Trigger Places

[Hailey]

Hey Everyone,

I've been pretty healthy and completely binge free for 3 weeks. My unhealthy thoughts are but a fraction of what they used to be. 

However, I will be going home next week to visit my family. And for some reason every single time I'm home I binge. No matter how great I've been feeling. And they are horrible binges that I usually end up purging too . I've even observed the pattern but I can't seem to find a way to stop it. Let me know what you think:

I go home and am optimistic it will be the time I don't binge. I might eat a few meals with my family that are very normal and am not tempted to overeat. Then at some point I will find myself alone at home for a few hours and all of a sudden the brownies on the counter and 5 bags of chips start screaming my name. It's probably out of loneliness - I don't doubt that. But it's like no matter what a binge ends up happening. When I'm at my apartment I only have healthy food so I don't have this problem. But being in a different house surrounded by junk is IMPOSSIBLY hard for me not to binge. 

Any tips? 

[Laura]

Dear Hailey,
It's not that I know it all - I know exactly the feeling you describe. However here just a few tips, which help myself everytime a little bit more:

- Just do not even look into the drawer or shelf were the bingefood is stored!
For us it's a drawer, mostly full of my typical bingefood - if I just do not even start to look into it and see what's "waiting there for me" - I do not develop the desire to eat it. Makes it so much easier.

- Go to the grocery store and buy what you are going to eat the next days as you would do it when you are at home (where you usually live meanwhile).
It may seem a little bit weird to your family first, but explain that you're currently trying to stick to a constant food plan. If you're not kind enough to do this already wih full plates - just start with snack. Keep a storage of ... strawberrys, healthy crackers.. whatever you like at the beginning and just do not accept what you are given at home. I often feel that "I have to eat what they have there". But often this is somehow triggering me. Not for the first thing I eat, but with every small thing I deviate from my ordinary eating habits.

- Try to stick to regular eating time and habits you have. As explained before - first it may seem weird to your family.. but it's not that uncommon at the healthy-trip at the moment and just a healthy thing to develop eating habits you maybe didn't have before. Try to get the preparation of the meal starting before 6p.m. e.g. if you don't want to eat too late. Ask your family to eat at the table if they tend to eat in front of the TV or something. I can always "sell" this to my family like "Hey, I didn't see you for a while. I want to have a nice dinner talking with your".

- Last but not least: Accept the urge, accept if you binge!
Your eating disorder probably started when you were still living home, right? There are so many triggers around you there - mostly it's only the atmosphere I personally connect with this place - I just have the feeling I am doomed to failure at this place, as I always have been in the past. Try to observe yourself - to oberserve the urge to binge. Does it tell different things as it usually does? Try to stay strong. If you binge - do not give yourself up. Know that it's only a limited time you are staying there and that always YOU have the chance to go on as YOU WANT it to be when you are coming back to you living place.

Hope this may help you at least a little bit

[mrsmayonnaise]

I think Laura has some great tips there!

I know that feeling. Last Sunday I was at home too. I went on a nice hiking trip and had some bread with vegetables I had prepared the day before. Everything was fine until my friend wanted us to have some icecream... I didn't want to say No, so I had some. The minute I was alone my head started going crazy, I had urges to binge and felt horrible... Well, I couldn't resist the urges. I like my plans, I like knowing what I am going to eat, I like eating food that doesn't make my head spin...

Another tip I have for you:
Prepare yourself! Know that you WILL have the urges to binge. I think knowing that the enemy is coming is better than being totally overwhelmed by it. Especially when you are alone.
And then, when you are at home, read "Brain over binge" - repeat the steps 1-5.