Binge Eating

You answered:
"I have very serious trouble with my weight and it is affecting me terribly."
"I have trouble with binge eating and I don't know what to do about it."

Here's what you need to know:

Your biggest problem

The natural decline

Look at this: After about age 18 or so your body starts to decline. Until that point you are growing.

The decline is slow at first. Through your twenties and even thirties you can keep very fit if you work at it.

But still you aren't able to bounce back so easily as you did when you were young.

You don't think that's true? Well, when you were about six years old you went around a corner on your bicycle, skidded and landed face down in the gravel. You went to your mom and she put salve on your skinned knees.

You fall like that today and you'll be in the intensive care unit.

Gaining weight and becoming fat

What's the point? It's just this. Under the best of conditions -- ideal diet, proper rest, exercise -- your body will break down over time. In fact the average middle aged adult gains about one pound of fat and loses one pound of muscle per year.

That's if they don't gain weight -- an extra pound of fat each year.

Well, you aren't keeping your weight the same, are you? What did you weigh in high school? What do you weigh now?

It's not natural to gain weight throughout your adult years. We get so used to seeing so many fat people that we start to think "that's the way it is."

What's a proper weight?

We look at those insurance tables or those body mass index (BMI) calculators where they show the "ideal weight." They don't seem right. They seem too skinny.

Well, the numbers are right. They're not "too skinny."

Those weights are actually good, healthy weights. They're what people weigh when they don't eat refined foods and they get a reasonable amount of activity.

And while binge eating might not be the only cause of your problem it's probably the biggest.

Fighting yourself

So what do you do? Well, the obvious thing to do -- this is what you've been doing -- is to fight with yourself over your eating.

Here's what you do: You say, "OK. No more cookies." (After you ate the whole package.) "No more. I'm going to stop."

And you do fine for a little while. But then, WHAM!, and then there you are again eating a whole package of cookies.

Cookies aren't your problem? Then chocolate. Or bread. Or whatever. It doesn't matter.

The point is, you are fighting with yourself. "I'm going to stop." "I've got to stop." "Oh my God I did it again." "I feel terrible." "I'm such a loser." "I hate myself."

Have you said anything like that? The world is hard enough. Stop being mean to yourself.

Stop fretting over the binge eating

So here's what I recommend: First, forget about the binge eating. Quit trying to fight it.

Did fighting it do you any good so far? No, it didn't. All it did was make you miserable.

So that's step 1 -- forget about it. Binge eat. Don't binge eat. You've proven you can't control it. Right? So don't control it. The more you try to control it the worse it gets.

You can't control the binge eating, but you can control something else. And that is where the solution is for you.

A healthier life

Here's what you do instead: You get yourself a healthier life.

You eat what you're supposed to eat when you're supposed to eat it. Including breakfast. Even if you're not hungry. Even if you just pigged out.

You increase your activity. You get proper rest. Take your vitamins.

And knock off the bad things you do that might contribute to your binge eating -- whatever they are -- like too much television and alcohol.

Control what you can

You find things in your life you can control and you do that. You should be eating 6 small meals each day. Each meal should contain enough protein. Each meal should have some fibrous carbs.

You need plenty of water.

You need 8 or 9 hours of sleep.

You need to increase your activity and keep records of what you do.

Weigh yourself every day. And keep a graph.

What you like -- and what you don't

Don't like water? Drink it anyway.

Don't want to eat 6 meals per day? Do it anyway.

Don't have time to sleep? Make time.

I will tell you frankly -- tough love here -- that if you object to any of these things I am suggesting, then you are going to get what you deserve. You'll suffer and you have only yourself to thank.

People tell me, "But I don't like water." "But I don't like to exercise." "But I don't like..."

Don't wait for the good fairy

The things you "like" got you into the mess you're in today. There is no magic bullet. There is no good fairy to come along and save you. You can have your stomach operated on and you can still overeat and rip your stitches.

It's your body. It's your life. You can be in a better condition or a very bad one.

And if you're in a very bad one and you're getting worse, then you ought to be willing to do something to help yourself.

Your effort

Yes, it takes some work.

And yes, it takes some self discipline. Probably more self discipline than you ever had before. But that's OK.

It's 2:15. Your schedule says "2:15 -- chicken breast and string beans." So what do you do? No matter what else happens, you eat your chicken breast and string beans.

Your schedule says "4:05 -- 8 ounces of water." So what do you do? You drink it.

And when you do this -- OK, pay attention here because this is the entire point -- YOU are in charge. You are in control. Your body isn't in control. You are in control.

And it builds from there. It really does.

Will you do it?

You can do it. I know you can. The only question is: Will you do it?

Everything you need to know about weight loss is on this web site. Every word of it is proven and tested. There is nothing here that you can't do.

If you read one page each day that would be something. Each day you would know more than you did before.

Then figure out how you can take that information -- that one new page -- and use it in your life.

Your results

Will you be perfect? No.

Will you develop the ideal body? No.

But will you AT LEAST stop the decline that you are facing now? Yes, absolutely.

And you can do much better than that. Can you lose some weight, improve your health, and live a longer and happier life by just doing the few things I have outlined here? Yes you can, you most certainly can. You can -- and I mean YOU!

You start today

I want you to do this. I expect you to do this. I want you to start improving your life. Starting right now.

And when you do I want you to write to me and let me know how you are doing. Just send me a quick note.

And if you have any questions or problems I want to hear about that too.

I know it's not easy. But you can do it. I wish you well.

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