Avoid The Quarantine 15: Two Simple Questions That Will Stop Binge Eating

I’ve struggled to stop binge eating (& avoid The Quarantine 15) more in the past few weeks than I have in the past few years. It’s partly the state of the world right now; it’s also partly from feeling vulnerable and exposed because of the publication of my weight-loss book. Even after all these years, the temptation to abuse food and binge eat hasn’t left me for good.

To stop binge eating, recognize what’s actually going on

I know it’s not about the food. It’s about what I’m feeling—all this anxiety and fear and vulnerability—all these emotions that I don’t want to be feeling. I want to binge eat so food can numb me and make everything better. I also know that food might numb me for a little while, but food will never fix it. And being aware of all those things are huge wins.

I know exactly what I need to do to get myself through that temptation to abuse food so that I don’t go spiraling out of control and binge eating for days, weeks, or months. That knowledge and acting on it, that’s a major win too.

To stop binge eating, ask two simple questions

In those moments when you just want to binge eat and have food make everything go away, stop and ask yourself out loud:

“What’s the matter, [your name]? What do you need?”

The answers to those questions will be the basis for your self care. Self-care is done to increase your resilience so you can keep going in the face of challenges. It’s also done to enhance your overall well-being, including physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually too. You know yourself best. So trust yourself to know what you need to feel calmer and supported and better about life right in this moment (that doesn’t include abusing any substance/behavior).

The best way you can take care of yourself is to listen to your body. And it’s only when you’re calmer that you can actually hear the signals your body is trying to tell you. That’s especially true about hunger and fullness cues. You really can’t hear those signals when you’re highly emotional, overly stressed, completely overwhelmed, and the like.

Self-care really is the key to calming yourself down. If you find yourself panicked, worried, fearful, full of anxiety, and maybe being in your life and/or your body seems to be difficult:

1. Take a moment.
2. Don’t abuse any substance or behavior, including food.
3. Ask yourself these two questions out loud: What’s the matter, [your name]? What do you need?

What’s the matter? will pinpoint the problem.

What do you need? will tell you how to heal yourself.

To stop binge eating, take action

1. Answer those two questions for yourself.
2. Do yourself a kindness: listen to your own wisdom and act on it. Go do whatever the answer is to what you need.
3. Take really good care of yourself, especially now when everything in the world is so uncertain. Practice self-care and go do something today that’ll nourish you and comfort you and replenish you.
4. Remind yourself (if you don’t already believe it) that you’re worth the time and the effort to take excellent care of yourself. (I assure you that you are).

Get off the diet-go-round. Get on with your life.^®

Stop wishing, start doing.
Create your own weight loss before and after success story.

My weight loss transformation & how it can help you stop binge eating

You absolutely can break the diet cycle. I got free. Your life can be that way too.

I made my own path because I needed to get myself out of the crazy-making behavior I was having around food. I needed:

• no more dieting.
• no more restrictive eating.
• no weighing and measuring food.
• no off-limit foods.
• no more judgment around food.
• no more trying to figure out healthy eating or just what healthy foods to eat.
• no more judging my self-worth based on the scale.
• no more you’re-not-doing-it-perfectly diet rules that were only fueling my constant thinking about and obsession with food.

I needed to stop: searching for weight loss tips, wondering how to lose belly fat fast or how to lose weight fast, worrying about how to eat healthy or finding healthy snacks for weight loss, coming up with yet another healthy eating plan, trying to have quick weight loss, or forcing myself onto yet another weight loss diet. What I needed instead was to find, out of all the weight loss programs out there, the best weight loss program for me. Turns out, the best way to lose weight was to find out what works for me and do that.

• I’ve lost 160+ pounds naturally by simply trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and eating intuitively).
• I have maintained that weight loss for 9 years and counting by trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and intuitive eating).
• I no longer have any eating disorders, including bulimia (bulimia nervosa) and binge eating disorder (compulsive overeating).
• I no longer have a fear of food.

Just imagine what you could be doing with your life if you’d just commit to having your own before and after weight loss success story. You could be: following your own dreams and reaching your own goals, cultivating your own passions, and making both your inner and outer worlds a more blissful and peaceful place.

I got that for my life. I want it for yours. I will teach you how.

Start Where You Are Weight Loss Coaching

Start Where You Are Weight Loss Books

Start Where You Are Weight Loss™ Online Course

Let today be the day you make peace with your body and with food.

For more information, check out the Start Where You Are Weight Loss^® page.