By Victoria Q

So, you just had a whole large pizza, three burgers, a bag of chips and a whole sleeve of cookies. Afterwards, you felt guilty for eating too much and being in a negative mood which then leads you to starve yourself for the next two days, going on an extremely strict diet or spending four hours in the gym to lose back all the weight you gained.

This might sound like the right thing you should do after having a binge eating but it’s definitely not a good idea. It will not only cause harm to you in terms of physical and mental, but it also will cause you to eat more than before. However, incorporating a few healthy habits into your routine can help you keep going on.

Here are tips to get back on track after having a binge eating.

1. Go For A Walk

The best thing you can do right after binge eating is to go for a nice walk. It can help you clear your mind and make your body feel better, too. Walking may relieve the uncomfortable feelings of fullness or bloat from binge eating. It can also improve your mood and reduce some of the negative feelings that trigger binge eating.

2. Get More Sleep

Sleep deprivation may affect the level of hunger and appetite regulation which increase your chance of binge eating. Therefore, getting enough sleep is important to get back on track. Health experts generally recommend getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Try going to bed earlier than usual after binge eating to ensure you’re able to fit in a full night of sleep and get a fresh start the next day.

3. Eat A Healthy Breakfast

After eating a huge meal last night, we often swear we will not eat again for the next morning. However, the next day, we wake up feeling hungrier than ever before. Why does this happen? It’s because after eating a big dinner, insulin levels spike and this often followed by a blood sugar drop, which increases feelings of hunger the next morning. So, fill yourself with a light breakfast that high in fibre and protein can help you to control your hunger and keep you full for a long time.

4. Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated throughout the day can help prevent you from future binge eating. Water can help to flush out all the toxins in your body and make you feel better after binge eating. Drinking plenty of water can also help reduce appetite. People often eat when they actually thirsty because they confuse thirst for hunger. Drink a large glass of water before bed and in the morning. It’s also advisable to drink two to three litres per day.

5. Sweat It Out

Breaking a sweat after binge eating can keep food moving through smoothly and can help people feel less guilty and shame. Setting a regular exercise routine may also regulate your appetite to help keep your food intake in check and prevent binge eating. Try finding a type of physical exercise you actually enjoy and incorporate it into your routine.

6. Keep Lunch And Dinner Clean

Eating clean whole foods the day after binge eating will make you feel refreshed and put you back in the right frame of mind to reach your goals. Doing this will encourage you to stick to a positive routine and will help you get your energy back by fueling your body with good nutrients. Try to take a few baby steps in eating cleaner each day to give your body some time for new adjustment.

7. Don’t Skip Meal

Skipping the next meal sounds like the right thing to do after you had binge eating. But, that is one of the worst things you can do! Skipping meals will only cause your hunger to grow throughout the day and may even result in another binge eating. Instead, try to eat light food filled with protein, which boosts your metabolism and fibre, which can help with your digestion.

8. Get Your Greens In

Loading up on veggies can help regulate your weight by keeping you fuller and eat less. Vegetables are high in fibre, which moves slowly through your body and helps in promoting the feeling of fullness. Incorporate more veggies into your meals or snacks can also help decreased cravings and prevent further binge eating. Trying switching potato chips to kale chips as a snack and blend more veggies into your smoothie for morning breakfast.

9. Keep A Food Diary

Mindless eating contributes to consuming more than you should. Taking note of your hunger level, mood during eating, the food you had and satisfaction after eating let you learn more about your food intolerances and help you to figure out what triggers you to binge eating. If you find it hard to write down everything you eat, you can use one of the many apps available to note down your food intake.

10. Don’t Check Your Weight

You probably want to check how much you weigh after binge eating and the moment you step on it, you find it defeating and discouraging because you just realized how much you had consumed. The scale is not your friend the day following a binge eating. It may display a number higher than you usually do due to the extra food sitting in your stomach and the water retention brought by eating salty food. So, wait for at least two days before weighing yourself to check what the last result is.