Using Will Power to Stop Binge Eating (The “Winter Arc” Trend)

For 4 years I was trying to stop binge eating.

I was a disciplined person.

Dean’s list 4/4 years at Penn State on track to become a dietitian.

Worked out 6 days a week and hit my 10-15k steps daily.

Was complimented for my abs, my commitment to “eating healthy”.

But behind the scenes:

I’d wake up in the morning at least once a week and the despair would sink in as I remembered eating a whole box of cereal, all of my roommates peanut butter pretzels, and going to the store for more food.

Throughout those 4 years I tried EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to control the urge to binge.

Every piece of content from the fitness professionals I followed that said:

 “Discipline equals freedom”!! 

“Just put your head down and do the work”!

“No one said it was easy - RESIST the hunger if you want to get to your goals”

Would temporarily motivate me and give me a dopamine hit, as I wrote out a plan for how I would eat to lose fat and commit my will power to resisting the urge to binge.

…I’d feel so good for those 5 days that I was able to stick to my goals.

…and utterly hopeless by the end of the week when I binged YET AGAIN.

If you can relate to this - you may have been tempted by the “Winter Arc” trend on Tiktok. 

It may have given you this sense of hope that if you can use discipline and follow a list of rules for the next 3 months - you can resist the urge to binge.

One of my client’s recently brought this trend to my attention - so I decided to do a podcast episode about it.

I would have totally jumped on this trend back in my binge eating days.

But it wasn’t until I LET GO of rigid control around food, took a break from fat loss and physique goals and started listening to my body's hunger and cravings that I finally stopped binge eating.

I’ve been binge-free for 6 years, and I’m still a very disciplined person who loves to push herself hard in the gym.

I still am mindful of my physique - I recently made some changes to my diet and lifestyle to lose  a bit of fat - but it’s not the most important thing to me any more and I WILL NOT sacrifice my mental or physical health, or enjoyment of life in the process.

I accept my body at its natural set weight range and understand that certain levels of leanness are just not healthy for my genetic make up.

And if you too are tempted by this “Winter Arc” trend as yet another approach to ignore your hunger and cravings and try to “just have more will power”...

…may I suggest a different approach?

I unpack more in this episode! Give it a listen and let me know any questions/feedback

Contact me:

DM me on Instagram @elenakunickird     

Email me at elena@elenakunicki.com

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