Breaking Up With Binge Eating
Breaking Up With Binge Eating is for anyone stuck in binge eating, emotional eating, or the restrict-then-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
The Morning After: Stabilizing Instead of Compensating
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The morning after a hard night of eating can feel heavy—physically and mentally—and it’s easy for your brain to start reaching for a “fix”: skipping meals, tightening rules, stepping on the scale, promising to be “very good” today. In this episode, Georgie explains why compensation usually turns into overcompensation, and how that swing adds more pressure to an already unsettled system—making another binge more likely.
Instead, this episode lays o...
Before the Spiral: When Plans Fall Apart
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This episode is about the moment before things fully blow up—not the binge itself, and not the morning-after panic, but the point where you start to feel… off. When your schedule changes (weekends, travel, illness, late nights, company), the day can lose its scaffolding and pressure quietly accumulates until eating starts to feel urgent and chaotic.
You’ll learn why “anchors” matter—regular meals, transitions, and small rhythms that reduce uncertai...
Why Nighttime Binges Aren’t a Willpower Problem
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If you can hold it together all day—and then feel like everything falls apart at night—this episode is for you.
Nighttime bingeing isn’t a character flaw. It’s usually what happens when pressure exceeds capacity at the end of the day. In this episode, Georgie breaks down the most common drivers of nighttime binges (and why they often stack), then gives you a practical “match the tool to the mecha...
Building Stability Without Perfection
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Show Notes:
As things start to feel steadier, a new fear often shows up: If I’m not white-knuckling this, am I doing enough? In this episode, we talk about why calm can feel unfamiliar when effort has been your survival strategy—and how real recovery looks more like stabilization than intensity.
We’ll break down what stability actually means (predictability, not perfection), why stability lowers urges and reduces escalati...
What To Do When the Urge Hits
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Show Notes:
When the urge to eat feels urgent, convincing, and hard to resist, insight alone usually isn’t enough. In this episode, we focus on what to do once the urge is already here—so you reduce escalation instead of making it worse.
In this episode, you’ll hear the key reframe that an urge is not an order—it’s a signal, why fighting, shaming, arguing, or “just giving in”...
Support in the Moment: Kahani, Eating Disorder Recovery, and Real-Time Tools (with Mehek Mohan + Elena)
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Episode summary
Recovery doesn’t only happen in therapy—it happens in the moments in between. In this episode, Georgie talks with Mehek Mohan, cofounder of Kahani, an app designed to offer personalized, on-demand support for eating disorder recovery, and Elena, who uses the app in her own recovery and helps guide its development.
You’ll hear how Kahani aims to lower cognitive load on hard days through check-ins and tail...
When Food Is the Only Break You Get
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When life feels like nonstop self-management, food can become the fastest, most reliable way to get relief—especially if rest, comfort, or support don’t feel allowed. In this episode, we’ll look at why emotional eating and binge eating are points on the same continuum of pressure and capacity, and how to widen your “menu of relief” so food doesn’t have to do all the work.
In this episode:
Wh...Why “Being Good” Backfires (Especially When Weight Loss Is the Goal)
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So many people believe: “Once I lose weight, I’ll finally feel calm around food.” In this episode, we unpack why that belief often backfires—turning food into a high-stakes performance, increasing stress and rigidity, and making emotional eating and binge eating more likely. We’ll also explore a stability-first approach: lowering pressure first so eating can become steadier, calmer, and more consistent.
In this episode, we cover:
How weight loss...The Binge–Restrict Cycle (and Where It Actually Starts)
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Episode 4 — The Binge–Restrict Cycle (and Where It Actually Starts)
From Distress to Stability — Part 4
Most people think the cycle starts with the binge. But binges don’t come out of nowhere—they come out of pressure.
In this episode, we zoom out and name two beginnings:
the day-to-day start (quiet pressure, depleted capacity, emotional eating, guilt, tightening control), andthe long-ago start (early dieting messages, unfairness a...Why Stress Makes Eating Feel Out of Control
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Show Notes:
Ever felt like the first bite “signs a contract”—and suddenly the brakes are gone? In this episode, we slow that moment down and explain why loss-of-control eating is a predictable state shift that shows up more often under stress and restriction. You’ll learn what’s happening in your brain and body—and how to interrupt the spiral without needing perfection.
