Treatment and help for binge eating disorder
While there are many things you can do to help yourself stop binge eating, it’s also important to seek professional support and treatment. Health professionals who offer treatment for binge eating disorder include psychiatrists, nutritionists, therapists, and eating disorder and obesity specialists.
The goal of treatment for binge eating disorder is to reduce compulsive overeating and bingeing episodes. If obesity is endangering your health, weight loss may be another goal. However, dieting can contribute to binge eating, so any weight loss efforts should be carefully monitored by your treatment team.
Therapy for binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder can be successfully treated in therapy. Therapy can teach you how to fight the compulsion to binge, exchange unhealthy habits for healthy ones, monitor your eating and moods, and develop effective stress-busting skills.
Three types of therapy are particularly helpful in the treatment of binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy – Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors involved in binge eating. One of the main goals is for you to become more self-aware of how you use food to deal with emotions. Your therapist may ask you to keep a food diary or a journal of your thoughts about eating, weight, and food. The therapist will also help you recognize your binge eating triggers and learn how to avoid or combat them. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for binge eating disorder also involves education about nutrition, healthy weight loss, and relaxation techniques.
- Interpersonal psychotherapy - Interpersonal psychotherapy for binge eating disorder focuses on the relationship problems and interpersonal issues that contribute to compulsive eating. Your therapist will also help you improve your communication skills and develop healthier relationships with family members and friends. As you learn how to relate better to others and get the emotional support you need, the compulsion to binge becomes more infrequent and easier to resist.
- Dialectical behavior therapy – Dialectical behavior therapy combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness meditation. The emphasis of therapy is on teaching binge eaters how to accept themselves, tolerate stress better, and regulate their emotions. Your therapist will also address unhealthy attitudes you may have about eating, shape, and weight. Dialectical behavior therapy typically includes both individual treatment sessions and weekly group therapy sessions.
Support for binge eating
Breaking the old pattern of binge eating is hard, and you may slip from time to time. This is where the support of others can really come in handy. Family, friends, and therapists can all be part of your support team. You may also find that joining a group for binge eaters is helpful. Sharing your experience with other compulsive eaters can go a long way towards reducing the stigma and loneliness you may feel.
Medications for binge eating disorder
A number of medications may be helpful in binge eating disorder treatment. Some studies have shown that medication can reduce the frequency of binge eating episodes, improve body mass index, and speed weight loss. Drug research for binge eating is still in its early stages, however, and more studies are needed.
The medications that show promise for binge eating disorder include:
- Antidepressants – Research shows that antidepressants decrease binge eating in people with bulimia. Antidepressants may also help people with binge eating disorder, but studies also show that relapse rates are high when the drug is discontinued.
- Appetite suppressants – Studies on the appetite-suppressing drug sibutramine, known by the brand name Meridia, indicate that it reduces the number of binge eating episodes and promotes weight loss.
- Topamax – The seizure drug topiramate, or Topamax, may decrease binge eating and increase weight loss. However, Topamax can cause serious side effects, including fatigue, dizziness, and burning or tingling sensations.
Compulsive Eating and Binge Eating Plan
Binge eating disorder is characterized by compulsive overeating in which people consume huge amounts of food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop.
A binge eating episode typically lasts around two hours, but some people binge on and off all day long. Binge eaters often eat even when they’re not hungry and continue eating long after they’re full. They may also gorge themselves as fast as they can while barely registering what they’re eating or tasting.
From time to time, almost everyone binges, but for those with eating disorders, a written plan to prevent binge eating provides balance and healing.
Difference Between Overeating and Binging
Picture Thanksgiving Day as you gather with family around a feast. So many holiday treats tempt us to try one more thing until we feel so full we can't take another bite. Although this is not healthy, for most people it's just an occasion to overeat, and the following day a normal healthy eating routine is resumed.
