Binge Eating and Emotional Eating

Nutrition Support in Gainesville

When Trying Harder Simply Isn’t Working

You put significant effort into trying to control your eating — learning about nutrition, signing up for plans, trying new techniques. But you still end up bingeing. You've been given the message that if you just follow the plan, it will work. When it doesn't, you're left confused, ashamed, and convinced you're the problem.

So you try harder. You hold things together for part of the day, eat "well," avoid certain foods, and promise yourself you'll be more disciplined — only to end up in the same place. It makes sense that you conclude you need even more control. But that control may actually be part of what is keeping the bingeing going.

What's the Difference?

You may think of your eating as binge eating, overeating, compulsive eating, or simply feeling out of control around food. These terms don't all mean the same thing.

• Binge eating is eating what feels like a large amount of food while feeling unable to stop or control what is happening.

• Binge eating disorder involves recurrent binge eating that causes significant distress, occurs on average at least once a week for three months, and is not regularly followed by purging or other compensatory behaviors.

• Emotional eating is eating in response to emotions, which can be a normal part of eating. It may become a concern when it feels out of control, causes distress, or becomes one of your main ways of coping.

Wherever you land among these — or if you're just not sure — we can help you understand what's actually going on.

What Binge Eating Can Look Like

• Feeling out of control once you start eating

• Often eating very quickly

• Frequently eating more than you intended or planned

• Eating alone or in secret because of embarrassment

• Feeling guilt, shame, or distress afterward

• Restricting earlier in the day in an effort to prevent overeating later

• Swinging between rigid food rules and feeling unable to follow them

Understanding What Drives the Bingeing

Most people who come to us blame themselves. But we have a firm belief that you are not the problem. Instead, we look at the nutrition advice you've been trying to follow. Advice that sounds sensible may actually be perpetuating the binge cycle.

If you are not eating enough at some point in the day, delaying food, restricting certain foods, or mentally telling yourself you shouldn't have them, the drive to eat becomes stronger — sometimes so strong that the eating can look and feel emotional.

We help you figure out what is actually driving the bingeing: how much is related to physical or psychological deprivation, how much is emotional, and what beliefs about food, weight, and control are keeping the cycle going. If emotional eating turns out to be the bigger piece, we work with that directly too.

Breaking the Binge Cycle

We work on eating enough and consistently enough to reduce the biological drive to binge, loosening food restrictions that keep foods charged, and challenging beliefs that are inadvertently keeping you stuck.

The work is ultimately about helping you attain an eating style that is easier, more natural, and sustainable, that also successfully manages your weight.

Specialized Care in Gainesville

With deep roots in Gainesville, Dr. Karin Kratina, RDN, LDN, and Dr. Hannah Allen, RDN, LDN, bring over 50 years of combined experience in treating eating disorders and disordered eating.

Our practice has helped people with binge eating, emotional eating, and eating disorders in Gainesville for more than three decades. Over that time, we've built strong relationships with local therapists, physicians, and other eating-disorder providers. If needed, we can collaborate with your treatment team or help you connect with additional support.

We’re Here For You

If food is taking up more of your day, your energy, or your peace of mind than you want it to, we're here to help. If you're still hoping the right plan will finally fix it, we can help you sort that out too.