Healthy Eating Decoded: Would you believe us if we said there’s a way around binge-eating?

Eat right and plan your meals better with nutritionist, Harlene Bhasin

Binge eating is nothing but eating more than the required quantity in one sitting. From our experience, this is a challenge that we’ve all faced at least once in our lives. But ironically, the most common cause of binge eating includes imposing diet restrictions on oneself.

We discovered this during our monthly chat with Harlene Bhasin, nutritionist and founder of Delhi-based Harlene’z Health Clinic, for our series, Healthy Eating Decoded. For this segment, digital writer for IFN, Tarvene Kaur speaks to health experts and quizzes them on daily and relatable health woes, whether it’s binge eating or functional medicine. If you’re trying to watch your health, you’ll definitely want to tune in.

For now, here are some easy tips that are sure to come in handy, if you can be a little bit of binge-ster.

Eat mindfully

When you’re concentrating on the food and are aware of what you’re consuming, you’re more satisfied with your meals and less likely to want to binge or overeat. Conscious eating involves being in tune with your body and acknowledging hunger and satiation. Eating mindfully also allows you to fully appreciate the taste, texture, and sensation of eating.

Structure your meals and snacks

Structuring regular meals and snacks throughout the day can help stabilise blood sugar levels and prevent or lessen those pesky cravings. This requires you to eat every three to five hours and your food should include whole grains, plenty of proteins and foods rich in fat. Eating often can help keep you from getting too hungry, hence preventing the urge to binge eat.

Meal planning

We all have to-do lists where we write down our appointments, important dates and schedule for the day, yet only a few of us actually take the time to plan out our meals. This often results in the repetitive "what's for dinner" dilemma. Pre-planning your meals and snacks can help you eat healthier. How many times have you found yourself stopping for fast food or indulging in unhealthy snacks because you have no meal planned and ready to eat at home? Take some time through the weekend, or before you go to bed at night to come up with a weekly schedule might help plan for a healthier eating pattern.

Ditch the fad diets

Fad diets can be very unhealthy, and studies show that overly restrictive eating methods may trigger episodes of binge eating. Instead of following diets that focus on cutting out entire food groups, or significantly slashing calorie intake to lose weight quickly, focus on making holistic changes.

Stay hydrated

Drinking ample water throughout the day is a simple and effective way to curb cravings and stop overeating. In fact, there are some studies that show increasing water intake could be linked to decreased hunger and calorie intake.

Have more questions? Watch Harlene Bhasin from Harlene’z Health Clinic share her in-depth knowledge on meal planning and detox ideas. From including a healthy, refreshing green juice to adding some gut-friendly probiotics – it’s all in there.