How To Stop Binge Eating Junk Food When You’re Bored

Do you find yourself losing control of your eating?  Do you eat dinner and then find yourself eating an entire package of cookies afterward?  I can totally relate!  I used to be completely out of control when I started eating some delicious junk food.  Sometimes I would even binge on junk food that didn’t even taste that great.  I’m going to share some tips with you on how to stop binge eating junk food when you’re bored.

Binge eating junk food can be caused by emotional issues, bad gut health, and strict diet restrictions.  Healing your gut and emotions and following a healthy diet that you enjoy are the keys for how to stop binge eating junk food when you’re bored.

How To Stop Binge Eating Junk Food When You’re Bored At Night

1. Be sweet to yourself.  Binge eating is related to emotions many times.  We have thousands and thousands of thoughts every day, most of which are negative.  Pay attention to your thoughts and you’ll quickly see what I’m talking about.  Try to keep your thoughts positive and think good things about yourself.  The binge eating cycle just makes this worse because when we binge eat, we feel guilty and think terrible things about ourselves which just makes us want to binge all over again.  Work on positive self-talk.  I know this might sound weird or hokey, but it works.  We’re surrounded by so much negativity every day.  The most important thing I can say on this is to treat yourself like someone you love.  Give yourself some positive vibes and it will change your mood.  Try some positive affirmations to give yourself a boost.
2. Pay attention to what triggers your binge eating.  Sometimes binge eating is triggered by boredom or a certain person’s influence.  Do you binge after a stressful day at work?  When you hang out with a certain friend or family member, do you tend to binge?  Does watching TV trigger a junk food binge?  I bet if you give it a little attention, you’ll find a pattern to what is triggering your binge sessions.  Once you know what it is, you can work to change your habits.  For me, my main trigger was watching TV.  For some reason when I would sit in front of the TV, I needed to be munching on something (usually something sweet).
3. Keep junk food out of your house.  It’s a lot harder to binge on junk food if you don’t have the food readily available.  I know some people say “But I have to have that stuff for my kids and husband to eat.”  They really don’t need to eat that stuff either.  Processed food is not necessary for anyone’s survival.  Keep healthy options for them and yourself to snack on.  It will help you avoid temptation and they’ll be healthier for it too.
4. Don’t give yourself crazy diet restrictions.  If you feel like you can’t have anything good to eat, chances are you’re going to go crazy and eat all the things.  Focus on eating whole foods like vegetables, fruits, protein and healthy fats.  Find delicious recipes so you’ll feel like you’re indulging when you really aren’t.  Once I started following a plant based whole food diet, my cravings and urge to binge eat went away because I’m able to eat things that I truly love.
5. Heal your gut.  My experience with binge eating was that I would crave things and just couldn’t stop thinking about it until I just gave in and ate it.  Once I started eating, I couldn’t stop.  I started eating a plant based whole food diet and adding fermented foods which resulted in my food cravings going away and my belly bloat going away.  This was the way I personally overcame my binge eating and food cravings.  Your gut is connected to almost every part of your body and it is directly connected to your brain.  Having an imbalance of bacteria in your gut can wreak havoc in your whole body!  If you’ve been eating a lot of processed foods for a while or most of your life, its’ pretty likely you’re gut needs some love.

If you’ve tried everything and nothing works, you can seek professional help from an organization like Overeaters Anonymous.  I had a friend who had success with them and spoke very highly of their services.

Whatever you do, don’t give up!  I know you can beat this binge eating!  Believe in yourself and realize how strong you are and that you can overcome anything.

XOXO,

Cassie

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