The Link Between Restricting Food and Binge Eating
Filed Under: Binge Eating
12 April 2024 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
Binge eating causes great pain and suffering, the struggle is secretive because there is so much shame attached to bingeing. Many people don’t talk about it and believe they’re alone in their struggle.
There are many possible causes for binge eating: restrictive eating, trauma, emotions and habit. Those who struggle with bingeing think that the only cause is their lack of willpower and control. Or a belief that they are greedy. It’s not due to a lack of willpower, bingeing is a result of physical and mental restriction around food which drives a biological and psychological need to eat the very thing we turn to for. “Control” is actually one of the causes of binge eating. I cannot emphasise this enough, there is a direct link between dieting and binge eating. Binges go together with restrictive eating, over-exercising, and diets. For every diet, there is a backlash.
Let’s examine how dieting can lead to binge eating, looking at some specific diet-related triggers:
Diets have rules and as humans we either follow rules or break them. One of our core human needs is freedom and choice. When we break a food rule this often leads to “all or nothing” thinking – “I’ve blown it so I might as well carry on” – which triggers binge eating.
Depending on the diet, there will be various restrictive aspects to the diet. For example, with intermittent fasting you are skipping meals and not eating for long periods or at certain times. The body needs food for energy, when there is less energy your body will do what it can to protect you by increasing your hunger to prevent “famine”, this primal hunger can set you up for a binge.
Essentially, dieting is about eating less food, most diets have a calorie deficit, which means you may be eating too little food. Usually the calorie limit is unrealistic and your body needs more. Limits on food intake creates a physiological and biological pressure to eat and once we start it can be difficult to stop. If this is coupled with intense exercise, chances are your body will make up for this by needing more food that can lead to binge eating.
Many diets, protocols or eating plans (pick your name) involve avoiding or eliminating entire food groups. When you avoid, limit or eliminate a specific food it creates an urgency that gets stronger with each diet. The craving for these foods intensifies as deprivation deepens. As humans we need a variety of foods for satisfaction, our bodies need a variety of foods.
Diet culture frowns upon eating fun foods for the pure purpose of pleasure. We don’t just eat for fuel or because of hunger. We eat for pleasure and for connection. This is part of normal eating behaviour. Denying pleasure foods adds to the deprivation factor and that contributes to binge eating. The guilt that comes with eating forbidden foods prevents us from allowing our pleasure foods, so the only way we can eat them is through bingeing.
During a diet, the focus is on consistent weighing and body size. Following social media accounts promoting diets and unrealistic body “ideals” leads to body comparison and body shame. In diet culture weight loss is praised and weight and size are used as a measure of progress and worth. When these goals are not attained and maintained this is often a trigger to binge and numb body shame.
What practical steps can we take to prevent diet-related binge eating?
- The first step is to stop dieting.
- Eat regular satisfying meals.
- Avoid letting yourself get over-hungry.
- Eat a variety of foods.
- Eat enough food including foods for pure pleasure.
- Avoid over-exercising to compensate for eating.
- Listen to your body when it comes to exercising, avoid pushing yourself.
- When tired, rest.
- Adopt a flexible approach to hunger, snacks and meals.
- Honour your cravings.
- Recognise if you are meal hungry or snack hungry.
- Remove your focus from weight and weight loss.
- Do not withhold food to compensate for binge eating as this can lead to more bingeing.
This list of practical steps is only a start, it’s by no means the only part of the process. Binge eating cannot be overcome in the long term by a restrictive diet, this the first step to recognise before moving onto the next steps.
If you struggle with binge eating, you are not alone. I know it’s easy to lose hope, but overcoming it is possible with enough patience and compassion.
Wishing you well,
Xen
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