What Does Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) Look Like?
By: Katherine Metzelaar, MSN, RDN, CD & Lindsay Hodgson, MSN
You’ve tried many tricks to stop the binges, reduce your hunger sensations, and distract yourself from food. Yet, none of the strategies have seemed to work long-term. This often leads to feeling like there is something wrong with you and makes you wonder, why can’t I just stop binge eating?
While feeling trapped in a pattern of bingeing can feel extremely isolating and shameful, remember that the behavior of binge eating is not your fault. Whether you struggle with bingeing behaviors or have received a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder, it’s always important to remember that you deserve support even if you don’t have an eating disorder diagnosis. And, as you contemplate treatment options it can be helpful to learn more about the process.
What Does Treatment* Look Like for Binge Eating Disorder and What Can I Expect?
Treatment for binge eating disorder involves working with a dietitian where you’ll articulate goals for recovery and explore your bingeing history as you work to restore a more peaceful relationship with food. You’ll first identify the behaviors and experiences that are that are most relevant and present for you. This might include, but is not limited to: eating large amounts of food without being hungry for food or needing food in that moment, eating to the point of being uncomfortably full, eating food quickly, eating in secret and hiding food, and feeling addicted to food and/or feeling shame, disgust, or out of control when it comes to food.
Primary goals in Binge Eating Disorder treatment are:
To feel a sense of being in “the drivers seat” with food
Cultivate a sense of empowerment over your life and your body
Decrease occurrences of binge eating and overtime (for some) to eliminate binge eating entirely
To feel like food doesn’t have the same power over you
To feel a greater sense of ease around food without effort
To eat enough food consistently through the day which includes meals and snacks
To not be afraid of foods or food groups anymore
Learn coping skills to manage life’s tough moments
To feel less disgust and hate toward your body and the behaviors associated with binge eating disorder
Understand the “why” behind the development of the eating disorder
Over time, after further unpacking binge eating behaviors, with the help of your dietitian you will begin to understand what may be going on below the surface to bring upon these food experiences. Most importantly, the work in binge eating disorder treatment is holistic and will integrate your mental, emotional, and social health. In other words, it will not consist of fixing the binges as if it is an isolated behavior. As you unpack the bingeing behaviors it is very common to notice intersections with other areas of your life. Some of those intersection include dieting, past relationships, family history, mental health ups-and-downs, significant life events, trauma, and more may have spurred the bingeing in ways you had not yet considered.
As you begin to make sense of how, what, when and why these behaviors started, you will simultaneously be working with your dietitian to determine what kinds of things trigger your bingeing currently. Unpacking the bingeing behaviors instills curiosity and awareness, and this mindset is beneficial especially when moving away from negative self-talk. Depending on your story, it is common to find that bingeing has been an important way you have learned how to cope with and survive difficult circumstances.
Why is Binge Eating Disorder Is A Restrictive Eating Disorder?
Exploring the root cause of the bingeing might also surprise you. Restriction, in thought or action, is a very common cause of bingeing. Often people believe their problem is bingeing when in fact they discover that the bingeing is a symptom of their inconsistent eating patterns, current diet/lifestyle plan, scarcity mindset, or something else. A dietitian can help you work through tough areas like rejecting a dieting mindset and giving yourself permission to eat all foods, which are both key in binge eating disorder recovery.
Additionally, in binge eating disorder recovery you will gain skills to be able to become more acquainted with your hunger, fullness, and other physical and emotional sensations in your body. This builds your mind-body connection, which helps you to cultivate more trust in your body. You’ll be able to make more conscious, compassionate and competent decisions about how you want to feed yourself when you’re physically and emotionally hungry.
Why Isn’t binge eating disorder talked about as much as other eating disorders?
Considering binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder ( more common than well-known eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia), you would think that there would be more education and awareness around prevention of binge eating disorder, but this is not the case. This is partly due to the fact that it took a long time for the DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual) to add it onto it’s pages making it an official diagnosis and therefore seen by the mental health field as “real and valid”. The lack of awareness around binge eating disorder is also due in large part to weight stigma. Many times health clinicians don’t take people seriously when they talk about their bingeing behaviors, in particular if they are in a larger body, and are recommended diets and weight loss or” lifestyle” programs that don’t address the underlying cause of the eating disorder.
At Bravespace Nutrition, we take a Health At Every Size approach to eating disorders and healing. We believe that all people regardless of their body size deserve quality (health)care and access to binge eating disorder treatment and we’re so sorry if you have been dismissed or put on a diet when you’ve told others about your bingeing behaviors. Don’t wait any longer to seek treatment for binge eating disorder. You deserve support now and to have a life where binge eating and food isn’t taking up so much headspace.
*Eating disorder treatment looks different depending on the individual, their history, and their needs during recovery. There are varying levels of care ranging from outpatient (the lowest level of care), partial hospital, residential, and inpatient (highest level of care). For the purposes of this article and given the scope of practice at Bravespace Nutrition we are talking about treatment in the context of the outpatient setting.
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Looking for counseling to support you in moving past binge behaviors?
You deserve to recover from bingeing and the roller coaster of a relationship with food it brings. The caring dietitians from our Seattle, WA-based nutrition counseling practice would be honored to help guide you to overcome bingeing behaviors. To get support today, please contact us.