What Is Binge Eating Disorder Treatment? On Why It's Is Not Another Diet
By: Lindsay Hodgson, MSN, RDN
If you're in a place where you feel out of control around food, you’re not alone.You might feel like you’re someone who binges on certain foods, feel like you can’t stop eating, or are concerned you eat too much in one sitting.
Living in diet culture makes this experience pretty unbearable and you probably feel confused about why you’re struggling with food and feel like a “failure” for not being able to figure it out. Bingeing is not only normal, but makes perfect sense as a behavior when there has been physical, mental, or emotional stress in your life and on your body.
If you identify as someone who binges or binge eats, it’s common to want clarity on if you have Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Even if you don’t think you have binge eating disorder, you probably want to know once and for all how to stop bingeing. Read on for some more insight into BED and how working with a nutrition therapist can provide you with binge eating disorder or binge eating treatment.
Before we dive in, let’s define a few concepts that are often confused or blended when talking about binge eating and binge eating disorder:
What is “overeating”? An experience of eating an amount at a meal or snack more than you planned on eating or think you “should” eat. It often occurs when you’ve eaten past fullness and/or eaten more food than you would like that you define as “bad” or “unhealthy.” Overeating appears in quotes here because at Bravespace Nutrition we believe our clients’ experience when they express struggling with overeating, but we don’t like to use the term to describe a concerning eating behavior. In our view, diet culture contributes to people’s anxiety about eating the “right” amount of food, which further disconnects them from their bodies and can create more tension in their relationships with food.
What is a binge, or episode of binge eating? According to the National Eating Disorders Association, a binge is defined as:
“Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.” and,
“A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).”
What is Binge Eating Disorder (BED)? BED is an eating disorder containing the following criteria.
Ongoing binge eating episodes (see above)
The binge eating episodes can be described with the following with three (or more):
Eating faster than normal
Eating past fullness or feeling discomfort
Eating a large quantity(ies) when not physically hungry
Eating alone out of shame
Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.
Feeling distressed about binge eating
Binge frequency is approx. at least once a week for 3 months, on average
The binge eating doesn’t happen in the context of other eating disorder diagnoses
Sometimes people identify with the experience of bingeing even if it doesn’t meet the definition and that’s perfectly fine. Other times people identify with “mindless eating,” “out of control eating,” “emotional eating” or other phrases. Regardless of your story or experience, you deserve nutrition support to create more peace in your relationship with food. You don’t need a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder to qualify for treatment from a nutrition therapist.
Binge Eating Disorder Treatment: The approach might surprise you!
When most people think of online binge eating disorder treatment they think it’s about reducing or stopping the binges because the binges are the problem, right? They think about treatment as an opportunity to learn how to be a more “disciplined eater” and figure out eating problems. And while there are some approaches that take this perspective, that’s not what we believe to be the most effective.
Binge eating disorder treatment isn’t actually about enforcing more control and restriction to stop the binge eating.
When we take a step back and think about the science of the human body, we know that our bodies are incredibly smart and protective of us. They don’t want to be underfed and under-fueled AND they are cautious of the threat of scarcity.
Have you ever found yourself finishing a box of cookies at the end of a long day when you skipped lunch? Have you had cravings for foods you recently cut out as part of a new lifestyle program? Maybe you ate those foods and felt “weak” or like a “failure” for bingeing on foods you were supposed to avoid. In these examples, you were experiencing physical deprivation of food (we also sometimes call this restriction in action). This can happen when you are restricting food in general (ie not eating enough throughout the day) or restricting certain types of foods. You will have a stronger drive to eat in the context of restriction because your body is trying to ensure you have the energy you need to function.
At the same time, people can be prone to binges even if they aren’t on a diet or intentionally restricting food. Have you ever told yourself, “I’m not going to have dessert” throughout the evening, but then an hour or two later you’re eating sweets? Another common experience people have is eating all the “off limits” foods they can the night before they start a new diet, like a “last supper” mindset.
