Hi, and welcome.
If it's your first time here my name is Sadia.
I'm a registered dietitian and nutritionist and you are on the Pick up limes channel.
Today's topic is going to be binge eating.
And I know that this is a very emotional topic for a lot of people or maybe even an uncomfortable one.
For some people it's a daily challenge,
while for others it might be because of a momentary lapse and emotional distress.
In either case I'm going to share with you five ways that you can overcome binge eating.
So let's get started!
The first tip is a very important one and that is to watch your words.
They're extremely powerful.
How are you identifying yourself?
Let me give you a few examples of what I've heard over the years.
"As soon as I put the kids to sleep I'm so exhausted, and I find myself just craving some chocolate.
What's wrong with me? And I feel like I just don't have any willpower."
"Anytime I've got an exam or a presentation or interview I go to town on a bag of chips."
"Anytime me and my partner get in a fight, I really just reach for the comfort food."
Did any of that sound familiar?
Remember that by saying these things we are identifying with that statement.
What we say is a direct expression of what we think.
And what we think becomes our reality.
Now, whether you know this or not, you've got an ego, and that's okay.
It's very natural, we've all got it, and it really helps to protect us in many situations.
The problem is that this ego, on a subconscious level, does not like to be proven wrong.
So what that means is, say that you do have an exam coming up.
And you've got some chips in your pantry.
Even if you didn't want the chips you're going to have it because you've already identified yourself as saying:
"I am somebody who goes to town on a bag of chips anytime I've got an exam."
So the solution for this is twofold. I've got two solutions.
The first one being to start using past tense instead of present tense.
So start to say: "I used to be somebody who'd go to town on a bag of chips whenever I had an exam."
Instead of: "I am somebody..."
So you might have heard that expression "Fake it 'til you make it."?
Well, we didn't come up with this expression for no reason.
Now, you're not going to see benefits right away by using this practice.
You're going to need to consistently start to use the past tense over a long period of time.
But I guarantee that if you continue with this
you will start to see benefits in the long term
because you're no longer identifying that as being something you do
but rather something that you used to do.
Now the second solution is to start to visualize what the ideal you would do in that particular situation.
And the most important thing here is to remember that the ideal you
is consistent in their behavior day after day.
So we're not talking extremes.
If you're going to say:
"The ideal me is never going to eat chips ever again."
Is that realistic and is it something you can consistently keep up?
If not, then maybe it might be more consistent to say:
"The ideal me would have a handful of chips sometimes, but not all the time."
And now if you're thinking are you ever going to be that person that says:
"Sadia, I know myself. If I have just a handful of chips
I can't stop at just that. I finished the whole bag!"
I would say refer to tip number one.
Which is to say: "I used to be somebody who would finish the whole bag."
Now this one's the hardest point.
I know because I've definitely been there.
But let's be honest: no material intervention,
whether you're going to be buying clothes or eating food,
neither of these things are going to be the solution
to something that requires an emotional intervention.
If you eat when you're down, you're going to find very quickly that
there is no amount of food that can help to fill the void caused by an emotional state.
Now, does this mean that you shouldn't eat when you're down?
No, absolutely not. Please, eat.
Especially because sometimes we're sad for days or for weeks for whatever reason.
All I'm saying is to avoid eating the "Trigger foods" when you're down
and instead try to opt for something a little bit more nourishing.
My solutions for not eating when you're down are twofold.
The first one is a little bit obvious actually.
It's to try to do something that will help to alleviate your state.
So whether it's talking to somebody, watching a comedy, maybe laughing
or if you're still feeling like you want something that's feeling nourishing,
a little bit sweet and all of that warm.
I opt for making a London fog sometimes.
Which is just heated up soy milk (either in the microwave or on the stove)
and I put in an Earl Grey tea bag.
I sprinkle on some cinnamon, and I find that that really helps to be soothing and calming.
Now, the second tip is not so obvious
and that is to allow yourself to have these "Treat Foods" or "Trigger Foods"
when you're feeling great and happy not just when you're down.
The reason for that is you want to break that link, that association that you have.
