What is Binge Eating?

Binge eating and food obsession

From the age of six I would see my siblings have a couple cookies and feel satisfied. I would have the cookies with them, but would obsess about it until the coast was clear and ended up time and time again eating the entire box. My stomach would be full and then I felt like I had to many sweets so I would go in the cupboard for some something salty. Pretzels or chips would do the trick! I would then eat the bag of my salty snack and would not be able to get up off the couch for hours.

I was in so much pain and so uncomfortable. My binges continued as I grew. I remember one time when I was 18 I NEEDED  to have chocolate bars. Not one, that would do nothing I needed  at least 4. But I was too embarrassed to get them all from one convenient store, so I would stop at 3 or 4 and throw in a pop and a tub of ice-cream.

I would hide in my car and eat it all in the blink of an eye. I was so full it was hard to move.

I had no idea this had a name. I was a binge eater. I was a binge eater before it was even considered an eating disorder.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

“Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food and feel unable to stop eating.”

Almost everyone overeats on occasion, such as having seconds or thirds of a holiday meal. But for some people, excessive overeating that feels out of control and becomes a regular occurrence crosses the line to binge-eating disorder.

When you have binge-eating disorder, you may be embarrassed about overeating and vow to stop. But you feel such a compulsion that you can't resist the urges and continue binge eating. If you have binge-eating disorder, treatment can help.”

Food was my best friend and my worst enemy. I wanted to stop my cycle with food but didn’t know how. This is when I realized it was much more than just about food or a diet.

Here are some ways to support yourself to change your relationship with binge eating

1)    Do not diet. When you diet it can feel like you are walking on a tight rope and what happens when you feel deprived? You will then swing the pendulum and binge. The feelings of guilt and failure affect our relationship with ourselves and hunger signals. Dieting is not the answer.

2)    Eat regular meals. Most binge eaters do not know their hunger signals. All the restricting and binging throws this awareness out of whack. Eat regular meal that are balanced. This will also help with food cravings.

Get enough good sleep.

3)    Practice mindful eating. Mindful eating is a power tool to connect you to your feelings and your hunger signals.  Start slowing down and be present for 1 meal a day. Notice how you feel in your body while you are eating.

4)    Get enough sleep. Our bodies will always want fuel when we are tired to keep up with the day to day tasks . Lack of sleep increases the desire to binge. 

For more tools to support your relationship with food get my free emotional eating toolkit HERE!