On My List of 43Things!

I just finished writing a column for 43Things. I thought I would share it here with you.

How I did it: I went to school for nutrition, stress management, psychology and holistic health along with eating disorders and became a specialist.  I wrote a full treatment program from everything I had learned and healed my disorder.

Lessons & tips: The first thing I recommend to my clients is to stop criticizing yourself.  That does absolutely no good and it only makes you feel worse about yourself.  You don’t need to feel badly about yourself because you really are a good and decent person.  Compulsive overeating is NOT who you are.   It’s what you are doing but it is not who you are.  It’s the same thing with your body.  If you are overweight that just means your body is carrying more pounds than it needs to be healthy.  You are not the fat.  You are a person.

Second thing is to understand what is happening to you and your brain when you binge eating.  There is an internal war going on within you and understanding what is happening to you is important.  I’m sure you feel the tug of war with one side of you saying “Stop binge eating right now!” and the other half is saying “I want to eat everything in sight because I am so stressed out”.   Keep a journal so you can write down your thoughts.

Third is to find the root cause of your compulsive overeating.  Do you know why you overeat?  What is happening to you when you overeat?  Can you picture in your mind what is happening to you and what you are feeling when the binge happens?  You need to look for the deep seated reasons as to why you feel the need to binge.

Fourth is to learn about the different types of binges.  There are plenty of them and they can be anything from an Opportunity Binge to a Boredom Binge.

Sometimes you may begin binge eating to mask your issues or cover your feelings and then the next thing you know you are doing it simply because now it is a habit binge.  So I recommend learning more about the types of binges so you can identify what you think your binges are.

Fifth is to reduce your stress.  Stress is a huge contributor to binge eating.  So work on reducing your stress by relaxation or meditation, become organized, face fears, and by using facts to determine the severity of situations instead of using your emotions.

Sixth is to begin setting small goals that you can accomplish in small chunks.  These will be so small that you may laugh at how easy they are to complete but once you finish the first tiny goal in that chunk you can add another tiny goal to it and give yourself another chunk to complete it.

For example, let’s say you want to drink 8 glasses of water a day.  You don’t want to start out drinking 8 glasses of water the next day when all along you’ve been drinking 1/2 glass a day.  You will meet with resistance from your own body and brain.  Instead start small and break it down.  “I will drink 1 glass of water a day”.  Do this for 4 days as your first chunk.  After you complete that goal, make your next goal to be “I will drink 2 glasses of water a day”.  And do that for another 4 days.  Reward yourself at the end of each 4 day chunk so that you can show your brain and body how proud you are.

Seventh recommendation is to continually focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.  Let me explain that a bit more.  Every thought you have creates more thoughts in your mind and they tend to attract “like” thoughts.  You want to make sure the language you are using is always positive in focus.  If I were to say “I don’t want to be a compulsive overeater anymore” your brain is hearing the word “compulsive overeater”.  I am stating what I don’t want to happen.  Instead if I said “I want to eat healthy meals and feel happy” then I am focusing on what I really do want.  I know this may seem so basic but it may be the most powerful thing you can do.

And lastly I want to assure you that compulsive overeating can be fully cured.  You have the power within you to make the changes your brain and body need to make together in order to make life lasting achievements.  You can do it!

Resources: The BreakAway Program for Compulsive Overeating.

Follow me on Twitter now!

Okay so I FINALLY got with the program and joined Twitter. I just hope I can keep my conversations to 160 characters or less. That should be a challenge for me!

I am adding a cute little side widget to this blog that will update my Twitter Posts every so often so I hope you join in, follow me, I’ll follow you and we’ll all have fun with it!

Click the Twitter photo above to go to Twitter and start the action!

Just Added a New Page About Compulsive Overeating and Bulimia

Just a quick post here-

I just finished writing a new page for the site about Compulsive Overeating and Bulimia. Bulimia Nervosa means people binge eat and then find a way to purge the food from their bodies and it’s probably more common that you think.

Check out the information on Compulsive Overeating and Bulimia.

Do you fit into this category?

New Website Design Complete!

Hey guys,

I am so happy that this humongous project is finally complete! The new design of The BreakAway Program is complete and as I mentioned on the homepage today, I wanted the look to feel more intimate and comfortable. Like we were sitting at the table having coffee and chatting as friends.

That’s how I feel about my clients. I take every one of them personally because it is such a personal issue for me to see that others can heal too.

So the new site for stop binge eating is up and running. There are exciting things on the horizon so stay tuned for a new community. And remember…”ITS TIME TO GET OUT OF B.E.D.!!!!!”

Can One Person Really Make A Difference?

I have a little 8 year old daughter who watches the Disney channel and the other night all the teen stars of their most popular shows did a Save The Earth type of show and of course Hannah Montana was leading the pack.  But what she said was really cool and although I can’t quote her because I wasn’t thinking that I would need to it went something like this:

Can just one person make a difference? Absolutely! One person can make a difference because she has friends.  And those friends have friends and soon enough 1 million people are now making a difference.

