Written by Jenn Hand, Holistic Nutritionist, Board Certified Health Coach, NBC-HWC
Here’s What To Do After a Binge Relapse
The moment post binge is a pivotal one.
I’ve had so many relapses where I spent days stuck in hating myself, feeling utter hopelessness, and swearing to start over on a new diet the next day (*which was impossible and it never lasted.) Despite feeling guilt, shame, and despair, you CAN pivot from this negative spiral into self-love and forgiveness.
Here’s how to deal with a binge relapse:
- Recite any mantra that helps you stay in this moment.
Right after we binge, we feel self-hate, blame, guilt and a million other emotions. It’s also the moment we start making grand plans to “fix” these feelings.
We dream of diets, food plans to go on and promise ourselves that tomorrow is the day we’ll start over and solve our food issues forever. It’s important to stay in today and take care of ourselves in this moment.
Find a mantra, affirmation or slogan that you can recite to refocus your mind into this moment.
Some affirmations that have helped me include:
- I forgive myself for not knowing what else to do
- I love myself no matter what
- One day at a time. One moment at a time.
- You are allowed to take care of yourself, no matter how much you ate.
- I choose love over hate.
- Show yourself grace
One of the greatest forms of love is forgiveness. For those of us who have struggled with binges, we learned to use food as a coping mechanism. We learned to turn to food in times of comfort, to soothe stress, to alleviate a broken heart and to smooth over any bumpy emotion.
As adults, this is the pattern we know and default to when life gets hard.
Forgiving yourself for not knowing what else to do or how else to handle a hard situation or emotion, is an act of courage and love. This will help you move through the post binge negative feelings.
- Plan for only the rest of the day!
This is important because when we stay “in today” it helps us focus our attention on how to take care of ourselves while we process and learn from what happened. Refrain from planning to go on a diet and making any lofty plans to restrict your eating.
Instead, use your energy to take care of yourself.
What would feel nourishing? What would help you take care of yourself? Maybe it’s drinking extra water or going for a walk. Or it could be planning a light, nutritious dinner or calling a friend to express how you feel. Maybe it’s writing in your journal to get out the emotions and feelings you have about what happened. Use your time and energy to show yourself love and extra kindness rather than hate and criticism!
If you need additional support, check out my binge eating coaching page. I’ve helped hundreds of women over the last 9 years break free from bingeing and become a “normal” eater. It can be incredibly challenging to heal alone, so click here to schedule a call with me for additional support to stop bingeing!
Read More:
🌷How to Stop Obsessing Over Food and Weight
🌷Affirmations for Binge Eating
🌷35 Ways to Stop Binge Eating – Tips from a Holistic Nutritionist
Work with a Emotional Eating & Holistic Nutrition Coach
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Working with a emotional eating coach and holistic nutritionist can help you get free from the frustrating binge and restrict cycle and stop yo-yo dieting.
You don’t have to be obsessed with food or have a million rules around eating to find your natural weight and learn to love your body. Ready to actually see a lasting change and experience true freedom?
Schedule a 20-min CallAbout the Author:
Jenn Hand has been helping women like you become normal eaters since 2015.
She’s worked with thousands of women, helping them to balance their bodies, end bingeing, stop obsessing over food, and start feeling amazing again. As a board-certified health coach and holistic nutritionist, Jenn knows how to support you in making real positive changes that last.
Her articles have been published on Mind Body Green, Tiny Buddha, Thrive Global and other local and global media platforms. She’s the author of How to Be a Normal Eater and the creator of The Normal Eater’s Club program. Listen to Jenn’s advice and tips on the Cake Doesn’t Count Podcast, or read more of her articles for free on the Food Freedom Blog.
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