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Why Do We Binge Eat? What Causes Binge Eating? | Nutritionist Explains... | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
A specialist eating disorder dietitian looks into why you might be binging.
Binge eating has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with human physiology.
There are four common causes why someone might binge: physical restriction, psychological restriction, emotions and habits. Expert dietitian Elle Kelly breaks down what binge eating is and why we may do it.
Binge Eating is the consumption of large quantities of food in a short period of time, and it is often associated with the loss of control around foods. It can be followed by a period of restriction in order to compensate or make up for these episodes.
If you need support, you can check out some of the resources listed below:
Resources ⬇️
- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/eating-problems/types-of-eating-disorders/
- https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/binge-eating-disorder/
Follow Elle on IG: ellekellynutrition
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Chapters:
00:00 - why do we binge?
01:07 - what causes binging?
01:20 - physical restriction
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
if you struggle with binge eating and
0:01
don't know how to stop let's look at why
0:03
you might be doing it
0:06
my name is Elle specialist eating
0:08
disorder and sports dietitian and I'm
0:10
going to tell you why binge eating has
0:12
nothing to do with willpower and
0:14
everything to do with human physiology
0:15
firstly what is binge eating binge
0:18
eating is the consumption of large
0:20
quantities of food in a short period of
0:22
time and it is often associated with a
0:24
loss of control around foods and can be
0:26
followed by a period of restriction in
0:28
order to compensate or make up for these
0:30
episodes
0:31
characteristics of binge eating can
0:33
include eating faster than normal eating
0:36
past comfortable fullness obsessing over
0:38
food eating large amounts of food when
0:41
not physically hungry eating alone and
0:44
feeling guilt or embarrassment about
0:45
binging binges can sometimes be planned
0:48
or happen as a result of losing control
0:50
around food binge eating can be part of
0:52
an eating disorder called binge eating
0:54
disorder or bed and this is actually the
0:57
most common clinical eating disorder
0:59
someone who binge eats at least once per
1:01
week for at least three months is likely
1:03
to be diagnosed with binge eating
1:05
disorder so what causes binge eating the
1:08
four most common causes of binge eating
1:10
are one physical restriction two
1:14
psychological restriction three emotions
1:17
and four habits so let's look at number
1:20
one physical restriction physical
1:22
restriction describes limiting our
1:24
overall calorie in nutrient intake our
1:26
body doesn't like change and doesn't
1:28
know the difference between famine and
1:30
an intentional diet so when it perceives
1:33
food as limited there are a series of
1:35
biological changes that occur in an
1:37
attempt to protect the body our hunger
1:39
hormone ghrelin often increases when we
1:42
diet and the hormone which signals to
1:44
the brain that we are full leptin
1:45
decreases this means that we can
1:47
experience extreme hunger and a delayed
1:50
sensation of fullness which increases
1:52
the likelihood of us eating past
1:54
comfortable fullness levels frequent or
1:56
long-term dieting can result in getting
1:58
used to ignoring or suppressing these
2:00
signals which can sometimes lead to
2:01
feeling insatiable hunger once you start
2:03
eating leaving long periods between
2:06
meals can result in becoming overly
2:08
hungry which can lead to binging at
2:10
later points in the day this is also
2:12
similar to restricting your intake or
2:13
being good throughout the week and then
2:15
binging on the weekends the next type of
2:18
restriction is commonly associated with
2:20
dieting as well and that's mental or
2:22
psychological restriction and this
2:24
refers to any rules or conditions that
2:26
you may have around food if I told you
2:28
not to push the red button I can
2:30
guarantee you that you probably hadn't
2:31
realized there was a red button but now
2:33
all you're doing is thinking about
2:35
pushing that red button and the same
2:36
thing happens when we diet the moment
2:38
you tell yourself you can't or shouldn't
2:41
have a certain food you might find that
2:43
you're thinking about it and craving it
2:44
a lot more than you normally would when
2:46
we put food into categories like good
2:48
and bad healthy unhealthy allowed or off
2:51
limits we create a very black and white
2:53
mindset around food and this is often
2:56
why we see people fall off their diets
2:58
when we eventually allow ourselves to
3:01
have a food that is off limits because
3:02
let's be honest you're not going to
3:04
avoid chocolate or bread or whatever it
3:05
is forever the scarcity mindset kicks in
3:08
this can lead to thinking I need to make
3:11
the most of this opportunity to eat this
3:12
food because I normally am not allowed
3:14
to eat it and so you binge on it also
3:17
having morals attached to food like food
3:19
being good or bad can transpire onto how
3:21
we feel about ourselves when we eat that
3:23
food this can mean that when we do eat a
3:26
food that we consider bad we feel
3:28
shameful and guilty and this can result
3:31
in feeling like you've already ruined
3:33
your diet you may as well keep going and
3:34
binge on all the foods that you've
3:36
