Binge Eating Therapy

Sleep, Food, & Mood

Sleep, Food, & Mood.

Do you ever do that thing, where it’s the night, but you’re somehow afraid to go to sleep? You’re kind of dreading it? You get up and go to the refrigerator, sit on the couch with your computer in your lap, looking at facebook, watching television, half-heartedly reading blogs, half-heartedly watching television, and eventually,  you’ve gotten up and eaten a bunch of food that you weren’t hungry for and your body didn’t need, and it’s past 2am, and you’re so

Read More »
Go Vogue!

Go Vogue!

Did you hear? Did you hear? Vogue Magazine has decided to become ” ambassadors for the message of healthy body image.” And in that, according to the NY Times they have decided not to have any models in their magazine who are under the age of 16, nor any models who “appear to have an eating disorder.” I’m not sure what that means, but I’m assuming it means painfully thin models.  The new policy which has been enacted as of

Read More »
Do a little

Don’t do a lot. Do a little.

I have this client. This smart, beautiful, funny, compassionate, wonderful client who has been suffering with food issues for a very, very long time. Once every few months, she has a plan. She’s going to cut out sugar, she’s going to do yoga 3 times a week, she’s going to meditate daily, she’s going to go to the gym after work each day.  But in the next session, the one after she comes in and tells me these things, she

Read More »
How To Lose 5 pounds In 2 Days

How To Lose 5 pounds In 2 Days

The very best way to lose five pounds in two days is to make a decision to take two whole days to stop dieting and chose to eat very slowly, very mindfully, and very intuitively, giving your body exactly what it needs to thrive. I know that quitting dieting to get to a healthy weight sounds totally counterintuitive, but overeating is the other side of dieting, which means that when you choose to go on a restrictive diet, there is

Read More »

How To Recover From A Binge

How To Recover From a Binge “How do I recover from a binge? How long will it take me to recover from three days of binge eating? How long will it take me to recover from a week of binge eating? How do I start over after a binge? Can you tell me how to recover from a binge?” These questions come usually as someone begins to “wake up” and find that they’ve been in a day long (sometimes weeks

Read More »
Play in the Dirt for Good Mental Health

Play in the Dirt for Good Mental Health

I grew up in New York City and still live in a big city, so I start this post with a disclaimer that this is not something that I have personal experience with. However, I have heard many of my clients discuss how much they enjoy gardening and how meditative and wonderful it is.  Today I came across this article which explains how a certain bacteria called Mycobacterium, which occurs naturally in soil, has the same effect on your brain

Read More »
Wedding Weight Loss

Wedding Weight Loss, Eating Disorders, Self Harm, and Those Who Encourage It

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times posted an article about brides going to extremes to lose weight before their weddings. One doctor charges healthy women $1500 to insert a  feeding tubes in their noses for ten days so that they can   receive nutrition while they starve themselves to knock off a few pounds in time for the big day. How is it that it has become socially acceptable for a doctor to support self mutilation and eating

Read More »
How an apple

How an apple a day can help you let go of binge eating

The Huffington Post recently had an interesting article by Kathy Freston author of  The Lean about how eating apples can help people lose weight.  I wrote a post similar to this  a few years ago adding something rather than subtracting foods.  According to Ms. Freston, because apples have a fiber called pectin, which is used to bulk up jams and gelatinous foods, once it gets into your stomach,  you will begin to feel more satisfied due to that same filling mechanism,

Read More »
control with food and I feel

Friday Q & A – I’m out of control with food and I feel helpless

This question comes to us from Aubrey in Missouri. Question: On July 19th this last year (two years after my brother’s car accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury) I decided that I was going to change my life. I was 206 pounds, a *tight* size 15, and completely unhappy with my body. My goal weight was 140 pounds and I couldn’t wait to get started. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I have a

Read More »
I binge at night

Friday Q & A – I binge at night – Help!

This question, from Alex was submitted through the comments section in response to a question about binge eating at night.  Question: I do have this same problem. I actually use to weigh 280 pounds with a size 48 waist. Then I started taking MMA (mixed martial arts) and got my diet and weight lifting down to a science with one of my great friends who is also a nutritionist. I dieted and worked out perfectly for about 2 years. I

Read More »
Can't Stop Eating Carbs

I Can’t Stop Eating Carbs!

