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Surviving Christmas When You’re a Binge Eater

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Trying to eat well during the holidays is never an easy task. Family and friends shower you with treats and delicious, homemade meals. As someone who is a binge eater, but is now working towards recovery, I’ll be going into my first Christmas with a new mindset. Surviving Christmas is possible, and with December just around the corner, I’m going to show you how.

How to Survive the Holidays as a Binge Eater

Don’t Try to Follow a Restrictive Diet

The goal here isn’t to follow a perfect diet where we never eat any trigger foods. Instead, it’s about learning to eat these foods and not allowing them to lead to a binge. This is something that I’ve struggled with for over half of my life before I mastered it and made a new habit. This Christmas, I’ll be keeping my #1 holiday trigger food on my coffee table.

Yes, those are Quality Street. I love them.

Quality Street Surviving Christmas

Surviving Christmas Means Keeping Yourself Hydrated

I know what you’re thinking…”Ang, I’ll be drinking plenty!” Well, booze and sugary drinks don’t hydrate you quite as well as you think. Alcohol can dehydrate you, while drinks high in sugar can reduce the amount of fluid your body retains. Choose water (it’s cheaper!), lightly-flavored sparkling water, or tea/coffee with a bit of milk.

Don’t Mess with Your Sleep

With the parties, get-togethers, and vacations happening during Christmastime, it’s easy to forget about your regular sleep times. Lack of sleep tampers with your willpower and can make binge eating urges nag at you a lot more. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver." – Mahatma Gandhi Click To Tweet

Surviving Christmas Means Everything in Moderation

I know as a binge eater you’ll have the most trouble with this part. But would you believe me when I say you’re the one in control? Yes! You can totally say no to those thoughts you have urging you to binge eat! I know it’s not the easiest thing to do, especially if you’ve created a long-term habit for yourself. But believe me, it’s possible. You can eat everything in moderation.

Ignore Peer Pressure

Christmas is the worst time for goal invalidation. You’re going to be offered lots of treats and everyone will act offended if you say no. You’ll hear “but it’s Christmas! Don’t worry about it” so much that you’ll hear it in your sleep. Believe me, saying “no, thanks” gets easier with practice. You’ll want to give in but remember it’s not worth it.

Exercise. I Mean It.

Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you should give up every healthy habit you have and go buck wild! I know that New Year’s is just around the corner and you’ve convinced yourself that you can restart when it comes. You’ll feel more in control if you still keep some of your regular routine intact. Traveling? Bring a resistance band with you. You can work out every part of your body with them, and they’re cheap and portable. You can find my favorite set here!

Lastly, Have a Plan

You WILL be offered junk food, and you WILL deal with people pressuring you to eat it. That’s a fact you need to get used to. It’s frustrating, to say the least, but you are stronger than you think. Prepare to politely say no. Have a goal to only have a couple of treats/drinks at a party. Choose to order veggies instead of fries as a side dish.

Whatever plan you make you must aim to achieve. Know yourself well enough to make a plan that you’ll be able to follow and not lose control and binge. In the end, you’ll be proud of yourself for making a goal and reaching it.

A Binge Eater Surviving Christmas

I know much of my advice here may be scoffed at by readers (and their family members and friends at events). Since Christmas is the ultimate special occasion, it’s the pinnacle of binging excuses. Here’s the deal. If you don’t put in the work, you won’t see results. Binge eating is a serious disorder, and like alcoholism, needs to be monitored at all times. Not just when it’s convenient.

You’re completely capable of eating everything in moderation during the holidays. I believe in you and am happy to offer encouragement when you need it. We’re all going to struggle together but surviving Christmas is definitely possible. Above all, you need to believe in yourself, trust yourself, and be willing to put in the work.

Have you been successful in making it through the holidays as a binge eater? Let me know in the comment section!

That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!

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References:

WEIGHT LOSS FOR BINGE EATERS

Weight Loss for Binge Eaters Logo. Main course picture for Weight Loss for Binge Eaters mini-course. It features the title in bold white letters next to a picture of Ang. She's wearing a navy blue blouse and has long, wavy brown hair. She has her hand on her hip and is smiling. The background is a gradient between dark and medium blue-green. There is a yellow "on sale now" sign at the bottom with the price discounted from $97 to $27

Weight Loss for Binge Eaters

Weight Loss for Binge Eaters is a course designed to help you overcome your binge eating and lose weight in a way that promotes total wellness.

You’ll learn how to lose weight healthily, along with the most effective technique to stop binging for good.​

What You’ll Learn:

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  • What to do if you binge.

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17 thoughts on “Surviving Christmas When You’re a Binge Eater”

  1. I’m a binger too. What works for me is to just allow myself two treats and that’s it. The rest is healthy food and water. Also, be kind to yourself if you mess up. It’s not ideal, but part of ED recovery is also recognizing that you are human and will make mistakes 💖

  2. mindbeautysimplicity

    This is such an interesting topic. I always find myself feeling guilty if I’m on a diet or being picky with eating during the holidays because I don’t want to offend anyone. Usually I get back on track with my health routine after the holidays but always incorporate some form of exercise always. Great post! 😊

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