The binge as noise level

When you tune into a radio station, you get a bit of static until you've hit on your target. If you've ever listened to a station that's far away, you may not get a clear sound at all. There may be a bit of static in the background, but if it's faint enough, and you like the song enough, you can tune out the noise.

Folks often call this slight annoyance "noise level."

From this day forward, you can think of your binges as noise level. That's because the goal isn't to eliminate the binges before learning normal eating. Such focus on binges will backfire.

Instead you can learn to tune in to your station while putting up with a bit of background noise. You might be, on occasion, distracted momentarily by the static, but you can say "Oh yes, there's that noise. I can still enjoy the song."

If ending the binges isn't the top priority, and doesn't have to precede learning normal eating, then what comes first? The answer may not be just one thing, but several, and you can address them in a manner and timing that is right for you. Here's a list of a few things you can do to learn to tune in to your own station:

1. Recognize the true size of meals that your body would need in order to gradually achieve and maintain a reasonable weight.

2. Do your best at each meal to approximate, using your wisdom, the size of good portions for you.

3. Do your best to wait until you're hungry before eating.

4. Learn to tune in to your fullness signals. This could take a while.

5. Experiment with foods that you once thought were evil, and now understand can be the most satisfying foods of all. Perhaps consider going back to old-fashioned American cooking (think "Fannie Farmer" cookbook) or ethnic cooking, complete with carbs and fats.

6. Begin to recognize your irrational and distorted beliefs and self-talk concerning food, body image, and diet.

7. When you do binge, practice the art of being impolite. Learn to interrupt your binges. But don't focus on them. They're not a measure of your success at normal eating. Instead, they will fade away over time from neglect, like a plant without sunlight.

Check out these two companion books on Amazon.com:

How to Survive Your Diet and Conquer Your Food Issues Forever

Three Minute Therapy

Today, decide to step forward into normal eating. Choose to take the power out of your binges. When they happen, notice them, acknowledge them, then tune them out as noise. Keep listening to the song. Soon it will come in clearly.

Find out how to interrupt a binge.