How Diet Affects Binge Eating: Breaking the Cycle Through Nutrition

By Dr Jessica Turton, PhD, APD

Binge eating is one of the most common yet misunderstood disordered eating behaviours. Many people think it’s about a lack of willpower - but in reality, binge eating is strongly influenced by diet, biology, and psychology.

From both scientific research and my own personal journey, I’ve seen how restrictive dieting can fuel binge eating - and how the right nutrition strategy can help break free from the cycle.

The Link Between Dieting and Binge Eating

When people look for binge eating recovery strategies, they’re often told to “just eat less” or “control your portions.” But research shows that restrictive eating is one of the biggest triggers for binge eating disorder.

The famous Minnesota Starvation Study demonstrated that calorie restriction in healthy men led to:

• Obsessive thoughts about food

• Mood swings, depression, and anxiety

• Social withdrawal

• Loss of concentration

• Abnormal eating behaviours, including binge eating

My Personal Experience With Binge Eating

During my teenage years, I lost weight rapidly - dropping from 78 kg to 48 kg through strict calorie restriction. From the outside, this looked like “success” to many people. But inside, I was suffering. For years, I lived with:

• Food fears

• Social isolation

• Constant yo-yo dieting

• Anxiety, guilt, and depression

Over time, this led to binge eating episodes where I lost all control around food. I was advised to “eat normally” and “reduce portions”- but this didn’t help.

My body wasn’t misbehaving - it was starving, and desperately attempting to recover it's normal metabolic rate.

Why Diet Restriction Fuels Overeating

Binge eating isn’t just emotional - it’s biological. When your body doesn’t get the nutrients and energy it needs, your brain triggers powerful urges to eat.

And here’s the key insight: you don’t need to look underweight to be starving.

For example, insulin resistance, a common metabolic concern, can prevent your cells from properly using glucose, leaving your brain starved of energy. This “starving brain” state often shows up as the overwhelming binge eating urge.

The “Binge Feeling” Explained

Many people with binge eating disorder describe an urgent and somewhat uncontrollable need to eat - often without hunger - along with chest tightness, anxiety, and racing thoughts. Standard binge eating recovery strategies like mindfulness or portion control don’t always work.

What helped me, and what I now see in practice, is that this “binge feeling” can be reduced by eating adequate dietary proteins and fats – to satiety and without restriction. For me, allowing myself to eat 2000 kcal of cheese was far less harmful than a 10,000 kcal binge on ultra-processed food.

This is why I began exploring a low-carb, higher-fat diet for binge eating recovery.

Low-Carb and Binge Eating: A Personal Solution

Switching to a low-carbohydrate, higher-fat diet transformed my relationship with food. It allowed me to:

• Reduce binge urges

• Regain control without counting calories

• Improve my mood and mental clarity

• Stop obsessing over food and weight

• Reach and maintain my healthy weight

For the first time, food no longer controlled me. I no longer defined myself by my body size or eating habits - I experienced food freedom.

Important Note: No One-Size-Fits-All

While a low-carb diet for binge eating was a breakthrough in my recovery, it’s not the only solution. Each person is unique, and some may need different nutrition strategies.

If you are struggling with binge eating, it’s essential to work with a dietitian, doctor, and psychologist to create a safe, supportive recovery plan.

Final Thoughts

Binge eating is not a failure of willpower - it’s the body’s natural response to restriction. Understanding the role of diet is key to breaking the binge-restrict cycle. By fuelling the body properly and rejecting unsustainable restriction, true recovery becomes possible.

If you’re searching for ways to overcome binge eating, know this: healing is possible, and nutrition can play a powerful role in your journey.

Our dedicated team of dietitians at Ellipse Health are equipped to support you in breaking free from the toxic dieting cycle and experiencing food freedom for good.

You've got this!