Food restriction can also happen in thought where if you perceive foods as “bad,” “unhealthy” or tell yourself you can’t have them, you may be driven to eat them because the messages you’re hearing are that these foods aren’t or won’t be available.
If you can relate to these experiences, you are not a “failure,” “weak,” or lack “willpower” because you have binged in the past or struggled with binge eating. The point is that your body is wise and doing what it can to nourish and protect you from starvation. It can feel really counterintuitive, but doubling down on restricting your eating won’t improve your experience of binge eating.
So then, what does decrease binge eating in binge eating disorder treatment?
A major part of sustainable binge eating disorder treatment is uncovering where deprivation lies in your eating pattern. This involves working with an anti-diet dietitian (and perhaps a mental health therapist). Through your work together, you will explore your relationship with food and experiment with building a consistent eating pattern that meets your body’s needs.
This means giving your body unconditional permission to eat and assuring your body that it will have enough food. As the body shifts to sensing abundance instead of deprivation, you will likely find yourself with a lower drive to binge. Ironically the less we try to control our eating, the less we feel out of control around food.
You may be thinking, “But I’m not on a diet. I don’t restrict foods. Why am I bingeing?” There may be a few reasons, and nutrition counseling for binge eating could still be a great fit. Here are a few of those reasons:
You are restricting in thought. Since we live in diet culture, our thoughts and beliefs about food develop from diet culture. You may not think you are dieting, but you may have diet-y thoughts that you don’t even realize. As discussed above, even thinking about foods as “off limits” can create a sense of scarcity and a feeling of being “out of control” around those foods when you eat them. This is not your fault, again it’s a problem with the culture not you. But, working with a nutrition therapist can help you uncover the diet mentality in your food attitudes and how it affects your bingeing.
You have a history of food insecurity/grew up in a house where food was off limits. Not having consistent access to food as a kid is traumatic. The impact of the trauma can carry into adulthood and can often be part of the reason the BED started. This is also the case if you grew up in a household where food was regularly limited, restricted or off limits.
You’re skipping meals or unintentionally eating less than your body needs. Sometimes you get busy or distracted during the day, which disrupts your eating. If you haven’t had enough to eat throughout the day, of course you’ll be more likely to binge, eat mindlessly, or feel like you’re eating more than you're “supposed to.” Seeking support from an anti-diet dietitian can help you build the skills to feed yourself reliably throughout the day and honor your hunger when it strikes.
You are eating for reasons other than hunger. Firstly, there is nothing wrong with eating for emotional reasons. There is no shame in using food to soothe or comfort or distract yourself. And, it’s completely understandable that you’d desire other tools for self-care. A registered dietitian nutritionist (and mental health therapist) can be beneficial in helping you uncover underlying reasons for your eating behaviors, whether it’s emotional or physical. As you begin to understand the roots of the bingeing you can practice skills of self-compassion and mindfulness to meet your emotional hungers in addition to your food hungers.
While struggling with bingeing and binge eating disorder can feel challenging and lonely, you are not alone. Seeking support for binge eating or binge eating disorder treatment thankfully does not mean another diet.
Online binge eating disorder treatment aims to promote your health by helping you to identify deprivation in your relationship with food, understand the roots of the eating patterns, and create an eating pattern that will cultivate trust in your body. It encompasses nutrition education and skills, but is also about introspection and self-care too. If you are struggling with binge eating or binge eating disorder, consider scheduling a discovery call to see if nutrition counseling is a fit for you!
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Looking for virtual binge eating disorder counseling?
Recovering from binge eating disorder and stopping the endless cycle of binge eating and shame can be difficult. You deserve support to develop eating patterns that will help you find freedom with food that doesn’t require that you start another diet! The dietitian nutritionists from our Seattle, WA-based nutrition counseling practice would be honored to help you to overcome your struggle and help you to stop the binge eating once and for all. To get support today, please contact us.