Overcoming Binge Eating

Over this past year, we may have experienced some significant changes, not only physical but
mentally. As students, we may even start binge eating during our time in quarantine, and it has had a considerable impact on our mental state. It is easy for us to fall into a pattern where we do not take care of our bodies, which is more apparent with the closing of gyms. We have faced a significant change that disrupted our routine, and the level of stress that we are consistently dealing with made it a lot easier to binge eat. Binge eating is the most common feeding disorder that we sometimes push aside, and it is more about the psychological affect.
As students we face challenges everyday, and we sometimes take for granted healthy meals, we
indulge in unhealthy behaviors, like binge eating. We have spent this time at home not working
on ourselves but spending away our money on items we may not even need. We have to take
time and reflect on what we have been putting into our bodies, even challenging ourselves to eat healthier during March. Here are some tips to overcome binge eating.
Tips to Overcome Binge Eating:

1. Getting enough sleep
   Sleep does affect our hunger levels. When we are sleep deprived, it has been linked to binge
   eating. Sleeping more than 8 hours a night is hard for us since we have so much to do to reduce our sleep schedule. We must get a whole night’s rest, allowing our bodies not to feel sleep deprived and help regulate our meal intake.

2. Avoid skipping meals
   We sometimes skip meals because we believe it is convenient for us, especially breakfast. It is never a good idea to skip meals because it can lead to cravings and increased eating, which results in us overeating. Take the time to eat breakfast at the appropriate time of day, and it is one of the most critical meals we tend to skip.

3. Practice mindfulness
   Sometimes we got to practice mindfulness because it allows us to listen to what our body is
   saying and how we feel at the moment. Practicing mindfulness can help prevent overeating by enabling us to recognize when our body does not feel hungry.

4. Staying hydrated
   We got to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. It also is a simple and effective way of dealing with carving and reduces the need for overeating. When drinking water, we should listen to our bodies and drink water when feeling thirsty to stay hydrated.

5. Plan meals
   When planning meals, it can help ensure that we have healthy ingredients on hand to allow us to prepare nutritious meals. Planning meals will enable us to portion size each meal, making it easier to stick to a regular eating pattern.

6. Clean out the kitchen
   Cleaning out the kitchen is an excellent way to remove all the junk food or trigger foods. It also makes it hard to binge eat. Keeping healthier foods can reduce our risk for emotional eating, and as students, we tend to eat what is there, so it is a good idea for us to stock up our kitchen with fruits and vegetables.

March is Nutrition Month, and it is essential to look at what we have been eating and even
change our regular eating pattern. We mustn’t start binge eating during this time, and we must
look after ourselves. The only way to do this is by taking care of ourselves by following the
nutrition steps above. We got to treat our body like a temple, and it is hard sometimes. We go for what is accessible rather than what is healthy. We must take the time to look at different options that are healthier and safe for us.

Here are a couple of events coming up and resources to help you with your nutrition. Don’t
forget to check out the CUE Wellness website for more information.
https://sites.google.com/concordia.ab.ca/cue-wellness/home?authuser=0

By Deborah Olawale