Battle Of The Binge
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday March 26, 2008
We have all done it; at Christmas, a birthday party or on a Friday night out ; eating way too much and suffering for it for hours afterwards. While binge eating can be a diagnosed clinical eating disorder, less serious but still frequent overeating of high fat, high calorie foods can become a serious issue and exploring the underlying reasons as to why you may feel the need to binge is a crucial part of stopping this vicious cycle.
If you do find yourself overindulging on cakes, chocolate blocks, packets of biscuits and potato chips, on your own, and more frequently than once or twice each month it is time to take action. First of all, try to manage temptation by not keeping large volumes of your personal trigger foods in the house. Remember, if it is there, you will eat it. Secondly, try to identify a pattern to your binging. Does it happen when you are home alone, after you have been grocery shopping, when you are sad or when you are stressed? Then, once you have identified your triggers you are in a position to manage them. For example, do you need to call a friend each evening so you are not tempted to drive to the servo and pick up a block of chocolate? Finally, once you are aware of your triggers and if you still do not feel confident in managing the temptation to binge yourself; it may be time to see a psychologist or dietitian who is trained in psychology to examine these issues more closely.The good news is that in most cases, overeating can easily be managed simply by not keeping large volumes of food in the house and by keeping busy. On that note, it may also be time to get rid of that excess Easter chocolate, because if it is there, you will eat it!
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury