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What is Binge Eating Disorder?
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
Last night I had a wonderful chat with a client about Binge Eating.
And it got me thinking about how do we define what a Binge truly is?
Part of me wants to say that “Binge-Eating” is one of those terms we throw around these days as its becoming a little more of the zeitgeist.
And don’t get me wrong awareness of this is very very important and I would never undermine anyone bringing awareness to it, for others and themselves.
But how do we define it?
Standard rules say this: “The consumption of large quantities of food in a short period of time, typically as part of an eating disorder”
Which doesn’t really help us.
“Large Quantities of food”
Is this any food? Can you binge on Broccoli? Is large quantities relating to the calorie content only, or the grams of food you have eaten?
“Short Period of Time”
What is a short period of time? 1 hour? 1 Evening? One journey? One Month?
and then the part of it “typically being part of an eating disorder” doesn’t help either. As it opens up the fact if you don’t have an eating disorder you are too a Binge Eater.
Well, that’s no help…so what do you do now?
I try to avoid my clients from using the term “binge” due to it allowing them to sink into a world of negative self-talk.
Which is to be avoided at all times.
I would always prefer a client to refer to their food more objectively than subjectively. Calories are calories are calories.
Therefore in terms of a binge…maybe we could define it as eating 70% of their daily calories in a short period of time
Therefore if someone is eating 2000 calories a day.
In a matter of hours or an evening they will have needed to consume 70% of that.
1400 calories.
But this comes with problems in that 1400 calories is the same as just:
Two McDonalds Iced Vanilla Frappe
Two McDonalds Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese
A Big Mac Meal with a Hot Apple Pie
Now if you ate any of that at lunch time….I don’t think you would sit there and class what you just had as a Binge.
It seems almost too reasonable.
Which brings me to my next point.
Is it defined by emotion?
Ah-ha.
Does Binge Eating come down to whether or not you feel guilty about what you just ate?
And if it does….then we can’t define it in any way shape or form because we are all so bloody different in the way we feel about these things.
Sure, in the past I have eaten lots of food….probably beyond 70% of my daily calorie intake.
But I personally have never felt guilty about it.
I’ve never felt the need to purge it from my body in the form of exercise or excessive dieting.
Or worse: facing down the toilet.
I have only once ever felt like this, and that was after trying a cigarette for the first time when I was about 17. (sorry mum!)
It was menthol, and it was wonderful
I had two drags.
But the next day I woke up and knew I had to get rid of the craving that was building up inside me. So I went running and got rid of that craving.
Now, this was easy for me to do…because I don’t NEED cigarettes to live. In fact quite the opposite.
But with food, as it is our source of survival, I would not suggest purging the food from your body in any way shape or form because you are feeling guilty about what you did.
I think its best you just step away from what you have experienced.
Draw a line under it.
Get to bed
Say Fuck IT
And reset again tomorrow.
Again….
A lot easier said than done.
Conclusion….?
I have no idea. I’m, really not overly sure what constitutes a binge.
I think it must come down to “a feeling you have about yourself when you consume something to excess that you feel like you probably shouldn’t have in a shorter period of time than you feel is adequate”
But I really don’t know.
Maybe defining it isn’t something we need to worry about…
As a coach, I just need to listen to you when you say you did, respect your opinion of yourself and try to help you move away from those feelings about yourself, and help you reflect on why it occurred, and how we can manage it for next time.
Which is basically my philosophy to life.
Draw A Line Under It
Say Fuck It
Get to Bed
Start again tomorrow.
What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you.
Let's Talk About Nike, baby...
I will get into the meat of this in a moment…but firstly I want to say…
THEY HAVE PARA MANNEQUINS TOO.
They have roundly supported a more proportionate slice of society. And I can’t help but feel the para mannequins need to be front and centre of all articles written on this too.
I have worked with a Para-Athlete for over a year now, and to simply say they are lost and forgotten in the world of rehab, fitness and fashion is an understatement.
NB: Having been to the Nike Store, I found only one Para Mannequin. So good. But not great.
A for effort from Nike anyway. Shame on every other media outlet, columnist and fitspo influencer who has briefly missed this point and taken the fight up either for or against the *fat* people.
A side note to the Tanya Golds amongst us: You can’t chose one part of society to support or slander if you are fighting for equality. Equality belongs to all.
Now that’s done…I will progress onto my views on the rest of the argument.
In a wholly divisive moment Nike’s marketing department has installed Plus Size Mannequins into their London Store for the world to see and talk about.
This has meant columnists around the world both on #bodypositive side of the equation and the #fightfat side are now arguing the merits and the not so merits of this move.
Is it promoting a bad body image? Is it fully inclusive?
Well…any sane human being with a right and salient mind should welcome the fact that this move has happened.
Is it perfect? No. Is it a clever bid for more money and marketing. Yes.
But does fitness wholly belong to everyone in every way shape and form? Yes.
Nike. Myself. Sky News or the Government have no right to tell anyone what exercise should be in someone’s life. And if that means someone who is clinically overweight wearying Dri Fit Sports Bras and Leggings…
You go girl! You do you!
Fitness is a human right. Not a god given right. It’s something we have to fight for.
Because if this mannequin helps you feel more powerful. If wearing these clothes makes you feel more confident, and you feel wholly a lot less judged by society for doing so.
Go and be the Athena you are and smash the shit out of anyone who says otherwise.
Fitness is a human right. Not a god given right. It’s something we have to fight for. It’s something we have to work for. And it’s something the human body deserves to be asked to do.
It’s not something that should happen naturally to us, and we should expect it to just “happen”
Therefore if this mannequin helps one person find a bit more courage to have a go at fitness, to find her human right and make a change then it can never be viewed as a negative thing.
The Daily Telegraph Columnist Tanya Gold said this about the mannequin:
“The new nike mannequin is obese. She is not readying herself for a run in her shiny new nike gear. She can’t run. She is more likely pre-diabetic on her way to a hip replacement”
Other than the only response words like that deserve which is a strong and firm : “Fuck right off”
The empathy and knowledge of Tanya Gold is very alarming. Even more alarming as Tanya herself is no stranger to having to fight addiction herself.
Firstly no one said this Mannequin had to run. She could go for a walk. She could do any movement. Because rather than blaming her and shaming her for these made up health conditions that Tanya seems to know about the mannequin…why don’t we encourage her to do something to help with these conditions.
Why are we not putting the message out there that this woman’s past does not have to dictate her future.
And that if she just does just one thing, makes one change it will help.
My other point is this.
Just because a human is “fat”, “overweight”, “obese” or any other body shape that’s not “healthy” it does not mean you cannot move. It doesn’t mean you can’t change and it doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them.
It just means that’s who they are at this moment in time.
And you know what.
That’s ok.
And anyone can wear what the hell they want. Anyone can do fitness in anyway shape or form that they want.
And no one has a right to tell them what is right or wrong about their choices.
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Coach Adam