Judging those who already judge themselves

Some people believe that judging people who "should" lose weight will help them to make the changes necessary to lose weight. Of course, those people are dead wrong but that is not the point of this post. The point is that judging others is useless since they often judge themselves more than can be imagined. 

This is especially true of people who suffer from binge eating disorder. Having a greater than normal concern for ones weight and shape as well as an over-evaluation of their weight and shape (meaning they feel they have more control than they actually have over their weight and shape) leads to much pain. These negative views of ones body and weight can be quite destructive as well as self-perpetuating. Having what is called a disturbed body image maintains an eating disorder and can actually predict success with therapy in resolving an eating disorder. 

As a dietitian, I rarely work directly with clients to treat a body image disturbance but I do work closely with many amazing psychologist who do just that. However, body image often comes up in nutrition sessions when clients insist they "should" or "must" lose weight. Losing weight before resolving an eating disorder (for those people who have a high BMI) is never recommended but many clients are convinced that losing weight will help increase their self-esteem. The basis for many people with an eating disorder is low self esteem or basing ones self worth on their weight, so does losing weight actually increase self-esteem? No. Surprisingly, despite the many protests from clients, losing weight does not miraculously increase their mood or self-esteem. Instead, dealing with what perpetuates negative thoughts, how to come to terms with ones body and how to enhance positive body image is what helps people feel better. 

Guess what else it helps with? You got it- weight management. Weight shaming, guilt-tripping, judging and all those other negative abuses DO NOT HELP. Loving and accepting ones body and shape helps people eat healthier, move more and just live healthier lifestyles. It may be hard to accept or change the way you think at first, but change is possible! Professional help from a registered dietitian and psychologist speed up recovery from an eating disorder and help you feel happier.

How can binge eating be related to dieting?!

As discussed in earlier posts, binge eating can be a difficult problem to identify, especially by people who are suffering from it.
After understanding that further dieting does not help reduce binging, the next challenge is to find ways to improve your relationship with food (among other things like self worth and self esteem).

One of the first steps to decrease binge eating is to start eating 3 meals per day along with a few snacks. By eating regularly, you will avoid feeling deprived and very hungry, which contribute to binges. Your body will start to expect nourishment on a regular basis (rather than sporadically) and will better digest and metabolize the energy. Your mood is also likely to improve since you won't be swinging between feeling very hungry and too full.

Sometimes when our relationship with food is skewed, so are our signals of hunger and satiety. So it is not always easy to listen to these signals and only "eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full". By having a routine with meals and snacks, you don't have to rely on those signals. The ultimate goal is to listen to your internal cues but that takes time and practice.
Ideally you want to eat every 3-4 hours. Planning out meals and snacks may seem time consuming at first, but once you get into the habit, it becomes easier. It can help to use a guide to determine what to eat over an entire day (like the food guide) or even an outline of a meal plan that suggests ways to include the food at meals and snacks. Over time, you will find that you can plan out your meals and snacks in you head rather than rely on a written plan.
For example, most adults require:

One example of how those requirements look in terms of food is:

Planning a routine visit to the grocery store is a good start to having healthy food on hand- so make sure you make time during the week for a shopping trip.
Focusing on balanced meals can also help to reduce binging. The combination of protein, carbohydrates and fibre (from the meat and alternatives, starchy foods/grain products and vegetables) will help to sustain you between meals. However, it is important to remember that eating perfectly is not necessary! It is ok and certainly normal to have a less balanced meal occasionally.

Binge eating disorder demystified

We've all heard of "binging" or an eating disorder called "binge eating disorder", but so many people don't understand exactly what it is or how to identify it. This is especially true of the very people who suffer from it. Too often the sufferer will blame themselves and and their "lack of self control".
Take Joan, for example. She was a client of mine who had followed many diets in her lifetime and as a consequence, her weight had fluctuated by about 15 pounds up and down for the last few years. She did not understand why she just could not just keep off the weight after following low carb diets, and why she could not stop eating food even when she was full. She believed she was "addicted to food" and always wanted to lose just 5 more pounds to feel better about her body. She was convinced that she needed to have more firm rules about what to eat and that if she didn't have rules, she would go crazy eating "bad foods". Unfortunately, this way of thinking is very common despite the fact that strict food rules lead to binge eating. "Lack of self control" is in quotation marks because binging has nothing to do with self control, and has everything to do with strict diets, food rules and vilifying certain foods.

Understand the complexities of this disorder and identifying what you are struggling with is key to finding the right help. Here are the criteria for identifying binge eating episodes (binge eating disorder is when a person suffers from recurrent episodes of binge eating) : 

1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances and 
2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (for example, a feeling that you cannot stop eating or control what or how much you are eating). 

Binge-eating episodes are also associated with 3 (or more) of the following:

1. Eating much more rapidly than normal.

2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.

3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.

4. Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating. 

5. Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating.

6. Marked distress regarding binge eating is present (meaning, you or your friend is unhappy and stressed about binge eating).

7. The binge eating occurs, on average, at least 2 days a week for 6 months.

If you or someone you know is suffering from binge eating disorder, you are NOT alone. There ARE things you can do to help overcome binge eating (and beating yourself up for not having enough "self control" is certainly NOT part of the treatment). Firstly, it is invaluable to seek help from a knowledgeable dietitian or psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. Understanding why you binge eat and what is influencing you to do so is key to stopping the binge eating cycle. If you live in the Montreal area, contact me to discuss finding an expert who can help you today.