10 Steps to Stop Binge Eating

10 Steps to Stop Binge Eating and Make Peace with Food

Trick or Treat? If you struggle with Binge Eating Disorder or Food Addiction, then Halloween can be a tricky time of year. You have to pass by all of those bags of candy in the aisles at the store, and you have to overcome the urge to buy several bags of candy “for trick-or-treaters.” Who would know all of that candy was just binge food for you?

Tricky Treats. Perhaps you actually do buy candy with the real intention to give it to the children who come by your home on Halloween. What do you do with the candy until that night? Do you hide it, so it’s out of sight, and hopefully out of mind? Do you wait until the day of Halloween to buy the candy, so that it’s not around, tempting you? Even if you wait until that day, how do you keep your own hand out of the candy bowl that night?

It’s Such a Trick. People with Binge Eating Disorder and Food Addiction often have to work very hard to fight off cravings for sweets. It’s a game of all-or-nothing — where many people with eating disorders can’t stop eating binge foods once they start, so they try to abstain from any trigger foods. But doesn’t this leave you feeling deprived? Don’t you wish you could have a few pieces of candy and stop?

It Can Be a Treat. What would happen if you really could have 3 or 4 mini-packets of candy, without binge eating? Here’s how you can make peace with Halloween candy. Try these steps for sweet success:

1. Carefully choose 3 or 4 small pieces of candy — select a few of your favorites!
2. Set them aside, and notice your thoughts and feelings as you anticipate eating the candy
3. Use an affirmation, “Food has no power over me. I am making peace with food.”
4. Plan a time when you won’t feel rushed or distracted to enjoy your candy
5. Invite a friend to have some treats with you, if you’d like extra support in this process
6. Try the “Beginners Mind” technique as you sample your first piece — tap into all of your senses
7. Notice how the candy looks, smells, and feels in your hand before you put it in your mouth
8. Lick the candy, and notice how it tastes — taste as if you are having this item for the first time
9. As you put the candy in your mouth, notice how it feels as it melts, and as you swallow
10. Notice your thoughts and feelings, and proceed in a similar way with your other 2 or 3 pieces

Trick into Treat! You can stop binge eating and make peace with food!

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

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Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED