Eating Mindlessly When You Have Binge Eating Disorder

Everyone, at some point in their lives, has indulged in mindless eating, whether they have binge eating disorder (BED) or not. It's so easy to do and simple to not even notice it until it's entirely too late and you've eaten far more than you intended. How can you stop mindlessly eating and take charge of your binge eating recovery?

I Have Binge Eating Disorder And Find Myself Eating Mindlessly

You probably already know what foods and situations that are triggering and can lead to you eating mindlessly. As a personal example, when I'm writing at the tea shop, I always bring a container of pretzels with me. I snack on them throughout the day and sometimes I find I've eaten more than I expected and continued to eat without realizing it. Occasionally, I'm not even hungry and I'm still eating because the action of putting food in my mouth has become automatic.

People often eat mindlessly when they are watching television, browsing the Internet, or reading a book. Your mind is occupied by something else and you eat without thinking about what you're eating, how much you're eating, or noticing when you start feeling full (Overeating Symptoms vs Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder).

How Can I Stop Mindlessly Eating?

When you eat mindlessly it can be difficult to keep your binge eating disorder under control. You can easily overeat and consume far more than you ever intended. So what can you do to stop this from happening? How can you resist the comfortable setup of eating mindlessly?

• Realize where you are when you eat mindlessly. Maybe you're browsing the Internet with a bag of chips in hand or maybe you're like me and you work with a snack close by. Figure out where you are when your mindless eating occurs.
• Don't deprive yourself. It's easy to think the solution is just to take away all food from the activities and places where you might eat mindlessly. But doing this will only cause you to think more about the food and can lead to feelings of panic (Binge Eating Disorder's Intrusive Thoughts).
• Separate your activities from your snacking. To help stop mindless eating, you can create scheduled mealtimes and snack times. Eat during those times, eat until you're full, and then put the food away until the next meal time. Listen to your body and get a snack if you feel hungry.

How I Helped Curb My Mindless Eating Regain Control My Binge Eating Disorder Recovery

When I realized just how much I was mindlessly eating while writing at the tea shop, I decided to carve out a separate lunch time for myself and then keep the pretzels hidden for the rest of the day. This way, I still get to eat what I want to eat, I felt full and satisfied, and I didn't continue to the point of overeating or binging.

Binge eating disorder can be a very tricky disorder to deal with because you have to eat to survive. The key to success is finding balance, listening to your body, and using trial and error until you find what works for you. Mindless eating can interrupt your progress, but it can be dealt with without depriving yourself.

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