The First Step To Stop Overeating --and Four More

Oh, Lawdy! The Overeating Ogre has come by this week after being gone for a while, drat him. He was by for dinner on Thursday (when I had four slices of whole wheat pizza and a big bowl of white bean soup and just about exploded) and Friday lunch (I had TWO entrees from Boston Market, TWO, with four sides, FOUR, and a chocolate cupcake and chocolate almonds). It was bad. It was like a PMS flash fire (only without the PMS, at least, I don't think so.)

But I banished the nasty creature last night and got back to normal. I walked. I did some at-home Pilates leg lifts. I did breathing to calm myself. I feel like I've slid back into Healthy Mindset today after the lunacy of the last two days.

Two bad days. Two bad meals, very bad.

All is forgiven. I'm moving on.

Fortunately for my spirits, I tried on a dress and two tops in my size today and both were HUGE on me. Hubby mentions my waist is nipping in. My butt is rounder (and according to hubby, firmer). Most startling, my abdominal pannus is smaller and a bit HIGHER. This is what makes me happiest of all. I hate that thing hanging there like a laundry bag. It's lifting, looking less bulky.

Two of my neighbors have commented on my "slimmer" physique as I've been out walking in the early evenings this week.

My bra band is looser. :)

I guess my clothing size has changed. :) I'm losing some fat, I know, and gaining muscle, so the scale is the same after a blip up the day after the pizza insanity.

So, instead of getting all happy and calm from this progress due to the Pilates--thank you, Liza--I binge. What up with that?

I notice other fatfighting bloggers and commenters on those blogs are struggling, and struggling a lot. We're having a binge epidemic.

Let's stop it. Now. Okay? No weekend excuses. No "it's Saturday, I need a treat" mantras. It ends now.

For you. For me. Let's get through this bad time and move forward.

I decided to look for something useful to share, something with tips and strategies and a bit of "workbook" exercises.

I found this one at About.com-- FIVE STEPS TO AVOID OVEREATING

I'll let you read it and do the work--Do it! Don't just read it! Do the work!--and I chose it because the first step is so crucial for those of us with chronic, emotional binge-eating:

Step A. Wake Up!

People who use food to feel better often report overeating when they are in a time-out or food trance. This trance provides an escape from inner criticism, difficult emotions, or stressful life situations. The first step is to find some way to wake up from the trance. No matter how intense your food craving, or how much you have already eaten, you have to snap back to reality before anything else can happen. There is no one proven guaranteed way to bring your self back to conscious awareness. You will have to experiment with several different ways to grab your own attention. Below are some suggestions that may work to bring you back into the here and now:

• Walk to the nearest mirror, look yourself deep in the eyes, and say hello to yourself.

• Talk aloud to yourself. Call yourself by name and say, "wake up."

• Shake your head to clear out the cobwebs.

• Take a deep breathe and say to yourself, "I am okay now. I am fine now. I am in control now."

• Plant visual cues in your kitchen. For example, place a special blooming potted plant on your kitchen table. Looking at it might remind you of your potential to bloom and prosper.

• Tape your baby picture on your refrigerator. Look at how pure and happy you are. Decide that you want to feel happy and eating is not the way to get there.

List a few methods you can think of to bring yourself back to living in the present moment:

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Those are actually some very simple things to stop the binge-trance. It's not easy to get a clear head, but it's necessary. Copy and paste that step, print it out with the lines for you to write in. Do it! Come on!

Let's all try it, those of us having a hard week. Okay?

One of the methods I've thought of is doing a tape-recording or videotape of myself talkig to myself. I need to find a recorder somwhere (I know I have one) and tape myself doing the encouraging talk and the decisive talk and the hopeful, believing talk. I need to keep the recorder and tape handy--in the kitchen (where the table is) or living room, the only two rooms in the house where I eat.

Instead of a baby picture, I think I prefer a picture of myself in my early 20's, when I was a normal weight and very happy (cause I'd met my soulmate--hubby)and wore camis and shorts all the time cause my legs/thighs/belly/upper arms weren't huge.

Let me know if this strategy (and the others in the article) helped you get through to Monday (and beyond.)

Here's to a healthy weekend and a lighter weigh-in next week. If you want more, check out the eHow article on avoiding overeating. Drink water, focus on lots of fiber, slow down at meal times, etc. You've heard this before. So have I. Let's DO IT today adn tomorrow. It's a weekend of change, right?

Yes! We can!

Onward and Downward!

More articles:

Strategies to Avoid Overeating from Nutrition & Fitness Advisors--also focuses on awareness, keeping blood sugar steady, not starving, and finding what works for you.

Canadian Living's 8 Tips to Avoid Overeating

Escaping the Overeating Rut with a chart to help you become aware of your pattern/rut.