People with a binge eating disorder lose control of their life to food. Instead of eating for life, their life centers on eating. The urge to eat becomes strong enough that it blocks rational thought. The best laid goals are disregarded, and the focus becomes food. Those suffering from a binge eating disorder gorge themselves on a regular basis, and this behavior leads to feelings of shame and embarrassment. As part of a cycle, they follow binging with renewed promises to change their ways. However, the compulsion to eat does not go away and their good intentions are not enough to help them overcome their eating disorder. To succeed in overcoming a binge eating disorder, good intentions must be backed up with a plan.
Signs of Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating has only recently become a recognized disorder. Binging includes eating when not really hungry and persisting to eat past the uncomfortable mark. Once the binge is over, the person often goes on a diet or tries to return to eating sensible meals. Unfortunately, restricting their eating can lead to more bingeing, perpetuating the cycle. If reading about this behavior makes you question whether or not you may suffer from a binge eating disorder, the following list will be of interest. Other behaviors that flag a binge eating disorder include:
- You continue to eat even if you are so full you're uncomfortable
- You eat more food when binging than you would at a regular meal
- You eat very fast when binging
- You struggle with feelings of out of control eating
- You diet often without losing weight
- You practice regular binging
- You regularly eat alone
- You hoard food and hide empty wrappers and containers
- You struggle with feelings of depression or anxiety over how much you've eaten
Using a Written Plan to Prevent Binge Eating
You want to do the right thing. In fact you wake up each morning with a new resolve to eat sensibly and perhaps to lose unwanted weight. The problem is holding that resolve as the day wears on and the sudden urge to eat overtakes you. Following a written plan to prevent binge eating helps you through these times. However, this aid must be prepared ahead of time, because once the urge to eat comes upon you the plan must already be in place.
Because binging is often the answer to coping with stress, at those times having a written plan to prevent binging keeps you anchored to your heart's real desires during times of weakness. When the urge to eat is intense, look to your written plan and choose another way to cope.
Designing Your Plan
To design a written plan, do the following:
- Set long-range personal goals
- Talk with your health care professional for input
- Make a list of things that give you pleasure (other than food)
- Participate in a new hobby
- Make a list of ways to change your eating behavior
- Remove tempting food from your home and work environments
When following the above list, your doctor will be able to offer guidelines to get your eating habits on track. There are a number of diet programs like Weight Watchers and NutriSystem that can also help with this.
As you write your plan, it's important to get your focus off of food. Think of things that bring you pleasure other than food. What are your hobbies? Is there something you have always wanted to try, but haven't had the time or didn't follow through? Something like crocheting keeps your hands and mind occupied and still allows for watching TV. Devise a list that distracts you from eating while providing pleasure or a sense of accomplishment.
The main purpose of the plan is to learn how to change your eating behavior. You've probably collected quite a few tricks over your years of dieting. Use this information to build a strategy to help you deal with life. For example, if you tend to binge at work in order to cope with the stress of incompetent co-workers, your written plan would remind you to drink water instead of eating to see if you are really hungry. Another part of your plan to cope could include making sure you don't keep food at your desk so even if you feel like stuffing your face, the food isn't there. In the same way, throw away the food that lures you to binge at home.
Tips for Overcoming Binge Eating
- Eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast often leads to overeating later in the day, so start your day right with a healthy meal. Eating breakfast also jump starts your metabolism in the morning. Studies show that people who eat breakfast are thinner than those who don’t.
- Avoid temptation. You’re much more likely to overeat if you have junk food, desserts, and unhealthy snacks in the house. Remove the temptation by clearing your fridge and cupboards of your favorite binge foods.
- Stop dieting. The deprivation and hunger of strict dieting can trigger food cravings and the urge to overeat. Instead of dieting, focus on eating in moderation. Find nutritious foods that you enjoy and avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad.”
- Exercise. Not only will exercise help you lost weight in a healthy way, but it also lifts depression, improves overall health, and reduces stress. The natural mood-boosting effects of exercise can help put a stop to emotional eating.
- Destress. Learn how to cope with stress in healthy ways that don’t involve food. For some helpful stress relief strategies, see Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress.
Make a plan, write it down, and follow it. Experience freedom from food..