Emotional & Binge Eating Help

Waking up the morning after a binge has a certain “walk of shame” feel to it, doesn’t it?

Especially if you’ve gotten to a point where you’ve done the work, taken the steps to break out of the cycle, and you thought you were out of the woods with the whole binge and emotional eating thing.

But it happened. Again.

There you are, feeling the gut-punch of guilt over the damage you did the night before. You feel confused, drained, and emotionally exhausted in your heart. Not to mention feeling swollen, bloated, and sluggish in your body.

So what went wrong? Why does it feel you’re back to where you started?

I’m no stranger to those emotions. I lived that cycle of guilt and defeat for nearly 15 years. I’ve had those moments where I thought I was in the clear only to be staring a binge-situation in the face. Again.

But now that I’m on the other side and am experiencing Food Freedom Forever, I learned that even in moments where I felt I went astray, I didn’t need to torture myself for it.

And you know what? Neither do you.

So many times, people try to bounce back from a slip-up by punishing themselves. And my love, that never ends well. In fact, it backfires in a big way, keeping that binge-regret-repeat cycle going strong.

I know that’s not what you want, and I know that you want to free yourself from this cycle for good.

So how do you get back to a place of peace in the aftermath of an unintended binge?

I’ve created a six-step roadmap that will help you not only recover from an unexpected overeating incident, but also return to alignment with your body and your food. I talk about each of the steps right here in this video:

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I go into even more detail to the 6 step process below!

This 6-step process will help you be gentle and loving with yourself, recognize the triggers that caused the binge in the first place, and help return you to the place where you never feel that urge again.

What To Do After A Binge In Six Steps:

• Step One: Treat this binge as an isolated incident. So it happened. You fell off the wagon. Does this mean you’re a failure, and you’re back to square one? No.

Think of it this way: this binge was a one-time thing. An isolated incident, and nothing more. You’ve come so far since you began on this journey, and a single binge doesn’t negate all of your efforts. Not by a long shot.

Focus on how far you’ve come instead of how far you have to go. Be present with yourself in THIS moment (not regretting the past or dreading the future), and allow yourself this loving perspective.  

• Step Two: Recognize That A One-Time Incident Doesn’t Define You. Here’s the thing about binge-like behavior: it comes largely from a certain area of your brain that is wired for survival. But it’s a part of your brain that is separate from the real you.

Let me explain what I mean by that…

• • The urge to binge comes from the primal, survival-oriented part of your brain. It’s a pattern that has developed over time to ensure that you stay alive, and it has nothing to do with the person who you really are.

• • When you recognize the difference between these parts of yourself, it’s a lot easier to see a binge as an isolated, objective incident. It gives you the space to detach, observe, and learn without judgment

• • So remember that a binge is only what you make it mean. It doesn’t have to define you. The real you is a loving, beautiful, amazing person who deserves to feel peace with her food and blissful in her body. Give yourself that kind of love in this moment.

If you’re ready to get your brain on your side and never have an urge to binge again, then I’ve got a little gift for you if you click this image below…

• Step Three: Focus On Nourishment In The Present Moment. Tell me if either of these scenarios sounds familiar…

You binge the first half of the day. You start to remorseful, but then “logic” steps in. It tells you that you’ve already ruined the diet anyway, so why not blow it off and start over tomorrow? And just like that, rest of your day becomes a food free-for-all.

Or perhaps this: You binge at night, wake up from a food coma the next morning, and decide you need to “make up for it.” That translates into fasting. “Detoxing.” Or spending hours in the gym attempting to “burn it all off.”

What do these two seemingly opposite strategies have in common? They both make your post-binge meals dependent on what happened in the PAST. When what your body craves at this moment is nourishment in the present.

Here’s why nourishment is so significant in moments like these:

• • The more that you lift your body up after it falls, the more your brain is going to trust you to take care of its needs. And the less your body relies on automatic survival patterns that drive you to eat more.

• • The more you support your body with nourishment, the less you’ll fixate on food. Your natural self-control mechanisms will return. And your brain will be a lot less likely to resort to survival-based behaviors (like binging or compulsively thinking about food).

• Step 4: The Gift Of Compassion And Forgiveness. It’s a familiar story: you do something that you’re not proud of, then you lose yourself in a whirlwind of criticism, shame, and punishment.

Now tell me, has that ever helped you make permanent changes?

Sure, you can change from a place of hate and criticism but from what we’ve seen that type of change doesn’t last.

What if you could change from a place of acceptance and compassion? Is it possible that you could get more lasting and loving results that way?

