Good morning Hannah and friends,
Hannah, I’m so happy to hear that you are reaching out for help! You are making a great first step in the right direction by communicating to others about your over-eating. One of the things that helped me on my path to break the binge eating habit was communication. I told everyone I was close to- friends, family, coworkers- and anyone relevant (mostly wait staff at restaurants, before they can up-sell those specials!) that I was changing my eating habits to be more healthy. Telling those around me gave me something invaluable: accountability. It is very difficult to go back into old habits if you value your own word and want to uphold your own commitments. Five years later, my cultural (Italian) relationship with food is still intact and thriving, yet my friends know me as a wellness resource! Trust me- you can do this! Here are some of my tips:

I second Inky, first and foremost, about finding a new fix. I took up reading manga and watching kdrama, which lead me into a whole new world of cultural appreciation and creative thinking! Whatever your fix is, just make sure it doesn’t involve food and that it satisfies your soul instead of merely passing time. For example, when reading manga, I scheme up stories and ideas for my own writing. It’s inspiring! When watching kdrama, I try to learn part of the language, and if it’s a historical drama, I read about the history in my spare time to follow the show better and learn too!

If you feel hungry before bed and can’t sleep, have a glass of coconut water! (Make sure the ingredient label lists ONE thing: coconut water!) It’s 40-50 calories a serving, delicious and satisfying to sweet tooth cravings, and great for your skin! You’ll wake up hydrated too. 🙂

For social occasions, always research the menu before eating out. Look up calories for anything you want to eat, and choose whatever is healthiest. Write this down. When you get there, don’t look at a menu AT ALL. Order what you wrote down. Or better yet, ask for a salad without dressing and grilled chicken or steak. Another trick is to ask for a box WITH your meal and pack up half BEFORE you even eat. Yay, lunch for tomorrow!

Always keep a healthy snack (almonds, apple, grapes, etc.) on hand. You can safely keep almonds or walnuts in your car or purse. That way, if you’re tempted by fast food while out and about, eat those FIRST and drink some water. Are you still hungry enough to eat fast food now, which will make you feel sick and disappointed later? Nope, probably not! The trick, in the beginning, is to tell yourself you can have the junk AFTER you eat the healthy stuff- and 99% of the time, you will be full on the health food and change your mind about wanting junk. This tip is especially helpful for social gatherings (party at friend’s house, movie theater, etc.).

Don’t drink your calories! (Coconut water excepted of course hehe!) Water (add fresh fruit to flavor if necessary), black coffee, plain tea. If you NEED flavor, use a splash of vanilla almond or soy milk- it adds the vanilla taste, plus the texture of those milks is very creamy and they are naturally lower sugar/calorie than cow milk. 🙂

The rule of 5: Start reading EVERY nutrition label! If it has more than 5 ingredients, DON’T eat it! It’s over-processed. Nothing whole and fresh needs more than 5 ingredients. Expanding on that, when you put together a meal, limit yourself to 5 items. (e.g. Salad and chicken- chicken is 1, lettuce is 1, olive oil for dressing is 1, radish on salad is 1, garlic seasoning to flavor chicken is 1, this equals 5 ingredients for the meal; another 5-ingredient healthy example is a taco salad: lettuce, rice, lean ground beef, avocado, hot sauce). This trick simplifies meal time and adds creativity to cooking.

Lastly, start exercising! Even if you just walk a bit, try to move continuously for at least 25 minutes a day. You will love yourself for it and your stress levels will go down. 🙂

Best of luck! Stay strong and have confidence, because YOU CAN DO IT! We are all cheering for you Hannah! 🙂

Hi beautiful you are amazing its all worth it youre a beautiful person. Take it day by day for now focusnonnyour happiness foods u like to eat taste good and remmeber u deserve to live eat yummy stuff and eat good food. Try baby steps like eat healthier snacks eat one fruit everyday atleast or water more, baby steps everyday and add one more and try exercise doing what u love, when u want. Dont pressure yourslelf judt keep trying see what works for u and knownu arne trying jts inspiring and will helpmothers youre amazing and we love u, u are amazing thank u for existing youll be ok i promise, you desrve to eat, live eat yummy amazing favours that pop in your mouth mouth watering ymum things, your wright doesnt define you cant even measure upnto just how beautiful your soul is best of eishes in life, believe innu and knoe u deserve to be ahopy always and u can make urself happy u want this so bad , good im proud of u, take it day by day in time chqnge happens. Love Leni ♡Livelovelifeleni Positivity&Motivation ♡