Do you consume huge amounts of food without realizing that you have done it, feeling like you are on auto pilot?

Or do you eat huge amounts of food and feel guilty because you view it that you have no will power and are helpless to control your own actions?

If you have answered yes to these questions then it may be that you have binge eating disorder (this does not give a medical diagnosis and if needed you are recommended to speak to your health professional)

I have had this eating disorder for more than 2/3^rd’s of my life and understand totally what it means to actually live through it.

After doing lots of research over the last few years and working very much on a trial and error basis I have found that there are certain things that can really help gain control.

So hear are my top 10 tips to help you beat binge eating disorder.

1  Be realistic with yourself and understand that recovery will not be instant and that during the period of gaining control you are still probably going to have occasions when you binge. It is important to realize and understand that this does not mean that you have failed. Once you can accept that binging isn’t failing it will help you move on from a binge without the guilt which can lead to a chain of binging.

2  Be honest with yourself! Normally there are reasons why we all binge eat. For me there are a variety of them. They include things like trying to hide from my emotions if they are hard, or physical reasons like when I am tired. I have found that the best way to work out the reason why you binge is to start a journal. This is somewhere you record not only what you eat but also the other things like how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. Once you have found the reasons for the binging it is much easier to work out effective ways of stopping them.

3  Eat regularly. The moment you get hungry or your blood sugar drops you are setting yourself up for a binge. Your body at this point relies on it’s amygdule (the part of the brain which is left from the times of cavemen) which says that there is a famine, so next time you come across food it is programmed to get you to eat as much as possible to stock up for the next famine.

4  Don’t skip meals. This is really important. If you do binge don’t try and make up for it by missing out on meals afterward. Go straight on to whichever the next normal meal would be.  Skipping meals is a common bad habits of those dealing with binge eating disorder.

5  Find one person you can talk to about your eating and how it effects you. This is really important. Part of the power of this disorder is the ability it has to make you feel isolated and a freak. By finding someone you can confide in you take some of this power away, and once you do that it is easier for you to gain control for yourself. This doesn’t have to be a person in your life, for me the support has come from online groups (link to support forum is included at end of this article).

6  Don’t diet. Even if you are overweight! You will find that if you just eat a ‘normal’ amount of calories for a day you will start to lose weight when you gain control of your binging even without dieting. Most research on this disorder agrees that dieting can be both a trigger and a fuel to keep b.e.d going when the original trigger has gone.  In fact some research says that there is a tie between yo yo dieting and developing eating disorders.

7  Find alternatives to do rather than binge. Have a list that you can turn to when things are bad so that you do not expect your brain to think of things during the crisis it just has to pick something you have already thought about.

8  Keep reminding yourself that you are more than an eating disorder. There will be lots of things in your life that are positive and you need to remind yourself about them daily.

9  Believe that YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10  Believe you WILL GET THROUGH THIS with the support and help of others and working through the reasons for it.

I recommend this binge eating support forum which I have found is one of the most supportive.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association as many as ten million females and one million males have eating disorders. It is an epidemic that many people have no clue how to handle. There are numerous books out there that try to explain how to help an individual with an eating disorder but it’s not enough.

A good way to help a loved one or a friend is to listen to them. If it appears that nothing can be said; than educate yourself. Once a person has background information it might be easier to associate with the person in question who is struggling with the Eating Disorder.

Another way of help for eating disorders is going to support groups. There are various support groups for families and friends. Encourage the person to attend support groups themselves. There are meeting known as Eating Disorders Anonymous, Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous. Support groups help people to see that they are not the only person struggling in the situation.

Overall, eating disorders are around, many are hidden still, but if we listen, educate and reach out we can help others who are struggling with the disorder they have.

Some of the most important elements that a body needs are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese. These occur in various compounds and their usual compounds are in the forms of hormones, vitamins, phospholipids, and hydroxyapatite.

Eating disorders are usually caused due to mental and physical stress or trauma (for example, sexual abuse). It can also be due to genetic reasons, family and other factors in the environment. The effects are both physical and mental. Not just the obesity, in several cases it is even known to cause heart disorders and other medical complications like kidney failure.

In extreme cases, eating disorders can lead to severe malnutrition and even death. Doctors have identified the most common occurring eating disorders as Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. one of the most common misconceptions is that keeping a check on fat is same as being healthy. Encourage your children to go vegetarian and have meat very rarely. Also avoid junk food especially those that are fried items. Junk food is addictive as well.

If you at any time feel that you or your child may be suffering from eating disorder, never hesitate to consult a physician to be diagnosed and treated. Though it is not easy, kids with eating disorders can be found out as they show many abnormal behaviors and physical signs. Eating disorders are evaluated using various instruments such as the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP), which has separate versions for adolescents and parents (QEWP-A, and QEWP-P).

