Most of us would ideally like to take control of our lives, even more so when it comes to impulsive behaviours, such as binge eating. However, tackling being overweight is a very complex issue.

If you can relate to any of these 5 feelings or behaviours, you might also have a problem with overeating;

1. Are you sick and tired of feeling weak and undisciplined?
2. Do you have difficulties eating just one cookie when you open a pack?
3. Perhaps you snack before and after your meals? Or maybe all the time?
4. Do you overeat when you are angry, annoyed, frustrated, or sad?
5. Do you promise to eat better tomorrow – but never quite manage to follow through?

Perhaps you find this familiar. You’re at work, starting your Monday as many of us do, with a clean slate of ambitions for the week. You had planned on balancing a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and food, with your daily work schedule. It’s only 9.30am and already there is a morning tea because it’s your colleague, Sarah’s birthday. There are danishes, cupcakes, crackers and dip – take your pick! Before this morning tea popped up in your busy calendar, you had set yourself the goal of eating a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Without even thinking you reach for a danish, then maybe just one more….

This wouldn’t be such a problem if you didn’t go back to your desk and mentally exhaust yourself with regret and guilt for failing to stick to your goal.

Does that story sound familiar? So why do so many of us fall so easily to this mindless temptation without even thinking? The answer is because it is an impulsive behaviour.

Impulsive binge eating is a surprisingly common behaviour, with almost 2 in 3 Australian adults overweight or obese in 2014-2015. Worryingly, less than half of those affected by these behaviours go on to seek help. The majority try to battle it alone, relying simply on willpower, and eventually giving up altogether. But there are proven strategies that you can use to regain control and beat your binge eating for good.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but what you need to do if you have slipped and eaten those danishes at morning tea, is treat yourself with self-compassion and kindness. It is so important that at this time you forgive, start again, but also take time to learn some practical tools that will bring those unhelpful thoughts to the forefront of your consciousness.

You may have considered weight loss aids, diets and boot camps. These can be helpful if you have set up the long-term strategies that will aid your thinking around food.

Diets fail because they are not sustainable. The key is to create a sustainable lifestyle by changing undesired behaviours, understanding yourself and your personality, your vulnerabilities and triggers and to finds ways to continue supporting yourself.

The reality is that unless you change the way you manage the impulsive decision making around food, improve your emotional management and create healthy and sustainable habits, none of these alternatives will work as well.

The ‘Beat the Binge’online course is designed to help you regain control of your urges using proven techniques like mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy.

It is designed to enable you to take practical steps towards managing your behaviour from the convenience of your own home. It also makes help more accessible, for less than the cost of one hour with a psychologist, you can get lifetime access to the entire program materials.

So if any of those 5 feelings or behaviours are familiar to you, it could be time to ‘Beat the Binge’ through this online course.