Binge Eating Disorder

Just like people with bulimia, people with binge eating disorder experience episodes of binge eating which are characterised by eating large amounts of food in a short space of time and a sense of lack of control while eating.

Sufferers are liken to eat more rapidly then normal, to eat when they are not hungry and/or past the point of fullness.

Most feels guilty and embarrassed about their perceived overeating and frequently eat in secret. Unlike people with Bulimia, people with binge eating disorder do not usually compensate for their behaviour by restricting or purging

Emotions and behaviour:

• You feel out of control around food; you nibble, eat without being hungry or binge.
• You are always on or off diets, but nothing works for long.
• Eating rules your life; at times whatever you eat, it’s never enough. You think about food and worry about eating a great deal.
• You eat sensibly in public but on your own it goes out of control. You eat a lot in secret.
• You may promise to stop compulsive eating, but it somehow doesn’t happen. You think that if people knew how you eat they wouldn’t want to know you.
• Food feels like a friend and an enemy at the same time, your cravings feel like an addiction where certain foods are concerned.
• You have mood swings, often for no reason; you feel depressed, alone and in despair.
• You wish you could just take food or leave it but it’s never enough.

Physical consequences:

• Compulsive eating and binge eating can have serious health effects.
• The main outcomes include: Tiredness & lack of energy, diabetes or insulin resistance, poor thyroid function and more.

Getting help

Binge eating disorder and compulsive eating does not go away without treatment. Even after many years, recovery is possible with the right support. We can help.

Recovery aims

We aim to transform your relationship with food and re-awaken your willpower from within. It’s not just about food, you may need emotional strengthening, raising self worth and finding better ways of feeling in control. You start with a full assessment to help build a treatment plan that is right for you. Treatment of compulsive eating and binge eating takes time and will focus on:

• Gaining insight about compulsive overeating and food cravings; discovering what in your past has led to you developing it in the first place.
• Boosting your motivation to change. We know that food feels like your only friend and you will worry about missing your favourite foods. This doesn’t happen.
• Nutritional guidance, to end compulsive eating and manage overeating without the need to go on yet another diet. If you have weight to lose, we will help with that as well
• Managing stress and unhappiness without turning to food, or to binge foods.
• Managing constant thoughts and worries about food and weight.
• Managing lapses so that you keep feeling in control.
• Self worth and body image healing.

Take the next step

Would you like to know how you developed your eating disorder and what can be done to help you recover?

ACFEB Approved Eating Disorder Practitioners understand eating disorders, why it is so hard to change, and how it affects your life.

Are you ready to change?