A few months ago a client came for help in stopping his habit of eating chocolate and cheese when he got home. He was putting on weight. After discussion, it struck me that he came home starving and chocolate and cheese gave him urgently needed calories. He ate a tiny rapid breakfast, didn't stop for lunch, grabbed a snack around 3pm and came home to stuff himself with chocolate.
Often when we are worried about our weight, we skip meals. If we have a job which is overwhelming we will skip meals. It doesn't work.
My advice to this client was to eat more during the day, with a gap of no more than 4 hours between. A discussion about the contents of his cupboard and fridge demonstrated that the components of a meal were nowhere to be found. He felt he was eating too much (well, he was eating a lot of chocolate) and I felt he wasn't eating enough throughout the day.
So I was interested in this advice from “Best Weight: A Practical Guide to Office-Based Weight Management", recently published by the Canadian Obesity Network. This is not a self-help book, but this snippet is relevant for everyone.
In our experience, the majority of patients who struggle with binge-eating episodes do not eat regularly throughout the day, and tend to struggle with binge behaviours from mid-afternoon onward. In these patients, the binge is likely precipitated by true physical "homeostatic" hunger (a need for calories) rather than a hedonistic emotional appetite (need for comfort foods). Well-distributed calories and the use of more satisfying protein-rich foods may be enough to resolve the disorder in these patients.
Before diagnosing someone with binge-eating disorder, you should first ensure that a subtle form of homeostatic hunger is not triggering or encouraging their binge behaviour. Have patients follow the eating instructions below to see whether their binge eating gets better:
• Breakfast containing a minimum of 350 kcal with at least 15 g of protein, to be consumed within 30 minutes of waking
• Snacking every 2.5 hours between meals with snacks containing 100–200 kcal and at least 8 g of protein
• Lunch containing a minimum of 300–400 kcal with at least 15 g of protein
• Dinner containing a minimum of 400 kcal with at least 15 g of protein
• For every hour of sustained exercise, add an additional 100–150 kcal that are primarily carbohydrate based
Often when we are worried about our weight, we skip meals. If we have a job which is overwhelming we will skip meals. It doesn't work.
My advice to this client was to eat more during the day, with a gap of no more than 4 hours between. A discussion about the contents of his cupboard and fridge demonstrated that the components of a meal were nowhere to be found. He felt he was eating too much (well, he was eating a lot of chocolate) and I felt he wasn't eating enough throughout the day.
So I was interested in this advice from “Best Weight: A Practical Guide to Office-Based Weight Management", recently published by the Canadian Obesity Network. This is not a self-help book, but this snippet is relevant for everyone.
In our experience, the majority of patients who struggle with binge-eating episodes do not eat regularly throughout the day, and tend to struggle with binge behaviours from mid-afternoon onward. In these patients, the binge is likely precipitated by true physical "homeostatic" hunger (a need for calories) rather than a hedonistic emotional appetite (need for comfort foods). Well-distributed calories and the use of more satisfying protein-rich foods may be enough to resolve the disorder in these patients.
Before diagnosing someone with binge-eating disorder, you should first ensure that a subtle form of homeostatic hunger is not triggering or encouraging their binge behaviour. Have patients follow the eating instructions below to see whether their binge eating gets better:
• Breakfast containing a minimum of 350 kcal with at least 15 g of protein, to be consumed within 30 minutes of waking
• Snacking every 2.5 hours between meals with snacks containing 100–200 kcal and at least 8 g of protein
• Lunch containing a minimum of 300–400 kcal with at least 15 g of protein
• Dinner containing a minimum of 400 kcal with at least 15 g of protein
• For every hour of sustained exercise, add an additional 100–150 kcal that are primarily carbohydrate based
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