Recognize Your Binge Eating Cycles to Progress in Recovery

We all experience cycles or patterns of behavior that we want to change. Those of us who have experienced binge eating disorder (BED), or eating disorders in general, know the pain and frustration that is felt when you are trapped in a cycle of disordered, destructive eating. It is especially frustrating when you try to recover and leave behind your old cycles and patterns and you realize you're still stuck in a binge eating cycle. 

How to Identify Your Cycles in Binge Eating Recovery

When you first decide you want to recover from BED, the focus is on wanting to change the end result of a cycle. You want to stop binge eating. As you attempt to stop binge eating, you will also inevitably have to acknowledge the cycles that lead you into binge eating in the first place.

Your cycles can be difficult to identify, but as you get better at noticing what triggers you to reach for food, you will add a data point to your map and better understand your cycles and yourself. Maybe a certain time of year is difficult for you, or maybe you tend to change your eating habits in response to stress. Whatever you notice, this will help build your awareness so you can redirect yourself in the beginning or middle of a cycle and avoid a binge.

In this video, I discuss the idea of cycles in recovery and how they repeat themselves, and how we can use this to our advantage to change our behavior.