restricted with the thoughts of starting
3:37
again fresh tomorrow or on Monday but
3:40
this is what sustains the binge eating
3:42
cycle restricting our intake or having
3:45
the mentality that we need to cut out
3:46
certain foods or food groups is what
3:48
creates the urge to binge going back to
3:51
physical hunger restricting after a
3:53
binge actually reinforces the fear of
3:55
the body which is that there is a famine
3:57
imminent and your body will do
3:59
everything in its power to ensure that
4:01
you eat what you can whilst you have the
4:02
opportunity to when we create these food
4:05
rules and subsequentially break them it
4:07
erodes trust within ourselves and this
4:09
can lead to frustration and low
4:11
self-esteem we believe that we can't
4:13
trust ourselves around certain foods and
4:15
this gives us even more reason to
4:17
restrict and avoid that food this can
4:19
create fear and anxiety around Foods too
4:22
for some people which severely impacts
4:24
quality of life another reason why
4:26
people may binge is in response to
4:28
emotions it is the most normal thing in
4:30
the world to find food come comforting
4:32
eating is emotional and it isn't just
4:34
associated with negative emotions like
4:36
stress or sadness food can be associated
4:38
with positive emotions too like
4:40
Nostalgia and social occasions food is
4:42
rewarding and pleasurable and it can be
4:44
a way of expressing Love and Other
4:46
emotions too from the moment we are born
4:48
we associate food with Comfort babies
4:51
associate being fed either by a bottle
4:53
or the breast with being held and
4:55
comforted by their parents eating in
4:57
response to emotions is not inherently
4:59
bad it only becomes a problem if it is
5:01
our only coping mechanism when we eat in
5:04
response to emotions we are likely to
5:06
overeat or even binge because eating
5:09
provides relief from the emotion in many
5:11
ways negative emotions may lead to a
5:13
feeling of emptiness or an emotional
5:15
void and food can be seen as a way to
5:17
fill that void and create a false
5:19
feeling of fullness eating can also
5:21
serve as a distraction from
5:22
uncomfortable emotions or a stressful
5:24
situation but equally we can also learn
5:26
that eating helps us to feel good
5:28
serotonin is released after eating
5:30
carbohydrates which can create a feeling
5:32
of calmness and this is known to improve
5:34
our moods dopamine and noradrenaline are
5:36
released after eating proteins and these
5:38
enhance concentration and alertness but
5:40
dopamine is also associated with
5:42
learning rewards and neurodrenaline
5:43
plays a role in our body stress response
5:45
when we eat in response to emotions or a
5:48
certain situation we improve how we are
5:50
feeling momentarily and it provides an
5:52
escape from whatever we are dealing with
5:54
however this is short-lived as when we
5:57
stop eating the emotion which we are
5:59
trying to avoid is still there which is
6:00
why a binge may occur in order to
6:02
continue to suppress these emotions
6:04
emotions can also sustain the binge
6:07
restrict cycle as number one it is
6:09
likely that triggering emotion will
6:11
continue to come up as we're not
6:13
actually dealing with it by binging
6:14
we're just distracting ourselves from it
6:16
or suppressing it but number two after a
6:18
binge people tend to feel emotions such
6:21
as guilt shame or disappointment and
6:23
this can further Drive the desire to
6:24
binge in an attempt to comfort ourselves
6:26
from this uncomfortable emotion and
6:29
finally when binging has gone on for a
6:30
while it can be become habitual in the
6:33
same way that we create associations
6:34
with food and positive or negative
6:37
emotions some people can associate
6:38
certain foods situations times or days
6:41
with binge eating and in this way binge
6:43
eating can become a habit if binge
6:45
eating is Habitual it is important to
6:48
identify any correlations between binges
6:50
and certain foods environments or other
6:52
external factors often habitual binges
6:54
can be linked to emotions and rules
6:56
around food too remember there is a
6:58
difference between overeating every now
7:00
and then and binge eating compulsively
7:02
if you struggle with binge eating
7:04
ensuring you're nourishing yourself
7:05
adequately and not leaving Long gaps in
7:08
between meals is vital as dieting
7:10
increases the likelihood of binge eating
7:12
diet culture also enforces many food
7:14
rules upon us and stepping away from
7:16
these and challenging your beliefs
7:17
around food is one of the fundamentals
7:20
to preventing binging on certain foods
7:22
if binge eating occurs as a result of
7:24
emotions or habits it is important to
7:26
identify these emotions and honor them
7:28
accordingly as food is only a temporary
7:30
solution and these emotions will
7:32
continue coming up active distractions
7:35
and planning ahead for when you feel
7:36
binge urges can be really useful when
7:39
dealing with emotional or habitual binge
7:40
eating too as I mentioned some degrees
7:42
of binge eating can be considered a
7:44
clinical eating disorder and require the
7:46
support of a multi-disciplinary team
7:48
like a dietitian a psychologist and a GP
7:51
if you need support you can check out
7:52
some of the resources listed in the
7:54
description below as always if you have
7:56
any questions please let me know in the
7:58
comments below and remember to like And
8:00
subscribe to the my protein YouTube
8:01
channel for more great evidence-based
8:03
nutrition information
8:05
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