Key Concepts Index

Don't go hungry!

Get in touch with your body's wisdom. Practice honoring your hunger signals.

It may sound strange, but we need to eat to overcome Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or even just to lose weight. Going without eating and skipping meals often leads to more binging. Getting really hungry, being on a very low calorie diet or fasting slows our metabolism. Our body compensates by trying to conserve its precious fat tissue to be used for fuel to sustain it through the famine.

Getting ravenously hungry lowers a person's "amnesia factor". That is; their resistance to binging behaviors is dramatically reduced. They can easily forget their healthy goals and the various recovery tools at their disposal. Our brain, in self-preservation mode, screams for food.

Of course, many of us haven't yet reconnected with our inner voice that tells us when we are hungry or not. Getting in touch with our satiation signals will evolve over time in recovery. For awhile, keeping a food and mood journal can be particularly helpful. We may need to schedule small meals throughout the day to help insure that our blood sugar levels remain fairly even and that our bodies aren't starving for nutrients. Developing a stable pattern of regular eating will help end the urges to binge.

Be careful that this key concept not become a rationalization for eating whenever you think of food, are bored, or are having strong feelings. Using a hunger scale can help distinguish compulsive hunger from real hunger; 1 being so hungry you are literally starving, and 10 being so stuffed full that you feel sick. Eating regular meals on a set schedule can help too.

[See more on Journaling]

• Key Concepts Index
• First Things First – Establishing a stable pattern of regular eating.
• Refuse to be "Powerless" — Realize that you do have choices. Don't give your power away.
• Become Health Centered – Focus on improving health. Weight loss is a byproduct.
• Keep A Journal Of Your Foods And Moods – Gaining awareness is empowering.
• Eat Like A Healthy Person – Eat healthy whole natural foods now.
• Empower Yourself – Use every tool and resource necessary.
• Educate Yourself – Become an expert on nutrition. Forget what the diet gurus say.
• Don't Go Hungry – Eat your way to optimum health. Hunger only leads to binges.
• Act As If – Act yourself into a new way of thinking. Action precedes motivation.
• Dump Perfectionism – Progress is good enough. We learn from our mistakes.
• Easy Does It – Practice moderation and have realistic goals. Practice self-compassion.
• One Day At A Time – Focus on today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

Dave's web site is for informational purposes only and is not meant to serve as medical advice or to replace consultation with a professional dietician, nutritionist, physician, or mental health professional. None of the information presented on this web site is intended to diagnose, prescribe, or to administer to any medical ailments or conditions.