A Simple Practice to Prevent Binge Eating and Boost Your Happiness

"Behave yourself. It is hard to be happy when someone does something bad to you all the time. ”~ Christine Arylo

When the alarm went off, the dimness of the dream dispersed into a memory of yesterday's failure. My stomach was full of overeating last night, and I wasn't really disgusted with myself.

How can I beat it again? What was wrong with me?

I took a notebook and a pen and decided that today would be different. Today I would stick to my diet!

Having had it every day for the past few weeks, I have made a list of everything I can let myself put in my mouth that day, as well as its exact calorie count.

The fact that this reached the levels of hunger, in my youthful mind, made perfect sense. I had to starve.

Until I get to the (completely) infinite number on the scale, I will never be accepted. It's lovely. That's enough.

Or so I think. The fact that my body already had a healthy weight had nothing to do with it.

But this day, as in the past, did not go as planned.

During the first break, hunger drove me away from my solid diet and I bought a cup of grapes and nuts - an unhealthy meal that took me well beyond my daily calorie allowance. After that, I angrily slapped him, seeking comfort by immersing myself in something I was trying to avoid: food.

Every day was the same vicious cycle: setting strict boundaries, failing to follow them, beating oneself, worrying about overeating, beating oneself up more.

Then, in disgust and despair, I would lock myself in the bathroom and throw away the toilet.

All of this, in fact, made me feel very bad about myself, so I set strict limits, which were not very easy to stick to.

This embarrassing cycling pattern has been closed and turned off for nearly a decade.

Sometimes it was worse, sometimes better. I had times when my diet was normal, but for a long time I believed that, as an alcoholic, I would never be completely free from the risk of relapse. I once said: "When I become a bully, I always have AIDS."

During the years that I was cured, though, I was thrilled to discover my mistake.

It didn’t happen overnight, but I’m a living proof that it’s possible to break free from overeating behavior.

I can tell you all the things that have helped me on my journey to life. For example:

The attention of my first boyfriend, which made me feel attractive and loved.

Giving up all my “slim” clothes and buying a new wardrobe that really matched and made me feel attractive.

Studying women’s theory and learning how my own mind was organized and poisoned by the sexuality and powerful institutions of capitalism, which are most beneficial when women focus on our power to change our bodies, rather than change the world.

Forced injury to stop following the dance routine, which meant no longer standing in front of a mirror on the leotard for many hours every day.

Hearing my boyfriend's family situation over food, which made me realize that my family had a deficiency that increased my food inefficiency. (You'd better eat those brownies now, because they won't be there when this is over!)

All restrictions and rules are removed when food is “permitted” and “prohibited” from any size. (Restrictions do not apply, because it is human nature to always crave the forbidden!)

When I look back decades later, a pattern appeared. Underneath all of these influences was a simple sense of humor.

Acknowledging that I am human, allowing myself to be imperfect, to be kind and gentle when I stumble — this, I have learned, is a basic habit not only of healthy eating, but of living a happy life.

When I quit my strict diet and stopped beating myself up, there was nothing I could do.

And while I gave myself permission to be human and imperfect, there was no need to pretend.

It turns out the tendency to overeat after a small stumbling block is well documented.

The real scientific name for it is "What the Hell Effect," like, "Wow ... I'm trying to quit smoking, but I just pulled out a friend's cigarette. Why, I might smoke the whole pack…"

Since our self-esteem seems to always lead to “What the Hell Effect,” a team of investigators wondered if empathy might be the answer, and a decision was made to test their opinion.

One study brought female dieters on board, one at a time, apparently to taste the test sweets.

In fact, they have been studying the effects of overeating, but they have not told women about this.

When he entered the board, the researcher wearing a white coat (signature authority) introduced each topic with a donut tray, and instructed him to choose the type he liked to eat (thus hitting the way he ate!) , which is why he knows he will hit it hard.

The researcher next showed the woman a room with several different sweets, gave her a clipboard and a pen to measure, and told her that she could eat as much as she wanted.

The women in the study did not know that the sweets were carefully weighed in advance. In fact, scientists discarded weight sheets - they were more interested in how much candy women ate.

This is where the real attraction comes. The only difference between the control group and the experimental group was that before allowing the experimental group to enter the “sweet tasting” room, the researchers gave the women very little sensory intervention, which did something like this: