So you just binged, now what?
Ever find yourself mindlessly eating or searching through the cabinets for something to satisfy that seemingly insatiable desire to eat? This definitely happens to me from time to time and while this particular story is embarrassing to admit, I will anyway; along with my tips for stopping a binge in its tracks or moving on if it has happened.
A few months back I was stressing about something and food got the better of me. So after polishing off a bag of chips, I found my way to the cabinet where I keep baking supplies and low and behold… a bag with a handful of M&Ms left. I quickly found the peanut butter and made myself a small feast, which tasted good for about 4 seconds, and then I got control of my thoughts, realized that this was NOT helping and I stopped eating. So here’s the embarrassing part and then how I move on when this happens…
The next day my husband was making a peanut butter sandwich and I see him looking puzzled at the PB jar. He held it up and said to me, “do you know why there is an M&M in the peanut butter?” Oh. My. God. In my craze I had lost a blue M&M in the jar! Okay, time to do something about this…
So here are my top tips for stopping a binge in its tracks or moving on in the event that it happens:
- Change the taste in your mouth immediately. Try having a seltzer with apple cider vinegar (you all know this is one of my favorites) or licorice mint tea.
- Brush your teeth! Or swish with a natural mint mouthwash, the clean feeling in your mouth will keep you from wanting to eat more.
- Move, move, move. Try doing five sets of 20 jumping jacks. This will distract you from eating and help you to feel something physical that is positive.
- Leave the room. If possible, leave the room or place with the food. Sometimes you just need to walk away.
- Love. As the thoughts of shame and regret inevitably start to creep in, shine light on them and forgive. Immediately think about love and light and that you are pure grace.
What helps you move on from a (potential) binge? Share your thoughts below!
Lolol love that story! My lowest moment was when I pulled the same “Check the pantry” move in high school and came up with a bar of baker’s chocolate, which I thought was such a fortuitous find!!! Until of course I bit into it. Ugh. The sadder thing is, next time the urge struck, I tried to microwave it and add sugar lolol. Not my finest moments 🙂 Great tips for busting a binge! I love how you provide real strategies as well as reminders to love and forgive yourself, which may be the best strategy of all! That pure grace business is beautiful. Thanks!
Funny the things we do! Thank you for sharing as we all have these moments, but yes, at the end of the day, what matters most is that we love ourselves….
Chips get the best of me late night when I am tired and prepping for the next day!
Mint gum, hot peppermint tea, or a big glass of water help keep me in check. Great tips JT!!
Peanut butter is definitely my go to binge item…and not that crap that is supposed to be good for you. Gotta be Jif or Skippy…you know the kind with the sugar in it! That and the kid’s teddie grahams!!! YUM! or slathered on a banana. 🙂
I have been known to mix peanut butter and Nutella together. Yum! But when one spoonful of both leads to 10, not so good….
That’s right, Chris, all about keeping it to the one teaspoon!
Great blog! Well the following idea works with some binges some of the time, but if you find yourself with a leftover dessert from a recent party or some other delightful schnecken that keeps calling you from the kitchen give it the cold blast and put it in the freezer. I am not sure what is so magical about the freezer, but if I put a bag of cookies in there I quite often forget they’re in there and they actually defrost reasonably well, when I discover them at a much later date, hopefully in a better frame of mind. So no…my freezer isn’t packed with chips and peanut butter (hahaha!), but for some situations it works – and I did learn this from Aunt Jan who has said on several occasions – just put it in the freezer 😀
Ahh, yes. Great tip as nobody ever wants to waste food; especially food that was baked by someone. So toss it in the freezer and enjoy at a later date!