Coping Skills to Reduce Binge Eating: An Eating Disorder Therapist’s Guide

An ice cream cone with three scoops in different flavors, illustrating permission to enjoy all foods and reject diet culture.

TL; DR Before focusing on emotional coping strategies for binge eating, it’s essential to first address two root drivers. Not eating enough and being below your body’s natural weight set point. Once those are accounted for, developing a broader toolkit for managing negative emotions becomes the real work. Emotional eating isn’t inherently wrong. After all, …

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What Looks Like a Sugar Addiction Might Be an Eating Disorder

A donut with pink sprinkles, illustrating how what looks like a sugar addiction might be an eating disorder.

TL;DR If you’ve ever felt out of control around sugar and wondered if you’re addicted, the real culprit is likely restriction, not addiction. The concept of “sugar addiction” is widely discussed in diet culture and wellness spaces, but the science doesn’t support it. Animal studies show that addictive-like behaviors around sugar only appear when access …

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Is Weight Suppression Driving Your Binge Eating? Exploring the Research

Drawing of two smiling women in purple sweaters, for an article on how weight suppression can drive binge eating.

TL;DR If you have bulimia nervosa, being at a weight lower than your body’s natural high point ( known as weight suppression) may actually be fueling your binge eating. When the body is pushed below its natural weight, hormones like leptin drop, metabolism slows, and appetite increases, making bingeing the body’s way of fighting back …

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Why Can’t I Stop Binge Eating? Insight From a Therapist

A young man takes a big bite of a donut at a café, for an article on why you can't stop binge eating.

TL; DR If you’re stuck in a cycle of binge eating, the solution may be the opposite of what you’d expect. Restriction and dieting are most likely the root cause of your bingeing, not a lack of willpower or emotional weakness. Our bodies are biologically wired to overeat in response to food deprivation, a survival …

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The Role of Broken Food and Dietary Rules in Maintaining Binge Eating

Drawing of a glass of milk and a plate of three chocolate chip cookies, illustrating freedom from food rules in binge eating recovery.

TL; DR Dieting and strict dietary rules can create emotional and physical deprivation, leading to a cycle of binge eating. These rules, which dictate when, what, how much, and how to eat, often stem from diet culture’s emphasis on maintaining a smaller body size. When people inevitably break these rigid rules, they often feel guilt …

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Help for Night Eating Syndrome

Drawing of a person in purple pajamas at an open refrigerator, with the moon behind them, illustrating night eating syndrome.

Do you find yourself eating late into the night? Do you wake up and eat large meals before going back to sleep? Have you wondered whether this is an eating disorder? Read on to learn more about the problem and how we can help. What is Night Eating Syndrome? Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is a …

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To the Family Member Who Worries I Am Not Helping Your Loved One’s “Weight Problem”

Learn About Our HAES Approach Dear Family Member, I understand your fears. I get it. You want the best for your loved one. You want him or her to have the best and healthiest and fullest life possible. I do too. You believe that helping your loved one to lose weight will help achieve these …

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Male Eating Disorders

Drawing of a man dancing joyfully in his wheelchair, celebrating body positivity for men with eating disorders.

                  Despite being widely thought of as a disorder primarily affecting females, we know that people of all genders experience eating disorders. The experiences of males with eating disorders may be different so read on to learn more. Prevalence rates It is difficult to know exactly how …

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Look before you leap: Binge Eating Disorder, Vyvanse, and Evidence-Based Psychotherapies

Drawing of 2 pills outside of a prescription pill bottle

Learn Why Therapy is Superior to Medication for The Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder by Elisha M. Carcieri, Ph.D., Psychologist, and staff therapist Binge eating disorder (BED) made headlines when the FDA approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) for the treatment of BED. So, what is BED, how is it treated, and what does this treatment option mean …

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