Binge Eating Support Series Post 2
Why dieting and weight loss attempts don’t help you to stop binge eating in the long term
Many people seeking help for binge eating have already tried countless diets, plans, “lifestyle changes” and rules. These approaches often focus on restricting food, losing weight, or—my favorite (insert sarcasm here)—just having more “willpower.” Sound familiar to you? While this might seem logical on the surface, it can actually backfire to increase binge eating over time.
Understanding why dieting often backfires is an important first step toward real, lasting healing from binge eating. Let’s dive into four reasons dieting is not the answer to binge eating.
1. Dieting triggers the binge–restrict cycle.
When you strictly limit what or how much you eat, the brain and body react in the following ways:
Biological response: Your body increases hunger hormones and lowers metabolic rate. You become more driven to eat—not less.
Psychological response: Recall the last time someone told you that you couldn’t have or do something that you wanted to. How did you feel? Also coined, “the forbidden fruit effect”, binge foods become more appealing and harder to stop thinking about.
Inevitability of backlash: When restriction becomes unsustainable, a binge—or “rebound eating” episode often follows. Afterward, guilt leads right back to more restriction, and the cycle continues.
This cycle isn’t a lack of control—your body can’t tell the difference between intentional dieting or famine. Rather than beating yourself up for binge eating, think of binge or rebound eating as your body’s attempt to help you out during difficult times.
Binge eating is not a character flaw or a failure of discipline.
Willpower, or “self-control” over one’s food choices, is limited and easily reduced by stress, fatigue, and emotional demands.
Biological hunger signals are stronger than willpower—this is a survival mechanism.
When you blame binges on “not trying hard enough,” you increase shame, which actually fuels more binge eating.
Eating Disorder recovery requires skills, social support, and nervous-system regulation—not willpower.
2. Dieting focuses on weight, not health or your relationship with food.
Most diet-driven interventions are focused on weight loss instead of addressing:
Triggers behind binges
Emotional and environmental factors—including diet culture and larger systems that contribute to disordered eating and poor body image
Behavioral patterns
Body-image distress
The stress response that drives eating for relief
Weight-focused methods often overlook the root causes of binge eating and can worsen them by increasing shame, stress, and disconnection from hunger and fullness cues.
3. Restriction prevents you from trusting your body
Repeated dieting teaches you to ignore your internal signals:
Hunger feels virtuous—like you’ve done something right
Fullness can feel like a failure or something to avoid
Eating becomes rule-based and externally guided instead of being focused on your body’s internal needs.
In other words, dieting distances us from our true preferences and internal sensations. Healing binge eating means rebuilding a respectful, stable relationship with your body, not fighting against it.
Effective therapy approaches to healing binge eating should help you shift away from restriction and include:
Regular, adequate nourishment to stabilize hunger cues and satisfy your taste preferences
Emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills to support your nervous system
Understanding binge triggers without judgment and developing the tools and strategies to address these triggers
Identifying weight-neutral improvements instead of using weight as a measure of success
Reducing shame by fostering self-compassion and creating a supportive recovery environment
Recovering from an eating disorder is about restoring balance, not controlling your food intake. During our next post, we will share tips to help reduce binge eating.
The information shared in this blog is intended to educate and empower, not to replace medical or mental health services. It should not be used as a form of treatment. If you’re struggling or need individualized care, please reach out to a licensed professional.
