Journaling for Binge Eating Disorder

There are many eating disorders that someone can suffer from, with some people 
dealing with more than one at a time. However, most people recognize just anorexia 
and bulimia as eating disorders, sometimes with emotional or overeating mixed in.
But there is another one that can be just as damaging, though in different ways, that is 
just as difficult to live with. This is binge eating disorder.
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
This is a type of eating disorder where you have episodes of eating a massive amount 
of food in a very short period of time. This Is not like celebrating Thanksgiving and going 
for seconds, but rather choosing specific times to plan on having as much food as you 
can get, eating it very quickly, and often feeling emotions like guilt and regret afterward.
With binge eating disorder, you feel a lack of control during a binge. Before the binge, 
you might feel like you “need” it, and it is hard to move past that single thought. The 
binge often includes extremely unhealthy foods, though some people will binge on 
anything they can find at that moment.
What are the Signs of Binge Eating Disorder?
This is one of the more complex eating disorders, because it is not as straightforward as 
anorexia or bulimia. With binge eating disorder, it is a very specific pattern that is 
recurring and characterized by certain things. Here are some common signs of having 
binge eating disorder:
Eating a large amount of food in a very short period of time.
Hiding this food from other people and only binging alone.
Feeling full or not hungry, and still continuing to binge.
Having a short-term lack of control over the type and quantity of food being eaten.
Eating faster than normal. 
Having severe guilt, shape, depression, and disgust afterward.
Binge eating disorder is very close to bulimia, except many people with the binge 
disorder don’t purge afterward.




1. Living with Binge Eating Disorder
Living with binge eating disorder is no easy feat. It is not uncommon to try and compare 
it to other more well-known eating disorders, assuming it isn’t as bad and not as 
dangerous. One thing to know is that every eating disorder is not only dangerous for 
your health, but can be potentially life-threatening. You should always try to get help 
from a professional and seek out help from a hotline if you need it.
The Pattern of Diets and Binges
One common occurrence with many people who suffer with binge eating disorder is 
going back and forth between being on a “diet” and then having binges. Not everyone 
with this eating disorder is actively trying to lose weight, but if you are, you join a big 
group of people with the same issues.
One of the reasons for this similarity is that diets or restricting what and how much you 
eat can actually make the binges worse. You do without for a while, then your mental 
state eventually leads to a massively large binge. This might start a cycle of binging 
daily or even multiple times a day for a while until you not only gain back what you lost, 
but often more than when you started.
Living and coping with binge eating disorder is not just about stopping the binges, but 
stopping the dieting as well, if you feel like this is your biggest trigger. 
Quick Action Tips to Take Now
In the next section, you are going to learn about different ways you can cope with this 
type of eating disorder, but there are some quick actions you can take right now:
Call an Eating Disorder hotline for emergency help.
Reach out to a therapist or mental health professional.
Get a journal and start writing down your feelings.
Talk to a friend or loved one.

2. Ways to Cope with This Eating Disorder
Before discussing journaling as a possible coping mechanism more in-depth, we want 
to go over some different ways to deal with binge eating disorder. You are not alone and 
hope is not lost. Binge eating disorder is a serious eating disorder, but one that is 
treatable when you have the right resources. Here are some things to do to help you 
cope with this type of eating disorder:


Get Professional Help
First and foremost is always to reach out for help. This can be anyone from a counselor 
at school to your family doctor or a mental health professional like a therapist. There are 
online resources with hotlines, as well as numbers you can call or text when you feel the 
urge to binge eat and have lost control. 
Nobody is ever above getting help – this is a way to be kind to yourself.
Figure Out Your Triggers
It is also extremely helpful that you figure out what is triggering your binges the most. 
This is not going to be the same for everyone, so there won’t just be a short list of what 
may or may not cause you to want to binge.
The “trigger” is a situation, person, place, feeling, or emotion that makes you want to 
binge eat. This can be anything from being sad or down, to having stress, anxiety, 
depression, dealing with someone who causes stress in your life, having a bad day at 
work, or even just coming off a restrictive diet.
To find your triggers, write down your experiences every time you have a binge, 
including what you were thinking or feeling before it occurred. 
Did you have a bad day?
Were you scared or frightened of something?
Have you been on a strict diet and felt starving and out of control?
Be open and candid in order to figure out your triggers so you can work to avoid them in 
the future.
Find Healthier Habits to Switch to
Another good way to start recovering from binge eating disorder is to find other habits to 
deal with whatever triggers you have. If restricting yourself often leads to periods of 
binge eating, naturally this means finding another way to manage your weight without 
going on a super strict diet. 
For others, it might mean finding a hobby or activity you turn to whenever you feel the 
urge or have the emotions that tend to trigger you.
Write Down Your Feelings (in a journal!)
Yep – the next is journaling! Writing down your feelings, what you are going through, 
and your experiences with binge eating habits in your journal can be so therapeutic. As 
you will learn in the next few sections, there are many ways to approach this that will 
help you start working toward recovery.

