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Breaking Up With Binge Eating is for anyone stuck in binge eating, emotional eating, or the restrict → binge cycle.
Hosts Georgie Fear, Christina Holland, and Maryclaire Brescia share practical, evidence-based tools from the Breaking Up With Binge Eating Coaching Program—grounded in nutritional science, behavior change psychology, and approaches like CBT and ACT—without the shame or perfectionism.
New here? Start with Episode 10: The 2 REAL Causes of Binge Eating.
Pick your Listening Path (where to start, by topic): https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here-pick-your-listening-path
I have followed so many plans, I no longer know what is an appropriate way for me to eat. Carly's exasperation was clear. It was just day two of our six month coaching program, and already the realizations were coming in like a rising tide. Carly went on, though many of the plans I followed are fairly sane, they all have some kind of restriction, whether it's calories or portions or types of food. Without a plan, how do I know what to eat?
Georgie:So for example, tonight I had a healthy dinner because it was precooked and ready. Afterwards, because I'm not on a plan right now, I didn't know whether to have dessert. I wasn't full, but I wasn't hungry either. Like, if I'm not counting calories or macros or restricting sugar, how do I know if it's okay to eat something? Carly's statements are a perfect example of one of the reasons people find it so difficult to stop dieting.
Georgie:Making decisions about what and how much to eat isn't something they are used to doing. If you're trying to stop dieting and ready to live without food rules, but that feels a bit like diving off a huge cliff into the unknown, this episode is for you. This is the breaking up with binge eating podcast, where every listen moves you one step closer to complete food freedom. Posted by me, Georgie Fear, and my co coach, Mary Claire Brescia. After Carly posted in our group, other clients were really fast to chime in.
Georgie:One wrote, me too. I have followed so many diets and food regimens and weight loss plans. I feel like at some point, most foods have been tarnished or labeled bad. So I really feel unsure about what to eat anymore. It's really hard to untrain the brain and stop seeing food in such binary ways.
Georgie:I responded to everyone, guys, this is great. I know it doesn't feel great. It makes you feel unmoored, but now you get to discover a new source of guidance, your body, your values, and your preferences. Those are gonna be what guide us going forward. Carly, in terms of how much to eat, if you're annoyingly still hungry at the end of the meal, I'd say that's eating too little, wouldn't you?
Georgie:If you feel uncomfortably full after a meal, I'd say that's too much, and that leaves a big range in the middle of perfectly fine meal sizes. You may be looking for an artificially specific limit where a wide range really is all just as good. When you think about how large a meal should be, think think of it like a baseball field. You don't wanna hit a foul ball outside the range to the left, too little food, still feeling hungry after eating. You also don't wanna hit a foul ball all the way to the right, uncomfortably full after eating.
Georgie:So the first big step is tune into your body and try to finish your meal between those two landmarks. You're likely to need at least a few days to practice and get the hang of it, and that's totally okay. We've got time to practice. To help determine what food to include in your meals, ask yourself, what way of eating makes me feel best? If you've done a lot of programs, that experience is beneficial because you may be able to recall your own experience.
Georgie:How did you feel when you were eating on different plans? Did the low carb plan leave you flat and without energy? Did you feel more nourished and energized when you were eating more fruits and whole grains? It's all useful info. Carly answered this question by saying, I know I feel best when I eat flexitarian, very plant forward, mostly whole foods, but not rigidly so.
Georgie:I like to eat three or four meals per day, not too much, not too starchy, junk food, refined sugar sparingly. Well, there you have it, I said. You can use those guidelines to plan your meals and grocery shop. It sounds to me like a very healthy way of eating. I know having so many food options available can be dizzying, especially if you've been eating from a very short list of approved or safe foods.
Georgie:But really, when you walk into the grocery store and you take in the over 40,000 items that average the stock of a regular grocery store, I hope it makes you feel happy, even giddy to think every single one of them is okay to eat. Onto Carly's last conundrum, to eat dessert or not to eat dessert. That is the question. When it comes to whether you want dessert or not, we'll practice considering three things. One, am I already full enough that adding dessert onto what I've eaten will take me into uncomfortable fullness range?
Georgie:If so, I suggest it's not a great time to add a dessert. Better to choose a meal where you can plan on sizing your main meal to allow some room for dessert without pushing you into uncomfortably fall territory. Second, we can explore what desserts feel worth it to you. I might think chocolate chip cookies are highly worth it, but I don't have any interest in cherry pie. Well, you might think pie is divine and you could easily pass on potato chips.
Georgie:This individuality is super important in settling into a way of eating that feels enjoyable and like something we are happy to do long term. Third, how the heck do I figure out how much dessert to have and how often can I have it? What's too much? What's too little? Mary Claire and I help each person figure out their personal treat system based on the goal of balancing your desires for taste enjoyment with your values of having a healthy body.
Georgie:That balance is gonna be slightly different for each person because we all have slightly different value systems. But pretty much all of our clients have some degree of valuing both a healthy body and the enjoyment of super tasty foods. So that means they don't wanna go to either extreme 100%. It wouldn't feel good to eat treats 100 of the time because it neglects their value of a healthy body, But they also don't want to eat treats 0% of the time because that doesn't honor their value of enjoying their favorite foods. So how much is too much?
Georgie:I propose that when your intake of treats is impeding your physical health or your emotional well-being, it'll probably feel good just to reduce the frequency a little bit. If you're trying to keep yourself to an unrealistically low amount of treats, you might find yourself fantasizing about them, binging on them, or just plain feeling resentful. In this case, planning to include treats a bit more often might be the best strategy. I know this all sounds like a lot of thinking, and it is. Following a diet probably would be less thinking, but I think you're up to the task.
Georgie:It's not beyond your capability. And remember, there's no grave mistake possible when it comes to deciding what to have for dinner. So think about what you enjoy and what will leave you feeling good, and pat yourself on the back for taking back the reins on your life. Without a diet calling all the shots, you have infinitely more freedom, and freedom is a beautiful thing. Eat freely, my friends.
Georgie:I'll be back soon in our next episode of breaking up with binge eating.