Not long ago, a woman came to me wanting tips on finding food freedom and stop binge eating and food cravings.
I could immediately relate. We have all experienced moments of feeling like we have no control over food.
Whether we eating more rapidly that normal, eating till we feel uncomfortably full, or eating large amounts of food when we are not hungry, we probably all experience the paralyzing guilt and depression that follows the loss of control.
This is a common reaction to binge eating and food cravings!
For years, I suffered with this and to be honest, if I am not proactive I can easily fall back into the habits that lead me to binge eating.
When I started my journey I developed a strong curiosity to find out what was causing my binge eating. After all, you can’t stop or change habits that you are not aware of.
The thought made think if I could find a few tips to help me stop or at least reduce the binge eating and food cravings that were ruling my life, that I might actually be free from my food issues.
I found that most often the causes of binge eating in women are:
Habits
Food habits can be a variety of things, but a common one that shows itself in the lives of women, men and children is using food as a reward. Think about it. We have a long hard stressful day, so we reward ourselves with food, a glass of wine and chocolate. Habits like this can come from childhood and linger through out our life. They are not always bad, but they can be a trigger to binge eating and food cravings.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress triggers our body’s “fight or flight” response. The problem with that is that it releases a hormone called cortisol into our blood stream. Cortisol then increases hunger, so it can try to combat the stress. Strangely enough, binge eating is one way our body tries to comfort itself as it combats stress.
Yo-Yo Dieting, Restriction
When we have spent years yo-yo dieting the body gets confused. Our body thinks it is a time of famine if we are always in restriction. Then our body just wants to protect us. The food cravings start in order to protect us from the restriction. It’s just our body trying to prevent us from dying from famine.
Blood Sugar
When we binge eat we get a roller coaster effect on our blood sugar. This sadly only leads to more cravings, which leads to more bingeing. The cycle is body’s weird way of seeking balance. So unless you get the blood sugar in control then you won’t be able to stop the body’s physical cravings.
Learning of all these causes gave me have mixed emotions.
I could see places in my life where I struggled with all the causes, and that made we fearful, that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from bingeing. Quickly, I refused the hopeless thoughts and decided I would find the solutions. I thought if I know the causes then I can find a solution.
Here are 5 solutions that I found that helped me stop binge eating and find food freedom.
New here? I also have the following blogs to help you crush your Curvy Woman Health Goals:
- Tips on How to Eat for Plus Size Weight Loss
- Plus Size Weight Loss Tips Without Dieting, Part 1
- Plus Size Weight Loss Tips Without Dieting, Part 2
- Breaking the Diet Binge Cycle
- Habit Change Using Visualization for Weight Loss
- Curvy Plus Size Girl’s Guide to Holiday Stress
- Have Your Cake: Plus Size Weight Loss and Food Freedom
- FREE: A Health Coach’s Weekly Meal Plan and Shopping List
And of course, you should def register for my Freebie, How to Lose Weight When Nothing Else is Working, where I’ll share my top secret strategy to stopping weight loss resistance in its tracks.
5 solutions to stop binge eating, food cravings, and find food freedom.
1.I learned to honor my hunger.When I was hungry, I ate.This was hard at first. The years of yo-yo dieting had made it difficult for me to hear the subtle signals from my body. —For more on honoring hunger read my blog: Plus Size Weight Loss Tips Without Dieting, Part 1
2.Next I learned to honor my fullness.This wasn’t easy, and to be honest, it is something I have to continually work on.Honoring my fullness involved me learning what the subtle signals of fullness felt like.I was so used to overeating in response to my food cravings that I was unfamiliar with what gentle fullness felt like.Once I was able to sense it, I feel like my binge eating and food cravings turned around.The tip in my How to Lose Weight When Nothing Else is Working Guide will teach you a sure fire way to honor this fullness and help you stop binge eating.Make sure you download it!
3.I also found I had to make sure I was nourishing my body well.I had to check my protein and fat intake.If I was taking in too much protein or not enough fat (or vice versa) then I would send my body back on the blood sugar roller coaster.Most often, I would notice that I just wouldn’t feel satisfied from my meal which would put me on the hunt in the kitchen for more food even though I was no longer physically hungry.
4.Being present in my meals also made a big difference for me.For me this meant that I had to stop eating on the couch, but actually sit at the table and focus on my food.Yes, focus on the food.I had learn to enjoy my food by taking in the smells and sights.I had to slowly eat so I would notice the flavors and textures of the food.All of this helped me to find a pleasure and satisfaction in the meal.When I was truly satisfied, I didn’t head back to the kitchen, and was able to stop binge eating.Being present in my meals was the key to actually feeling satisfied.
5. All of these new rituals started replacing my old habits.When I found how well they were helping me I started to look for other rituals and habits that needed to be replaced. Stress is and was one of my biggest triggers when it came to binge eating, so finding ways to lower my stress and release it was key. For me, I turned to meditation, prayer and visualization along with journaling.For more on using visualization with weight loss check on my blog:Habit Change Using Visualization for Weight Loss.You will love it.
Once I applied all these solutions to my life consistently, I saw a change in my weight loss resistance.
My body began to change, but more importantly, my mind began to change. I had my control back.I was experiencing freedom over food, and that felt better than the binges.
It’s Your Time
It’s your time my friend,It’s time to be bold and take control back on your life and your health.Do one of these tips today to help you feel revived.Share this blog post with your friends and family.Let’s help other women break from from that tired overwhelmed feeling
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU 
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COMMENT BelowCydney~
“I was hesitant to start “another program” for fear of yet another failure. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Angela was able to help me change that mindset. It means so much to have someone like her by my side because she can actually relate to so many of my struggles. Her passion for helping others was immediately evident and put me at ease speaking openly. She helped me to dig deep and get to the root of so many struggles, some I wasn’t even aware of. I especially liked that she tailored our sessions to my personal needs and goals. I’ve learned so much about myself in the last 12 weeks that will serve me greatly for years to come. Thanks to Angela I no longer feel powerless.”
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