Acceptance doesn’t mean that you don’t want to change. It just means that you recognize that you’re human. That you’re going to have your good days and bad days. And that you love yourself anyway.

The next step after compassion is forgiveness for yourself. And I have an exercise that’ll help you separate your true self from the patterns that cause binge eating. And forgive them both with love.

Here’s how it works.

• • Grab a pen and paper and write a letter to the part of you that binged. As you write, be straight-up honest about how you feel. Have it out with yourself if you have to. Get it all out of your body and onto the paper.

• • Now, move into a place of forgiveness and curiosity. Keep writing, and ask that part of yourself these questions: How can I help you? How can I support you?

• • Then be silent, be still, and listen to what your body has to tell you.

• • How would the part of you that binged respond? Write the answer that you received. Write down what that part of you needs to feel safe, loved, and free. And not binge again.

• • This practice does two things. First, it helps you separate from your urges, and helps you douse emotional fire that fuels binge eating. Second, it helps you step into a place of love, partnership, and compassion with your body.

• Step Five: Loving Yourself Through Self-Care. Now, let’s use all these steps to give yourself the nourishment, forgiveness, and compassion you need at this moment.

Ask yourself this simple question: what do I need to do right now to feel grounded, centered, and peaceful? Let yourself hear the answer, and follow the prompts you receive.

• Step Six: Process, Learn and Integrate. When you’re feeling like you’re out of the post-binge emotional loop, it’s time to refocus. When you’re ready, look at what happened with an objective, non-emotional stance. Then consider what you learned from the incident.

For example, what triggered the binge? Were there warning signs? And if so, how can you use that knowledge to help prevent future incidents?

Once you’re out of the emotional spiral, you can use the incident to know yourself better, avoid future lapses, and get one step closer to being free of binging for good.

So there you have it! The 6 steps for what to do after a binge so you return back to your power!

I want to show you how to make freedom with food your new normal and end the fight for good! If you’re ready for food freedom forever, click here for a free video training plus get a chance to talk with a Certified Eating Psychology Coach on my team for your own personalized blueprint to beat binge and emotional eating!

All the love,

Brittany

You may not believe it now, but there was a time that I sincerely hated my body.

For nearly 12+ years I woke up nearly every day in a state of shame and overwhelm. The post-binge brain fog was in full-swing, and I felt a deep sense of disappointment. Mainly in myself.

For a little over a decade, I was stuck in a cycle of binge and emotional eating, and I saw no way out.

Today I live in a place of freedom and ease. I’ve made peace with my body and my food, and that old struggle is but a memory.

What helped me make such radical and lasting change? I found ways to break the cycle, reconnect with my body, and return to balance and harmony.

And now, I’ve taken the concepts that set me free and broken them into three simple phases that have went on to help thousands of other women do the same!

You deserve to be free. You deserve to peaceful, vibrant, balanced, and empowered in your own skin.

Getting to know the first three phases of Food Freedom Forever is the first step!

I go over the three phases to stopping binge eating for good in this video:

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I go deeper into the three steps right here…

Phase One: Getting your brain and body on YOUR side!

Part A) Shut The “Binge Switch” Off. Sounds easier said than done, doesn’t it?

Let me explain how this works…

• Imagine that there’s a switch in your brain, and when it’s in the ON position you’re wired to eat. It’s that part of your brain that believes that it has to eat as much as possible in case food becomes scarce.
• When you restrict your food (mentally, emotionally, or physically), judge what you eat, make yourself wrong for what you eat etc…Your brain thinks it needs to make you eat to protect you, so it flips over to the ON position.

Before you know it, you’re eating like there’s no tomorrow. And you feel like you “just can’t stop.”

Part B) Rewiring your brain so your urges to binge become non existent:

• This part of the process lies in a deep understanding of where your urges come from – I don’t have space to go into all the neuroscience in this post, I’ll do that in another – for now know that it’s the part of your brain that is NOT the true you.
• Reasoning with this part of the brain does not work as it’s very irrational and automatic, that’s why it feels like something “takes over” when you are binge eating.
  
• Using separation tools, you can internalize your binges mean NOTHING about you and treat them objectively like an automatic pattern and condition a new way of being.

Action Tips for Phase One: 

1. If you feel that the only way to stop a binge from happening is to restrict what you’re “allowed” to eat, try this instead: Become present in your body. And ask yourself this question: “What would honor me the most right now?”
2. Instead of telling your body NO, ask your body what it needs. Listen to what it tells you. And respond from a place of kindness and partnership.
3. Practice not making your binge urges mean anything about you and begin viewing them as something separate from you all together.