I think we can do that with compulsive overeating.

When I first started looking for help to heal my binge eating disorder I went to my doctor basically because I had no idea where else to start. Unfortunately, she had no idea either!

Then I found OA (Overeaters Anonymous) and gave that a few tries but it wasn’t what I needed. The people who attended the meetings had no idea why others were suffering from compulsive overeating or what to do for it. We just kept talking about the crappy days we had. And to be fair, it wasn’t their fault. They were not trained as eating disorder specialists to know how to help anyone.

So seriously, what else is there? What other way can people get information about the disorder, the causes, the symptoms, the signs and the process to stop?

I’m hoping it is by me talking about it to my friends like you.

The web is very large and powerful (Like Oz!) and we have our voices to start a wave of inspiration.

Stop Being Such A Pig And Get Off Your Lazy Butt

Now that is something you don’t hear a Binge Eating Disorder Specialist say every day huh?

But I mean it.

Why don’t you just stop stuffing your face full of garbage and act like a regular human being?

People who don’t binge eat can’t possibly imagine why you would want to eat so piggy that you make yourself sick?  I mean really, where is your self control?

So what’s the big problem and why don’t you just stop binge eating and eat healthy?  Why the heck can’t you get to the gym and work some of the fat off your body?

Do you think you have more problems than the rest of us?  Do you want more attention than the rest of us?  Do you think you get special treatment by binging? Do you really think no one understands you and no one loves you?

Okay, I know you are fuming right now.

Now let me ask you this:

Do you think these questions are insane and completely unjustified?

Do you think society sees overweight people as stupid and lazy beings who should just stop stuffing their faces and go on a diet?

Then that is EXACTLY why we must get the word out to the world about the truth about binge eating disorder.  We must educate society the same way cancer survivors educate others who suddenly find themselves in a world they thought they understood but clearly never did until being diagnosed.  We learn from others who have been through it and who talk about it openly with others.  And society appreciates them doing so because it helps us fulfill our need to know…our quest for the truth.

A wrong belief gets formed when there is judgment and a lack of facts.  It is a misconception that society has about compulsive overeating and it needs to be cleared up.

Binge Eating Disorder is such a “private and silent” disorder because people are simply afraid to talk about it for fear of being judged.

What do you think?  Are you ready to speak out?

Diabetes and Binge Eating Disorder

Let’s first talk about what Diabetes is because I know for me when I was studying nutrition it was rather confusing.  There are two types (type 1 and type 2).  We are going to focus on type 2.  The following is from webmd.com

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Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a number of diseases that involve problems with the hormone insulin. While not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. It is also responsible for nearly 95% of diabetes cases in the United States, according to the CDC.

In a healthy person, the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach) releases insulin to help your body store and use the sugar from the food you eat. Diabetes happens when one of the following occurs:

• When the pancreas does not produce any insulin.
• When the pancreas produces very little insulin.
• When the body does not respond appropriately to insulin, a condition called “insulin resistance.”

Unlike people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin; however, the insulin their pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is unable to recognize the insulin and use it properly. This is called insulin-resistance. When there isn’t enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose (sugar) can’t get into the body’s cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, the body’s cells are unable to function properly.

The Role of Insulin in the Cause of Type 2 Diabetes

To understand why insulin is important, it helps to know more about how the body uses food for energy. Your body is made up of millions of cells. To make energy, these cells need food in a very simple form. When you eat or drink, much of your food is broken down into a simple sugar called “glucose.” Then, glucose is transported through the bloodstream to the cells of your body where it can be used to provide the energy your body needs for daily activities.

The amount of glucose in your bloodstream is tightly regulated by the hormone insulin. Insulin is always being released in small amounts by the pancreas. When the amount of glucose in your blood rises to a certain level, the pancreas will release more insulin to push more glucose into the cells. This causes the glucose levels in your blood (blood glucose levels) to drop.

To keep your blood glucose levels from getting too low (hypoglycemia or low blood sugar), your body signals you to eat and releases some glucose from the stores kept in the liver.

People with diabetes either don’t make insulin or their body’s cells no longer are able to recognize insulin, leading to high blood sugars. By definition, diabetes is having a blood glucose level of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more after an overnight fast (not eating anything).

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Okay – now that we’ve discussed diabetes let’s talk about the correlation between that and binge eating disorder.  People who binge eat consume sometimes thousands of calories per binge which means the body just simply cannot process that amount of sugar.  Things start to fall apart internally. Your pancreas is producing an insane amount of insulin to break down all the food you’ve eaten.  Your body just simply can’t keep up that pace!

My brother has type 2 diabetes and he is in danger of losing his job because he drives huge freight trucks for a living.  You can’t have a job like that and be insulin dependent.  The DOT will not renew his truck license if he does not control his diet and stay on his pills.   Right now he is okay but it could easily change.