A lot of us have these certain foods that we eat only when we're emotional or even as a reward.
Say, we got a promotion or we did really well on an exam, we'll opt to eat this particular food.
I would recommend to eat it any time outside of that
for no particular reason, when you're feeling great to break that association.
Now, this
"Evil Twin" as I call it
is that voice inside of you that's telling you what you should do and what you shouldn't do.
Let's explore what I mean.
So one twin is the "Militant" or very strict twin.
It's the one that says:
"You can't have any cookies. You can't have chips. You can't have ice cream.
You can't have nuts. You can't have anything that's really high-calorie."
The second twin is the "All-or-nothing" or extreme twin.
The one that says:
"What? You ate two cookies?!
You aren't suppose to eat any! What's wrong with you? Do you not have any will power?!
You know what?
Now that you had it, you may as well finish the entire box because tomorrow we are starting fresh!"
Now, the third twin is a little bit more encouraging.
You might think this one's on your side.
It'll say something like:
"Hey, you worked out today for 30 minutes. Good for you!
You know what this means.
I think you definitely deserve a second helping of dinner."
Again, for this one I've got two solutions.
The first to be to listen.
Actually listen to these voices, these dialogues going on in your head, and identify:
"Is this me talking or is this something outside of me?"
And I really want you to identify as this twin being something that is outside of you.
It's not truly you, yourself.
Now, the second tip being
if you have identified it
not really being you it's this other thing saying:
"Hey, you should do this,
you shouldn't do this."
Then start to use the word "nourish".
And by doing that you push away this twin
and you start to actually tune into your inner self and listen to what you really want.
And what I mean by that
is to actually ask yourself:
"Will this particular food item nourish me whether it's my mind, my body or my spirit?"
So going to town on a bag of chips, for example.
We know is not nourishing
so maybe we won't do it in that case.
But equally depriving ourself of having some if we really want to,
when we feel it would nourish our soul and our spirit is not healthy either.
So use that word nourish and in tune into your inner voice.
Or the word should.
I think we use this word all the time.
"You should do this. You shouldn't do this. I should do this. I shouldn't do this."
Don't should on yourself.
I mean think about any two-year-old kid.
If you tell them to do something or not to do something
what are they going to do?
They're going to rebel and we do the same thing.
It is instinctive.
Just remember that when you use the word should
it's very likely going to have the opposite effect to what you are intending.
So what's the solution?
To say could instead.
And by doing that we're making it less of a demand and we're giving ourself more options.
By doing that you can also throw in the word nourish.
So, for example,
you might say instead of
"I should not have any cookies."
That can become:
"I could have a cookie."
"Which one feels like it would be more nourishing to me?"
And by doing that mean will actually be able to assess
"Do I actually want that cookie?"
If you say you shouldn't have the cookie, you're likely going to rebel and have it and have way more and binge.
Whereas if you said: "I could have the cookie."
You might actually find you don't really want it.
You can save it for another time.
Or if the answer is: "I do want it." then certainly have it and savour it knowing that you actually
tuned into yourself and listened to what you really wanted.
Now when I say talk to someone,
I mean genuinely talk to somebody.
We've all heard about that person that says: "I ate so much last night, and I felt so gross. I just overdid it."
That's not what I mean.
I mean to truly invest your time in sitting down and speaking with somebody.
Somebody particularly that you trust and that you can trust to be your support person going forward.
And when you talk to them of course talk to them about your emotions and your feelings but go beyond that.
Talk to them too about what you feel the triggers are and what might have worked for you in the past.
The act of just talking it through might help you gain a lot of insight and clarity
and might help to offer you some solutions.
Alright. So, those are my five ways to overcome binge eating today with eight solutions in total.
I hope that you found this video helpful.
If you did, please give me a thumbs up for support
or actually be very interested too to know in the comment section just down below
which one of these tips you may have not heard before which ones
do you find helpful or even if you've got any useful tips of your own I would love to read them.
And subscribe as well by the way if you haven't already
so that you don't miss out on any future videos coming your way.
Thanks for watching and I will see you in the comment section down below.