Binge eating is sabotaging your ability to reach your goals and making them take longer than they have to.  If you’re like me then you’ve fallen victim to binge eating several times before. I’ve used 3 principles to stop myself from giving in and It made a huge difference in my life.

I want you to visualize for a minute…you’re at home finishing up some back-end computer work for the business. You get up to go pee and walk by your cupboard, which happens to be open. You’re stopped dead in your tracks at the sight of all the sweet, salty, crunchy chips, cookies, crackers and then you remember you have ice cream in the freezer…Yum! 

You think to yourself “don’t do it, I’m on a diet”, “I shouldn’t”, “I won’t”, “I can’t”. Then, before you know it, you give in, and you’re covered in cookie crumbs wearing an ice cream mustache.  

I’ve fallen victim to this many times after competing in my bodybuilding shows. I’d be in a state where I craved salty/crunchy, savory and sweet foods all day. By that time my will power was shot from using it so much to diet down so I gave in. Then I gained excess body fat, I became bloated and puffy, I felt like crap was self-conscious at how I looked in my clothing. 

Eventually I got sick of doing that to myself and decided it needed to change. I now stick by 3 principles that allowed me to break this vicious cycle and gain back control. 

First, keep the temptation out of the house. Willpower is not always enough. Your willpower is like a muscle. When you use intensely enough for a long enough period of time it will fatigue and fail. You are much less likely to eat ice cream at 9 pm if you have to go to the store and get it.  Especially if you don’t really really want it. You are more likely to make a healthy choice for something that is already in the house. 

Next, plan out your treat meals and fun foods. Picking out what you want to eat and when you are going to eat it allows you to get exactly what you want and be happy about it. Rather than picking at snacks throughout the week that you don’t even really enjoy and then feeling guilty about it. Set yourself up for success.

Lastly, work hard for your treats. You will appreciate finally getting to eat pleasurable foods when you’ve worked hard for them. Spend your week following a healthy, goal-focused meal plan, and killin’ it in the gym. Then when you finally do eat that food it’ll taste so much better and actually go to good use since your body will use the macros for recovery. 

If you’re struggling with binge eating, schedule a call with me and let’s discuss strategies to help you conquer it

Until next time, Be Relentless!