“Help! I can’t Stop Eating Carbs!!!!!!!!!” Because you shouldn’t. “But carbohydrates make me fat!” I’ve had several clients over the years come in believing this very thing, that eating carbohydrates would make them fat. So, what they would do was go on these all high-protein and high-fat diets, eating only eggs, bacon, butter, steak, water, vodka, and whatever else had very low or no carbohydrates in it for a few days, sometimes a week or two, then having a carb

Read More »
Online Resources for Binge Eaters

Top Ten Online Resources for Binge Eaters

From around the web, different wonderful resources to help you with eating and body image issues. 1.) Recovery Warriors – Wonderful Pro recovery site with podcasts, resources, and online directory of Eating Disorder professionals. 2.) ED Referral – Not all therapists know how to treat eating disorders, and not all know how to recognize binge eating disorder. If you are looking for someone who understands your needs, this is a great resource. 3.)National Eating Disorder Association– A non-profit group aimed at healing

Read More »
Valentine's Day Binge

Valentine’s Day Binge

  Chocolate binge on Valentine’s Day? You’re not the only one. This day can be challenging for a lot of people, and not just the relationship aspect, but the copious amounts of chocolate candy everywhere!!!!!!!! In the spirit of loving yourself, take a breath, put the chocolate down, step away from the binge food and forgive yourself. Brush your teeth, take a nice hot bath or shower, and ritually “wash the binge away.” And, I apologize for the brevity here,

Read More »
Eat Junkfood

Friday Q & A- Will My Baby Mind if I Eat Junkfood While I’m Pregnant?

  This question comes from a reader in Upstate New York. Question: I am pregnant and am wondering about the way I am eating . . almost every day I have a pint of frozen yogurt.  It’s a fun treat and I figure it gives me a lot of calcium for the day.  About once a week, I don’t “try” to eat so well . . like yesterday I had potatoes with tons ketchup for breakfast, a big cheese sub

Read More »
can't stop calorie counting

Friday Q&A- I can’t stop calorie counting

Question: I was wondering if you could give me any advice with my problem. I lost 6 stone 4 years ago calorie counting by writing it down every day.When i got to my target I tried to stop the counting,  but found instead of writing it down it stayed in my head. Every day I worry about my weight and what I’m eating, I log calories of meals in my head but don’t know how many I actually have each day.I think I’m trying

Read More »
Reduced Posting Due to Maternity Leave

Reduced Posting Due to Maternity Leave

As you might have noted, I’ve not been posting as often as usual lately. I welcomed a new member of the family last month, one who is very demanding of my time. I will continue to post, just not as often. Happy Holidays to all!

Read More »
Eating Disorder Therapy

Eating Disorder Therapy

What exactly happens when you go to therapy to heal from an eating disorder? What is therapy anyway? This is the first of a series about different levels of treatment. Unfortunately, most people who suffer from eating disorders don’t get treatment, either because they don’t have the money, the time or they feel that they should be able to heal from eating disorders all on their own, or that their particular issue isn’t severe enough to warrant treatment. What is

Read More »
I binged on thanksgiving

I binged on thanksgiving now what?

Take a breath. Relax. Don’t let it turn into a 4 day binge. Don’t try to compensate today by not eating. Take a nice, long, relaxing walk, drink lots of water and tea today. Eat fruit and salads and make sure that you get all your meals in. Don’t look back. It’s okay! Check out How to Recover from a Binge.

Read More »
Thanksgiving Redux

Thanksgiving Redux.

In the spirit of frugality, I’m recycling last year’s Thanksgiving post. Happy Thanksgiving to my Amazing Readers. Prayers and Peace for a wonderful holiday to you all. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Thanksgiving can be a nightmare for anyone dealing with binge eating, bulimia or other compulsive eating issues.  For many people, being around the stress of family coupled with giant amounts of food can be a recipe for acting out excessively with food.  Be prepared before you go to Thanksgiving Dinner. 1.)Have an

Read More »
I'm Pregnant and I can't Stop Binge Eating

Friday Q&A- I’m Pregnant and I can’t Stop Binge Eating

Question: I used to have a huge problem with binge eating, restricting, and overexercising, but I’ve been relatively “clean” for the past 7 years. I’ve been exercising 1/2 hour 3-4 times a week, eating three meals a day, everyday, and my incidences of overeating or undereating are relatively rare. I got to a weight and size that I’m very comfortable with and I’ve felt pretty good food and weight- wise for several years. But then I got pregnant. And suddenly

Read More »