The Binge Trigger

If you have binge eating disorder, you'll want to read this. Whether or not you purge after you binge, there's something that folks with binge disorder seem to have in common, and knowing about it can assist your recovery.

Binge eating, also called compulsive overeating, is triggered by certain circumstances, certain foods, certain feelings. Sometimes it can seem like just about anything can trigger a binge. But actually, it's possible to flesh out just what those triggers are. One of these triggers is rarely discussed, yet if you know about it, you can conquer it.

Have you ever noticed that when you feel a little too full after normal eating, that seems to trigger a binge? Once you feel that overfull feeling, you say "What the heck..I went off my diet...I might as well binge." There might be something more to this than just the psychological component. That feeling of fullness is familiar to mind and body. It signals that you're anticipating a euphoric episode.

Some steps to take to avoid that fullness. Here's how:

1. When you eat anything, remember there are no bad foods. Therefore there is no guilt.

2. When eating, try to avoid foods that bloat your stomach, giving you a false sense of fullness. Interestingly, those are often the foods that dieters tend to overdo while on a diet. Large salads, enormous baked squash, green soups, and other "free" foods are gas-producing, thus stretching your stomach, falsely signaling that a binge is on the way.

3. Avoid anything else that may make you feel too full, such as soda. Often, dieters will go out of their way to fill their stomachs with something falsely filling, such as diet soda, thinking this will trick mind and body into feeling satisfied. But instead, those empty foods can stretch the stomach, triggering a binge.

4. Try to stick to smaller, denser, high-calorie portions that would sit nicely in a small stomach. Doing so will give your stomach the chance to shrink as it needs to, and will steer you clear from that overfull feeling that too easily can trigger a binge.

Note: If you are a heavy binge eater, or you purge after you binge, this can signal a serious medical condition. Whether you're a man or woman, young or old, there is nothing shameful about binge eating disorder. Seek medical advice now. This blog and the companion Diet Survivors newsletters and message board are not a substitute for medical treatment.