The day after a binge can be a difficult one. If you are anything like me, you might feel ashamed and embarrassed. I hate talking about my binges with anyone, even my therapist because I feel ashamed and embarrassed. I normally let a binge ruin the entire next day and sometimes a few days afterward. I try to eat "good" foods to make up for the binge. However, this will just cause me to binge again which makes me want to make up for it the next day.
I can get stuck in the binge/restrict cycle for days, if not weeks if I let it. Does this sound like you?
It is easy to get stuck in a cycle and it can be hard to get yourself out of it. I know it can be hard to eat a full day of meals and snacks mindfully after a binge, I find it incredibly difficult. I know for me, the only thing to avoid the binge/restrict cycle is to make sure I eat enough the next day.
Here are some tips and tricks that help me after I binge.
~~ This may not work for you and that is okay. Everyone has what works for them and it is
important to recognize that.
~~ This also does not work every single time, but this is what works for me
Journal about what happened. I either write about what I am feeling and what I need to do next to keep going OR I do a behavior chain. A behavior chain can be done in many ways, but I work backward from the event until you find the trigger.
example:
Binge > Got home from work > worked 8 hours > did not eat enough at work > felt
anxious all day
In this example, you can see that there were two triggers that I was able to identify
1) not eating enough during the day and 2) being anxious
However, sometimes it is not as obvious as to why you had a binged. Sometimes you may need to go back a day or two
example:
Binge > Did chores > Got home from work > ate all my meals and snacks > had a
good day at work > woke up > went to bed > saw a friend for lunch > skipped
breakfast > got in a fight with my friend
In the example above, you can see that the day the binge happened nothing stood out as to why you may have binged. However, you can see that as you went back to the day before you skipped breakfast and had a fight with your friend. Those situations may have been the reason why you binged, even if it didn't happen within the same day. It may be hard to find the reason for a binge but to me it is important.
You may be asking "Why is it so important to do a behavior chain?"
It may not be important for everyone, but it is beneficial for me. When I can figure out why I binged, I can process it better. I am able to write about how I could have avoided the binge. In the first example, I identified that I was anxious all day and did not eat enough during the day. I would process my anxiety and what I could have done at that moment to ease my anxiety. Then, I would process why I did not eat enough during the day and make a plan to realize when I need a snack and make sure it does not turn into a binge. This helps me make a plan in case a similar situation happens again.
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