The Overcoming Overeating
Philosophy

• Compulsive eaters are people whose hands or minds move toward food
  when they are not at all hungry. Compulsive eating has nothing to do with
  the size of your body. Compulsive eaters come in all shapes and sizes.
  Compulsive eating has to do with how many hours you spend preoccupied
  with thoughts about what you are eating and what you look like.
  The Overcoming Overeating approach does not address eating disorders;
  it addresses dieting disorders, the casualties of the diet industry.
  
  
• Compulsive eating may seem self-destructive, but it is always an attempt
  at self-help.
  
  
• Diets never, ever solve eating and weight problems!!! Diets cause
  compulsive eating.
  
  
• Significant change flows only from self-acceptance, never from self-contempt.
  
  
• Food is not the compulsive eater's problem, it is the solution.
  The Overcoming Overeating approach teaches people how to eat their way
  out of an eating problem.

Symptoms of binge eating are not always apparent to friends, family, and acquaintances
of the sufferer. This is because there is a great deal of shame and guilt associated with
the binges and a lot of effort is put into concealing this part of it. Until binge eating
treatment is sought, the victim of this disorder will continue to indulge in episodes of
compulsive overeating, which usually lasts about 2 hours.  The worst part is that these
people feel out of control and powerless to stop eating during these episodes.

Emotional eating is a key factor involved in binge eating. Everyone, at some point in
time, will turn to food in order to relax. It is when this becomes the only way to handle
stress or other emotions that a serious problem begins.

People who suffer from a food addiction are just like alcoholics.  They cannot say no to
food just as the alcoholic cannot say no to a drink.  These are both disorders that are
brought about by many different causes.

Typical symptoms of binge eating include:

• The inability to stop eating or to control the type of food eaten.

• Eating huge amounts of food quickly.

• Continuing to eat even after feeling full.

• Stockpiling or hiding food to secretly eat later.

• Eating normally when others are present while gorging when alone.

• Constantly eating all day with no planned meals.

• Feeling embarrassed over the amount of food eaten.

• Being able to relax only by eating.

• Having no real feelings while bingeing.

• No matter how much is consumed there is never any satisfaction.

• Feelings of guilt, disgust, or depression after a binge.

• Desperate to control eating habits or weight.

If you, or someone you know, are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s time to speak
to someone about binge eating treatment.  This is not a healthy way to live and there are
many things that can go wrong if treatment is not received.

How to Help Yourself Stop Binge Eating

While professional help is certainly the best and fastest way to get rid of the symptoms
of binge eating, there are some things that you can begin to do for yourself immediately.

• Eat breakfast.  If you skip breakfast, you may become hungrier later in the day,
  which can lead to overeating. You will jumpstart your metabolism by doing this as
  well as fighting off hunger.

• Get rid of temptation. You will more likely overeat if there is junk food and other
  unhealthy snacks in your house. Get rid of all things that will be tempting to you.

• Don’t diet.  When you are on a strict diet, you can easily start craving food that is
  bad for you along with the urge to overeat. Instead, find some foods that you like
  but that are nutritious. Don’t think of them as “good” food or “bad” food.

• Exercise.  It has been shown that exercise does many good things for the body,
  mind, and spirit.  Take part in some physical activity that you enjoy.

You will most likely want to also seek professional binge eating treatment. This may
involve many areas of your life. There are several therapies that have proved to be
quite successful in treating the symptoms of binge eating. You may take part in both
private and group therapy, and your family may also be asked to take part.

The important thing to remember is that you most likely didn’t get to the point of binge
eating all by yourself. Therefore, it may be important that family members or others
close to you also take part in your binge eating treatment. As these are the people who
are around you most often, they will be the ones who will be able to help you stay on the
path to recovery. They will also be the people who can keep watch on you to see if your
symptoms of binge eating return.

Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to give up once you have begun treatment. The
first step is the most important and the hardest. While the rest of your recovery will not
be easy, at least you will have a support system that can keep you from falling again.
Keep in mind that once you have recovered, you will no longer need to be in binge eating
treatment. At that point, you may be able to help others who suffer.

[http://www.mirror-mirror.org/symptoms-of-binge-eating.htm]