Reasons for being overweight

Obesity is such a menacing disease that is affecting significant percentage of Americans. About 65% of people in America are affected with obesity. There are various remedial measures to cut down the rate but the number of over weight and obese people is increasing steadily. The major cause for obesity is lack of sufficient activities and poor diet. People feast on unhealthy diets that include packaged food items, sodas, fast foods, etc. All these food items are increasing the calorie count among the people who are consuming these foods. Such foods are contributing immensely to making people overweight and obese. On average a person walks at least 10,000 steps everyday. But, in America, the average person walks just 6,000 steps in a day and hence the lack of physical activities is evident. Additionally, social changes and work requirements are not allowing people to lead a healthy lifestyle. The environment has become toxic, which promotes obesity. According to the National Institute of Health, the Body Mass Index (BMI) of males and females should be between 19 and 24 respectively. But, the BMI in most cases are being recorded between 25 and 30, which means overweight or obese.

Risks of Obesity

Obesity is one of the major causes of death in America. Obesity also gives rise to other dangerous health hazards such as high cholesterol, heart disease, Type II diabetes, stroke, arthritis, cancer, pregnancy complications sleep apnea and lots more. Obesity also gives rise to emotional disorders in form of guilt, shame embarrassment, etc. These psychological factors also give rise to Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Some of the symptoms of BED are eating very rapidly; large consumption of food; eating a full meal even when not hungry; feeling of revulsion, sorrow, and guilt after bingeing; etc. remember that those people who are suffering from BED condition, won’t get proper benefit from a weight loss program.

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

When a someone is suffering from binge eating disorder, it is essential to hospitalize the patient and let the patient to restore to a healthy weight. When the patient reaches a stable weight then Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can work effectively. This therapy is beneficial for those patients who are suffering from bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other over-eating related disorders. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy concentrates on the familial, societal and psychological factors connected with eating turmoil. The therapy is centered on the standard that there must be both attitudinal and behavioral changes concerning weight, shape and eating habits.

This therapy aims directly at the binge cycle. Both counselor and patient will sort out ways to alter eating habits, to break off eradication, and to defy rules that avert normal and strong eating habits. Implementation of additional supple eating styles and knowledge to manage and prevent binges are also included in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The therapy also provides education about nutrition, meal-planning, and the uselessness of purging techniques within the treatment process.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy improves entire body image. The sessions of treatment focuses on learning coping skills for anxiety or unenthusiastic moods to reduce the probability that depressing events will set off a binge. The treatment mainly targets the feelings and thoughts that can give rise to binge eating habits.

The last stage of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is reversion. Here the therapist and the patient work out on strategies to keep up the progress. Strategies are also made to so that in future the purging, bingeing, and unhealthful eating habits don’t occur.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy also deals with individualized weight management plans. Here the therapy works to prevent regain of weight; it maintains enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle; and it prepares the patient to cope with the challenging situations and future problems.

Be the client of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

You can be the client of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy very easily. We ask the patients to give an honest try to the therapy. We keep in touch with those who have tried our therapy and inspire them to continue to practice the skills that they have learned between sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Joining the therapy procedure is very easy and you just need to sign up online to get the benefits. You can also conduct certain essential check ups like BMI on your own. You can gain essential tips with just few clicks of your mouse. Sign up and lead a healthy life.

Well I’m a former binge eater myself.  In fact I’ve dealt with the disorder for several years.  I even went to months of therapy.  I also read every book I could find on the topic because I was so desperate for a solution.   Anyways enough about me, here is the 5 tips I promised:

1. Learn about emotional eating.  Often when we eat we are not eating to satisfy physical hunger.  Rather we are eating to sooth or deal with tough emotions.  Ever had a stressful day at work or school, got home and before you knew it you found yourself binging on a bag of potato chips or a gallon of ice cream?
2. Identify your emotional eating triggers.  Triggers are the circumstances or events that might cause stress which often leads to binge eating.
3. Do not cut calories.  Most binge eaters are constantly trying to lose weight.  While low calorie diets are really popular today, they simply do not work for binge eaters.  In fact they do more harm than good.  When you cut calories your hunger will slowly build up.  It might take a few hours or a few days until you feel starving which often leads to a binge eating episode where you are eating everything in sight until your stomach is aching.
4. Lose weight by exercising.  After reading tip number 3 you’re probably wondering “but if i can’t cut calories how do I stay fit or lose weight?’.  You can easily do it by exercising.  The simple formula is you eat as much as your body needs and create a caloric deficit by exercising which burns calories.
5. Be patient.  Binge eating recovery is often a life long pursuit and cannot be accomplished in a few days.  Keep learning.  Keep working on improving your diet, and exercise regularly.