Disclaimer: I am not a professional- I am a normal human being who has battled an eating disorder for years and slowly healed through trial and error. I hope to share my experiences and advice with people who are struggling to let you know that you will get through this.
Binge eating is something that so many people struggle with. I used to. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. When one overeats, there is still a sense of control and being able to stop. A binge episode may be different from person to person, but it is characterized by the inability to stop eating. It’s not always junk food that you binge on- it can be “healthy” food as well.
If you’re struggling with binge eating, please please please don’t get down on yourself- healing is possible for everyone. I hope that the advice in this post helps you on your journey. Please add more to this post if you can think of anything! All my love~!
1. Know that you are not alone. Many people who binge eat usually do it in private. They feel ashamed, isolated, and defeated. But I promise you- there are so many of us out there who have gone through or are going through the exact same cycle of despair and pain.
2. Talk to someone about it. Whether they are a licensed professional or a trusted family member or friend, confiding in someone about your struggles will lift a weight off your chest. Because binge eating is something so many of us do in private, it can be overwhelming to deal with on a daily basis. Acknowledging that this is something ugly in your life that you are dealing with is so hard. But it’s like a breath of fresh air. That person becomes part of your support network, and can encourage you and love you in the ways that you need.
3. Binge eating has physical repercussions, and people often cite weight gain as the worst consequence. However, I believe that to heal, you need to shift your focus from your body and your weight to your mind and your heart. Looking inward and healing from the inside out will significantly improve the process. Which leads me to….
4. Recognize where the binge eating stems from, and what the triggers are. Binge eating can stem from multiple sources, but some common ones include:
- a history of dieting/restriction
- emotional stress/trauma (using food as a coping mechanism)
- habit
For myself, extreme dieting and restriction from a young age (due to a lack of knowledge and experience in nutrition and online nutrition research) led to binge eating that would subside and recur over a number of years. As soon as I would eat just a little too much, the mindset of “Okay, I have to eat everything now so I can ‘start over’ tomorrow” would kick in and that’s where I would lose control. Eventually in the later years, even though I was no longer restricting, overeating would trigger that mindset, as if I were on auto-pilot. Binge eating was no longer attributed to restriction, but to the habit I had formed over the years.
4. When you can see where the binge eating stems from, you begin to understand areas that need loving and healing. Set your intention. So many people who deal with binge eating have a rocky relationship with their body image and their self perception; or they have co-morbidities such as anxiety, depression, or trauma. It’s important to address the problems that are associated with the binge eating. While it may feel like binge eating itself is the problem, in reality binge eating is a symptom of whatever it is you are dealing with.
Setting your intention for healing your relationship with food gives you something positive to focus on. Whether it is “I am healing to love my body” or “I want to cultivate inner strength”- set a non-body associated reason for wanting to end the cycle.
5. Develop coping mechanisms to support your mental and physical health. If binge eating is a crutch, know that you cannot be rid of it if you don’t have any other source of emotional expression.
For myself, running became an escape. It allowed me to ‘lose control’ if I wanted- the equivalent of screaming into the abyss. For others, it’s writing; creating music; painting; yoga; rock climbing- whatever it is, do it and cultivate it.
5. Break up with diet culture. Diet culture has engrained in us that certain numbers, or food groups, or ratios are threatening our health. But in reality, it is this obsession with restriction that leads us to unhealthy relationships and perceptions of foods, our bodies, and ourselves. Social media influencers claim that certain products or diets have healed them, or magically made them healthy. But understand that they are selling an image and product. I will say it again: Trying to fix binge eating in order to lose weight or stop gaining weight will just feed the vicious cycle.
So if counting calories, counting macros, eliminating food groups, or incorporating certain supplements are not the answers… what is?
6. I think for most people, intuitive eating is the best solution for mental and physical health. (I have copied and pasted parts of an old post for this tip). Granted, there are multiple conditions in which it is not, like recovery from an eating disorder, diabetes, celiac disease, some metabolic disorders, etc., but for the general population, it’s sufficient.
