Day 5 and 6: Binge Triggers and the Magic Notebook

Happy Saturday!

Oops! Well today is going to be a combination day since I could not get on the internet yesterday.


I have a confession to make... I am a notebook addict! I love them, in all shapes and colors, they are my one true vice. If I'm having a bad day or am starting a new chapter in my life I always buy a note book. I think journaling is such a great way to over come obstacles in your life and is also a great tool in monitoring your food intake and progress. Some times I go back a read one of my old journals from years past and it's so special. Some are very hard to read (the summer I had to say good bye to my Grandfather) and some are hilarious! I look foreward to reading them when I'm older and being able to look back and remember the times I have written about.

I keep many types of jounrals. I have a travel journal, a spiritual journal, a journal journal and a food journal. I've kept a ffod diary on and off probably since I was 14 years old. While starting that young was NOT a healthy thing, now for me, keeping track of what I eat in a food diary has been the most successful way to keep control over my eating. I've tried (in short bursts) not recording what I eat or counting calories but it usually makes me go out of control and binge. Keeping a record of what I eat keeps me accountable. I can't sneak that extra cookie because I HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN! Someday I hope to not have to keep a food journal but for now I find it to be a very useful tool.

In my journal I also have a list of my binge triggers. If you are suffering with binge eating, I suggest you make a list of all the situations or emotions that make you binge. I've found that after writing my trigger list, I try to avoid these situations or at least am more aware that they are triggers. Here is my binge trigger list:

Being home alone. This one is pretty bad. I am a secret eater and when no one is home, I feel like I don't have to hide or have people witness my shameful binging. I have not secretly eaten in 5 days! Yay me!
Eating more than my daily "allotted" calories. When I eat more than I had planned, I would just say "Oh well, I've already gone over so might as well continue." If I had just stopped a few hundred calories over, it would be no problem but in my mind I was over so I might as well go 2000 calories over.
Boredom. Anyone have a great hobby they want to share?
Eating until stuffed rather than satisfied. This one doesn't make a lot of sense to me but when I am stuffed, it make me want to eat more, maybe because of the "Already Blown it" mentality. I don't know.
Baking - I know....so sad. I love to bake but I EAT what I bake and that batch of cookie I just made is usually gone by the next day.
Making this list has helped a lot. It's similar to the food diary in that it keeps me accountable. I know what my binge triggers are and now I just need to find out how to deal with them in a positive, healthy way.

Do you keep a journal and/or food diary? How have identifying your binge triggers helped you?

"Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.
It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.
It is the journey to find yourself."
-Katherine Sharp