Do you ever find yourself wondering, “Why am I binge eating?”
If you’ve ever experienced a binge eating episode where you feel out of control or unable to stop eating, you’ve likely had that thought.
Binge eating is one of the most common challenges a lot of people go through. Whether they’re experiencing this weekly or in specific situations, they’re confused, overwhelmed, and unsure of what exactly is happening, why it’s happening, and how to move forward to balance their relationship with food.
When you can better understand what’s triggering your binge-eating tendencies, you can begin taking steps to prevent it, heal your relationship with food, and restore the balance you’d like to have.
What is Binge Eating? Binge Eating Disorder Definition
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) has been discussed as a disordered eating behavior since the 1950’s but was not officially recognized as its own diagnosis until the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published its 5th Edition (DSM-5) in 2013. Even so, this is not an indicator of the severity or prevalence of BED throughout history. In fact, BED disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States, therefore, awareness of signs, symptoms, and treatment interventions is important.
An episode of binge eating is described as eating an atypically large amount of food in a short period of time while feeling of loss of control during the episode and immense shame and guilt afterward. Binge eating disorder may also be commonly referred to as Compulsive overeating disorder, or Night Eating Syndrome (NES), though the terms have slightly different criteria.
What Is Another Name for Binge Eating Disorder?
As mentioned above, there are numerous alternative understandings or terms for binge eating behaviors, however, it is important to know the difference between these terms and a BED disorder diagnosis.
Compulsive Overeating
Compulsive overeating is a term more commonly used to refer to Binge Eating Disorder. While the two are incredibly similar, there is one big difference – severity. Individuals with BED have met the diagnostic criteria specified above for a full diagnosis. Those that experience Compulsive Overeating may engage in bingeing behaviors of BED frequently, however, not enough to meet the full criteria for a BED diagnosis. Diagnostically, compulsive overeating would be referred to as OSFED, Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders. This does not mean the behaviors of excessive eating are any less concerning, however.
Night Eating Syndrome (NES)
Night Eating Syndrome (NES), involves “recurrent episodes of night eating, as manifested by eating after awakening from sleep or by excessive food consumption after the evening meal [1].” The DSM-5 also specifies that “there is awareness and recall of the eating” and that “the night eating is not better explained by external influences such as changes in the individual’s sleep-wake cycle or by local social norms [1].”
NES is specified in the DSM-5 under OSFED categories of disordered eating and differs from BED in that individuals with NES present with less shape/weight concerns as well as reduced disinhibition and depressive symptoms [4]. Additionally, individuals with NES tended to eat less during the day than those with BED [4].
5 CAUSES OF BINGE EATING
1. Not Eating Enough
One of the most common reasons individuals will experience episodes of binge eating is as a result of not eating enough or restricting their eating.
Intentional Restriction
Restriction can look very different in different situations. For example, it may include the restriction of entire meals, certain food items, or simply a restriction of portion sizes.
It’s often a result of chronic dieting that leads to a recurrent start-and-stop cycle. This generally happens as a result of self-inflicted food rules and regulations.
To give you a bit more context, when the body is not receiving enough nourishment on a recurring basis, it eventually reaches a breaking point. It takes willpower to restrict the body from the food it wants and needs. Because willpower is finite, this willpower eventually runs out and the floodgates open.
Portion sizes shoot through the roof and self-control goes to the wayside. The body is attempting to make up for the lack of nourishment it has experienced.
At the end of these episodes, people are often left feeling overly full, bloated, embarrassed, and frustrated. This leads them to go back to restriction in a misguided attempt to “make up for” or “fix” the most recent binging episode.
Unintentional Restriction
It’s also important to note that some people aren’t eating enough by mistake.
One of our members was studying for her law exams when she was experiencing binge eating at night. After digging into her habits, we realized that the stress she was under was suppressing her appetite, leading her to not eat anything but a protein bar all day long. When she finally got home from the library after a full day, she was ravenous and her body was making up for what she didn’t get.
Moving forward, she packed food with her and set reminders to eat so she ensured she got the nourishment she needed throughout the day.
2. Assigning Morality to Food & the Scarcity Mindset
Whether you’re restricting or not, when morality is in play binge eating often comes right alongside it.
When I say assigning morality to food, what I’m referring to here is the act of deeming food to be good or bad, right or wrong, correct or incorrect.
Those who assign morality to food will often refer to nourishing food items as good and feel prideful when consuming them. They’re in turn referring to more enjoyment-based food items that don’t have much nutritional value as bad. They then feel guilty or shameful when they consume these enjoyable foods.
When we assign this kind of morality to food, food items that are in the “bad” category are exceptionally enticing. When these food items are consumed, there can be a sensation of scarcity or urgency felt. The scarcity mindset can lead you to believe that because you “shouldn’t” be having these food items, they should eat quicker or larger portion sizes than they usually would.
