11 Healthy Eating Habits That Changed My Life | Minimalist Mom

As requested, here are the healthy eating habits that changed my life and helped me stop binge eating! As a recovered binge eater I never diet, but rather focus on eating balanced and healthy foods and the foods that I crave in moderation. I found that finding ways to reduce anxiety (like decluttering my home and life) and using these healthy eating tips together was the most effective to stop overeating.

For me, intuitive eating wasn't about losing weight, but I did find that my weight naturally went down as I recovered from my binge eating disorder. In both pictures, I "looked" healthy and was a normal BMI, so the BIGGEST difference was internal rather than external.

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ABOUT A TO ZEN LIFE
Along my journey to let go of 30 years of clutter, I accidentally became a minimalist and it was life-changing.

Before, I was an emotional hoarder with nothing but the clutter from lost loved ones — and $25,000 of debt — to my name. Now I have a beautiful home in Europe, a happy family, live debt-free, and — best of all — wake up to a life that I’m EXCITED to live every day.

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[rosabella]

I would love to hear your binge eating recovery story. You are so authentic and down to earth. I love your channel

[funandsuch]

As a recovered binge eater, this video was very reassuring. Sometimes it is lonely. I feel like binge eating gets less publicity than other eating disorders, so I get more pushback when I insist on eating in a structured way.

My list is very similar to yours. I just copied and pasted from the note I keep saved on my phone:

1. Eat on a schedule. (I follow my toddler's 3 meals + 2 snacks schedule. 😁)
2. Prepare food that you want. Serve it on a plate. Make it pretty.
3. Try to include healthy options, but also allow unhealthy foods. (In our house this means we always serve a protein, a carb, and a vegetable. Sometimes the carb is french fries. 🤷‍♀️)
4. It is okay to go back for seconds. But put it on a plate. Don't eat from the container.
5. Don't sneak. Don't shame yourself or others. Treat food as a wonderful, positive thing.
6. Stay hydrated. If I catch myself wanting to eat for emotional reasons, I make a cup of tea. I might even have some little cookies with it. 😉

I'd be interested in hearing your story.

[_viewer]

I used to be an infant care giver at a childcare facility and realized each person is born with a relationship with food. Some are fast eaters, some slow eaters, some messy, others very neat, some want a lot, others don't want much. It helped me personally to realize not everyone is the same.

[dmyers]

My “trick” is that I grocery shop straight after the gym. What a difference! I definitely buy less in general and make healthier choices - the timing works best for intentional food shopping.

[sopjoplop]

Only on the last few years have I been able to not finish it all. My husband noticed me forcing myself to finish and basically gave me "permission" to not finish. I was brought up as well about eatin everything on your plate.
It is still hard when we go out to eat cause I dont want to waste money.
And meal planning has helped so much!

[aliciahall]

I've struggled with binge eating my whole life and just found out recently that it's really common for people with ADHD. I'm not even sure I'm at the point of being able to do some of the things you mentioned, but I've definitely learned that having three solid meals a day and drinking water make a big difference. Hope you'll dig into this topic some more in the future!

[johilpert]

I read something that said we often mistake thirst for hunger. So I try to drink first when I feel hungry outside of normal meal time. I am not perfect about it, but I try to remind myself to drink first. I would appreciate you sharing your story. Thank you. Today's video was very helpful.

[faydraa]

I'm not a binge-eater, but I don't eat well, and if you find eating healthy very difficult, my top two advices to add to yours that *really* helped me are those :
- *Do* *VERY* *simple* . I used to follow recipes and found it was "nice" to really cook simple things, now I realise I personnally don't care about all that. I just want to eat healthy when I'm at home. So I can just cut a bunch of tomatoes, put olive oil, vinegar and salt, and *that's* *it* . Same goes with carrots that I eat right away, or just any vegetable : I take only one, cook it or cut it, put almost nothing in it, and eat it. Not for everyone, but definitely for some of us who just don't like or want to cook, but still want to eat healthier.

