A New Year Cautionary!
Why dieting/ “New Year- New You” based- resolutions for people with Binge Eating or Bulimia might not be what you need….
Every January, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions to improve their health, often focusing on weight loss or dieting. While these intentions can be empowering for some, they can backfire for those struggling with binge eating disorder (BED) or Bulimia nervosa. For individuals with these conditions, dieting resolutions can trigger harmful cycles, intensify symptoms, and fail to address the underlying issues driving their eating behaviours.
I’m not saying don’t ever set a NY resolution IF THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR YOU– but here’s why traditional dieting and “New You” resolutions often fall short for people dealing with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Bulimia.
- Dieting Exacerbates the Binge- Restrict Cycle
In basic terms, binge eating and Bulimia often stem from cycles of restriction followed by loss of control. Dieting is a form of restriction, whatever you might believe to the contrary.
Dieting plans (and by the way, this includes detoxes, juice fasts, intermittent fasting, cleanses, calorie deficit, keto, and so on- the list is endless) involve cutting calories, avoiding specific food groups, or rigidly controlling eating habits. These restrictions can trigger feelings of deprivation. And ….
Deprivation leads to binges: For those with BED or Bulimia, deprivation frequently results in intense cravings and eventual binge episodes, where large quantities of food are consumed in a short period. This pattern is physiological and psychological; the body and mind rebel against the restriction imposed by dieting and cutting out foods or food groups. This can happen even when the individual does not have an eating disorder, but just as night follows day, restriction or hunger- or both- will lead to some form of response from the body / mind – usually top overeat, succumb to the “banned” foods, or full- on binges.
The binge-restrict cycle continues: After a binge, feelings of guilt and shame often lead individuals to renew their commitment to dieting, perpetuating the cycle. Feelings of failure for not managing to be “perfect” add to the misery.
- Diet Resolutions Are Rooted in Weight Loss, Not Recovery
Dieting- based resolutions often focus on weight loss as a measure of success, but this approach ignores the complexity of eating disorders.
Weight, shape, and size- related obsession perpetuates disordered eating and related behaviours, such as compensatory measures. For individuals with eating disorders, weight, shape and size are often linked to their self-worth, and can exacerbate behaviours such as purging, over-exercising, or laxative abuse after a binge (or perceived binge).
Dieting doesn’t address the psychological reasons for eating: Binge eating is frequently linked to emotional triggers like stress, loneliness, or trauma. Weight-focused resolutions fail to address the emotional / psychological root causes of disordered eating.
- All-or-Nothing approaches (common in diet- related resolutions) sets you up for Failure- NOT recovery
New Year’s resolutions are often framed as programmes promising big results by making big changes disguised as healthy lifestyle changes – e.g. keto (carb- cutting ), removal of “all” sugar (including fruit ), calorie restriction.
These rigid rules increase the pressure to be “good”/ “perfect”. Any deviation or slip may then feel like failure, leading to binge episodes as a way of coping with the shame of not being perfect/ weak/ broken and so on.
Diet-focused resolutions reinforce a sense of “success” or “failure” based on eating habits, which exacerbates the guilt-shame cycle common in eating disorders.
- The Physiological Impact of Dieting on Eating Disorders
Dieting can negatively impact the body and brain, particularly for those with eating disorders: How? Here are a few ways:
Metabolic slowdown: According to some studies, restrictive dieting can reduce metabolic rate, making weight maintenance more challenging and intensifying feelings of failure. (disclaimer-this is not proven beyond all doubt however, but I wanted to add this in as medical opinions vary on this one).
Impact on the hormones responsible for management of hunger and fullness: Chronic restriction disrupts hunger and satiety hormones- by which I refer to GHRELIN and LEPTIN. I’ll be doing more on this soon. It makes it harder to regulate and manage hunger and fullness normally when these hormones are not working together as they should.
Implications for the brain: At the end of the day, dieting and restriction focuses the mind on food, leading to increased preoccupation. Why? The brain will start to perceive the restriction as a threat and go in to survival mode. This is a simplistic description however again, I’ll be focusing more on this in my upcoming blogs, as well as in my one to one and upcoming group coaching.
Getting professional help is important with an ED and these resolutions, although started with good intent, can DELAY you from getting the help you really need. BED and Bulimia are complex mental health conditions and diets won’t help with your recovery.
So what to do instead?
Watch for part 2 – coming up!
In the meantime, look after yourselves and drop the short- term ideas that prevent you from recovery and a life free from the misery of disordered eating.
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. I have an exciting new opportunity coming up- follow me on Facebook, Insta or sign up to my newsletter for more details in the next couple of weeks!
Su
