Binge eating is different from overeating. Binge eating is feeling out of control with food and eating large amounts of food in a very short time period. Overeating is eating past fullness and feeling uncomfortable. We all overeat sometimes; this is a normal part of life. When I experienced my first binge eating episode, it was like I was possessed. All I could think about was getting food in and fast. I was swallowing foods nearly whole, desperately trying to get them in. I felt completely out of control of my body and my mind. I’ll never forget the experience and I’ll never forget how much shame and guilt I felt.
Why do we binge eat?
If we are physically, mentally, or emotionally restricting food (aka dieting), our body’s survival mechanism will kick in to protect us against what it sees as starvation. Binge eating is a physiological and psychological reaction designed to protect us. I never binge ate until I dieted. During treatment for my eating disorder, I shared my binge eating with my counsellor, she told me to go home and read up on the Minnesota starvation experiment. Her advice was life-changing as it helped me take the first step to overcoming my binge eating,
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment.
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment was a study conducted on young adult men in the 1940s by researcher Ancel Keys. As World War II was drawing to an end, and many people in Europe were close to starvation following the years of conflict, Keys wanted to better understand the effects of this semistarvation and the implications for helping people recover from this state.
The study was split into four parts:
Participants were given 3200 calories a day for three months.
Participants were then restricted to 1570 calories a day in an attempt to have them lose at least 25 percent of their body weight over a six-month period.
They then entered a three-month restricted rehabilitation period, during which their calories were gradually increased to 2000 to 3200 calories a day.
Finally, they entered an eight-week “unrestricted” period (though their food intake was still closely monitored and recorded).
Here’s what happened to the men during the experiment.
They binge ate.
They were obsessed with food, dreaming and fantasising about it.
One stole food (which saw him removed from the experiment)
They were depressed, irritable, couldn’t concentrate and lost interest in their previous hobbies.
They lost their sex drive.
Does any of this sound familiar to you? I think most of us can probably relate on some level to what these men experienced. It really resonated with me and everything I had experienced with dieting. What was also interesting with this experiment was that these men also reported eating excessively after they had finished the study, and they all gained substantial weight back, just like we see with dieting research.
Once I learnt that bingeing was not my fault, I stopped blaming myself. I stopped feeling guilty. And, for the first time, I started to understand why it was happening. With this knowledge came the strength to start recovering.
How to stop binge eating in 6 steps.
1). Let go of dieting. This is the most important step. We must stop dieting. Any form of restriction, even just thinking about it, will lead to bingeing. Dieting leads to deprivation, and deprivation causes more cravings and bingeing. Think of the night before you start a diet, do you eat all the things you think you won’t be able to eat in one night? We have all been there right? I understand giving up dieting is tough, as it can be so ingrained in some of us. What worked for me was taking small steps towards it, such as not counting calories for one of my meals and not weighing myself daily.
2). Allow all foods. When we restrict certain food groups or tell ourselves that we can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it will lead to intense feelings of deprivation that builds into uncontrollable bingeing. The only way to stop this is to allow all foods and give yourself unconditional permission to eat those foods anytime without the guilt. I know this is tough. Start with one food on your “banned” list per week and allow yourself to eat it freely and whenever you want. The food will eventually lose its power over you.
3). Honour your hunger. When we don’t feed our body when we are hungry or if we consistently under eat, it will lead to binge eating. Once we start honouring our hunger, our body begins to trust us, and we can start building a healthy relationship with ourselves. Keeping our body adequately fed and listening and responding to our hunger signals will stop binge eating
4). Eat satisfying foods. For many years I only ate food as per its calorie content and not for pleasure. My go to’s were always low calorie, pre-packaged snack packs or diet products so I could stay in control of my calorie intake for the day. This meant that I was starving all the time, I could not concentrate, and I thought about food 99.9% of my day which would always result in a weekend binge. Once I started eating foods that I wanted to eat, and that I enjoyed, it filled me up physically and mentally and I stopped bingeing on them. Choose foods that you really want to eat, not that you think you should eat, this way you will feel content and satisfied and less need to binge on them later.
5) Let go of weight loss. When we focus on weight loss, it takes us away from being in tune with our body, as we focus on external rules rather than listening to our wisdom. As an example, we order a salad because of the calories, rather than choosing the food we were craving. Or, we have calories left over for the day, but we aren’t hungry, so we eat past fullness anyway. Or, we are hungry for dinner, but we don’t have any calories left for the day, so we ignore our hunger signals and we don’t eat. All these external rules we have when trying to lose weight ends up with bingeing, and it is only when we stop focusing on trying to lose weight all the time that the bingeing will stop.
6). Let go of food labels. When we label foods ”good” or “bad”, it gives the food power. Food is just food; food doesn’t have morals. Viewing certain foods as “bad” is a form of restriction and deprivation, and if we try to eliminate them it will lead us to binge on them. When we see food as neutral and stop labelling them, the food loses it power and so does the bingeing.
Remember binge eating is not your fault. It is a physical and psychological response from your body to protect you. Show yourself kindness, and know you are not alone.
*All the steps I have shared come from my own experience with binge eating and the experiences of people I have worked with. However, it’s important to note that binge eating can be far more complex than simply dieting, and binge eating disorder is a serious mental health condition. If this is something you are struggling with, please seek professional support.