7 Steps to Break Free from Binge Eating

Episode 13. Today's episode is all about binge eating and emotional eating. What is it, why do we do it, and how to stop. Stressed about emotional eating? Thinking of ideas in the moment when the urge strikes can feel near impossible. Grab my free guide for 23 positive ideas here! Can You Relate to This? You've eaten "well" all day. You had a sensible breakfast with lean protein, a salad for lunch, and an portioned out handful of almonds mid-afternoon. You sat down to dinner and had a "normal" amount, enough to fit in your calorie limit for the day. You are feeling good. But then, for whatever reason you at a little extra -- Most likely because you are a human being who isn't programmed to eat an exact amount of calories. Maybe someone offered you an extra roll and you ate it without thinking or maybe you got up and had a second portion of food. Whatever the reason, your immediate automatic thought is "Well, I screwed up, might as well enjoy the night" and you proceed to have a lot more food until you are incredibly full. You feel out of control and frustrated with yourself. You beat yourself up and resolve to get "back on track" tomorrow. Sound familiar? What Binge Eating Does to Our Sense of Self Binge eating can feel incredibly hopeless and overwhelming. It can feel like you have zero control and destroy your self-confidence. Today's post will go over what binge eating is, the causes of binge eating, how it's different than (and at times similar to) emotional eating, and most importantly what to do about it. What is Binge Eating? Technical Definition of a Binge Episode Binge eating's technical definition according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) is eating: Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a f