I Can't Believe I Just Ate That. Now What?

So you ate Christmas dinner. Then a piece of pie. And egg nog. Then a piece of cheesecake. And dang it, you already blew your diet, so why have another piece?

Wrong.

We’ve all had those days where we stuff our face and then think, “Oh my gosh, what did I just do?” If you’re like me, you beat yourself up about it, and get so frustrated with yourself that you dip in to a slump and eat more because you’re upset.

Be kind to yourself, emotionally and physically. I tend to beat myself up for so long if I “mess up” with my nutrition. Several years ago I struggled with an undiagnosed eating disorder. I would slip up on my “diet” and would punish myself by further restricting calories throughout the day and running and exercising that much harder and longer. It was terrible. I was unhappy with myself and hated my body, even though I put so much work in to it. I was 95 pounds at my lowest, and my tiny 5’5” frame was frail. Believe me when I say that I understand. I’ve been there. Give yourself grace on this journey. We’re not perfect, and we’re not meant to be.

With that said, here are a few steps on what to do if you do binge eat.

1.     Put down the fork. Walk away. Think and say to yourself, “I will not have any more (insert food here).” Walking away and verbal acknowledgement is the hardest part!

2.     Drink a glass of water.

3.     If it’s evening time, go to bed. If it’s the middle of the day, find a distraction: go for a walk, run an errand, vacuum, etc. Do something that physically removes from the location and gets your mind off of the food.

4.     The day after you binge eat, wake up, drink a glass of water, and do 45-60 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio activity.

5.     Throughout the day, eat lots of greens & drink lots of water! Try eating a vegetarian diet for the day, as meat is more difficult for the body to breakdown. We want to flush as much of the gunk out of your system as possible.

6.     Stop eating an hour earlier than normal, in the evening, and go to bed an hour earlier. This gives your body that time to play catch up J

…and no matter what, LOVE YOURSELF.