Feeling guilty about binge eating? Here are 4 damage-control tips to get you back on track

Hard times come and hard times go but what makes them even harder is the comfort we sort to combat our overwhelming emotions during this time in food. Ice-cream tubs, fries, pizzas, and cheesy burgers—there’s nothing that a broken heart or an emotional wreck would spare eating to feel better.

However, getting back to normal after giving in to these temptations can be quite a task, but you have to remind yourself that it’s not impossible. Here’s what you can do to get back on track:

1. Firstly, get over the guilt
It’s a vicious cycle you know—binging to get over the guilt of binging. You eat junk one day, it calls out to you the next day, you give in again in a bid to sort comfort to combat the guilt of eating junk the first time itself. It almost sounds like a relationship rebound situation happening over and over again. Except, in this case, it can totally ruin your weight-loss resolve and lead you back into the darkness of thriving on unhealthy food.

So, if you’ve had a tub of ice cream or 4 packets of chips, forgive yourself. Stop writhing in the guilt because if you don’t, you know, the trap awaits.

2. Stop trying to “compensate”
It doesn’t just end at getting rid of the guilt. It also has to be followed by not punishing yourself for that unhealthy indulgence by skipping meals or exercising for hours together to burn those calories off. If you look at it from an emotional point of view, you will realise it’s not justified to punish yourself for listening to your heart once in a while. Scientifically speaking, if you skip meals to make up for the extra calories, you’ll not only end up feeling hungry and overeating again, but the blood-sugar levels also go down and cause harm if you starve yourself. As for exercising a bit too much, you already know how overstraining your body can result in sore muscles, muscle breakdown, or worse still—injuries.

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Opt for lighter and healthier meals instead. Up your fibre and protein intake to beat the cravings and move the hell on with your regular routine without looking back into the past. Not to mention, a walk can help you feel light again.

3. Up your water intake
Keeping yourself hydrated is always helpful when it comes to maintaining your health. In the case of overeating, increasing your water intake can help you feel satiated and beat subsequent cravings. Additionally, the water helps flush out the toxins from the junk out of your body. What more could you ask for?

4. But don’t fall for the detox scam
Juice cleanse, vegetable cleanse, and other diet fads are often looked upon as a great way to detox your body. However, according to a review in the Harvard Health Publishing, these kinds of detox diets can deprive your body of the essential proteins and fats, leading to a slower metabolism and muscle breakdown. Plus, they can also spike your blood sugar levels, increasing your chances of getting diabetes. Not to mention, being on such cleanses can cause fatigue, weakness, and irritability—thanks to the nutritional deficiencies.

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Ladies, it is alright to go off-track when it comes to healthy eating. However, you need to ensure that you don’t beat yourself up over it and get back to healthy eating as soon as possible.