Health✓ Follow-up at 10 weeks2,670 views
My relationship with food is broken and I don't know how to fix it
A disordered eating recovery guide covering professional support, intuitive eating principles, and breaking the diet-binge cycle.
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Follow-Up Result
10 weeks laterStopped binge-restrict cycle after working with a dietitian and therapist
The Problem
I alternate between strict dieting and binge eating. I'll eat perfectly for a week, then eat an entire pizza and a pint of ice cream in one sitting. I feel guilty, restrict harder, and the cycle repeats. I think about food constantly — what I should eat, what I shouldn't eat, how many calories everything has. I've tried every diet and they all end the same way. Food controls my life and I'm exhausted.
The Plan
Week 1-2: Get Professional Help
See a therapist who specializes in eating disorders or disordered eating — this is deeper than willpower and you need professional support
See a registered dietitian (not a nutritionist) who practices intuitive eating — they can help you rebuild a healthy relationship with food
Stop dieting immediately — restriction is the primary driver of binge eating. Every diet increases the likelihood of the next binge
Eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day — skipping meals triggers binge eating
Remove "good food" and "bad food" labels — all food is just food. Morality doesn't belong on your plate
Week 3-4: Learn Intuitive Eating
Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied — relearn your body's natural hunger and fullness cues
Give yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods — paradoxically, allowing yourself to eat anything reduces the urge to binge
When you feel the urge to binge, pause and ask: am I physically hungry, or am I eating to cope with an emotion?
Find non-food coping strategies for stress, boredom, sadness: walking, calling a friend, journaling, taking a bath
Be patient — healing your relationship with food takes months, not weeks. Progress isn't linear
Resources
"Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch — the foundational book on healing food relationships
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) helpline — 1-800-931-2237
A registered dietitian specializing in intuitive eating — find one at intuitiveeating.org
r/intuitiveeating — supportive community for people healing their food relationship
Follow-Up Result
10 weeks in: I started working with a therapist and a dietitian simultaneously. The therapist helped me understand that my binge eating was emotional — I was using food to cope with stress and loneliness. The dietitian helped me eat regular meals without restriction, which dramatically reduced the urge to binge. I haven't had a full binge in 6 weeks. I still overeat sometimes but it's normal overeating, not the out-of-control binges I was having before. I stopped counting calories and I eat foods I used to label as "bad" without guilt. The freedom is indescribable. I think about food maybe 20% as much as I used to. This is the first approach that's actually worked because it addresses the root cause instead of adding more rules.Know someone with this problem?
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