My brother-in-law who works for Massport in Boston was put on a supervisors desk job for the exact same reasons except he became insulin dependent and lost his commercial license.

This is real life.  This happens.  This is what happens when the body is abused with food/drink.

So as you can see binge eating disorder can harm your body in different ways.  You may think you are soothing your soul but in reality you would soothe your soul much better by treating your body well and understanding what happens when you binge eat.

You could easily find yourself in a hospital ER with a possible heart attack, kidney stones, gall stones, or be put on insulin for the rest of your life because you just didn’t realize at the time that you were in deed NOT getting the love and support you thought you were getting from food.  Food cannot love you.  Food cannot laugh with you or cry with you or cheer you on.  That you must do with yourself and the ones who are close to you that you feel love from.  If there is no one you can think of that fills this role then it is time to find a friend. It is time to find a caring supportive person and there are plenty of those people, as professionals, waiting to be there for you.

I am one of them.

I used to have binge eating disorder, anorexia, and bulimia so I truly understand what you are feeling.

Today I am living proof that you can absolutely move past this.  It is why I dedicated years to working with people just like you so that you don’t have to continue your life in an unhappy way.

I know you may be trying to find comfort from food or may be using food because you are hurting from something else but please understand that by using food in a way it was not intended (to sustain life) can truly harm your body forever.

And when you do heal your binge eating disorder and are getting on with your life you certainly don’t want to have these horrible lasting side effects of food abuse hanging over your head.  Binge eating is curable but some of the side effects are not.

Get to the root cause of your binge eating disorder so you are not faced with greater disabilities later in your life.

Quiz – Are You A Food Addict?

Take this short quiz- Are you a food addict?
To answer this question, ask yourself the following questions and answer them as honestly as you can.

1. Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn’t?
2. Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
3. Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
4. Do you binge and then “get rid of the binge” through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
5. Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people on a consistent basis?
6. Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
7. Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge) often?
8. Is your weight problem due to your “nibbling” all day long?
9. Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
10. Do you eat when you’re not hungry?
11. Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?
12. Do you eat in secret?
13. Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
14. Have you ever stolen other people’s food?
15. Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have “enough?”
16. Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
17. Do you obsessively calculate the calories you’ve burned against the calories you’ve eaten?
18. Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you’ve eaten?
19. Are you waiting for your life to begin “when you lose the weight?”
20. Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be a food addict and suffering from Binge Eating Disorder.  You couldn’t be further from alone if you tried.  Millions of people in the world have this disorder but please know that you can heal this and stop binge eating.  But you must first want to get help. The second thing you need to do is take action.  Without action, you are standing still and not moving forward on your healing journey.

Can You Stop Binge Eating in College?

We’ve all heard of the freshman 15 (those 15 pounds gained from eating and drinking too much) but what happens if it doesn’t stop there and you find yourself suddenly with binge eating disorder?

College is so stressful and it can absolutely start an eating disorder.

It helps to understand that there are different types of binges and they can be caused from stressful situations in your life. Getting married, having a baby, moving to college, divorce and so on. They are all huge stressful events even if some of them are happy events.

There is also the role of alcohol which can be addictive and can also lead to binge eating. You eat drink and be merry right? Wrong!

It’s really difficult to know when it’s becoming a problem because there are usually so many other factors involved. For example, you and your friends are out until the early morning hours and come back with munchies galore. You eat. Your schedule is so different at college than it was at home and the times you eat are completely messed up. You eat more. You are cramming for exams and those snacks help soothe your brain. You eat and eat.

Here is how you can tell if you are just having a college weight gain or having an eating disorder. You just don’t feel right about it. You don’t feel good about how much you are eating. You are gaining weight and feeling depressed about it. You feel like crap!

Get some help before it goes on too long and becomes a habit binge.

photo credit: werkunz1

Is Binge Eating Disorder Going To Ever Go Away?

Well I can say that mine did but I had to work on it. Studies do show that binge eating disorder is a disorder that can affect a person typically for years but that is because they may not know how to seek out help or understand what is happening to them.

It took me a long time to even know what was going on in my own life and to be able to take a step back and realize, hey, yeah, I have a problem that I need to address. After getting over the fact that I was admitting to everyone my “weakness” and my “embarrassment” about my eating habits I had to also realize that I was human, this IS a huge disorder that affects millions of people and that I can heal it. But what a very long and frustrating path it was.

I hope that if you are suffering from binge eating disorder that you can find help here. I hope that you can feel the love and understanding that I offer you now and to take that with you wherever you go. You don’t need to feel badly about this because it is a reality in life just like all sorts of other disorders and diseases and problems. No one is perfect. Especially the ones that think they are.

Please stop being hard on yourself and find a way to bring forgiveness to yourself by not berating yourself. That’s the first step in healing.

-In good health, Nadine