Last Updated on: 16th March 2025, 04:04 pm
This article was written by Associate Registered Nutritionist (ANutr) Cherie Ko, and reviewed by Registered Dietitian, Sarah Idakwo
What is Overeating?
Overeating, sometimes referred to as Binge eating involves consuming subjectively large amounts of food in a short period, often without physical hunger cues. This behaviour is typically marked by a feeling of loss of control during eating episodes (1). Overeating is a complex and multifaceted behaviour, influenced by a blend of biological, psychological, social and environmental factors.
Common triggers include emotional stress, restrictive dieting, traumatic experiences, and other mental health disorders.
Characteristics of binge eating may include (2):
- Eating faster than usually
- Eating in secrecy/ alone
- Feeling embarrassed, depressed, guilty or disgusted with yourself whilst eating and after eating
- Eating past fullness
- Eating to the point of discomfort
- Feeling out of control while eating
- Feeling in a state of physical discomfort after over eating such as feeling bloated or feeling uncomfortably full
If you’re nodding your head as you move down this list, you might be wondering how you arrived at this point, what drives this pattern, and most importantly, how you can stop. Continue reading to explore five transformative strategies that can empower you to overcome overeating and reclaim your relationship with food.
5 steps to stop Overeating
1. Understanding why you Overeat
Overeating doesn’t just happen; they’re predictable and often follow a pattern. By closely examining what occurs before, during, and after you overeat, you can pinpoint the triggers that lead to your binge eating behaviour. This understanding is crucial—it’s the first step towards developing strategies to prevent future episodes.
Start by identifying the situations that seem to prompt overeating :
- Environment: Where are you typically when overeating? Are you alone at home, possibly zoning out in front of the TV or engaging in other forms of distraction?
- Time of Day: Do your binges tend to happen more at night or at specific times when you’re feeling low energy or stressed?
- Emotional State: What emotions are you experiencing when you overeat? Are feelings of boredom, loneliness, or stress common triggers?
Maintaining a journal every time you identify a situation can be incredibly insightful. Over time, this record will reveal patterns in your behaviour, helping you understand and address the underlying causes to overeat.
2. Focusing on not skipping meals throughout the day
Skipping meals can inadvertently heighten the risk of overeating by fostering excessive hunger or triggering a sense of deprivation. Instead, adopting regular and flexible eating patterns can help ensure that your body receives the nourishment it needs consistently throughout the day. This approach not only stabilises your energy levels but also prevents the extreme hunger that often leads to overeating.
Here’s how you can take control:
- Consistency Is Key: Eat at regular intervals throughout the day to stabilise blood sugar levels and minimise the intense cravings that can lead to a binge.
- Plan Your Meals: Knowing in advance what you’re going to eat helps prevent meal-skipping. Planning doesn’t have to be rigid—allow yourself the flexibility to adjust based on your hunger and fullness cues.
By eating regularly and addressing the emotional and environmental triggers of binges, you gain more control over your eating habits.
3. Expand your coping strategies
While eating can be an immediate source of comfort, if you find yourself turning to food as a primary coping mechanism, it maybe time to explore more sustainable strategies:
Get Professional Guidance: If self-managed activities aren’t enough, it could be wise to consider seeking help from a professional who can offer personalised strategies. A therapist, especially one specialised in cognitive-behavioural therapy, can help you identify triggers and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Similarly, a dietitian can help ensure your eating patterns are balanced, which can reduce cravings and mood swings.
Identify and Implement Solutions: Reflect on what actions you can take or hobbies you can engage in that will serve as healthier responses to stress and negative emotions. Consider all possible solutions and evaluate their benefits and feasibility.
Seek Alternatives: Whether it’s a walk, a talk with a friend, or a creative activity, find alternatives that you can turn to when you’re tempted to overeat. These should be actions that not only distract but also fulfil you, reducing the emotional need to find comfort in food.
4. Working on your relationship with food
A key aspect of overcoming over eating is changing how you view food.
A common trap is the “all-or-nothing” mindset, often triggered by feelings of breaking dietary rules. For example, thinking “I’ve already ruined my diet, so I might as well finish off the entire packet and start fresh tomorrow” can lead to repeated cycles of binge eating followed by shame, guilt, and feelings of worthlessness due to perceived lack of self-control. This not only perpetuates a harmful cycle of bingeing and restricting but also strengthens negative associations with food.
To break free from this cycle, it’s important to change how you think about food and eating:
Managing Trigger Foods: If certain foods trigger binge eating, do not feel you must keep them out of your home entirely. Instead, start by allowing small amounts or single servings of these foods in your environment. This can help you build trust with yourself around food.
No Foods Are Forbidden: Start by eliminating the idea of ‘forbidden’ foods from your vocabulary and mindset. Recognise that all foods have value, whether they provide nourishment, comfort, or pleasure. By removing these labels, you reduce the power and allure that these foods hold over you.
Incorporate Rather Than Exclude: Instead of cutting out foods you love, find ways to include them in your diet in a balanced way. This approach helps normalise these foods, which can reduce the urge to binge when you do have them around.
Mindful Eating: Practise being present while you eat. Pay attention to the flavours, textures, and how you feel before, during, and after eating. This can help you recognise your body’s hunger and fullness signals, and reduce eating that is guided by emotional cues rather than physical hunger.
5. Show compassion to yourself
Remember, the journey to break free from the binge-restrict cycle is a marathon, not a sprint. Show yourself compassion and recognise that setbacks can be part of the process. Celebrating binge free days is important as it acknowledges that bingeing is not inherently good or bad, it’s just a way to cope. Hence, it’s important to get curious, on days you do binge, instead of looking at it as a slip or a failure, you could try looking at it as an opportunity to learn about yourself. Non-judgemental curiosity is an amazing tool for self discovery and learning.
Take the first steps towards recovery today
Imagine a life where you can savour your favourite foods without the shadow of binge eating. It’s possible, and you’re not alone on this journey. Take the first step towards this freedom by reaching out to our team HERE to schedule your FREE discovery call and begin your journey to recovery.
