Diet Talk - Bingeing

DIET TALK is a series of 56 topics addressing the psychological and social aspects of successful, long-term weight management. DIET TALK is based on my NPR series. This lecture addresses bingeing and dieting.

Transcript

BINGING Binging seems to be almost universal for those with weight problems.

Most individuals exhibit at least one form of binging from time to time,

With some finding themselves binging on a daily basis.

Let's define what a binge is and isn't.

A binge is not a state of hunger.

It is a state of mind.

It's a feeling of being out of control,

Of helplessness.

It's loneliness,

Depression,

Frustration,

Anger,

Rage,

Alienation,

And self-pity.

A binge is one of the few things in life we start out doing,

Fully aware that we'll feel worse when it's done.

Now how does binging become a problem?

As we grow up,

We experience emotions that can,

Like hunger,

Generate tension states in the stomach.

The person whose weight remains stable is one who can correctly discriminate and respond effectively to tension-producing states.

However,

Some people are not very good discriminators of their feelings.

They are not in touch with themselves enough to discriminate perhaps anger from frustration.

The drawback to not being a good discriminator is that almost all bad feelings become associated with hunger.

Eating becomes a response to almost anything,

And the specific factors that trigger a binge will differ from person to person and from situation to situation.

Let's begin discussing the most common types of binges.

One type results from perceiving yourself as being alone or lonely.

This person usually binges in solitary.

What they eat in the company of others radically differs from what they eat when alone.

This appears to be the most common type of binge.

Another type of binge is a product of a need to hurt not only yourself,

But someone else as well.

You perceive yourself as having been wronged.

Usually this person is unable to vent hostility through normal channels and attempts to elicit guilt in others through improper eating.

A third type of binge is practiced by the person who is not mentally ready to accept being thin.

Eating assures that the weight will return.

This is also a common type of binge with sexuality and expectations being typical issues regarding acceptance of being thin.

A fourth type is a result of boredom.

We tend to binge when we feel there is nothing else more interesting to do.

The fifth type of binge is engaged in by the person who is great at staying with the eating program as long as they don't find themselves eating inappropriately.

As soon as any guideline is broken,

They give themselves the okay to eat large quantities of high-calorie foods.

The sixth type of binge begins with a feeling of inadequacy.

This comes from a perceived lack of equality with another individual.

When they feel as though they are less valuable than someone else,

They overeat.

The holiday binge,

Type 7,

Is either an attempt to recapture the warmth and nurturance that existed in the childhood home or a way of relieving the tension that is associated with a bad time of year.

The eighth type of binge is done at night.

This person is usually someone who holds a full-time job,

Eats regularly during the day,

And makes nightly visits to the kitchen,

Particularly when everyone else is asleep.

Binging type 9 comes about due to depression.

This binger has a feeling of helplessness with regard to the events taking place around him or her,

But in eating,

Feels a sense of control.

This is also a fairly common type of binge.

Another type of binge,

Number 10,

Occurs most frequently in women who have lost a significant amount of weight and binge as a result of increased male attention.

If someone has been overweight for many years,

It can be quite disturbing to be the center of attention.

Type 11 is a result of choosing to substitute food for the nurturance of people.

Type 12 happens after you have enviously sat and watched some thin person,

With a high metabolic rate,

Eating heartily while you feel deprived and left out.

Sooner or later,

You indulge yourself,

Trying to make up for the negative feeling.

Others use food as a tranquilizer.

This is type 13 and quite common.

Type 14 is typical for many of us.

It occurs within 10 minutes after coming home from work.

It results from a sense of being mentally drained and physically fatigued.

This is combined with the belief that somehow a large quantity of food will restore a feeling of well-being.

It is confusing being tired with being hungry.

A few less common types of binging result from eating to handle travel anxiety,

Any change in routine,

Trying to live by other people's standards,

And being afraid of having to maintain weight loss.

There are three components to breaking the binging cycle.

First is becoming aware of what is happening.

Second is taking action to begin altering behavior.

And third is making attitude changes that will assure continued improvement.

Step one is awareness strategies.

These strategies are not meant to alter your eating habits.

They are instead strategies to help make you aware of what is happening.

The action strategies will help change the behavior.

Right now,

We want to deal with awareness.

First,

Keep accurate records of the quantity of food you eat and record your feelings,

Emotions,

And mood each time you put something in your mouth.

This will begin making you aware of exactly what is happening with food.

Next,

Think back to all the times you have stopped yourself from binging.

When you were on the verge,

But didn't.

What did you say to yourself?

This is your private thought that inhibited your eating.

It is important to discover yours.

Also,

Develop an awareness of the consequences of your actions by writing the answers to the following questions on an index card and rereading them before you binge.

The first question is,

What will be the consequences if I do not change my eating habits?

Don't just focus on the physical.

Include feelings about your relationship with food.

The second question is,

What will be the consequences of this binge?

Don't be cruel.

Just think about how you feel.

And third,

What will be the consequences of my weight loss?

Again,

Don't just focus on the physical.

Another awareness strategy is to lie back in a comfortable chair,

Relax,

And vividly visualize a scene in which you are at goal weight.

You should experience a sense of uneasiness,

A sense that something is not quite right.

The reason for this uneasiness will give you some insight as to why you binge.

Another is to take an entire evening to sit down and list your strengths,

Your strong points.