We go deep into the art of separation with the women in our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint program, to find out more and get personalized  support, go here. 

Phase Two: Partnering WITH Your Body (Instead Of Fighting Against It). Let’s say that you had a relationship that was on the rocks. How would you begin rebuilding the loving partnership you once had? Would you start by fighting, shaming or criticizing? Probably not

What if you could respect that partnership in the same way that you honor the other relationships in your life? The key here is to treat your body with that kind of respect. It’s working with your body rather than fighting against it, forcing and shaming it into change.

Phase Two is about dropping the fight. It’s about becoming a loving partner to your body rather than an angry, driven, forceful one.

What does a loving relationship with your body look like? Let’s start with a mealtime example.

• Instead of obsessing over what you can or cannot eat, you ask your body what it needs. You tune into its natural cues and let it speak to you.
• You practice deep and intentional breathing. You become fully present within your body. From there, you relieve any fear, anxiety, or shame. And your body’s natural cues are there for you to hear.
• Gentle and honest communication with your body has even more benefits. As your body returns to alignment, your metabolism recalibrates itself. So you’re not only naturally drawn to the foods your body needs, but your body will also process them with new-found efficiency.

When you honor your body as a partner in a beautiful relationship rather than shaming it into change, magical things start happening! That’s the beauty of Phase Two.

Phase Three: Making the Shifts Last A Lifetime (Instead of Quick Fixes that Don’t Last). Now that you’ve done the inner work, it’s time to ensure that it’s a permanent transition.

 I bet you’re aware that that binge eating is in part a physiological issue. But you’re also probably seeing that it’s far from the only piece to the puzzle. There are deeper triggers that can bring on binge-like behavior, too. And oftentimes, those triggers are related to limiting beliefs.

For example, suppose that you’ve always thought that health and happiness are easy to achieve. How does your body respond to that message? It goes  to a place of balance naturally. No struggle, no fighting, no shaming.

Now, the flip side. You believe health and balance is hard. It requires pushing, punishing, and deprivation. Your beliefs then become a self-fulfilling prophecy. And that struggle for peace with food becomes REAL.

 So why do we hold on to these kind of limiting beliefs? Frequently the force behind limiting beliefs is none other than FEAR.

• Fear of change.
• Fear of being pushed out of your comfort zone (whether it’s a loving place or not).
• Fear of giving up your emotional coping mechanisms (one of which is eating).
• Fear of giving up your safety.
• Fear of being seen.
• Fear of what will happen once you are free.

In Phase Three, it’s about letting go of the fear-based limiting beliefs lurking in the shadows, waiting to draw you back into old ways. The more you recognize your fears, the sooner you can release them. And from there, let go of the limiting beliefs they create.

This is what makes Phase Three so significant to your long-term success, so be sure to include this step!

So there you have it! Three Phases to break free, three steps closer to Food Freedom Forever.

I hope that you found these steps helpful, and that you’re making plans to put these three powerful phases to work for you!  

One more thing: if you feel that you need a little more support around these steps, I’ve got a special gift for you…

I’ve created a special training that will give you a systematic, step-by-step blueprint that’ll help you put these steps into action…and start you on the path to Food Freedom Forever.

You can access this FREE training at the link below!

Watch that free video training and if speaks to you, book your call today.

And as always, if you found this post helpful, leave me a comment and tell me what resonated the most with you. I’m here for you, and I would love to know how I can support you in finding Food Freedom Forever!

All the love,

Brittany

What is binge eating? Could binge eating be something that is affecting your life, perhaps even controlling it?

I remember the moment when I realized that my answer was “yes.”

I used to believe that when it came to food, it was a matter of self-control. If I could just dig up the willpower, find a sure-fire eating plan, and just stick to it already, I could get this food fixation under control.

Needless to say, I spent hours on the computer, scouring the internet in search of the perfect diet plan. The one that would free from feeling trapped within my own skin and out of control with the food that was supposed to nourish me.

Turns out that I was looking for those answers outside of my own inner wisdom. And not having much success.

There was one nasty binge that I remember. While it was happening, it was as if I wasn’t even myself. It felt like I’d been overtaken by an outside force, and I had NO control over my actions.

After a bag of chips and God knows how much else, I was back online, silently begging for help. I typed in a desperate plea on the search bar, “I can’t stop eating,” and hoped for an instant fix.

What popped up were a million ads for “binge eating disorder treatment.” And I admit I was shocked.

“Do I have an eating disorder?” I asked myself, fearful of the answer.

