hormonal irregularities
Biological abnormalities such as hormonal irregularities may be associated with compulsive eating and food addiction. See a doctor or specialist if you think you may be experiencing this.