Is it Binge Eating Disorder? Or is it Restriction? A Look into the Restrict-Binge Cycle.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a serious condition that requires structured nutritional support, psychological intervention, and, in some cases, medical treatment. It is characterized by recurring episodes of consuming unusually large amounts of food in a short period, accompanied by a sense of loss of control with eating. According to U.S. Google Trends—a tool that analyzes search patterns—the term “binge eating disorder” has seen a 33% increase in interest since 2020, reaching its peak in May 2022. Many people who struggle with disordered eating are often uncertain about what qualifies as Binge Eating Disorder.

While occasional binge episodes may feel distressing, they do not necessarily meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder.

Here’s the thing: most people overeat occasionally. It’s a part of a normal eating pattern to have an extra helping at a party or to have a scoop of ice cream as a pick-me-up. However, diet culture and fatphobia tend to pathologize over-eating and emotional eating. Therefore, finding yourself eating a large amount of food enough times can lead to feeling like you're eating behaviors are out of control, which sounds like Binge Eating Disorder.

Let’s start with a few definitions. Binge eating involves consuming a larger-than-normal amount of food in a short period while feeling a lack of control over the behavior. It often happens in secret and is typically followed by feelings of shame, guilt, or disgust. Food restriction, on the other hand, means consuming too few calories or essential nutrients like fats and carbohydrates. This can be intentional, such as through dieting, or unintentional—resulting from irregular meal timing, ongoing emotional distress, or limited access to food.

restrictive diet

As previously mentioned, Binge Eating Disorder is a disordered eating pattern marked by recurring episodes of binge eating. A related condition, Bulimia Nervosa, also involves regular binge eating but includes compensatory behaviors—such as self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or laxative misuse—to “purge” the nutrients consumed. Both disorders have specific clinical and frequency criteria required for diagnosis. However, even in the absence of a formal diagnosis, disruptive eating behaviors can lead to immense mental, physical, and emotional suffering.

Someone can binge eat and not have BED or BN. Binge eating is almost always caused by restriction, so to address binge eating it is imperative to ensure adequate nutrition. Have you ever gone on a diet on a Monday and found yourself binging on Friday night, only to try the diet again next Monday? If dieting, by default, restricts nutrients, then we can name this experience the restrict-binge cycle.

The restrict-binge cycle is a vicious cycle a person can find themselves stuck in at any time of their lives- some experiencing it since childhood! There are many ways someone can fall into the cycle. What does the restrict-binge cycle look like for a dieter?

Unhappy with their weight, a person begins a weight-loss diet. The diet they chose requires them to consume a smaller number of calories than their body needs to maintain weight (called a calorie deficit) and abstaining from eating fast food.

It’s Sunday and the dieter spends a lot of time planning their meals for the week. They feel accomplished planning for the goal. They spend time counting the calories for each meal and snack intended for the diet. The meals are planned and the groceries are purchased to be prepared throughout the week.

Soon after starting the diet, the dieter notices they’re hungry more often and the food isn’t very satisfying. They had to skip out on a friend’s birthday party dinner too; it’s hard to dine out with these rules. Socializing has become more difficult to commit to. Later, the dieter is thinking about food very often. The body naturally wants to maintain its weight so a diet for weight loss means the body isn’t getting sufficient nutrients. Not only is the dieter preoccupied with thoughts of food, but cognitive symptoms of inadequate nutrient intake are at full force (impaired concentration and chronic irritability).

After a while, their body no longer provides nuanced hunger cues because the dieter won’t honor them unless we get to the last-resort hunger cues. Now any time the dieter feels hunger, it’s so intense it needs to be addressed immediately. Fullness is rarely reached because the point of the diet is to consume less than required. Meal and snack satisfaction is rare because the diet restricts certain flavor cravings.

All this time being deprived of nutrients and food freedom leaves the dieter’s mental and physical health vulnerable. Now they found out they must work late on a Friday night when they have evening plans with a friend. How stressful! In response to this news, the dieter feels intense frustration. Impaired cognitive function makes observing and coping with this strong emotion very difficult. The dieter is at work and lunch has been eaten but the fullness is already wearing off. The intensity of frustration is strong and transforms into sadness.

While in such a compromised physical and cognitive state, emotional triggers are harder to grapple with. The dieter wants to cope with this emotion and hunger cues are becoming more intense. They could order food or reach for a vending machine snack, but that would break their diet. The dieter “pushes away” the frustration prolongs hunger until the workday is over, preoccupied with thoughts of eating and dieting throughout the afternoon.

Work ends and they don’t have enough time before their evening plans to prepare the planned diet-approved dinner. The most efficient option to obtain nutrients is a fast-food meal. This is not allowed in the diet rules, and an emotional trigger is present once again – this time it's frustration and fear of failing the diet.

The dieter remains physically and cognitively compromised. Emotional regulation feels impossible. To quell the painfully unpleasant hunger cues, they decide on a local fast-food spot and order a larger than usual meal that they perceive would satisfy the hunger. The dieter is so uncomfortably hungry now that they begin to eat in the car to finish the meal at home.

This meal is not diet-approved and there is shame in breaking the rules. Thoughts like “I shouldn’t be eating this” and “I have no control around food” start to flood in. The pace of eating feels quicker than usual. This happens for various biological and emotional reasons. At home, the dieter finishes the rest of the meal within 8 minutes and remains compelled to continue eating. They reach for snacks in their refrigerators and cabinets.

Twenty minutes pass and the dieter is over-full. They might describe their current physical state as bloated, nauseous, and sluggish. The dieter cancels their evening plans to stay home because they feel physically ill and shameful. Unpleasant emotions trigger unpleasant thoughts about the diet, their body, and “lack of control”. Maybe to mitigate these unpleasant thoughts, the dieter will allow themselves to eat foods outside of the diet for a certain amount of time with the promise of starting again on Sunday. Maybe it’s the same diet, maybe it’ll be a different one. Either way, the promise is there and although they feel physically sick and shameful now, there is relief in eating without rules for the weekend.

It’s Sunday and the dieter begins a weight-loss diet. The diet they chose is a low-fat, high protein diet...

This dieter might maintain this cycle for months, years, or decades. Sometimes the cycle completes itself in one month or a week. Sometimes it's completed in a day. The experience of the dieter in the story is not uncommon in a world where thinness is upheld as a moral accomplishment.

Does this diet spiral resonate with you?

If yes, you may be caught in a restrict-binge cycle.

Again, food restriction can occur intentionally or unintentionally. Restriction can also look like exercising without replenishing the energy used. Still, binge eating is almost always caused by dietary restraint, so to address binge eating, adequate and consistent eating can create a solid nutritional foundation. Everything is harder when you’re hungry.

People grappling with the restrict-binge cycle deserve to break free. Like any disordered eating pattern, breaking the cycle requires structural nutrition and psychological support. If you feel like you might be caught in this cycle, know that you're not alone. Reaching out to an anti-diet dietitian can be a powerful first step toward finding peace with food and reconnecting with your body in a kinder, more supportive way.

Wishing You Food Freedom,

Alexis

For more in-depth information about dieting for weight management, check out The Science of Diet Failure.

REFERENCES

Burton, A.L., Abbott, M.J. Processes and pathways to binge eating: development of an integrated cognitive and behavioural model of binge eating. J Eat Disord 7, 18 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-019-0248-0

Google. 2025. “Explore: Topic /m/01t6ky.” Google Trends. N.d. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?cat=45&date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F01t6ky&hl=en-US.

Tribole, Evelyn, and Elyse Resch. Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Essentials, 2020.

Harrison, Christy. Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating. New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2019.