What to do INSTEAD of Overeating or Bingeing
This article is for information purposes only. Please contact your healthcare providers for diagnosis and treatment.
When you experience the urge to overeat or binge, do you ever say to yourself, “I just don’t want to deal with this right now”? A part of you might want to get to the bottom of it and really know what is going on, while another part of you might just feel sick and tired of trying to figure it out. Sometimes when this occurs, people will give up because they just don’t want deal with figuring it out and then they overeat. If you feel too tired or overwhelmed, then maybe it’s better not to figure things out right now.
Maybe it would be better to refocus your attention rather than overeat. Every time you refocus your attention and engage in a new behavior away from overeating, you are one step closer to changing your habits—one step closer to reinforcing new pathways in your brain that lead to new habits.
By refocusing, your attention is turned to anything other than food. One of the worst things you can do is tell yourself not to think about food, and that “it shouldn’t be happening.”. Usually what happens when you do this is that you will just think about it more, which will make it harder to resist the urge to overeat.
Here are a few quick, easy activities that you can do to refocus your attention, and ‘ride-out’ the urge to overeat. It will probably be easier for you if you do these activities away from food, so that you can really let your attention move to the new activity.
Make your own list or add to this list whenever you find new things that work for you. Have your list easily accessible so you don’t have to think too much. When your urge diminishes, then you can try to get into the feelings, needs, or underlying issues that might be causing the urges to reach for food.
When you experience the urge to overeat or binge, do you ever say to yourself, “I just don’t want to deal with this right now”? A part of you might want to get to the bottom of it and really know what is going on, while another part of you might just feel sick and tired of trying to figure it out. Sometimes when this occurs, people will give up because they just don’t want deal with figuring it out and then they overeat. If you feel too tired or overwhelmed, then maybe it’s better not to figure things out right now.
Maybe it would be better to refocus your attention rather than overeat. Every time you refocus your attention and engage in a new behavior away from overeating, you are one step closer to changing your habits—one step closer to reinforcing new pathways in your brain that lead to new habits.
By refocusing, your attention is turned to anything other than food. One of the worst things you can do is tell yourself not to think about food, and that “it shouldn’t be happening.”. Usually what happens when you do this is that you will just think about it more, which will make it harder to resist the urge to overeat.
Here are a few quick, easy activities that you can do to refocus your attention, and ‘ride-out’ the urge to overeat. It will probably be easier for you if you do these activities away from food, so that you can really let your attention move to the new activity.
- Read comics, newspapers, or a magazine (pay attention to what you read or look at though, make sure it’s not going to trigger self-criticism)
- Pick up a novel that engages you quickly
- Lie on the couch
- Stretch
- Walk
- Call someone—let yourself feel connected with another person
- Listen to music
- Dance
- Clean
- Contact a friend via email, text messaging...
- Draw/doodle—make it simple—pick up a pen and piece of scrap paper (no pressure to create anything) and just see what happens
- Play music
- Write/journal
- If you have a pets, play with them.
- Offer to walk a neighbor’s dog.
- Garden
- Organize a closet or cabinet
- Do yoga
- Play a game like solitaire
- Do a crossword puzzle, sudoko, or other puzzle
- Play video games
- Learn something new—you can start on the internet
- Pray
- Read something inspirational
- Take a bath/shower
- Give yourself a massage
- Make a collage
- Create a scrapbook
- Knit/crochet
- Visit your favorite website or blog
- Create your own website or blog
- Go outdoors - just get outside
- Play a game with a family member or friend (you can do this online as well)
- Listen to the radio.
- Work on a project around your home, like fixing something that needs repair.
Make your own list or add to this list whenever you find new things that work for you. Have your list easily accessible so you don’t have to think too much. When your urge diminishes, then you can try to get into the feelings, needs, or underlying issues that might be causing the urges to reach for food.