What is the Binge Restrict Cycle?
Written by Isabel Vasquez Larson RD, LDN
Have you ever skipped a meal and become ravenously hungry a couple hours later?
Have you downed a bunch of food at night and then vowed to ‘be good’ tomorrow?
Have you had weekend ‘cheat days’ and then restarted a strict diet on Monday?
If so, you’ve probably experienced the binge-restrict cycle. And if that’s the case, you’re not alone!
The binge-restrict cycle is a concept that comes up with almost all of my clients because most of them have struggled with it in one form or another.
In this blog, we’ll share the ins and outs of the binge restrict cycle, plus how to break free from it.
What is the Binge Restrict Cycle?
Simply put, the binge restrict cycle is when periods of restriction are followed by binges (aka eating beyond comfortable fullness, feeling out of control around food, or eating more than you’d normally eat at once).
The binges often lead to guilt and shame, which may prompt you to restrict again and so the cycle continues.
What is Restriction?
Restriction is when you limit your calorie intake or your intake of certain foods. It can happen intentionally—say, from a diet—or unintentionally—say, from forgetting to eat lunch.
Here are some examples of restrictive eating behaviors:
Skipping meals
Following a calorie deficit
Cutting back on carbs or sweets
Avoiding eating certain things for fear of the calories, fat, or carbs
Ordering whatever has the least calories
Limiting your portions of certain foods, like white rice
Only allowing yourself a bite of something when you really want a full portion
Going long stretches of time (5+ waking hours) without eating anything
Omitting certain food groups from a meal
To manage some medical conditions, you may need to limit certain foods. For example, you may need to limit spicy foods if you have acid reflux or eliminate gluten if you have Celiac disease.
These types of medically-based restrictions are different from weight loss or diet culture driven restrictions. That said, you may want to work with a dietitian to help balance managing your condition and preventing the binge-restrict cycle from taking hold.
What is Binge Eating?
For the sake of this article, we’re using the term ‘binge eating’ loosely to mean eating more than you typically would or eating beyond comfortable fullness. This may look like:
Eating a full bag or two of chips or cookies watching TV at night
Eating a full cake after you bake it
Going to a party with foods you love and feeling unable to stop eating
Snacking after work and feeling insatiable
Cleaning your plate even though you’re uncomfortably full
Eating a full loaf of bread when you buy it
Feeling like you can’t trust yourself around certain foods
That said, binge eating does have an official clinical definition that’s used to diagnose certain eating disorders.
It’s defined as an episode where you eat more than most people would eat in a given time, feel out of control, eat very fast, feel uncomfortably full, eat in secret, and/or feel bad about yourself after, per the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder.
Binge eating is NOT a lack of willpower on your part. It is often a result of primal hunger (an extreme form of hunger), which can happen if you go more than 3 to 5 waking hours without food.
When you get to that place of primal hunger, it’s much harder to connect to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Your body is primarily focused on getting as much nourishment as it can while it’s available.
The Binge Purge Restrict Cycle
It’s worth noting that for some people, such as those with bulimia nervosa, a binge-purge-restrict cycle can occur.
This is similar to the binge restrict cycle explained above, but purging occurs after the bingeing.
Purging can be any of the following behaviors, per StatPearls:
Fasting
Excessive exercise
Self-induced vomiting
Laxative misuse
Diuretic misuse
Other medication misuse that can result in weight loss
In eating disorder treatment, establishing a consistent, adequate eating pattern is essential for preventing deprivation-based bingeing and purging.
If you’re unsure if you meet diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, or any other eating disorder, Project Heal has resources for screening and support.
What Causes the Binge Restrict Cycle?
Binge eating is almost always caused—at least in part—by restriction. So without addressing the restriction, you will probably continue to struggle with binge eating.
Clinical binge eating can also have an emotional component, but establishing a consistent eating pattern is still key to preventing a starvation response.
Your body wants you to survive, and it needs food (aka energy!) to do so. If it hasn’t been fueled adequately, it senses a threat.
Your body doesn’t know the difference between a famine or intentional restriction from a diet. All it wants to do is keep you alive and well. So it drives your thoughts towards food and loads up on all the food it can get while it’s available.
How to Stop the Binge Restrict Cycle
Many people think the solution to binge eating is portion control or cutting out the “problem food”, but that’s just not true. Restricting food typically only results in stronger cravings, food noise, and feeling out of control around food.
Here are some ways to stop the binge restrict cycle and develop a better relationship with food and your body.
Eat Consistent Meals and Snacks
Eating consistent meals and snacks helps your body trust that food is available, promotes consistent energy levels, stabilizes blood sugars, and regulates your hunger cues.
Most people need to eat something every 3 to 5 hours to feel their best. To follow this eating pattern, it might be helpful to schedule lunch and snack breaks during your workday.
If you’re in eating disorder treatment, work with your treatment team on developing a meal and snacks schedule that meets your unique needs.
Eat Well-Rounded Meals
Eating a variety of food groups not only helps your body get all the nutrients it needs, but it also helps you feel satisfied.
Different food groups are digested and absorbed by our bodies at different rates, so when they’re eaten together, they help hold us over until our next meal or snack.
Proteins, grains, fats, fruits, veggies, and dairy have different flavors, textures, and nutrients that, when combined, make for nutritionally and culinarily well-rounded meals.
Honor Your Hunger Proactively
As you now know, when you get super hungry, you’re more likely to swing to the other end of the pendulum and end up super full the next time you eat.
It becomes very challenging to connect to your body’s hunger and fullness cues when you’ve reached an extreme level of hunger.
Therefore, practice tuning into and honoring your body’s hunger cues. When you notice signs of hunger, eat something if you can. Don’t wait until you’re desperate for food to start figuring out your next meal.
Incorporate “Forbidden Foods” in Your Diet
If you’re eating enough throughout the day but you’re still struggling with binge eating, it may be because you’re avoiding certain foods.
Do you have “forbidden foods”—ones that you avoid buying or don’t trust yourself around?
My clients often share that they avoid white rice, bread, sweets, chips, or cookies because when they do have them, they feel out of control around them.
To address this, I encourage them to intentionally incorporate these foods into their regular meals and snacks.
Although it may sound counter-intuitive or scary, this helps your body learn that you have access to these foods. It takes them off a pedestal and turns them into just another food you eat here and there.
To learn more about this, read our blog post Food Habituation: The Case for Eating Whatever You Want.
Final Thoughts
Lots of our clients come to us stuck in the binge-restrict cycle. It’s super common given the prevalence of diet culture, but it’s a cycle you can absolutely break.
Remember that your body can be your teammate and you can build up a mutual trust with it. By honoring your hunger cues, eating regular meals and snacks, and allowing yourself to eat your forbidden foods without guilt, you can break free from this cycle for good.
We’d love to support you in this journey! Our team of Latina dietitians is available for 1:1 nutrition counseling sessions, and we’re in network with most major insurance plans. Click here to learn more about working with us!
For education on how to ADD nutrition to your favorite Latine cultural dishes, make peace with food, and focus on your health without dieting, join our nutrition library for just $27/month.
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