4 Top Tips To Break The Binge and Restrict Cycle

The endless binge and restrict cycle. 

 The cycle can begin at any point but for the sake of the explanation:

Restrict

“Look at me, I’m being so good, I am not eating any “bad foods”, I’m sticking to the plan. I won’t binge like last time, I will stay away from the extra calories, and I’ll make up for the food I ate before.”

Restricting behavior usually includes limiting food groups and eating small amounts of food. It can form due to numerous reasons. Whether it be diet culture, trying to lose weight, a need for control, or trying to calm or numb unwanted emotions. For a limited amount of time restriction gives a sense of relief that is until…

Binge

“That looks so good. Just one bite, I’ll give myself permission to eat just a bite. The bite turns into another and another. Fuck it, I can’t take it anymore. Why can’t I stop eating? Shit. Why did I eat so much? I was doing so well. I ruined everything. I need to make up for what I ate. That’s it. I’m not eating anything else today or tomorrow.”

Restricting your body results in extreme hunger and obsessive thoughts about food. You end up giving in and decide to eat a small amount. However, by then you are so physically and mentally deprived that you can’t stop. You eat well over the point of satisfaction and feel insanely guilty afterward. You go back to restricting food after as a way to compensate for binging. And the binge-restrict cycle keeps going.

How To Stop The Binge Restrict Cycle

As someone who has struggled with both binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa and was stuck in the never-ending loop of binging and restricting for years, I know how hard it can be. Breaking the cycle takes time and effort, but acknowledging you have a problem and that your eating patterns need to change is already half the way there. Of course, the following tips are no replacement for proper eating disorder treatment. With that being said these are my best tips to break free from the binge and restrict cycle.

Top 4 Tips To Break The Binge and Restrict Cycle

1. Stop Restricting

I know that this is much easier said than done and the change won’t happen overnight, but if you ever want the binging to end the restriction also has to go. Thanks to diet culture many of us have been brainwashed into believing that there are “good” and “bad” foods. However, everything can be good in moderation. Restricting and trying to stay away from certain food groups or having food rules will do much more harm than good. Telling yourself that you can’t have a certain food will only make you obsess over it more, and will probably result in a binge, helping you dive deeper into the cycle. Practice intuitive eating and you’ll discover that when you honor your hunger and cravings and give yourself permission to enjoy food the need to binge eat will lessen.

2. Plan Ahead

Often times we tend to minimize and restrict our food intake during the day and end up binging at night. Make sure to eat a fitting amount of food and eat every few hours to keep away extreme hunger. With that being said after binge eating and restricting for a while, you may find it hard to know how, when and what to eat. Usually following a period of restricting and binging disordered eating habits form which may cloud your judgment. This is why getting help from a dietitian that specializes in eating disorder recovery can be extremely helpful for you. Planning your meals and snacks ahead of time (or even just the time of day in which you eat them) will help you stay satisfied and binging much less frequently.

{Related Post-3 Types Of Eating Disorders: Beginners Guide}

3. Learn Your Binge Triggers

Different factors other than restriction can also trigger binge eating. These include:

• Specific foods(different for each person)
• Negative body image
• Anger
• Feeling numb
• Overeating
• “Messing up”/not eating as planned.
• Sadness
• Stressful situations
• Boredom
• Eating out
• And more.

Once you become aware of your binge triggers you can find ways to cope other than binging. This brings me to tip number 4-

4. Have a List Of Coping Mechanisms For Binge Eating

If you ever want to end the restrict-binge cycle and stop binge eating for good you have to learn how to cope with your binging triggers. Personally, I have made a list of things to do instead of binge eating that work great for me. Feel free to take what resonates from my list and add your own.

1. Take a hot shower
2. Call a friend
3. Go for a walk
4. Have a warm cup of tea
5. Journal about how you are feeling in the moment
6. Do an art project
7. Change into comfy clothes and watch a movie
8. Pamper yourself- paint your nails, put on a face mask, style your hair
9. Bake cookies
10. Organize your room
11. Play a computer game
12. Do the dishes
13. Read a book
14. Watch a scary movie
15. Listen to your favorite music
16. Do a crossword puzzle
17. Put together a puzzle
18. Do an intense cardio workout
19. Hold an ice cube in your hand
20. Scream into a pillow

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