How to Recover From Binge Eating & Look After Your Health

If you are someone who is on the road to recovery from a binge eating disorder (also classed as the most common eating disorder), then you know how tough it can be to put binge eating out of your mind and focus on what you need to do to lead a healthier life.

Binge eating disorder can bring on a lot of shame and upset, and as with any eating disorders, it can be hard to stop and move on. If you are in binge eating disorder recovery and you are doing everything possible to support your mental health as well as your physical health, then that is fantastic and you should be proud of how far you have come.

Even if you are still going through it and every day is a struggle, you are still putting one foot in front of the other, so do not discount how far you have come. The mindset you have when you binge eat is hard to shake, so give yourself some leeway.

If you want to stop binge eating and look into how treating eating disorders is done, you will need to get professional support from a doctor. This article is not here to diagnose or treat your binge eating disorder but to offer some tips on how to recover from binge eating that may work on your journey.

What is Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge eating disorders can be classed as extensive overeating. You binge eat a lot and you find yourself not being able to control it. You can eat a lot more than you normally would and it can be done in a short amount of time which can cause a bad relationship with food and issues with weight.

What Happens to Them?

A person who starts binge eating will find that they cannot stop once they start, even if they do not feel hungry, which can bring about emotional eating patterns. This can make the person feel incredibly nauseous and may end up with them being sick. It would also take a toll on their oral health, leading to stained or bacteria-infested teeth. In such circumstances, seeking professional assistance becomes crucial, prompting individuals to seek consultation with a dentist vancouver or a nearby healthcare professional. Thorough dental checkups play a pivotal role in assessing the extent of damage resulting from binge eating.

Furthermore, these comprehensive examinations aid in identifying specific dental issues, such as potential decay, erosion, or gum problems, stemming from recurring binge-eating patterns. Additionally, if deemed necessary, the dentist may propose personalized procedures, whether general or cosmetic dentistry lincoln (or in your area), to address oral concerns. This may encompass treatments like teeth whitening, dental bonding, veneers, and teeth cleaning, aiming to restore the aesthetic appearance of teeth affected by the repercussions of binge eating. Put simply, taking a proactive approach to address both the immediate dental consequences and the underlying binge-eating issue is crucial for promoting sustained oral health and overall well-being.

How do They Feel About Themselves?

This disordered eating can make someone have negative emotions and feelings towards themselves such as disgust and shame for their actions when they eat. This unhealthy relationship with food can progress into restrictive eating to punish themselves, as well as harsh punishments that can turn into health problems.

What is The Cause of Binge Eating Disorder?

Someone with a binge eating disorder (BED) may have this type of disordered eating due to a few factors.

• Genetics
• Psychological Links
• Societal and Cultural Issues

They can all combine together to create this common eating disorder in a person, so it is important to see why these factors are part of the issue.

Genetics

Binge eating disorder has been known to be passed on through parents who have also suffered from this eating disorder or have had substance use issues. There are also links to neurobiological components that affect the control that the person has over their eating.

Finally, hormones have an effect on hunger and fullness as well as our feelings towards food as the Eating Recovery Center online states.

Psychological Links

People who have eating disorders may feel the way they do due to some psychological factors that they cannot seem to stop. People with binge eating disorder may have low self esteem, a negative body image, and they may also feel lonely and inadequate.

If they can’t seem to lose weight and have difficulty eating right, then they will get angry at themselves and put all the blame on who they are.

Societal and Cultural Issues

If we look at our society, thin bodies are seen as beautiful, and even with the advancement in body image positivity, people still feel bad about how their bodies look.

People who go on diets and make weight loss their goal consider this to be the right thing to do and a healthy way to live life. They preach how willpower is all up to us and if we can’t lose weight then it is our fault for not trying hard enough. People with binge eating disorders do not feel in control and this can make them go into a shame spiral.

This can cause several health issues like malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances, gastrointestinal problems, and even cardiovascular complications. Additionally, it could also lead to teeth problems such as tooth decay, erosion of tooth enamel, gum disease, and sensitivity. In such cases, booking a teeth cleaning service and visiting a dentist can help mitigate some of these dental issues by removing plaque and tartar buildup, reducing the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

Tips to Stop Binge Eating to Aid the Recovery Process

Luckily, binge eating disorder is treatable with the right support. As long as you are adamant about intuitive eating and forging a healthier relationship with food by utilizing coping skills, then you will be able to make it through this so you can do the best for yourself.

Get Professional Support

This is one of the most important things to do when dealing with an eating disorder. Speaking to a treatment team that can help with your emotional eating patterns will not only help your mental health problems with eating, but they will show you what you can do physically to support yourself.

They can figure out your trigger foods and why you think the way that you do as well as teach what coping skills you can put in place when you feel that need to binge eat. They can help you regularly eat without giving in to that urge.

types of therapy you can do are –

• Psychotherapy
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
• Interpersonal Therapy (IT)

Each one can help you with your binge eating, you just need to find the right fit. It can take some time but sticking at it will be worth it in the end. Binge eating disorder is a mental illness and it needs to be treated properly so that the patterns can be broken.

Don’t Weigh Yourself or Try Dieting

Don’t diet, it will not work for you and you will just end up right where you were before. Not everyone can stick to a diet as some of them are incredibly restricting which can affect your mental health, and if you revert back, you can make yourself feel even worse for not sticking to it.

You see food as the issue and your body size as the issue, it is not the issue. Your approach to food is as well as what you think about food. You need to heal your head before you can properly support your body, and if you step on a scale during this time you will make yourself feel a lot worse. Do not let the scale dictate what you are and what you are worthy of.

Try Intuitive Eating

Listening to your body and figuring out what it needs is classed as intuitive eating. Do not just eat because you are bored or it is something for you to do, only eat when you feel hungry and you are aware that you are eating. Once you feel full, stop and walk away so that you do not keep eating as it will make you worse.

Focus on What You Are Doing

Focus on eating foods that are good for you and have high nutritional value. It is okay to have sweet stuff once in a while, but when you eat them, be aware of just how much you are eating. Do not eat from the bag or the box, set aside the food you want and then put the rest away and go and sit down to enjoy your food.

Manage Your Stress Levels

Stress can bring on binge eating, it may be a part of life we all have, but the way we handle it tells a lot, and if you handle stress by eating food, then you need to find a way that you can pivot that somewhere else.

Finding ways to calm down and relax your mind can stop those stress responses from taking over, so if you feel like you want to binge eat again, take a walk, do some painting, watch a film, talk to friends, some deep breathing exercises, or look up a “Massage Therapist Near Me” or something similar and find a nice spa nearby. Try anything that will be a good distraction for you.

What Are The Health Risks of Binge Eating Disorder?

There are risks to binge eating disorder and it is important that you understand these and keep these in your mind whenever you feel like you want to binge again.

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Disease
• High Cholesterol
• Obesity

These are just a few to think about, but as you are aware, it can also affect people mentally too, which can lead to other issues down the road. It is not just a disorder that will affect the body, it seeps into the mind.

Conclusion

Whether you are dealing with a binge eating disorder now or you are going through recovery, it is tough to deal with alone. Reach out to people and get on the right path to give yourself that time to support yourself and live a more fulfilled life.