- *Take* *at* *least* *one* *vegetable* (any portion you like) *everytime* *you* *go* *to* *the* *store* . Not overwhelming, and you're sure you have at least this healthy thing on your plate. I was taking 14 differents vegetables and let them rot, with just one, I found it was easier to handle for me.. again, maybe not for everyone, but I was following everyone's advice and couldn't make myself cook anything else than pasta.

[saradv]

I do NOT speak for everyone, but I will share if you DO end up sharing your binge eating story please be aware and talk with someone who's got a background in sharing topics of harm, as this sometimes leads to opening (without the sharers knowledge) tips for those struggling to hide and/or do said harm. I am a firm believer in everyone sharing their truth, in hopes of helping others. However my own personal story ended up being more of a tool to "hide" the harm my friend was living with.

So, that's my two cents and thank you for sharing your videos! ❤️

[pameehanson]

As a caregiver to my husband for the past 30 years two things pop out at me. My eating and my overspending. Your channel is ticking all the boxes for my needs to address my ongoing issues. Overeating and overspending. Have you done any videos on self care? I am new to your channel and learning from my Dr that I do not know how to self care and I am seeking channels that encourage me and speak about issues we all have in our lives and how to address them. Thanks

[cz]

I would really like to hear your Story. I try to overcome my binge eating disorder. My ADHD makes it an even bigger struggle (forgetting meals, impulsivity, really bad at planing stuff). But I'm in my way. I Take Baby steps...they are small, sometimes they are too weak to get me further so I need help. A lot of Things you told us, my dietitian/nutritionist told me too. I still have miles to Walk but like a Baby, I don't give up and try again and again and again.

[ColleenJoudrey]

As a teen I had a fairly severe eating disorder so the idea of intermittent fasting scares the bejesus out of me. Also as a newly recovering sugar addict, these tips really resonate with me. It's sometimes tricky to figure out what my body is actually calling for but slowing way down and making myself go out of my way to walk to buy a treat has helped tremendously.

[yulgzxq]

Hello Marissa! I’d like to know your story too. It’s always interesting when someone shares the similar experience, it helps not to be left alone with my struggle. I also wonder how have you overcame this. As the person who suffers from ED for almost 20 years it’s important to know, what could be helpful. Your tips are good, but I think for example the one „not to have trigger food in the house“ for advanced bingers like me, just doesn’t work. If I binge, I do binge on anything in the fridge. I can take pasta, cook 1/2 pack and eat without anything added to it. If we talk about bananas, I would eat the whole bunch. This binge mode switches on/off, and when it’s on, it can last for a week or so. I’ve tried therapy, but it didn’t work.

[kat_thefruitbat]

You are so generous and selfless to open up about this personal topic with the goal of helping others, especially when doing so can be emotionally taxing and vulnerable. ❤️ Speaking for myself and everyone here, we love and appreciate you!! 🤗

[artfromalthea]

I’m super glad that you are even open to talking about it!

[gingerboo]

I love your channel! Super informative and helpful. I’d love to hear your story.

[Michelle-byfp]

I would like to hear your story! For the past 2ish years I became a big time binge eater. I gained over 10 lbs. I realized I was using food as an outlet for emotions. Stressed, sad, overwhelmed, lonely, even happy. I used a lot of tips you mentioned. I also started working out a lot to get the anxiety out, going for walks, and seeing a therapist. I feel so much better now that food doesn't have control over me. But I have to be careful to not let those habits creep in again because they slowly can

[tirsedenia]

Would definitely love to hear your story regarding binge eating! I have struggled with this as well. Thank you for all your videos :)

[mery]

I struggle with binge eating, and I feel like clutter can be found in all areas of our life, in this case also into my relationship with food, emotionally, etc. So for me it's so interesting to hear your story. Thank you for all your videos, you do an amazing job helping people!

[lindsaygillis]

Thank you for sharing these tips, Marissa. They are really helpful. I'm definitely going to try the journal!