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People with binge eating disorder do not use “compensatory behaviors,” meaning they don’t purge, use laxatives, fast, or over-exercise to try and rid themselves of the calories they’ve eaten (unlike people with anorexia or bulimia who do engage in these behaviors). While this might seem counterintuitive, people with binge eating disorder often do go through periods of food restriction and fad dieting, however. It’s just that after a binge eating episode, they do not try to directly “make up” for the calories they’ve consumed with those other behaviors.
What are physical binge eating disorder symptoms?
During a binge episode, you might not notice anything other than the drive to keep eating. But afterward, a host of physical symptoms may begin. According to a 2019 study published in the journal Nutrients,2 these can include:
If the eating pattern continues, you might notice that your body’s “hunger” and “fullness” signals change, too. If you are less sensitive to those signals, it can affect your ability to stop eating during a binge episode.
It’s important to know that even though weight gain is a symptom, not everyone with binge eating disorder is overweight and most people diagnosed with obesity don’t have binge eating disorder—BED can develop at any weight. Since people with BED often take great pains to hide their eating behaviors, you may not even know if a friend or loved one is struggling with this.3
What are emotional binge eating disorder symptoms?
During a binge eating episode, the main thing you feel is out of control. You might feel embarrassed or afraid to eat around other people. You might feel scared to eat certain kinds of food that are viewed as “unhealthy”, like carbs or sugar, even though they are perfectly OK to enjoy, according to the NEDA.
When you have binge eating disorder, you’re also likely to be awash in feelings like anxiety, shame, guilt, disgust, and even anger. In fact, a 2020 study published in the journal Psychiatria Danubina found that behaving anxiously as a response to anger was found to be a predictor for disordered eating—including binge eating—in people with depression.4
All of these feelings are part of the human experience. Everyone has them. But if you have an eating disorder, they can drive a destructive cycle. Negative emotions like anxiety and anger can trigger binge eating. Binge eating episodes then fuel more negative feelings. They may even leave you with the feeling that you hate yourself.
If you have a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety, BED may be even harder on you emotionally. A 2016 study published in Obesity Research and Clinical Practice shows that roughly 20% of those with mood disorders have trouble with binge eating. And people with binge eating disorder experience more severe anxiety than others.5
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