You stopped restricting, but you still find yourself still binge eating, and you can't seem to stop wondering what the heck is going on. Here is why you might still binge eat even though you are no longer counting calories…

Binge eating occurs as a response to 3 triggers: 01. food deprivation 02. skill deprivation, and 03. emotional deprivation. I am assuming the reason why you might still be binge eating probably falls under the category of mental restriction.

So what is mental restriction?

Mental restriction is allowing yourself to physically have the food, but not emotionally. This means that although you might be eating more or even eating foods that have been off-limits for years, you are not allowing yourself to emotionally experience the food. When you don't allow yourself to emotionally experience the food, it is although you didn't even eat the food in the first place. And what I mean by not allowing yourself to experience the food emotionally is as you are eating the food, you are having thoughts run through your head, such as this is so bad, I shouldn't be having this, I don't know why I am eating this, I can't believe I am eating this, I have no willpower, etc.

So how do you change this? How do you begin letting go of those thoughts so you can emotionally experience the food? Here are three steps I recommend you take to begin allowing yourself to emotionally experience food again:

01. Change your language

You may still binge eat because of the language you use around food. It is so important that you change your language to change the way that you view food. When you categorize foods into “good” and “bad,” you link those foods to you being “good” or “bad,” and it creates this emotional attachment to the way we eat. Not to mention that language triggers us to base our morality on the food we eat. No longer is it about the food being good or bad; it is about me as a human being, being good or bad. It becomes about my worth, well-being, self-esteem, and essentially who I am… all based on the food I am eating. Changing that language is the first step!

02. Own your choices

You may still binge eat because you are not confident in your choices. If you choose to eat the cookie, the bread, the pasta, the rice, the whateverrrrr – own it! Remind yourself that you are making a choice based on what you want. There is no right or wrong here. This is a simple matter of choice. Therefore, if you are choosing to have a particular food, stand by that choice and allow yourself to embrace that choice.

03. Allow yourself to truly experience the food

You may still be binge eating because you are not allowing yourself to fully experience the food. When eating, take a moment to be more mindful of it. Enjoy it. Put the food on a plate. Sit down. Remove distractions. Be present with that food. With each bite, experience it. Taste it. Notice the flavors, different textures, and sensations on your tongue. Truly experience it.

TDLR (too long, didn't read);

You are still bingeing, even though you have let go of the calorie counting or restricting because you are still depriving yourself emotionally (ie you are eating the food but not allowing yourself to truly experience it.)