5 Reasons You Are Still Bingeing
Have you begun your journey in making peace with food but find yourself stuck in the restrict/binge cycle with food? You are not alone! Many people struggle with overcoming binge eating because there are underlying reasons behind the binges that often go unnoticed. Binge eating does not mean you have failed! Take it as a learning experience for something else that might be going on.
Here are some of the 5 most common reasons you may still be bingeing on food:
#1 You still mentally restrict
You may be feeling physically satisfied after your meals, but if you do not satisfy your mental hunger as well you increase the likelihood of over eating or bingeing later on. Mental hunger looks like having a craving or desire for something rather than getting those physical sensations (tummy growling, decreased energy). For example, if your family decided to order a pizza for dinner but you stuck to your already planned chicken, rice and broccoli dinner but you REALLY wanted the pizza instead, you didn’t satisfy your mental hunger. Because of this, you may find that you still have a craving for something so you end up raiding the pantry or fridge later on.
#2 You are holding onto food rules
Think of food rules as these little habits and behaviors that we may have developed around food that are sometimes just second nature. Because diet culture has made us believe that we need to be in constant control around food, food rules start to develop and keep us locked into diet culture’s grip. A few examples might be only eating at certain times, eating less during the day to eat more at night, only eating the serving size, etc.
#3 You still have the desire to change your body
It’s not your fault that you have the desire to change the way your body looks. You have probably been exposed since you were young that dieting and trying to lose weight is “normal”. If you have a negative self-image, you may have the tendency to engage in diet-like behaviors.
#4 You are not eating enough during the day
As mentioned earlier, if you are not eating enough throughout the day to support your body, you might be more inclined to binge on those “off-limit” foods because your body is craving the calories you are depriving it of. Eating enough protein, carbs, and fats at meals is a great place to start because the combination of all three macronutrients do their job of keeping you satisfied after meals.
#5 You fill up on low-calorie foods
Eating a lot of low calorie, high volume foods like salads, raw veggies, rice cakes, egg whites, etc. can leave you feeling temporarily full, but not enough to keep you actually satisfied and nourished. When your body is not getting enough calories, our survival mechanism of seeking out food that provide those calories (usually higher fat, high sugar foods) will be the first thing that pops in our minds when we start to feel hungry.
There is not always one root cause of binge eating. There is also an emotional component to bingeing and using food to cope with difficult emotions can bring comfort or distraction to dealing with those emotions. Low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and stress can also contribute to disordered eating patterns. However, restricting and bingeing does not have to be your reality!
Want to put an end to the cycle of restricting and bingeing for good? Apply to my Food Freedom Coaching program and you will learn step by step how to overcome the restrict/binge cycle and make peace with food and your body. So many women have healed their relationship with food, and you can too! Click here to learn more.
