Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Overeating Disorder

Do you struggle with an overeating disorder? This eating-disordered behavior causes you to eat larger portion sizes than appropriate. You may return to the kitchen for a second, third, and fourth helping. You may serve yourself three to four times a serving.

Overeating disorder can lead to physical and mental issues. People who overeat consistently struggle with being overweight or obese, fatigued, have digestive problems, disruptions in the hunger and fullness cues, experience brain fog, increase their risk for disease, and may feel anxious and depressed. Low self-esteem and weight gain often follow consistent overeating.

But more therapists are turning to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a treatment for overeating disorder.

CBT Strategies For Overeating Disorders

CBT effectively treats several mental disorders, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), anxiety disorders, and anger disorders.

The foundation of CBT is the link between thoughts, emotions, and actions. When you identify negative thoughts, you can reframe the narrative and change the resulting feelings and behaviors. The compulsive behaviors of overeating disorders (and all eating disorders) follow thoughts. CBT teaches you how to retrain your brain to think differently.

The following list includes CBT strategies and other tips for overcoming overeating disorders. However, if you believe you need more help than the CBT strategies listed below, reach out for assistance from a mental health professional.

Overcoming an eating disorder takes time and effort and does not happen overnight as you change your thinking and behaviors. Working under the guidance of a therapist will provide the support you need.

Identify negative thoughts

Have you ever stopped to analyze your thoughts? Before, during, and after an overeating experience, are you aware of the thoughts bombarding you?

You might have a few of the following:

• I know I don’t need to eat this, but I love the taste
• I feel full, but I don’t care. I don’t want to stop
• I feel awful/upset/sad/anxious, and I deserve to eat my favorite things
• I’ve had a hard day/week. I deserve this treat or meal
• No one cares about me or how I look. I might as well make myself feel better with food
• I’m I should celebrate with food and drinks
• If I decline to eat the food offered, I will hurt someone’s feelings
• I’m already overweight. What does it matter if I eat what I want?

You may have a list of more sabotaging thoughts. These thoughts zip through our minds and trigger an emotion that pushes us to react in a harmful way (overeating). To catch your thoughts, write out each negative thought on a piece of paper or index card. Next, reframe the thoughts and give yourself a reason as to why you should not continue the behavior.

For example, “I’m already overweight. What does it matter if I eat what I want?” can be replaced with “I’m overweight because of my past actions. If I continue to overeat, I will face more health issues and feel depressed. I’m tired of feeling this way. Food is a temporary relief from something deeper, like my anxiety or stress. If nothing changes, nothing changes. I want to feel healthier, more than I want to feel bad about my eating.”

Take your time identifying and analyzing your thoughts.

Be accountable

It is easy not to stick to your plan for avoiding overeating if you have only yourself to keep accountable. At the end of the day, we may shrug our shoulders and think we will try again tomorrow or that no one will ever know.

The truth is that even if you do not track your food intake on paper or digitally, your body will track it somehow. That extra food will present as excess fat, tighter clothes, upset stomach, low self-confidence, and emotional distress. But you can find accountability anywhere. Choose a close friend or family member to track your meals and snacks. You can text a picture of each of your meals throughout the day.

Or look into eating disorder support groups or organizations that provide a group atmosphere. Meeting with a group, either virtually or in person, gives you a chance to hear from others who are overcoming the struggle of consuming too much food. You can glean ideas from people who have overcome an eating disorder and see how they handle a healthier lifestyle now.

A therapist is also a great resource. Your therapist will assign you homework outside of your session to practice new skills. You will report how well you did, any tweaks you had to implement, how the strategy made you feel, and how you can do better next time.

Change your environment

Your environment can trigger overeating just as much as an emotional trigger can. Candy bowls at your coworker’s desk or treats in the office break room can cause you to grab handfuls of food you do not need. Your children’s snacks in the pantry or the extra goodies sitting around the house for a party can make you feel out of control. Even driving by a fast-food restaurant and seeing a short line can trigger you to turn in and order a combo meal or snack.

Identify the triggers in your environment. You may have to keep clear of your coworker’s desk for a while by sending them an email or text. You may want to purchase a box with a lid on it to store your children’s snacks. Out of sight, out of mind may keep you from snacking.

And if fast food restaurants are too tempting, consider taking a different route. Most fast-food places are located on a main road near the highway. Can you take a back road or side street to reach your destination? It may take a few minutes longer, but you will feel better having resisted the pull of the restaurant.

Plan your meals and snacks

To avoid overeating or eating unhealthy foods, consider preparing your meals and snacks one day a week. You might worry that you do not have time to shop and plan meals, but your health should be a priority. Taking a few minutes every week to plan a menu and shop can save you from bingeing later and feeling guilty.

You may want to start by writing out seven weekly dinners with plans to make enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Then choose seven breakfasts. You could choose a different breakfast daily or eat the same thing every day. Whatever works for you will keep you from indulging in other items.

You will need small to-go containers if you work outside of the home, plus reusable containers to store your prepped food in, such as cut-up veggies and fruit, browned ground beef, cooked chicken breasts, and hard-boiled eggs.

For example, on Sundays after church, you could grill several chicken breasts, brown a few pounds of hamburger for tacos, boil eggs for snacks, and prepare jars for overnight oats. You want to ensure that you do not need to drive through a fast-food place or turn to the office break room because you are hungry.

You may need to write a note of intent: I am prepared for my day with healthy food in the appropriate amounts. I will work on resisting other foods at the office and on my commute. By the time I go to bed tonight, I will feel proud of myself for being consistent.

Are you trying to fight an overeating disorder alone?

An eating disorder can leave you feeling isolated, ashamed, and depressed. You may feel the uncontrollable urge to go beyond overeating and binge-eat occasionally. Binge eating happens when you consume hundreds or thousands of calories in two hours, leaving yourself in pain and yet still feeling emotionally empty.

Contact our office today if you struggle with an eating disorder or binge eating. Our staff will connect you with a therapist specializing in eating disorders.