To your stomach through your head – what is compulsive overeating?

To begin with, let me ask you a few questions:

• Do you happen to check your fridge though you’re not hungry at all?
• Do you overeat until it hurts?
• Do you feel remorse because you ate like crazy after a hard day at work?
• Do you eat fast?
• Are you most often tempted to eat beyond control when you’re alone?
• Is food is no longer a source of energy for you and has it become the cure-all?
• Do you have no control over your appetite?
• Do you mostly choose high-calorie foods?
• Do you not care anymore about the quality and origin of the food?

If you answered YES just to a few of these questions, or you have noticed that a person you know has these symptoms, then it’s worth looking into such situations. Overeating in people on a diet is often associated with their lack of strong will, weak motivation for dieting, or lack of consequence in their actions. Hardly anyone knows that overeating doesn’t equal weak character. The underlying cause can be a more serious problem, or even a disorder.  

 

How can you tell the difference between compulsive overeating and simple temptations or snacking?

• Giving in to temptations or snacking often results from excessive appetite and can be connected with a desire for some specific taste. It can also be caused by a fluctuating blood sugar level, skipping breakfast, diet rich in products with a high glycemic index, or being too strict about dieting.
• When it comes to compulsive eating, it has a psychological background and is closely related to emotions. Overeating can sometimes be connected with the desire to compensate for failure in your personal life. On the one hand, satisfying the appetite brings relief and a sense of peace, but soon after the meal there is a strong sense of guilt and shame. In this way, the vicious circle begins to spin.

It starts innocently… Once or twice you happen to eat too much because it is so delicious that you can’t leave the table. Once or twice you drown your sorrows after a bad day at work. But then you put on weight and you begin to repeat the same scheme more and more often and with more food. You feel guilty about the extra kilos and that the appetite has taken control over you. You decide to go on a diet, usually a very strict one. You lose weight but then you get a hunger attack, you’re trying to deal with stress… and forget about dieting.  

 

What is compulsive eating?

Binge-eating disorder is definitely more serious than just wanting sweets or snacking between meals while on a diet. If you wonder whether you’re suffering from it, then according to what research says, binge-eating disorder is characterised by consuming such amount of food over a short period of time that would be impossible to eat for an average person, as well as loss of control over what we eat. What is more, there must be at least three of the following symptoms, which occur at least once a week for a period of at least 3 months:

• You eat faster than usual.
• You drown your sorrows while being alone when nobody’s  watching because you feel ashamed.
• You eat until you feel totally full.
• You eat a lot of food although you are not hungry at all.
• You feel uneasy about these difficulties.
• Your mood is low and you despise yourself after such a hunger attack.

Compulsive overeating shouldn’t be confused with other disorders, such as bulimia or addiction to sweets, which I wrote about here.

 

Do you think you might be suffering from some eating disorder?

• Start noticing and minimize the factors that cause hunger attacks – mostly stress, which is usually the single most important culprit here.
• Try to deal with negative emotions in a more constructive way – use visualizations, relax, meet friends, use breathing techniques, meditate, etc.  
• If the ideas above don’t work, don’t be afraid to ask for help and arrange a meeting with a dietitian, a psychologist or a therapist who will help you overcome uncontrolled behaviour and deal with the underlying reasons of these difficulties.

 

Is it possible to prevent hunger attacks with a diet?

As I mentioned before, hunger attacks can sometimes be connected with bad eating habits which you can definitely change and which depend only on you.

Below you will find some valuable advice:

• Follow a sensible and well-balanced diet, rich in nutrients.
• Remember about products with a low glycemic index which lead to smaller blood sugar fluctuations.
• Make sure you eat regularly to avoid long breaks between meals.
• Have plenty of fiber – it makes you feel full longer.
• Drink lots of mineral water – appetite is often confused with thirst.
• Don’t go on a draconian diet, change your eating habits for good! Too severe restrictions may lead to even more frequent lapses in dieting and to binge eating.

 

Prepare Plan B

If you feel an oncoming crisis that will lead you straight to your fridge, keep that ace up your sleeve and… surprise it!

A quarter of an hour is just enough to direct your attention to something else and start doing something different. Walking the dog? Talking to your friend? A short workout? Listening to your favourite song 5 times?

Let it be something you really enjoy and that will help you forget about the stress and … unnecessary eating.

 

Keep Plan C just in case

Maybe they’re just bad snacking habits?

Why don’t you play a game. Each time you snack between meals, do a few squats :). Ready?

Let’s roll!

 

Bibliography:

1. Bąk-Sosnowska M. Interwencja psychologiczna w zespole kompulsywnego jedzenia. Psychiatria Polska, 2009; XLIII (4): 445–456.
2. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder 5th edition, 2013.
3. Drywień M.E. Zaburzenia odżywiania. Kosmos, problemy nauk biologicznych. 2010; 59(3–4): 337–344.
4. Herman C.P., Polivy J. Getting a bigger slice of the pie. Effects on eating and emotion in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Appetite, 2010; 55 (3): 426–430.