What is the Binge Restrict Cycle?

Intuitive Eating

Mar 10

Many people think the solution to overeating is portion control or cutting out the “problem food”, but these are myths. Restricting food typically only results in stronger cravings and feeling out of control around food. That’s because of the binge restrict cycle! In this blog, we’ll share the ins and outs of the binge restrict cycle, a common experience for chronic dieters or those with eating disorders.

What is the binge restrict cycle?

The binge restrict cycle happens when periods of restriction are followed by binges or periods of eating beyond comfortable fullness, which lead to guilt and more restriction.

Oftentimes, the restriction may be due to some sort of diet, which then leads to feelings of deprivation and food obsession. Your body isn’t getting what it needs! Then comes the binge, which is often followed by guilt or shame. The guilt and shame may make you want to start restricting again. This could sound like “I’ll get back on track on Monday!” and thus begins the cycle all over again.

Oftentimes, people worry that they overeat or that they are emotional eaters without zooming out and looking at how this whole cycle is at play for them. This happens at night for a lot of people, where they report snacking or eating a lot of sweets at night and they’re not sure why.

What does restricting look like?

Ultimately, restriction is limiting your total food intake or your intake of certain foods. Here are some examples of restrictive eating behaviors:

Setting a daily calorie limit
Cutting back on carbs or sweets
Avoiding eating out for fear of the calories, fat, or carbs
Limiting your portions of certain foods, like white rice
Only allowing yourself a bite of something when you really want a full portion

Nutrition management of some medical conditions will require food restriction or modification, such as limiting spicy or fatty foods if you have acid reflux or eliminating gluten if you have Celiac disease.

These types of medically-based restrictions are different from weight loss or diet culture driven restrictions, but you may need to work with a dietitian to help balance managing your condition with still satisfying your taste preferences.

What does bingeing look like?

Binge eating is a term that has become used fairly loosely, but it does have an official definition per the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder. It consists of both:

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
The sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating)

The binge eating episode must also include three of the following:

Eating much more rapidly than normal
Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
Eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating
Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating

There are other criteria for binge eating disorder that address the frequency of binge eating on a weekly basis and the months or years it has been going on.

While this is the criteria used to diagnose binge eating disorder, many people use the term bingeing to indicate sub-clinical binges. This may look like:

Sitting on the couch at night and eating a full bag or two of chips or cookies
Eating a full cake after you bake it
Going to a party with foods you love and feeling unable to stop eating

Binging is almost always caused at least in part by restriction, so without addressing the restriction, you may not be getting to the root of the problem. Clinical binge eating can also have an emotional component, but establishing a consistent eating pattern is still key to preventing a starvation response.

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 be at play. This is similar to the cycle explained above, but purging occurs after the bingeing in an attempt to manage body weight. The purging can be any of the following behaviors:

Fasting
Excessive exercise
Self-induced vomiting
Laxative misuse
Diuretic misuse
Or other medication misuse that can result in weight loss

In eating disorder treatment, establishing a consistent, adequate eating pattern is a foundational part of preventing deprivation-based bingeing.

If you’re unsure if you meet diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder or any other eating disorder, the National Eating Disorders Association has resources for screening and support.

What causes the binge restrict cycle?

Your body ultimately wants you to survive, and it needs food (aka energy!) to do so. If it hasn’t been fueled adequately (aka, if there is restriction at play), it may think there is a famine or that food was unavailable. Even if it was due to intentional restriction in the form of a diet, your body won’t know the difference.

So, your body will ramp up production of hunger hormones, like ghrelin, because it is desperate for food. This may feel as extreme as “oh my gosh, I’m going to eat anything in sight!” because your body isn't sure when food will be available again. Or it may be mindless snacking in front of the couch. You may feel out of control when your favorite foods are put in front of you.

While many people think it’s normal to feel out of control around your favorite foods, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Having a healthy relationship with food often includes building a mutual trust with your body so your body knows it is allowed to have these foods whenever it wants and you can eat an amount that is satisfying to you in that moment. You won’t have immense guilt over eating the food.

Binge eating is NOT a lack of willpower on your part. It is often a result of triggering 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 often feels almost impossible to connect to your body’s cues because your body is just focusing on getting in the food it can while it’s available.

How to stop the binge restrict cycle

Eat consistent meals and snacks

Eating consistent meals and snacks is important to help your body trust that food is available, promote consistent energy levels, stabilize blood sugars, and promote hunger cues. Most people need to eat something every 3 to 5 hours to feel their best and for their bodies to function optimally. It might be helpful to plan lunch and snack breaks during your workday.

If you’re in eating disorder treatment, work with your treatment team on a meal plan that will meet your needs.

Incorporate a variety of food groups at your meals and snacks

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 also tend to have different flavors and textures that, when combined, make for nutritionally and culinarily well-rounded meals.

Proactively honor your body’s hunger cues

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 internal hunger and fullness cues when you’re on the extreme end of hunger.

Therefore, practice tuning into and honoring your body’s hunger cues. When you feel signs of hunger, eat something if you can. Don’t wait until you’re desperate for food to start figuring out your next meal.

Practice intuitive eating

Ultimately, learning about and practicing intuitive eating can greatly help you break free from the restrict binge cycle. Through intuitive eating, you can learn to stop restricting, connect with your body’s internal cues, ditch the diet mentality, and make peace with your body.

The binge-restrict cycle is not uncommon given the prevalence of diet culture, but it is a cycle you can absolutely break. Remember that your body can be your teammate and you can build up a mutual trust with it. Work on honoring its cues and giving it consistent nourishment to help you break this cycle and make peace with food.

To learn more about intuitive eating, check out our 3-part intuitive eating masterclass.

listen to your hunger

Isabel Vasquez