Today, we’ll talk about eating consistently and the immense benefits that provides.
Especially, decreasing binges.
Many people I work with eat inconsistently. They wake up late or have hectic mornings. Then, they skip lunch (or eat “good” – a salad or some other type of low calorie lunch), then dinner comes and they are ravenous. They’ll literally eat anything in view. Their bodies (and brains) are starving! No wonder they’re raiding the pantry before dinner and keep snacking into the night. They are concerned about their binges.
We’ve talked before about the effects of dieting
– the restrict/binge cycle. If this is your first time tuning in or you just need a refresher, here we go. Your body is wired to survive. It can’t differentiate when you’re in the midst of a nationwide famine, intentionally dieting for weight loss, or going through a hectic day with no time to eat.
Your cortisol will likely be elevated to keep you going for a while, but then when you can relax in the evening, your body will send out the cravings for the high-fat, high sugar foods and scream “FEED ME!” It will not be denied. This results in, what feels like, binges.
The book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch touches on this – the “chaotic unconscious eater.” When people aren’t focused on eating, they will grab whatever is handy. It’s as though eating is an afterthought. They write, “Chaotic Eaters are often so busy putting out fires that they have difficulty identifying biological hunger until it’s fiercely ravenous. Not surprisingly, the chaotic eater goes long periods of time without eating.”
The point is…
If we’re not frequently, intentionally fueling our bodies and brains, our biological instincts to get food will kick in and we will probably end up eating until we are overfull and eating foods that might not make our bodies feel their best.
When, on the other hand, we make a point to eat intentionally and frequently (think every 3-5 hours), our brain and bodies are fueled enough so that we can take the time to thoughtfully consider what we actually WANT to eat – instead of just grabbing whatever is most convenient. That’s not to say by doing this you’ll never eat sweets – but you can do so knowing that you actually WANT and will TASTE what you’re eating – not just for the fastest source of energy.
I’ll be honest…
Most of the time on work days, my breakfast is eaten on the go. Between getting myself ready and three kids out the door, I don’t always have time for a sit-down breakfast. But I know that if I skip breakfast, I will set the tone for the rest of the day. (Plus, no client would ever want to meet with me if I skipped breakfast.) On work days, I’m usually pulling double duty with lunch and pumping.
I know this is just a phase, so I try to give myself some grace. It will need some careful readjusting as life goes on to make sure I am in a more mindful place. So my next-best, gray area, “good enough” option is to consistently fuel myself – even if my full focus isn’t on what I’m eating.
If you struggle…
with consistently fueling yourself or you feel that you are experiencing binges in the evening or overnight, please know you don’t have to struggle alone. Reach out and we can work through this together.