13 Jan, 2021 | Binge and emotional eating recovery coach | 3 Comments
Ep 10 – Stel Coombe-Heath: Binge eating behaviours: Who are the food zombies?

Binge eating behavior signs

I’m excited to continue sharing how to heal your relationship with food and today we will be talking about the famous food zombie squad.
Who are the food zombies you might ask? Well let’s get into this episode because I’m excited to share them with you.
Listen to the episode here

But if you are new to the podcast and you were wondering why you are struggling to stop overeating make sure to listen to episode 3 here I outline that a binge is caused by an urge and without an urge there is no binge. In episode 5 I share what triggers an urge
So let’s take a quick recap,
The part of the brain responsible for an urge is the hypothalamus, sometimes called the “lizard brain” or “animal brain” or “lower brain”. My clients have lovingly started referring to this brain as the food zombie!!
I always felt like I was possessed during a binge, having an out of body experience while tearing into a box of pastries like a zombie!!
From working with and speaking to hundreds of women including my clients, the food zombie shows up in 5 very particular ways. I have done many hours of research and have decided to name the food zombies accordingly!!

Here they are in no particular order:
Anxious Annie
Annie is a stress eater, she’s very good when it comes to food but then face plants into a bag of sweets when things get though. Her go to stress foods are sweets followed with feelings of failure!! She feels she cannot trust herself around food and like she’s slowly going down a slippery slope

Late night Lizzie
Lizzie does well during the day but usually falls off track from 3 or 4 pm or when she gets home from work. She finds herself in uncontrollable binge cycles. She often hides packaging and wrappers so that no one knows how much she has eaten as she cannot live with the shame. She thinks there is something fundamentally wrong with her and fears that she will never be able to stop.

Possessed Patsy
Patsy cannot stop thinking of food, she wakes up hoping that she will not overeat today. She thinks about food while brushing her teeth, getting the kids ready for school and at work while sitting at her desk. She feels like she would be so much more productive and would have achieved so much more if it wasn’t for her constant thoughts about either what to eat or how to make up for what she ate.

Wagon Wanda
Wanda is really good at starting a diet, she goes shopping for all the foods for her new diet, but also buys a whole bunch of “bad” foods for her last binge before starting her diet on Monday. She really does well for a week or two but then falls hard on her designated cheat day!! She does not believe in doing things half measure so makes sure that she binge eats all the sugar before starting again on Monday.

Counting Cassey
Cassey has an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy all the time. All foods must be toxic free, diary free, gluten free, low calorie and clean. She judges others for what they eat and feel superior when eating her clean foods. She’s obsessed with defining and maintaining the perfect diet and will fixate on eating foods that give her a feeling of being pure and healthy. Unfortunately, that leaves her craving sugary foods but feels immense guilt when she does deviate from her strict, clean eating rules
How did the food zombies they affect me?
- Late-night Lizzie would come out at night when I was lonely
- Counting Cassey would obsess about everything I ate to make up for my binge
- Possessed Patsy would keep me thinking about food all-day
- Anxious Annie would keep me face planting into a box of pastries the minute life was not all sunshine and roses
- Wagon Wanda would make sure I self-sabotaged the minute I was on track with one of my diets!!!

I felt helpless, ashamed and out of control!!
I wanted to feel more like Recovery Roxy!!
- Understands her cravings without having to eat,
- Knows how to nourish herself when she’s feeling emotional,
- Able to mindfully indulge in the odd piece of cake or chocolate,
- Food does not have a hold on her,
- She can trust herself around food,
- Binge free
Know that this is possible for you!!! Recovery is not just for some people, with the right guidance on how to address your urges, you can do this too!!
There is still time to join the food zombie challenge, this is a 30 day program to help you get control back around food so that you can focus on other things that are important to you.
Curious, which of the food zombie squad identifies with you the most right now!!
🌌Late-night Lizzie
🧮Counting Cassey
👻Possessed Patsy
🍰Anxious Annie
🍫Wagon Wanda
🦄Recovery Roxy
Join my 30 day food zombie challenge and take control back when it comes to food, so that you can have more roomfor other thoughts and feel better in your own skin, join the challenge here
If you want more information on how to finally quit binge eating for good go to http://quit.wholesomelifestyleproject.com/
BOOK A FREE 20 MIN CONSULTATION WITH Me https://wholesomelifestyleproject.com/work-with-me/lets-get-started/
Can’t wait to see you in the next episode where I will be sharing some drivers behind overeating
Subscribe here to get all the latest episodes. : https://kite.link/Beyond-Overeating-by-Wholesome-Lifestyle-project
JOIN MY FREE FACEBOOK GROUP –https://www.facebook.com/groups/crushyourhealthgoals
BOOK A FREE 20 MIN CONSULTATION WITH STEL: HERE
Write Reviews
Leave a Comment
3 Comments & Reviews