Why binge eating happens can be a super confusing question. You feel like you’re doing so “good” then WHAM, a binge. This post will help you to understand the 2 types of binge eating and how to overcome them both!
Why Binge Eating Happens #1
Biological Binge Eating
One reason why binge eating happens is because you’re restricting food. Your body is giving you this SUPER strong urge to eat food…because… it needs it. When you restrict food, diet, have strict food rules, etc. your body literally thinks it’s being starved. So, it wants to eat as much food as it can, when it can. And in order to do that it will make you craaaave food. It will give you obsessive thoughts over it. And when it gets to to give it some food, it will give you strong urges to eat a LOT.
Now, this is actually GOOD. Why? Our bodies are trying to keep us alive. They don’t know that there is a McDonalds on every corner, it thinks it is in the middle of the Sahara Dessert with no food in sight. So, like I said, it’s try to keep you alive by taking in extra energy to store up for later when the food drought continues.
Biological Binge Eating Solution
Ya gotta FEED IT! I know, easier said than done. Some things to do are to give your body consistent, adequate energy throughout the day. That meals no skipping meals. No limiting calories, or carbs, or fat, or what the heck ever new thing it on the fad diet carousel this week.
To learn more about how to overcome restrictive eating you can download my free e-book, which walks you through how I overcome it myself. My proven framework has worked for me and SO many women that I’ve worked with as clients. Snag your free e-book here! (Yes I said free. No there is no catch.)
Reason #2
Emotional Binge Eating
Did you just cringe and say “Yup. That’s me.”? Totally fine, girlfriend, you’re not alone. SO many women struggle with emotional eating. Especially as women we are taught by society to portray this image of perfection. That we have to do it ALL and make it look effortless. Guess what? That is STRESSFUL! And impossible. So, rather than show we have these less than perfect emotions of stress, anxiety, confusion etc. we turn to food rather than dealing with our emotions.
Emotional Eating Solution
Emotional eating is tough to overcome, it becomes SO habitual. Bottom line with emotional eating, ya gotta learn how to HANDLE your emotions. This is tough. You can find the #1 emotional eating exercise I use with my clients to overcome emotional eating for good in my e-book, too. Have you gotten your copy? If not, snag it here. What are you waiting for?!
That’s it girlfriend. When you boil it down those are the 2 main reasons why binge eating happens. No fluff. Just the real, raw reasons. Now. The real question. Will you do something about it? Or will you just chalk it up to a lack of “will power” which, isn’t the reason. Its biological or emotional. Take action and be free of binge eating for good!
Leave a comment with what type you’re struggling with. Then let me know what you’re going to DO about it! Will you add more snacks? Handle stress differently? Let me know so I can support you!
XOXO
-Colleen
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Zoe says
It’s definitely biological for me. I find that ignoring prescribed meal times & just eating what I’m hankering for at whatever time of day works best for me. I’m hungrier in the mornings and if I eat enough before about noon I’m free of food thoughts & cravings for the rest of the day.
Colleen says
That’s great that you’ve found out what works best for you! Enjoy that food thought free time!
Molly says
I struggle with BOTH types! Sometimes, I even struggle with them at the same time. Can be so confusing and very disheartening when I’m trying to lose weight.
Colleen says
It CAN be confusing! Be sure to focus on how your body feels VS trying to lose weight!
Amy says
I try to become an intuitive eater after two years of counting calories (bad idea, ofc, because my eating disorders have been so much worst with that) and it’s really hard. Some days I feel free and i eat what my body need and ask with some fun in it. Some other days I just want to eat everything in the house. And I binge. I try not to focus on it and not being restrictive with myself the days after. I try to keep going, thinking that some bad days is a solid part of the recovery. It is, right ?
(So sorry for the bad english, I’m french)
Colleen says
Been there, girlfriend! It DOES get easier! Have a great support system to help you through the tough times!
krissy says
Amy,
I’ve been there. I used to binge and have stopped and yes, it is so normal to have those days. For me the binges just got less and less frequent until they went away. At the end I was binging once every 2 months or so, then even that stopped. Also, I was able to limit them by simply not keeping a huge amount of ready-made food in the house, so when I did binge and ate everything in the house it wasn’t as much food as my past binges used to be. For example I’d buy chips in a small bag and oreos in a single packet and if I bulk cooked, I’d freeze some right away, etc.
Also, I learned from my eating disorder therapist to try to not label binges or days as bad, and not label foods as bad, either. To take the morality out and just observe. For example instead of “Today was a bad day” I would say, “Today I binged and my tummy hurts and my self-confidence took a dive. I notice I’m insulting myself and my body. I don’t want to keep feeling like this.” and on the days I didn’t binge, I might say “Today I felt free and this feeling is great and I am happy with my choices and want more days like this, my body has more energy!” 🙂 Hope this all makes sense
krissy says
My binge eating started as emotional (reaction to abuse), but then it became a habit, so by the time I had dealt with my emotions in a better way, the habit was engrained, so at that point I think my binges were maybe a 3rd reason = compulsion/opportunistic? 🙂 My husband would make plans for the day and I would get the house to myself, giving me a chance to do my ‘ritual’ Didn’t matter if I was happy or sad or any mood, or if I had eaten enough before, it was just whenever I had the opportunity to, I would feel like I had to do it, just a habit that I repeated until it accidentally became a compulsion.
I actually learned that for my body, skipping meals is healthy if I’m not hungry. I do not come from any background of dieting, so anyone reading this who restricts and diets, please keep in mind your body will be different!!! But for my recovery, I would read articles that said make sure you don’t skip breakfast, make sure you don’t skip a macro, you are binging because you didn’t eat enough, etc, so I would make myself eat breakfast even if I wasn’t hungry, even if I had binged the night before. Eventually I let that go because I realized that me eating when I wasn’t hungry was conditioning me to, well, eat when I wasn’t hungry, which was the same neural pathway of binging. As soon as I stopped worrying about not eating enough, my binge urges drastically resolved. 🙂 I feel much more in tune with my body now!
Colleen says
I’m so so glad you’re feeling more in tune with your body! That’s amazing! Intuitive eating is totally a learning process!