While occasional overindulgence is a normal part of life, binge eating is more than simply overeating at a party. It’s a relentless cycle of consuming large amounts of food in a short period, often accompanied by feelings of shame and a loss of control.
Botlhale Mashishi from Pretoria shares that she often tends to binge eat when experiencing emotions of sadness and anxiety.
“I use food as a tool to comfort myself, and anxiety triggers me into binge eating. It has affected me more on the financial aspect of things since when I binge eat, I do so with junk food that I impulsively spend on. Running and being active has, however, helped me to remove my mind from binge eating as a tool to self-soothe,” she says.
For Lungelo Nembula from Durban, binge eating was triggered after intermittent fasting, which involves not eating for some time each day or week.
“If I have a meal outside of my dietary plan, I tend to eat a lot throughout the day. So from personal experience, I would not recommend intermittent fasting as it can trigger binge eating once you’ve decided to stop. Having a schedule that dictates eating times and how much to eat during that time has been helpful in managing binge eating,” he says.
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‘I love food’
A Johannesburg resident who would like to remain anonymous, says she started binge eating because she loved food, and it led to health issues for her.
“I started binge-eating without realising it. It just came from boredom and loving food. It was unfortunate that I ended up gaining weight and being misunderstood, and the stress of no longer appreciating my body because I became fat led me to binge eat more to cope. I’m trying to cope and learn to eat cleaner rather than abuse junk food.”
According to dietitian Luyanda Msane from Durban, binge eating is a pattern of eating large quantities of food in a short period, often accompanied by a loss of control.
“Binge eating is typically triggered by emotional distress, boredom, or negative feelings. It becomes a serious mental health issue when it occurs regularly, causing distress, guilt, and interference with daily functioning, leading to conditions like binge eating disorder (BED),” says Msane.
“People who binge eat often gravitate towards high-calorie, unhealthy, comforting foods like sweets, chips, and processed snacks. However, it can vary from person to person.”
Dietitian Luyanda Msane
Msane points out effective ways to control binge eating, such as seeking therapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy), practising mindful eating, identifying triggers, establishing regular eating patterns, and engaging in stress-reduction activities.
“Uncontrolled binge eating can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. Therefore, it is important to seek professional help,” she adds.
Learning to cope
Along with getting professional help, the Mayo Clinic shares lifestyle and home remedies to help cope with binge eating.
- Stay with your treatment. Don’t skip therapy sessions. If you have a meal plan, do your best to stay with it. Don’t let setbacks keep you from continuing treatment.
- Stay away from dieting. Trying to diet can trigger more binge eating, leading to a vicious cycle that’s hard to break.
- Eat regularly. For example, eat every two to three hours to try to break the restrict-then-binge cycle.
- Plan for triggering situations. Being around certain foods can trigger eating binges for some people. Plan what to do when you’re around tempting foods.
- Get the right nutrients. Just because you may be eating a lot during binges doesn’t mean you’re eating the kinds of food that have all the nutrients you need. Ask your healthcare professional if you need to adjust your diet to get essential vitamins and minerals.
- Stay connected. Don’t isolate yourself from caring family members and friends who want to see you get healthy. Surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart.
- Get active. Ask your healthcare professional what kind of physical activity is best for you.
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