Binge eating on the weekends- this is a situation that many of our clients come to us with. They say that they try to “be good” during the week, and then come the weekend they can’t control themselves and they eat everything in sight.
If you can relate with that scenario, know that there is nothing wrong with you and you should not feel any shame or guilt around this. This is a consequence of what we call the ”bow and arrow” effect.
If you think about a hypothetical bow and arrow. Every time you try and “be good” and restrict yourself, think about pulling back on that bow. You pull and pull way back, and then Friday comes, we say “f*ck it!”, let go, and the arrow goes flying.
This arrow flies so much further in the opposite direction because we were restricted so much previously, that we now have all of these built up cravings for foods that we wouldn’t allow ourselves on the weekdays.
We are setting ourselves up for failure in this pattern! It is important to recognize this cycle and understand that introducing all foods back into our weekdays is the only way to stop feeling out of control on the weekends. The only way to get out of this binge-restrict cycle is to stop restricting.
Now, we know this is easier said than done! We’ll touch on some tips that can help you in breaking this cycle.
- Identify the foods or drinks that you are only allowing yourself on the weekends.
- Implement those same foods during the week. Pick just one food to introduce to start, not all fear foods at once.
Now if you are thinking “I would never stop eating ‘x’!” We invite you to think about what would happen if you did eat that same food every day for 30 days. What do you think would happen?
Let’s take ice cream as an example. If you had only ice cream for a whole month, do you think you would still want ice cream every day? Probably not! You would probably hear your body asking for something different! Maybe something fresh, crunchy, something with protein, something savory. This is food haitutation.
Food habituation describes the decrease in physiological and behavioral responses to eating that happen as an eating experience progresses. Over time, the novelty of the food lessens. This concept is an important part of stopping this restrict binge cycle and include fear foods back into your every day without the distress. When we have unconditional permission to eat fear foods, the novelty of them goes away and we find we can enjoy them just like any other foods.
Remember, your body needs consistent fuel- it does not matter if it’s a weekday or a weekend!
Click here to listen to the Find Food Freedom podcast episode where Sammy dives into this topic even deeper!
If you’re ready to dive all in and start ditching dieting and gaining food freedom after reading this blog, we have a dietitian team who would love to work with you. Click here to get started and check out our FREE beginners Intuitive Eating training.
