Diet and Wellness Culture’s Role in Binge Eating
For many folks who struggle with disordered eating such as binge eating disorder, their food issues originated with a diet or “lifestyle change.” It’s not surprising. In fact, studies show that 25% of people who diet develop an eating disorder while 35% remain chronic dieters. Moreover, in America over half the adult population is estimated to diet every year. With these statistics in mind, it’s clear that there is a role diet and wellness culture play in the annual uptick in eating disorder diagnoses.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is one of the most common eating disorders, affecting people of all ages and genders. While genetic factors can influence BED, I’m going to share more about how diet and wellness culture contribute to the development of this disorder and how it’s possible to get over binge eating.
What is diet and wellness culture?
Diet culture and wellness culture are both cultural norms that can have an impact on health and well-being. Diet culture is a system of beliefs that prioritizes thinness over health and well-being, and equates being thin with virtue and moral health. It can promote weight loss as a way to gain social status, which can lead to unhealthy behaviors like food and exercise obsession, restriction, and stigmatization of fatness. Diet culture can also cause anxiety about the consequences of not following these behaviors, and can negatively impact relationships. For example, food restriction can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation during social interactions.
Wellness culture is a paradigm that equates wellness or health with moral goodness and well-being. It usually ties into the “thin ideal” (i.e. thin = healthy and “good”) and moralization of food (i.e. certain foods are good and others are bad). It also promotes the idea that people are solely responsible for their health and can significantly change it by following certain food and supplementation plans. Wellness culture posits that not taking charge of your health is irresponsible or bad. Wellness culture can be appealing to people with chronic illnesses who struggle to find support in the conventional healthcare system. It can include alternative and complementary medicines, which can sometimes make people feel heard and understood. While some wellness information can be helpful, wellness culture often takes it to an extreme. Furthermore, because the wellness industry is loosely regulated, people with little to no in-depth training in medicine and nutrition are able to sell supplements, food intolerance tests, fitness and nutrition plans that collude with diet culture.
**Let me say that health itself isn’t bad - it’s lovely to feel and be “healthy” - but not everyone has the privilege of good health or be able to take steps towards healthful living due to ability, access or even desire (and that’s ok!).
How does diet and wellness culture tie into binge eating?
Bottom line: diets and rigid wellness plans create the ideal environment for binge eating disorder to develop because they promote physical and psychological restriction. Here’s how it works:
Restriction happens psychologically through food rules and physically via an overall calorie deficit
The body feels hungrier and hungrier - there is biological starvation and panic in the body, leading it to look for and go after food to keep itself safe
Binging happens
Folks feel shame for falling off the diet wagon
Restrict again and vow to do better next time
Life happens (e.g. a fight with a spouse, stress, exhaustion) making one more vulnerable to feeling the urge to binge on “forbidden” foods
The body feels hunger/famine again
Resolve loosens, the urge to eat forbidden foods increases
Cycle through #3-8 over and over
Why does binge eating happen when we diet?
From a psychological perspective, when diets don’t work, folks look for the newest food plan to achieve the thin ideal. Because diets often fail, folks resort to more and more rigid diet plans. When those don’t work, the shame and self-blame get stronger. So they look for a new diet. When it doesn’t work, their self-esteem and self-policing become stronger. In time, this psychological merry-go-round contributes to anxiety and depression. Folks start to doubt that they can keep certain foods at home for fear of it tempting them out of a diet. Diet thinking monitors folks on the foods they think they “should” or “shouldn’t” eat while at the same time making non-diet foods more alluring. Things start to feel hopeless.
From a biological perspective, dieting and rigid “wellness” plans don’t meet a body’s caloric needs, so the body begins to experience starvation. Our bodies don’t know the difference between a diet and actual famine so it does what it has been biologically programmed to do to keep us from starving. It releases more hunger hormones. It heightens our senses so that food smells, looks, sounds, feels, and tastes better. Our brains think more about food, recipes, the next meal we’re going to eat, and how it’s going to be eaten, and are often drawn to higher calorie foods because it knows that’s what we need to keep from starving. (This is why folks are often drawn to sugary, carb-y foods because it’s like rocket fuel for a starving body–it’s not because they don’t have the willpower or are bad people). Furthermore, our bodies start to slow down metabolism in order to hold onto and store fat in order to keep itself safe. This is another reason people plateau while dieting–the body is protecting itself!
Over time, starvation (via dieting) can lead to decreased energy, brain fog, fatigue, mood fluctuations, lack of social connection, loss of muscle mass, and (in extreme cases) decreased organ function. All of these symptoms make it harder to function in life and maintain such rigid food rules. That, combined with the body’s efforts to protect itself by eating, makes non-diet foods more appealing and a binge can happen. Binges can also happen due to psychological reasons such as big emotions, sensory overwhelm, or not getting social and emotional needs met. Usually, binging is due to a combo of restriction and emotional distress.
Binge eating disorder happens when the binge cycle gets stronger over time. It’s characterized as a disorder based on how frequently it occurs. Technically, BED is characterized as eating episodes that last 15 minutes to 2 hours and occur 2-3 times a week for at least 2 months. Non-technically speaking, even if someone doesn’t meet these criteria, binge eating can create much distress and it’s still worthy of treatment. If you or someone you know is going through this, please reach out to me or look for support in your area. It’s absolutely possible to get off the binge-eating merry-go-round.
How does someone get help for binge eating disorder?
There are lots of different options for binge eating disorder support. Here are my warnings and recommendations as you look for help:
Things I DO NOT recommend:
12-step programs like OA - they often promote abstinence from foods and this is counterproductive to you being able to trust yourself around all foods again.
Dieting - absolutely no. Dieting keeps you stuck on the binge/restrict merry-go-round and makes you distrust your body and relationship with food. Again, absolutely no.
“Weight management” programs - the focus on weight management in the beginning of BED recovery is contraindicated
Internet people who promise a new food plan that will keep you from binging. It’s probably another type of diet. Don’t do it.
Things I DO WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND:
Amy Pershing and Chevese Turner’s book “Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey To Recovery And Beyond” - Amy is amazing and her views on trauma and its intersection with BED are spot on. Here’s a podcast episode where Amy and her co-author Chevese discuss the book.
Therapists: Look for therapists specializing in eating disorders, specifically binge eating disorders. You can check out sites such as Psychology Today and Therapy Den for directories of BED specialists.
Treatment Centers: Consider specialized eating disorder treatment centers or clinics. Some resources in Raleigh, NC include Veritas Collaborative, UNC Center for Eating Disorders, and the Eating Recovery Center.
Support Groups: Participate in support groups, either in-person or online. You can check out the National Alliance For Eating Disorders and the Center For Discovery for FREE support groups.
Intuitive Eating Education: Specifically, go to the source: Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. Be careful of folks who teach intuitive eating as a means to diet - that’s not what IE is. You can also find IE providers on their website directory.
For anyone who is dealing with binge eating disorder: you deserve to find peace with food! It’s possible. There is a way out of the confusing, hopeless, frustrating landscape that is diet and wellness culture. While we still have a long way to go to dismantle diet and wellness culture, we can find healing and peace with food one person at a time. If you’re ready to learn more or get started on your binge eating recovery process, give me a call here at Counselor Kate.
Get started with binge eating disorder therapy in Raleigh, NC today
If you’re feeling trapped in the cycle of dieting and binge eating, you’re not alone. Many people find themselves stuck in this frustrating pattern, but there is a way out. Recovery is possible, and you deserve to find peace with food and your body. Follow the steps below to start your healing journey with binge eating disorder therapy.
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