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Trigger Foods
If you can’t stop bingeing then one of the first things you need to do is examine your trigger foods. For some people it is very easy to see the foods that send them straight off into a massive binge but for other people they need help to identify food groups or food contents. When I work with clients it can take time to really get to the bottom of all the triggers. The funny thing is that you think you have spotted them all and suddenly you seem to switch to something else that you wouldn’t have eaten before. |  |
When I cut down on the sweet foods suddenly I started wanting crisps for the first time in my life. I never could understand why anyone would want to eat savoury things! I was one of those people who would always scan the dessert menu before choosing my dinner! Today I never even look at the dessert menu, something I never thought you would hear me say.
During my first year in recovery we held a Christmas party. I spent weeks baking cakes, biscuits and desserts. At the end of the party almost all the savoury food had gone but I was left with loads of sweet foods. Suddenly I realised that people who do not have issues with food eat a balanced diet. Parties for me used to be like a dessert heaven and I was determined that my guests would not be disappointed.
Once you take that first bite from a trigger food, a little voice tells you to have another and another. It’s not long before you realise you have eaten the whole lot and then have to work out how you will cover up what you have done. Secrecy is a huge component of compulsive overeating or binge eating disorder.
Over the years I have heard countless stories that remain fixed in my mind. I always remember when I lived in the USA. One lady told me how for years she had eaten the ears of every chocolate Easter Bunny she had given her children. She wondered how she would now explain that the Easter Bunny actually had ears!
Another poor bride had eaten the whole of her wedding cake before the wedding day. Imagine trying to explain that! Although anyone suffering from binge eating disorder would understand the powerlessness that you feel once a binge has begun. I have heard so many people confess to eating their children’s birthday cakes and having to re-bake them. It is essential that you address what foods and behaviours trigger your bingeing. Unless you are able to gradually remove these trigger foods and behaviours, you will continue to struggle with bingeing.
I can happily say that giving up my trigger foods was one of the things that caused me the most fear but it was actually one of the best things I ever did in my life. When I removed all the chocolate and sweets I really thought I would die without them. Obviously that was not the case! Instead I found freedom from bingeing, something I had not experienced for decades.
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