Photo: Courtesy of Frank Bruni

Amidst a childhood of overeating -- we're talking tantrum-throwing if he didn't get that third burger he wanted -- Frank Bruni, 44, went on his first diet at age 8, beginning a what would become a decades-long struggle of weight-loss and weight gain. "I was born with just an enormous appetite, clearly," says Bruni. "Going on the Atkins Diet at 8, that was a measure of how self-conscious I'd become about my weight, just how much teasing I'd been exposed to and just how intensely eager I was, even at that young age, to do something about it. And so I kind of stepped on that whole binge-purge cycle at an early age."

After reaching his largest size -- upwards of 270 pounds (Bruni, then as now, didn't measure his size by the scales) and a 42-inch waist -- a breakdown helped him confront his compulsive eating habits. A new job with hours he could control allowed him to stress less and exercise more. Bruni, who now wears a size 34, says he's content with the way he's managing his eating. Instead of bingeing three to four nights a week like he did in the past, Bruni has an episode once every three or four weeks, at most.

In an interview with That's Fit, he shares how he quit the yo-yo dieting cycle, what his fitness routine entails and how others can begin to address their issues with food.

That's Fit: How did you break your pattern of yo-yo dieting?

Frank Bruni: A couple of things happened. I hit rock bottom in terms of I just so hated the way I looked and I felt so disgusted by it, there was a certain point where I was like, "I just can't put up with this anymore. It just makes me too sad and ashamed." At that time, I had just changed jobs, so I had less stress because I had more control over my hours. I was able to commit to 90 minutes to two hours of exercise every day -- and that's what I would do. I mean hard exercise. After that, when I was in more of a weight-maintenance mode, I happened to reassigned to Italy and the natural portion control and the emphasis on food quality over quantity that you find in Italy was like the perfect recipe to help me maintain the weight loss.

Most of us have been there: After a long, hard day, you head to the freezer and promptly grab the Ben & Jerry's. Next this you know, the entire tub is gone and you're left with that sinking realization that oh my gosh, I just ate 90 bazillion calories in one sitting, my pants are going to be too small tomorrow, GAH! Or maybe you didn't even realize how much you were eating. You were too busy losing yourself in an episode of Gilmore Girls and before yo know it, half of a large pizza is gone and nobody else was eating it but you.

But whatever the case, Binge eating is no good--for your health, your waistline, your mood and your self-confidence. That's why you need to be aware of what you put into your mouth. AOL Health recently put together 44 tips to help bust binge-eating behaviour. A few tidbits:

• Use blue dinnerware, including plates and napkins. Research shows it can act act as a natural appetite suppressant.
  
• If you're going to drink with dinner. drink beer. Those who did ate less than those who drank wine in a study.
  
• Don't eat by candlelight. Low light can trigger binge eating.
  

Interesting, huh? Read the rest of the tips by clicking here.

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Guilt. It's everywhere, isn't it? And you can always find it at the dinner table. Too much of this, not enough of that -- sometimes we're never more self-critical that when we're eating. But experts say that you don't have to be "good" 100% of the time and that even that connotation of "good" and "bad" can be damaging. As long as you have a generally healthy diet, it's ok to splurge a little now and then.

Food guilt can lead to emotional eating, according to this article from Self. If you struggle with good food/bad food guilt, take a look and learn how to look at your eating in a whole new, more positive light while making changes that may improve your daily menu.

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Do you know the difference between overeating and bingeing? I think the line is a bit blurry -- is having 2 or 3 helpings of dinner even though you're not hungry considered bingeing? How about filling your large plate to maximum capacity at the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet? I'm inclined to say that neither of these are cases of bingeing simply because they're not emotionally-driven (at least for me they're not); instead, I think they're instances of our eyes being too big for our stomachs, or of our desire to receive the taste and satisfaction of eating something tasty, ignoring the impending guilt that is sure to come.

The Centre for Emotional Well-being looked into this same question and concluded that binge eating has any three of the following qualities:

1. Eating faster than normal
2. Feeling unable to control your eating
   
3. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
4. Eating large amounts of food when you are not physically hungry
5. Eating alone or hiding eating to avoid embarrassment
6. Feeling ashamed, disgusted, depressed, distressed or guilty about overeating.

To find out more, or if you think you may be a binge eater, read the full article.

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Though this experiment is hardly surprising, it is interesting to read. Two UK women -- with generally healthy lifestyles -- drastically changed their habits for two weeks and reported their results.

The first, an occasional drinker, began drinking at least a bottle of wine every night. She quickly developed flaky skin, headaches, mood swings, and dull hair. The second, who normally ate a healthy diet, began binge eating and added about 2000 empty calories to her normal diet. She complained of stomach cramps, bloating, greasy hair, and dull skin.

This is basically the "Supersize Me" effect, watching a healthy person's health deteriorate when they take on bad habits to the extreme. A more interesting experiment, in my opinion, would be to take a heavy drinker and a binge eater and put them both on a healthy diet for two weeks and then compare results. It's no secret that too much of anything, whether food or drink, isn't good for us, but hearing how quickly our bodies respond to good health habits would be a powerful motivator. What do you think?

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Are you a "binge eater"? There are many who are in America and around the world, and it can account for high levels of obesity in many cultures these days.

In fact, binge eating disrupts the lives of 3.5% of U.S. women and 2% of U.S. men. The shocking part -- the lasting effects on these percentages can last for up to 8 years according to a new study. That is, umm, quite a long time --= yes?

But, we hear less and less about binge eating when compared to a few other popular eating disorders -- like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Why is that?

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With all of the recent headlines about ultra-thin models and the pressure the media puts on women to be thin, this headline may come as a surprise: Binge eating is more common in the United States than either anorexia or bulimia. In fact, nearly three times the number of women and over six times the number of men suffer from this eating disorder than from anorexia.

Binge eating is a disorder where people have frequent, uncontrollable eating binges without purging. It's associated with severe obesity and sufferers often have underlying mood disorders such as anxiety or impulse control issues. Sufferers are at risk for conditions like heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and gall bladder disease.

Researchers found that binge eating, along with anorexia and bulimia, is on the rise. The symptoms of binge eating disorder include eating vast amounts of food, usually alone, and not feeling satisfied, eating in secret, eating to avoid emotional issues, and feeling shame after binging. The disease is treatable, and you can read more about it here.

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We are bombarded by images of food everywhere we turn. Television ads, billboards, and creative product packaging are constantly telling us we're hungry. For many, these images flash by without registering a second thought. But what if your brain is hardwired to see food as a reward?

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience discovered that for some people, images of delicious foods activated reward centers in the brain. When those centers are activated in certain people, those people may be driven to overeat. These findings may have broader implications in other areas of compulsive behavior, including drug addiction.

This might explain why current trends in obesity are so hard to reverse. When a person's brain overreacts to images of delicious food, will power and self-control are not always enough. Researchers in this particular study are calling for more corporate responsibility when it comes to food advertising.

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