Intuitive eating is just a fancy way of describing how we were meant to eat. Our bodies are incredibly in tune with what it needs. It tells us what foods to avoid (i.e. dairy will cause me, a lactose intolerant gal, to have severe gas and stomachaches). Gluten might irritate the stomachs of gluten-sensitive people. Intuitive eating tells us what foods to thrive on. We don’t need to control anything—our bodies do all that work for us. Intuitive eating is so simple, but still completely mindful.
To say that intuitive eating is eating what we crave is a disservice to the concept. Because, as implied in the name, it is actually about eating with our intuition. We all know what is healthy and not healthy for us—using our intuitions, we discern if that time is the appropriate time to eat a salad, ice cream, a burger, or all of the above. Some days call for dialing in our meals to something full of fiber, nutrients, and goodness. And some days call for throwing that out the window and having a foodie experience.
The caveat is that some people have been raised on and grown accustomed to eating foods that aren’t that great for you. And so obviously, they’re going to crave “junk” food because that is what they have consumed regularly for their entire lives. I think that in those cases, rather than controlling portions, introducing new foods to slowly and gradually replace old foods is the way to go. Because in doing so, you’re not strictly eliminating your meals—you are slowly adjusting them to your tastes in ways that will actually benefit your bodily functions. And again—you’re using your newly developed intuition to make choices that are going to make you happy, satisfy you, and keep you healthy.
I think as I said above, intuitive eating is really about mindfulness and following through with our constantly growing knowledge of food, health, and happiness. When recovering from binge eating, it’s important to understand that we need to change our mindset from “Yes I can have this” or “No I cannot have this”, to “I will have this today” or “Hmm I think I will have that later”. On the binge eating continuum, we see that we are constantly battling ourselves with putting restrictions on foods, and this leads to our compensatory mechanism kicking in. And eventually, binge eating because a habit engrained into us, so much so that even when we eat intuitively, those urges to eat everything in sight is still in our brains.
7. So educate yourself on basic nutrition. I know it can be difficult to identify what is “diet culture information” and what is actual nutritional/dietetics information. Stick to credible sources (no- being ‘certified’ doesn’t always mean something).
But above all: simplify your eating. Don’t overthink it. Fill your fridge with food that is abundant in nutrients that you like. Don’t worry about protein powders, protein bars, superfoods, etc. etc. Eat what is good, what you know is healthy, and what fits your lifestyle.
8. If binge eating is now a habit, break it. Break the connection between food and control. Break the connection between food and comfort. Understand that while food is both an experience and fuel, it is not a replacement for support, coping, or stress relief. Developing a sense of self-awareness and mindfulness will allow you to recognize when the onset of a binge is coming. Many sources will say that you should distract yourself from the urges. But if you’re finding that that doesn’t work, I suggest this: acknowledge the feeling and desire to binge. Sit in it. Let it come over you. But instead of acting on it, let it go. It’s harder than it sounds, and it may take time. But I promise you that being in tune with your mind and body and feelings will give you back some of that lost control.
9. Some resources for binge eating:
- “Brain Over Binge” by Kathryn Hansen. While I have not read this book, I’ve heard a lot of great things from other people.
- http://www.intuitiveeating.org/ This website is all about intuitive eating and was really helpful when I was researching about intuitive eating and what it actually means.
- Josie Mai on Youtube has a series called “Stop the Binge”. She’s made 20 or so videos with helpful information and personal anecdotes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBC4ihJvRco&list=PLyLDcLB5wwW1cd5tmx5Jx2gGtBTBAOyG5
- Cambria Joy on Youtube made a video talking about tip number 8. I never made the connection between binge eating and the habit that had formed until I watched this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFuOEA0oKWY
- Kelly U on Youtube has a series called “Binge Eating Help”. Like Josie Mai, she shares a ton of information and advice about binge eating and healing your relationship with food. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F3M_nLKmqA&list=PLb2IJbmdN5VMJdipWlGVQRxsMwDzhOrxo
10. Trust and have faith. As a Christian, acknowledging that binge eating was a struggle to God in my prayers was really hard. But once I did it, I knew that I was not alone, and that He was with me every step of the way. Whether you believe in God or not, trust that it will get better. There is light and hope. And ultimately, remember that this does not define your life. As a Christian, my life is defined by Jesus and by being a child of God. For you it may be the same, or something entirely different. But understand that life goes on. You are not any less YOU just because you struggle with binge eating.
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