Did you recently have a binge eating episode? If so, take a breath. Read on.
Binge eating is something that many struggle with, but it’s not nearly talked about as much as it should be.
So what is binge eating exactly? What causes it? What’s the solution? Let’s get into it.
What is binge eating?
One of the most common misconceptions about binge eating by the general public, and even by some health care professionals, is that binge eating is about overeating or not having the willpower to control yourself around food. But binge eating and overeating are not the same.
Overeating is the simple act of eating a larger quantity of food than your body needs. It can lead to bloating, discomfort, and heaviness. With binge eating disorder, emotions come into play, making it about more than just the food. It’s about using food and eating as a way to deal with stress, anxiety, other emotions, or stressful situations; it’s using food as a coping mechanism for past or present trauma or to avoid feelings. Binge eating is also completely different from emotional eating.
Using food as a crutch this way leads to having a toxic relationship with food and no longer being able to distinguish your body’s natural hunger cues. Let’s also add that diet culture plays a huge role in this as it always and only promotes eating less, always less. You are not to blame.
What does binge eating look like?
The term “binge” refers to a general time frame where someone will overeat “forbidden” or “bad” foods to the point of being uncomfortably full even when they aren’t hungry, followed by intense feelings of guilt, shame, disgust, and embarrassment. And often, this is a recurrent event.
But your experiences might look different than other binge eaters. Binge eating can look like:
- Eating all of the foods that diet culture calls “bad” now so you get rid of the temptation of having to look at it later.
- Throwing food away, then taking it out of the trash and eating it.
- Punishing yourself for an action or feeling by hurting yourself through food.
- Believing the little voices that tell you that your body is not good enough.
- Feeling out of control around foods you’ve labeled as “bad.”
The type of food that is “forbidden” and “bad” varies from one person to the other, but it’s generally foods that diet culture has demonized, like foods with higher amounts of carbs, fat, and calories. But binge eating episodes will always result in excessive amounts of guilt, shame, and often self-hate.
What is binge eating caused by?
Binge eating occurs when an individual feels out of control around food. There are several reasons why this is so.
Restriction
Restriction of fear foods has been proven to increase the risks of binge eating because the more you restrict foods, the more you’ll anticipate those foods because of how much you miss it. These foods become a “reward” for “doing well” on your diet.
Take cheat days, for example. You tell yourself you’ll be good all week, then “reward” yourself with those foods. And since you’ve deprived yourself of it all week, you’re more likely to overeat that food because you’ll have a “now or never” mindset. So you’re compensating for all the times you wanted to eat it but couldn’t over the previous week.
Emotional overload
Binge eating can also happen when emotions are being avoided. When a binge eater doesn’t want to deal with emotions, they run away from them by seeking physical pain. This physical pain can be more tolerable to them than the emotional pain they’re facing.
Past or present trauma
The risk of binge eating can also stem from trauma experienced in the past or present.
If an individual has been told comments about their weight, such as that they’re not pretty enough, not thin enough, that they’re responsible for their weight or “bad health”, or that they can’t do something because of their weight, they’re at a higher risk of binge eating.
Additionally, it can also come from home life as well. During childhood, if an individual was raised with strict food discipline of food forbidden, this also increases the risk of binge eating.
Also, those who have grown up or still live with food scarcity, it can impact feelings about food, leading to restriction, hiding, and judgment regarding food choices.
Guilt or shame
Restriction and guilt and shame are like two sides of the same coin. When you anticipate that you’ll feel guilty after eating a certain food, you’re more likely to have an “all-or-nothing” mindset. Once you eat the restricted or fear food, you’re more likely to overeat it because you’ll tell yourself that you already ate it, you already went against your rules, so you may as well eat as much as you can or want. Then, after, the expected guilt and shame take over.
That shame and guilt can be towards your eating habits, food choices, and even your body. This shame only intensifies when you begin to compare yourself to others on social media or in real life.
Revenge eating is a real thing— you’re more likely to punish yourself by cheating on your diet when experiencing those intense guilt and shame feelings.
Lack of nourishment
Environment can also play a role in the risk of binge eating.
Binging creates a vicious cycle of lack of nourishment, binge eating, and restriction as punishment. For example, when an individual lacks the right nourishment, it leads to escalated cravings. And because you are not meeting your dietary needs, it can impact your mood, creating more stress, which increases the risk of binging.
This eventually leads to eating foods that you deem “bad,” and once you indulge in said food, you give up and binge. After a binge, the guilt sets in, which leads to restrictions to “make up for” how you’ve eaten. Then the cycle repeats.
Additionally, there are many physical factors that can increase the risk of binge eating, such as a history of irregular eating patterns, genetics, depression, anxiety, addiction, and even high cholesterol and diabetes.
So what’s the solution to binge eating?
Although there is no magic bullet to cure binge eating, diets, and meal plans are not the route to take if you want to heal your relationship with food. In fact, diets and meal plans just further exacerbate the issue. One of the biggest red flags is when they promote control, discipline, and will-power – immediately no.
Re-learning how to nourish your body properly with intuitive eating is the best path to recovery. Intuitive eating encourages you to work on rebuilding your relationship with food, especially your fear foods. This way, you uncover the root of your emotional ties to food so that you are in control without actually having to control what food you eat.
If you can, try talking to someone and try to create a safe environment as much as possible. This is helpful in order to work through the process and is the key to a successful intuitive eating journey. This way, you can work on re-adjusting your eating patterns to feel more comfortable and in control.
If you’re looking for more support and guidance, for a judgment-free space and personalized tools, let’s chat— I’m always here for you, wherever you are in your journey.