Binge Eating and Emotional Eating

You put significant effort into trying to control your eating — learning about nutrition, signing up for plans, trying new techniques. But even after all that effort, you 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.

You may have heard different terms related to binge eating. They don't all mean the same thing.

What's the Difference?

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 is an eating disorder in which binge eating happens, on average, at least once a week for three months and causes significant distress.

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 the main ways you cope with what you are feeling.

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

How We Work With This

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.

Over decades of working with binge eating, we have found that it is rarely simply emotional eating or a problem with willpower. Physiological, emotional, and psychological forces can all be part of the picture.

We help you figure out what is actually driving the bingeing: what is deprivation-driven, whether emotions are part of the picture, 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.

Most people who come to us blame themselves. We help you look instead at the eating rules and nutrition advice you've been trying to follow — and identify which of those may actually be triggering the bingeing.

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 about what you "should" and "shouldn't" eat. The work is also about helping you return to a way of eating that feels easier, more natural, and sustainable.

Deep Roots In Gainesville

With deep roots in Gainesville, we have helped people with binge eating, emotional eating, and eating disorders 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.

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.