Becoming aware is very much a process of coming to know your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

It is valuable to heighten your awareness of the taste,

Smell,

And texture of food.

The way to do this is to make sure that everything that is taken into your mouth is first put on the right side of the tongue and then on the left side of the tongue.

Cut all portions in half and then in half again before they go into your mouth.

Take the time to actually taste the food you are eating.

Savor the tastes and textures of the various foods.

The idea is to take some care with and respect the food you choose to put into your body.

After doing this exercise and making it a habit,

You will be much more aware of what you are eating.

Another awareness strategy is to buy some ribbon and fence off a portion of your pantry and refrigerator with it.

Put all the food you don't want to have in the house,

But do,

Within the fenced areas.

The purpose is not to stop you from eating,

But only to remind you and give you an awareness of when and what you are eating.

A strategy that has been found to be extremely worthwhile is to chew gum while cooking.

This is important for those who tend to binge while preparing food.

The idea is to remove the gum if you desire to sample the food.

The sole purpose is to allow you to notice unconscious eating.

The gum can only be removed for one taste at a time.

Since binging is often the result of a combination of feelings,

Begin determining what adds up for you.

You may discover that anger plus frustration equals calories,

Or that contentment with self minus spouse's attention equals binge.

Find your binge equations.

Develop an awareness and acceptance of the fact that permanent weight management and binge-free attitudes can only be acquired over time.

Do this by circling dates on your calendar by which you wish to attain certain attitudes and goals.

Be sure to allow yourself adequate time.

Also begin practicing acting appropriately on feelings.

This is very important.

If you are bored,

Deal with it by finding something stimulating to do.

Be aware that boredom often results in eating.

So find something to do instead of eating.

If you are tired,

Don't eat.

Instead lie down.

Begin doing this with all of your feelings.

Start determining what the appropriate response is for you.

Take an active role in your food intake choices.

Write down everything you are going to eat before you eat it.

Research has found that writing it down afterwards doesn't do much good when it comes to changing eating habits.

Get involved with something that interests you,

Other than food.

When the habitual urge to binge comes over you,

Do that something interesting for 15 minutes.

Just don't eat.

Usually all you have to do is get through the first few minutes of the urge to binge without eating in order to avoid the problem.

Another helpful action strategy is to make a habit of never leaving the house in the morning with change for vending machines.

Few of us will ask co-workers for change for a $1 bill in order to buy something from the machine.

Since you won't be stopping by the vending machine,

Make a new habit of passing the machine and going instead to the water fountain.

Before you know it,

You'll be hooked on drinking water instead of eating candy.

When you know you don't want to eat,

Start practicing saying no.

This can be difficult,

But don't give up.

Each food decision you make affects how you feel about yourself,

So make each decision count.

Try switching the order of dishes served at dinner.

If dessert is on your list,

Eat it first.

Then eat the appetizer followed by the entree and end with something like soup or coffee.

Sugar enters the bloodstream faster than either fats or proteins,

And it is conceivable that a sense of fullness is experienced earlier by eating dessert first.

Also,

Hot liquids at the end of a meal tend to promote a sense of fullness.

Another action strategy is spending a day with a person who does not have a weight problem.

Really listen to what thin people talk about,

And observe how their lives do not seem to revolve around food.

A strategy that works well is to brush your teeth when you want to binge.

It alters the taste of some foods and often makes eating distasteful.

Donate your old,

Large clothing to a charitable organization.

Make a point of visiting that organization at least once a month to donate something.

This certainly makes you aware that you are acting on your goal.

And the most important strategy of all is to resolve that you are going to be on your own side.

This means that you are going to put yourself in touch with your own needs and act effectively on them.

When you are able to listen to your needs,

Realize what they mean,

And you have developed effective and appropriate methods of meeting those needs,

Binging will become a part of your past.

The last step is to change your attitude to one that promotes binge-free eating.

Change can be exciting,

But it can also be very frightening.

As binging behavior changes,

We see ourselves in a new light,

And that newness frequently reveals something we may not have been aware of or something we prefer not to think about.

This change may result in the development of a healthier self-esteem.

But with that self-esteem comes the duties and obligations of a person who feels worthy,

Effective,

Respectable,

Loved,

And needed.

Therefore,

It is expected that you will no longer rely on food during troubled times.

Instead,

You must start relying on yourself.

Unfortunately,

One way of dealing with this change is to deny that change has taken place.

This is what foodaholism attempts to do.

It denies that you will be able to transform yourself from one who is controlled by food to one who is in control,

Who makes conscious choices based on self-knowledge.

Foodaholics declare prohibition on certain foods,

And this causes a need to fight binging every moment you are in the vicinity of forbidden foods.

It denies you the opportunity for growth and for personal decision-making.

Binging is an eating habit that can be gotten rid of.

It is a result of not being aware of needs so they are not appropriately met.

You should be able to love food and not have to avoid it.

Change will involve not only dealing with food effectively,

But dealing with life effectively.

Instead of turning to food in times of anxiety,

Stress,

Boredom,

Anger,

Fatigue,

Or any other feeling,

You will identify the feeling and deal with it effectively.

To do this,

Become aware of what you are doing,

Start acting on making changes,

And develop a healthy attitude about yourself and your relationship with food.

Reviews

I had no idea there were so many kinds of binging. Thank you fir the ideas to help to overcome binging. Some were great reminders and many were new strategies.

Wonderfully helpful! Thank you!

Really helpful!!