So I clicked on the top hit and read about what this “disorder” actually was. Here’s the binge eating disorder diagnostic criteria from the Binge Eating Disorder Association of America:

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:
  • Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.
  • A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).
• The binge eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:
  • Eating much more rapidly than normal.
  • Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
  • Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
  • Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.
  • Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.
• Marked distress regarding binge eating is present.
• The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for 3 months.
• The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging) as in bulimia nervosa and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.

What I’ve realized though is that you can have “binge like behavior” without actually having the disorder, and I talk about that in this video here:

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What is binge eating?

A binge can mean consuming large quantities of food in a single sitting. I’d definitely had those moments. But I also had moments where I wasn’t eating the large quantities as much, but rather there was a compulsive pull towards it.

After my work with thousands of women struggling with this I’ve realized it wasn’t so much the amount of eating itself, but rather the energy behind the actions.

When I was struggling, I was experiencing a compulsiveness to my eating. Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop. Urges to eat became obsessions that I couldn’t control.

You might know just what I’m talking about. It’s that feeling of powerlessness with the very thing that is intended to nourish and enrich your life–your food.

That’s what I call “binge-like behavior.” And it can happen even if you don’t have a full-blown eating disorder.

We’re not talking about ordinary desires for a once-in-awhile treat, like walking by an ice cream shop and desiring a sundae. In this case, whether or not you want ice cream goes from a simple yes or no question to a gut-wrenching internal interrogation.

You might torment yourself with a dialogue that goes something like this…

“Should I have the ice cream? I can’t have the ice cream. Don’t have the ice cream. No, wait, I want the ice cream. I want the ice cream. I want the ice cream.”

Then before you know it, you’re going through the drive-thru. Getting the ice cream and mowing through it like it’s going out of style. And then wanting more.

It’s more than a simple craving for a special treat. It’s a fixation that can’t be controlled.

Sometimes the self-attack also includes negotiation. There’s intensive plotting, planning, and reasoning going on in your head. It’s almost like it’s coming from a voice that isn’t your own.
Like some outside negotiator trying to get you to take a plunge.

As in, “Eat this now. You can have it. You deserve it.”

Or, “Finish it all. You already ruined your diet, so just start over tomorrow.”

It’s not like allowing yourself to enjoy a special meal. It’s not like having a celebratory dinner out with friends or choosing an indulgent treat off the menu because it genuinely sounds good.

It’s a push-pull negotiation combined with plotting and planning. It feels like a power struggle between the true you and an overpowering outside force.

Other times, there’s no negotiation at all. You start eating on autopilot, and you don’t realize what you’re doing until your elbow-deep in a bag of chips.

Maybe you feel like you’re losing control every time you’re even around food that you’ve deemed “bad for you.” Perhaps you can’t get that blacklisted food out of your mind, no matter how hard you push it down.

The whole thing might make you feel guilt, shame, or embarrassment. Maybe it’s something that you keep a secret, even from your closest friends and family.
The biggest thing is the feeling of compulsion. It’s the pull to food that feels like it’s taking over your entire being (whether you actually eat the food or not).

It’s not food for pleasure. It’s a pull to behavior that feels out of alignment with your true self.

A binge can be on carrots or cake. It could be over a single piece of pizza or an all-you-can eat buffet. What you eat or how much of it isn’t the real issue.

It’s the energy behind the actions. It’s the feeling that you’ve lost control, your power, and your sense of self to the food on your plate.

If any of this strikes a chord, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have an addiction. It doesn’t imply that you’re a disordered person.

All it’s telling you is to bring awareness to the way you’re acting with your food and the way you’re treating your body.

There might simply be something in the internal wiring that is setting you up for binge-like behavior. But it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to repeat these patterns for life!

I’ve created a special gift for you that will get you on the road to peace with your body, mind, and food. I want to help get you on the path what I call Food Freedom Forever. You can take your first step to Food Freedom Forever, now!

Food Freedom Forever helps you find freedom, ease, and bliss in your relationship with food. It empowers you to make choices that are in alignment with your mind, body, and true self. And actually LOVE your body and your food again!

You can have one piece of candy without consuming the whole bag.

You can embrace foods that make you feel healthy, nourished, and alive.

And you can give yourself the gift of peace with your body AND your food.

I’ve created a free training for you that will walk you through this process and get you to the other side of binge eating, one step at a time. Access it by clicking the photo below…

Grab that free training today! And leave me a comment, let me know what you liked about this post, and tell me how I can support YOU in finding Food Freedom Forever.

All the love,

Brittany