Healthy Eating: Bingeing strategies

Overeating for many people becomes an inevitable part of dieting. But as these iVillagers show, it doesn’t have to spell disaster

Most of us have binged or overeaten at some point. But it’s not just the calorie fallout the next day that can be devastating. Often a bingeing session is followed by feelings of disappointment and guilt.

One distressed iVillager described these feelings in detail, and provoked a huge response on our You Can Do It message board.

“I dragged the hubby out for tea yesterday and had a big burger, chips and an ice cream sundae with toffee fudge sauce. I knew it was bad but I also knew what I was doing and just enjoyed myself. What is bad though is that, when the hubby went out after tea, I raided the cupboards. I'd been to Sainsbury’s on Monday and bought a multi-pack of crisps. I know I can't resist them so don't usually buy them, but something snapped. In only an hour, I made my way through three packets of crisps. I used to binge like that when I was at uni, and I know it's not good, but I couldn’t stop myself. I've not binged for ages and I've been eating well for over two months so why did I do it?”

While it may feel like these blowouts are inevitable, there are ways around these feelings of self-recrimination, either through preventing binges before they happen, or by dealing with the binge in a constructive way. Here are some helpful tips from fellow iVillagers:

Constructive responses ‘It happens. The trick is, over time, to make it happen less and less. Hell, life wouldn't be worth living if you couldn't occasionally go out and enjoy a burger and chips. You've eaten them now so there's no point crying over them.’Often, after one blow out, you think "to hell with it, I might as well eat this too." The truth is you are probably right. I personally think it is better to do it all in one go and get back on track, determined and focused the next day rather than having mini pig-outs every day.’‘Put your "I'm gonna get slim fit healthy and happy” head on and go buy some fruit and yoghurt. Call it an 'anti-binge detox'. As daft as it sounds, you'll feel the goodness filling you full of happy, healthy, bouncy beans, instead of body slowing sludge. Do this for a few days until you've forgotten about bingeing. And don't worry, it’s not the end of the world. We've all been there and we're all here to help you get back on track.’