Binge-eating is something we all do from time to time. It feels great when you are eating that yummy snack. But later, you feel so guilty. You might have been worried about what to do after a binge. What to do the day after binge-eating? You feel restless and depressed. This habit can make you feel very guilty.

  The fact that you binge-eat means that you either don’t eat properly or you eat when you feel sad, angry, upset, or stressed. In other words, when you are emotional, you overeat to feel better. But soon after the binging, you feel bad about it. You feel you should not have done it. You may even feel helpless. At times, you may get angry at yourself as you have no control over what you do.

The guilt you feel after you eat too much can make you do silly things. Of all the emotions that we feel, guilt is the most difficult one to deal with. You need to understand where this guilt is coming from and why it bothers you. The root cause of guilt could be some childhood beliefs or values that have stayed fixed in our minds.

To overcome this guilt about binge-eating, you need to work on yourself. You should begin with first understanding where this guilt comes from. It is because as a child you were always scolded for eating too much or too fast? Did you eat to compensate for something? For example, poor grades in school resulted in being punished by your parents. This fear made you feel scared and depressed. Eating a bunch of candy made you feel good. So when you started eating candy to better your mood. Even today, if you are scared, you turn to candy to work its magic and make you happy.

Be aware and careful of such old habits. You might not even know why you do these things and how they started. But somehow, you end up doing it again and again. Once you know what is bothering you, then you can get help or find ways to deal with it.

The First Thing to Do After You Binge

Calm down! Don’t be too harsh on yourself. What you have done is not a good thing. You need to stop, but stressing about it or blaming yourself isn’t going to help. It will only make it worse. You need to forgive yourself. So, don’t get angry or blame yourself. Instead, calm down and relax. You have already done the act. Take a minute to relax and become normal.

Another important thing to note here is that – do not label yourself as a bad person or impulsive person. You did an impulsive act. You did something that wasn’t correct, but that doesn’t make you an impulsive or bad person. Do not make these huge conclusions about yourself and how you are.

After binging, you will have many negative thoughts going through your mind. At that moment, try to block these negative thoughts. Replace these with positive, hopeful, and optimistic thoughts. Positive self-talk such as “I am strong and can control my impulses” or “I am going to do better next time” helps. Managing your thinking after you binge eat is most important. If you continue to stress about it or get hyper, you will not be able to let it go.

Reading or listening to something cheerful and encouraging is also a good idea. Do not ruminate on what has already happened. Try to focus on what you can do next.

To summarize –

• Do not blame yourself
• No big making conclusions about yourself
• Stop negative thoughts and start thinking about positive things
• Do something that makes you happy (other than binge eating, of course!). For example, listen to music, read, call a friend, paint, etc.

As much as it is important to list out the dos, so are the don’ts. It is good to know what you should not do after the act.

What Not to Do Immediately After a Binge?

• Do Not Try to Vomit – you might feel guilty about overeating and try to purposefully throw up. Do not try to do it. It could be dangerous to vomit intentionally after the overeating episode. Additionally, don’t use any laxatives (i.e. medicines to increase bowel movement) or other such methods. Overeating and then trying to vomit can lead to Bulimia, which can be a life-threatening disorder.

• Do Not Skip the Next Meal – To compensate for overeating, you might want to skip the next meal. Starving yourself will only make you more guilty and hungry. It is very likely that you will again binge eat later or the next day because you haven’t eaten enough.

 

• Do Not Spend a Lot of Time on Social Media – Social networking sites promote zero figures and gym bodes through ads and promotion posts. They make you think that having a perfect body is a must. If you are just trying to recover from a binge episode, spending too much time on social media apps and sites might not work in your favor.

 

What Not to Do the Day After a Binge?

• Do Not Start a New Diet – Avoid starting a new diet the very next day. A new diet means new rules and new routines. This can become too much to handle. On the contrary, try to go back to your routine food habits. Get back to normal meals and habits. This will help you get over the binge episode. You can start a new diet a few days later.

 

• Do Not Overwork Yourself – Usually, we try to distract ourselves the next day so that we don’t fall into the same trap again. However, pace yourself well and take on only as much work as you can handle. In an attempt to stay busy, do not overwork yourself. You might fall sick or harm yourself.

 

Now that we have seen what you shouldn’t be doing let’s quickly see what you should be doing.

• Drink Water – Keep yourself hydrated. Drink a lot of water after and also the next day after your binge.

• Eat Properly – Make sure you eat your proteins, veggies, and fibrous food. You should include green veggies in your next few meals. These foods satisfy your hunger and give you the feeling of being full. This might, in turn, reduce hunger pangs and impulses to overeat or eat between meals or late at night.

• Mindful Eating – when we eat, we are super distracted. Either we are on the phone surfing through some sites or watching something on TV or the web. In any case, we are not focused on what we are consuming. Mindful eating is simply being completely aware of what you are eating. Concentrate on your food. Taste every morsel you eat. Enjoy the flavours and aroma of what you are eating. The more consciously you do more, the more benefit you will get out of it.

• Exercise – Immediately after you binge eat or the day after, start exercising. Go for a walk or workout at the gym. Yoga can be very useful. It will refresh your mind and help you overcome your negative feelings. The chemicals that are released after you workout help to rejuvenate.

• Try Pranayama – Along with your workout, do some meditation or Pranayama. Just like exercise helps in refreshing, Pranayama can help in refreshing the mind.

• Get Rid of Foods You Binge On things easy for yourself by throwing out the foods that you typically binge on. If you do not have these foods around, there is a lesser chance that you will want to binge-eat the next day.

  Do not spend time thinking about the past. What you do the day and the next day after your binge is important. If you keep remembering and regretting what you did, it will only cause you more trouble. So, look forward to the future and start working on yourself. Start changing your mindset and your habits.

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