If you’ve been dieting for any length of time in your life, you probably know that binge eating goes hand in hand with restrictive dieting. After many, many years of trying to diet away my excess pounds, I’ve begun to realize that any diet that restricts what you eat will only lead to one thing: a vicious binge cycle.

Binge eating is a common eating disorder that affects many people. There are many things that can trigger a binge, and in my experience, the following are the most common.

Trigger 1: Restricting the foods that you eat. Sure, any diet plan will help you to lose weight if you follow it perfectly, but how many people can follow anything perfectly for the long-term? Restricting your favorite foods only causes you to crave them more, and in a moment of weakness, you may find yourself sitting in the middle of 10 empty candy bar wrappers.

Find a way of eating that allows you to be healthy but still enjoy your favorite foods. If you can work your favorite foods into your diet, you won’t have uncontrollable cravings for them. Is macaroni and cheese one of your favorites? Eat a small serving for lunch with a healthy veggie. Enjoy candy bars? Work one into your mid-day snack. If you plan these items into your day, you can still keep your calories down by supplementing with healthy fruits and vegetables.

Trigger 2: Going on a diet that makes you starved for food. This will happen if your diet plan is not a good mix of protein, carbs, and fats. Most people who are trying to lose weight will choose processed foods that are lacking in nutritional value. Try eating “real” food like plenty of lean meats, legumes, vegetables, and fruits to not only make you healthier, but to help you feel fuller.

Trigger 3: Not enough support in your personal life for you new way of eating. If you have someone in your life who is constantly trying to sabotage your healthy efforts, then you will cave eventually. Whether they lay on the guilt or eat ice cream in front of you, you need to make them realize what they are doing. If eating healthier is a priority for you, it is your right to make that happen, and anyone who wants to be in your life should support your ultimate goals.

Living healthy does not have to be an all or nothing approach. Live life in moderation, and you’ll be steps ahead of trying to force yourself into a lifestyle that doesn’t suit you.

Binge: A period of excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in food or drink.

Last week I found myself immersed in a major binge. This binge lasted for nearly a week, and my food choices and eating were out of control.

How did this happen?

I’ve been trying to lose about 40 pounds, for at least the past 4 years. I’m good at planning out a new diet and sticking to it for 3 to 4 weeks before I fall off the diet wagon and end up back where I started.

This past diet was no different. I decided to try Weight Watchers new Points Plus program. For 4 weeks, I did very well. Last week, I had too many “weekly points” left over, so I decided that I would eat whatever I wanted for the day, no counting necessary.

I stayed “in control” that morning, but by mid-afternoon, I decided I needed some chocolate: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Yum. When I was alone later in the afternoon, I made a double-batch of eggless cookie dough for one, and gorged myself on that, along with quite a few handfuls of chocolate chips. We then ordered Chinese food that evening, and I stuffed myself so badly that I couldn’t move or I would have thrown up.

Even though that was the worst I’ve felt in ages, the next day I ended up gorging myself on more “forbidden” food. By then, I hadn’t counted my points in 2 days, so I thought I might as well start over tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe even next week.

Embarking on an eating binge is a vicious cycle. It’s so hard to get yourself back on track to healthy eating when you allow yourself to eat everything you’ve been craving. My eating binges usually last anywhere from 2 days to 2 months. If you’re in the same boat, here’s a list to help get you back on track sooner rather than later.

1. Keep in the front of your mind how physically terrible you feel after a binge. It is an awful feeling to not be able to move for fear of throwing up, or to have a stomach ache so bad that you can’t do anything but lay there.

2. Plan out your next few days meals in advance. Taking the time to plan out your day will help you to put it in motion. You don’t have to plan out the “perfect” healthy meal, but knowing what you will eat and when can help break the binge cycle.

3. Most of my binges last so long because I believe that I’ve just nullified my entire effort in one meal. Try to remember that all of your previous hard work cannot be undone by one bad meal!

4. Talk to someone about it. Most people who binge do it in private. If no one knows about it, you can pretend it’s not happening, right? Find a good friend that you can be brutally honest with, and tell them what you’ve been doing.

5. Don’t allow yourself to feel guilty. Everyone breaks down from time to time. Let yourself see this binge for what it really is: an uncontrollable desire for favorite foods that you’ve been restricting yourself to have. Accept that you are never going to follow any diet plan perfectly, pick yourself up, and move on!

Once it’s started, breaking the binge cycle is mentally challenging. Keeping a few tricks in your arsenal can help you to break the cycle more quickly each time.

When you are trying to lose weight, a food journal may be the most important tool you can implement. Since what you eat is the determining factor in whether you meet your goal weight or not, it makes sense to keep a detailed account of exactly what you put in your mouth.

A food journal should not only keep track of what you eat, but it should also list the calories of the food. Calorie intake is important if you want to lose weight.

To determine your daily caloric needs, it may be necessary for you to read Leigh Peele’s Fat Loss Troubleshooter. Properly knowing the amount of calories you need per day will help you to eat enough food. Some people dangerously under eat when they are trying to lose weight, and this will actually stall your weight loss! So do yourself a favor and read this book.

Most foods you eat will have a nutrition label that you can get the calories from. This nutrition label will also tell you the serving size of the food, which is important since you need to be measuring and weighing everything you put in your mouth right now. If you are eating something without a food label, you can still get your calories by going to CalorieKing.com.

If you want to stay motivated to keep your food journal, make it a special notebook. You can also keep track of your weight and body measurements to help you stay on track.

Your food journal can be much more important than any diet plan or exercise program you decide to follow, because it is an essential tool to keep you on track. Stick with it consistently and you’ll see results in no time!

Carrie Underwood has become the hottest country star since winning American Idol in it’s fourth season.  Besides for her music, her body is most talked about.  After putting on nearly 20 pounds during the taping of American Idol, she quickly lost the excess weight afterwards.  So how did she do it?

 Having a sexy six-pack is coveted by men and women alike.  When you see someone with a flat stomach, you know they take good care of themselves, and it makes you envious of their hard work. 

A food addiction is what most overweight people suffer from.  It's not so much an obsession as it is an uncontrollable urge to eat all of the time.  Sure, people do suffer from emotional triggers to overeat, but some people just purely love food.