3. The Power of Journaling
As mentioned in the previous section, journaling is an excellent way to express yourself 
and get down to why you are binge eating. It provides so many benefits, from distracting 
you from your cravings prior to a binge, to providing easy and healthy therapy.
How to Use the Journal
How do you journal for binge eating disorder? Simple. You write! This can be anything 
and everything. How you choose to use the journal is entirely up to you, but here are 
some ideas:
Try stream of consciousness writing where all you do is write for a certain period of time 
about anything that comes to your mind.
Work through your thoughts when you want to binge. Write everything you are thinking, 
what you are craving and why, and try to reason with yourself about why you want to 
binge. You might just talk yourself out of it. 
Use it to be grateful for the good in your life, instead of just talking about the bad.
What to Write
To be more specific about what to write, here are some things that can be helpful 
specifically for people with binge eating disorder:
1. Write about why you binge eat. Be specific and open with yourself. Really think 
about all the times you have started to binge, and what was going on at that time. Is 
there a pattern or does it seem random? Do you remember the first time you binged? 
Write about it.
2. Work out why you want to binge right now. This can often lead you to stopping the 
binge before it begins. Again, you want to be honest. The journal is for your eyes only, 
so you don’t need to worry about someone else judging you. If it is because you’re 
starving, write that. If you are frustrated with someone, be honest about it. Talk about 
any trigger or reason that you believe is leading to the binge urge.
3. Keep a food and exercise log. If you are trying to lose weight while also dealing 
with binge eating disorder, this can cause a lot of emotional turmoil. Start by keeping a 
log of everything you eat and when you exercise, but also consider the consequences 
of this. We go more into this in the next section.




Getting Started
Ready to start journaling for your binge eating disorder? All you need to do to get 
started is find a way to journal. This can be an actual hard or softbound journal, a diary, 
notebook, or printed pieces of paper you are writing on. You can also journal on your 
phone or on your computer if you prefer typing over writing.

4. To Log Your Food or Not
A common question people ask is whether or not they should log their food in the 
journal. Many people use journals as aw ay to see what they are eating because it helps 
stick to their diet, find out how much they are eating of certain foods, and narrow down 
food allergies.
With binge eating disorder, there is this thought that you are still “dieting” in a sense 
because you still track everything you eat. 
So, here is a little pros and cons list to decide if this is the right option for you.
Pros:
1. You are able to see what you eat, within reason. Just because you are writing 
your food down in the journal does not mean you need to write down macros or 
nutritional content. Keep the calories, fat, carbs, protein, and other nutrients out 
completely. Just write down what you eat and how much, and leave it at that.
2. It can help you determine what eating habits are causing you to binge eat. 
Another benefit of logging your food in the journal is that you can track your eating 
habits. Maybe you notice when you have too much or too little of something, you tend to 
binge eat. Or a week or two after starting a restrictive diet is when you binge.
3. You can actually record binge meals as well as regular meals. You can also use 
the food log later on to figure out what you eat during a binge meal, which can be very 
eye-opening.
Cons:
1. It might encourage restrictive eating, which triggers binge eating. Logging your 
food can sometimes lead to restrictive eating, as it feels good to see less and less food 
on the pages. Do NOT keep a food diary if this sounds like a habit you would get into.
2. Logging can promote an unhealthy obsession with food. It may also promote 
your unhealthy relationship with food which might be encouraging the binges.
Journaling is a wonderful, therapeutic activity that can help with your binge eating 
disorder, but it should not replace getting professional help.
