No matter who you are, I bet you’ve had your moments with overeating. Even those of us who don’t necessarily identify with binge or emotional eating occasionally get hit by the scourge of the food consumption on autopilot….

There are parties and holidays with lots of celebratory food, and you just can’t resist. Maybe a stressful day at work sets off a slew of unconscious overindulgence with food.

Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with overeating once in awhile. When overeating on autopilot becomes a habitual pattern rather than an occasional occurrence that’s when things get a bit sticky.

But how do you decipher between a random case of overeating or a compulsive urge to binge?

When do you know it’s time to take a closer look at the drive behind the extra helpings?

Sometimes you just need to bring balance back to your plate. Other times you need to address the underlying causes that drive you to overeat on the regular.

Today I’m sharing the truth about overeating. What is considered “normal” and what might be cause for a bit of pause? I want to help you recognize the difference so that you can stop worrying and start living, and without fear of having an extra helping once in awhile!

Let’s talk about what drives overeating, and how to overcome it without shame, guilt, or control!

We’ll start with a couple of tips to help you reduce the chances of once-in-awhile overindulgence with food. Then, in the third tip, I’ll show you how to understand the differences between normal overeating and compulsive urges to binge.

–

–

Tip #1: Use the power of pause and presence. It’s easy to go through the day on autopilot, especially when you live a jam-packed life. I see people who run themselves ragged throughout the day, grabbing what they can on the run. And usually ending up shoveling in a lot more than they planned to at every stop.

Then there are times when you’re at the end of a chaotic day and the stress hits you all at once. And then the cabinets come calling with the lure of the quick-fix.

Sound familiar? Happens to the best of us! Both of these are examples of everyday unconscious overeating.

Then there are the celebrations. Overeating at parties, holidays, or other moments when there is food around that isn’t normally there. How do special events push the momentary binge buttons in so many of us?

By making people say things like, “I don’t usually eat things like this,” or,  “I’m starting the diet next week so let me eat this now.”

I’m guessing that if you hang out with me here on the regular, you know where that mentality leads you. To dieting, restricting, and controlling. And away from freedom and ease with food.

So how do you get past the moments where you fall into overeating by either convenience or unconsciousness?

Simply slow down, pause, and be in the moment. Get out of your head and into your body, and make your food choices from a conscious place.

The more you make heart-centered eating choices, the less likely you’ll find yourself in an unintended binge situation.

Tip #2: Eating enough throughout the day. It might sound counterintuitive, but eating enough to can actually prevent you from eating too much!

When you’re not properly nourished throughout your day, it can trigger your brain’s survival instincts. That is, you activate the place in your brain that believes that starvation is imminent.

That means that you fixate on food, fall victim to cravings, and eat uncontrollably.

How do you head off those survival-based pangs? By making sure you’re adequately nourished in the first place.

If you apply the Tip #1 and become present in your body first, your mealtime experience will register with your brain. Your brain and body will understand that they’re being fed, cared for, and nourished properly.

When you make conscious food choices and nourish your body adequately, overeating is less likely of a last resort.

Now, here’s the most important tip of all: understanding what triggers overeating in the first place…

Tip #3: Recognizing the difference between normal overeating and compulsions to binge. There is occasionally having a second helping when you’re already full. Then there’s falling victim to an urge to have those second helpings all the time.

One is a mindless, automatic thing that happens without much pressure or regret. The other is has an automatic and compulsive pull to it.

How can you tell the difference?

Here are some of the clues that your overeating is a little less benign and a little more compulsive.  

When you tell yourself NO, you can’t forget what you’re forbidding. You’ll feel like once you see it, you have to have it.

Sometimes you’ll plot and plan secret binges. When you do give in to the craving, you’re eating on autopilot before you know it (grabbing one snack, then another, then another…)

So if your overeating feels like more than an impulsive habit than an incidental happening, there are ways to get back to your center and set yourself free.

A significant part of the process is understanding the physiology behind the brain patterns, and knowing what drives this compulsive overeating behavior.

But you don’t have to shame yourself into submission. You’re not wrong, nor are you broken.

You don’t have to control or fight those urges to binge, either. After all, more control leads to more chaos, which will only lead to more binging.

So if you feel like your overeating carries a painfully compulsive streak, I have a special gift that I know you’re going to love!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!