The rationalization of this comes from the idea that this may be your “only opportunity” to have the food item. Or, they may tell themselves that this is the “last time” they’re going to consume said items, so they should have a large amount to really “make the most” of the experience.
These mindsets can unintentionally result in binge-eating episodes or Binge Eating Disorder over time.
3. Not Eating Balanced Meals
We talk about balanced, nourishing meals all the time here at Nutrition Stripped! To describe and convey these meals with ease, we use our Foundational Five system. You can download a free guide that walks you through our Foundational Five system for creating balanced meals that you can use to meal prep or cook fresh this week!
Foundational Five meals are comprised of primarily whole food sources of protein, starchy and sugary carbohydrates, non-starchy carbohydrates, fats, and flavor factors.
Each of the components nourishes the body in a different, vital way. When we’re missing certain food groups (whether intentionally or unintentionally), it can possibly lead to episodes of binge eating.
The body essentially craves these components because they allow the body to feel satiated and energized. They allow the body to function at its best!
When an individual’s meals are primarily comprised of processed foods or are perpetually lacking some of those components, they can experience a loss of control around food and consume an excessive amount as a result.
This may sometimes be instigated by hunger, but often continues past the point of hunger and satiety. This puts it in the category of a binge eating episode.
4. Unaddressed Emotions or Stress
When healthy, successful coping mechanisms for heightened emotions or stress are not developed, individuals can start to reach to food in response instead.
Stress and emotional eating are quite common, but when left unaddressed for a significant amount of time, it can start to build and snowball into binge eating.
In this scenario, eating is a way to distract oneself from the emotion or stress they’re feeling. They’re not necessarily eating as a result of hunger, and are therefore ignoring satiety cues as well. It’s almost a means of numbing.
When hunger and satiety are completely ignored, excessive amounts of food can be consumed in a short period of time. Additionally, a lack of control can be experienced because the mind-body connection is essentially turned off.
If you find that you don’t have coping mechanisms handy for stress and heightened emotions, this may be why you’re eating this way.
5. Low Self-Esteem or Poor Body Image
It’s very common for those who engage in these episodes to have low self-esteem or a poor body image. The connection between the two is often a result of self-sabotage, to a certain degree.
If you find that you reach for food and say things to yourself such as, “I’m already unhappy with my body so I might as well just eat more.”, “Everything is already terrible so who cares if I eat too much.”, or, “Eating healthy never makes a difference so I should just eat whatever I want and eat as much as I want.”, you may be eating this way as a means to self-sabotage.
Binge Eating Disorder Symptoms
With the prevalence of BED being so high and continuing to increase, it is important to have an awareness of signs and symptoms to support patients or loved ones should they begin to struggle.
Physical Signs of Binge Eating Disorder
BED can be difficult to identify, as the resultant shame and guilt of binge episodes lead to secrecy. If you observe some of the below symptoms in a loved one or patient, consider them to be red flags and do not be afraid to ask more questions.
- Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time.
- Eating when one is not hungry or full.
- Eating at a fast pace.
- Eating alone or in secret.
- Hiding food.
- Eating until uncomfortably full.
- Reporting feelings of guilt or shame around eating.
- “Frequently dieting, possibly without weight loss [5].”
- Loss of sexual desire.
- Weight fluctuation.
- Reported feelings of low self-worth.
Binge Eating Disorder Health Risks
The impacts that consistent binge eating episodes can have on physical health long-term are concerning. Many may discount binge eating behaviors as “emotional eating,” however, if left untreated, they can be incredibly dangerous and lead to the following:
- Obesity
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular issues
- Arthritis
- Gallbladder disease
- Increased risk of some types of cancer.
Binge Eating Disorder Treatment
Treatment for BED can be crucial in reducing the lifetime prevalence of the disorder, that is, reducing the likelihood one will struggle with BED behaviors for their lifetime.
As with most eating disorders, the number one, evidence-based treatment recommended is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). One study notes that “CBT has higher abstinence, is well-tolerated, and maintains remission for 1 or 2 years [6]. CBT focuses on the impact that beliefs and thoughts have on subsequent feelings and behaviors, encouraging individuals to alter their core beliefs and thoughts in a way that then alters their behaviors.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is also recommended, as it was created for individuals that struggle with emotion regulation, which is also correlated with BED. DBT focuses on how one can regulate their emotional states, tolerate distress, exist within the present moment, and communicate needs to others. All of these skills work effectively to reduce BED symptoms as well as the symptoms of disorders that often co-occur with BED.
Regardless of the theoretical orientation to treatment, the key is to receive treatment at all. Of course, be a conscious consumer and do not be afraid to ask your treatment team if they are using the most up-to-date, evidence-based treatments and, if they are not, why they are not. Even so, the likelihood of individual achieving remission of BED symptoms and recovery increases with any type of mental health treatment.
Do not be afraid to seek out support, be an advocate in your treatment, and fight for a future free from BED.
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