Women's Eating Disorder and How to Overcome It

By Maegan Ross

Urges to binge come in the form of overwhelming desires to eat large amounts of food in a short period of time.

They are characterized by a sense of loss of control, excessive food consumption, and often followed by disappointment and shame.

One doesn't have to have a binge eating disorder or any eating disorder, per se, to be exposed to such urges.

Many women, that have gone through a period of restrictive dieting, experience at least one strong urge to binge.

And these powerful compulsions aren't easy to resist.

Now, since food consumption is an integral part of your daily life, you don't have the luxury to stay away from it, like in the case of cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or other addictive substances and behaviors.

It's clear that food can't be eliminated, but your thinking and acting around food can, indeed, be managed and optimized.

So the question here is how to rise above the durable desire to indulge in food that doesn't serve you well in the long-term?

What Can Support You in Staying Faithful to Your Initial Intention for Healthy Nutrition?

How can you make food choices that you won't regret later?

The answer to all of these question is in the NEOCORTEX.

What?

Yeah, you read that right - the neocortex.

What I'm saying is that the answer is already within you. To be more precise, it is located in the most recently developed region of your human brain called the neocortex.

This part of your brain, especially the prefrontal section, is responsible for:

• Planning and moderating complex behavior (including social behavior)
• Goal setting
• Expression of your personality
• Decision making

Your true self resides in this part of your brain. This is the self that doesn't quickly lose control when exposed to animalistic desires such as an urge to binge.

Using Your Neocortex to Resist an Urge to Binge

Here are a few steps that you can take to 'train' your neocortex to respond well and guide you in conscious food choices:

1. Consider your urge to be irrational. Before you take this step, ensure that you are consuming enough food. If you're restricting your nourishment and starving yourself, then your urge to eat is a legit physiological need that should be met.
• If you're eating enough and still have desires to indulge in fattening foods, consider that desire as brain junk. This act will lift you up to the level of your true-self.
2. Divert your attention. What you focus on tends to grow. If you find yourself trying to fight your obsessive thoughts, they will only increase in strength and occupy even more of your precious mindspace. What works better is to shift your focus to something more productive, self-care for example.
• Once you allow yourself to engage in a pleasant or meaningful activity, your neocortex will get engaged, and the grip of your urge will lessen until it leaves you entirely.
3. Reach out to others. Food can often be used for comfort. Many of us choose to deal with our emotional turmoil by indulging in shortlived pleasures provided by sugary, fattening treats. To keep this from happening, reach out to family, friends, or even strangers. Experience comfort from human connection.
• In doing so, you're activating the part of your neocortex that regulates social behavior. Once you rise to this level of consciousness, your cravings will crumble down, letting you carry on with your day.

The steps above are designed for you if you have a relatively healthy relationships with food and only occasional you experience the urge to binge.

If you suffer from an eating disorder, you'll find your best results in consulting professional support and recovery assistance.

To More Sexy You,
- Maegan
Editor of HealthyLifestyleUp.com