What we cover
What “loss of...What Everyone Gets Wrong About Restriction
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If you’ve ever been told “just stop restricting” and felt more confused than helped, this episode is for you. We’re defining restriction in a way that actually supports recovery: not every “no” creates pressure. The kind of restriction that fuels binge eating is excessive, distress-based scarcity—and learning the difference is how you build steadiness without swinging into chaos.
In this episode, we cover
Why “never say no” isn’t recovery—it’s a different trap The...Start Here: Pick Your Path
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It’s Not Willpower, It’s Pressure (Why Binge & Emotional Eating Happen)
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Welcome to Season 2 of Breaking Up With Binge Eating. This 12-episode series walks you step-by-step from distress around food to something steadier and more workable—without perfection. In the Season 2 opener, we challenge the idea that loss of control is a character flaw and replace it with a more accurate frame: pressure exceeds capacity. We’ll unpack how restriction, stress, exhaustion, and emotional overload narrow your thinking and spike urgency around food, and why “clamping down” tends to increase the pressure you’re trying to reduce. You’ll leave with a...
How Binge Eating Reflects Our Struggle with Restraint
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Episode Summary
In this episode, Georgie Fear explores the psychological chain reactions behind binge eating, revealing how it often serves as a rebound effect from excessive restraint and self-sacrifice. Through the story of Marta, a busy mom juggling family and business, listeners learn how binge eating isn't about selfishness—it's actually a compensation for too much selflessness.
Key Topics Covered
Why binge eating doesn't occur in isol..."But I'm not losing weight yet"
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Losing weight is probably one of the most common reasons we hear that people want to end their binge eating. It's the physical symbol of success and is most apparent to the world. Reasons for wanting to change their current state may also include bothersome achy knees, elevated blood pressure, or distress about not being a healthy role model. But the big thing that hurts them on a daily basis is th...
When Food Becomes Protest: Defusing Resentment & Rebellion
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Have to do this. Can't eat that.
Over and over, these mandates drive a person crazy. Many of our clients say that it builds up over time, and they snap. They just want to eat and eat, in opposition to feeling pushed around by all the responsibilities and demands on them. They want to feel free, like they can have or do whatever they want in at least one sm...
I Really Eat Perfectly (When I'm Not Bingeing)
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"I eat really clean", Kyle said "Even my binges are on healthy things. That's why it's confusing. I'm a fit guy. I'm a healthy eater who binge eats." Kyle's words bring up a number of misconceptions about binge eating and the people who suffer from it. In today's episode, we'll delve into why clean eating can lead to or exacerbate binge eating.
Join us to discover how the fitness indu...
Rest Is Hard. Here's How To Do It Anyway. (Featuring Allison)
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In this Episode:
Our philosophy on treatment includes supporting people in many areas of life in addition to meeting their nutrition needs. Eating disorder recovery certainly involves modifying your eating, but if someone only works on the food piece of their life, they often can't completely escape from the symptoms. They may relapse into binge eating again, or they might replace it with a different coping behavior. That's why this po...
The Lie Behind "I Don't Deserve To Have Good Things"
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Show Notes:
Have you ever had the thought 'I don't deserve good things'? This pervasive belief can be subtle, but it's not harmless. Today we are going to explore what's really going on with this belief.
When we peel back the layers, we can see that the belief of "deservingness" is rooted in conditional worth messaging, internalized shame, and fear- which can all impact our food choices and sel...
Olivia's Journey: How Medication Helped Silence Her Food Noise
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Olivia emailed us sharing her personal journey with Semaglutide, a GLP one receptor agonist, and how it helped her manage binge eating disorder. Olivia's experience was so compelling and we believe it sheds light on the silence around GLP one drugs and their potential benefits beyond weight loss.
Join Georgie as she discusses the implications, potential benefits, and risks of using these medications for binge eating disorder. She also de...
“I Can’t Handle This” — The Thought That Triggers the Binge
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In today's episode, we discuss how moments of emotional distress can often trigger binge and emotional eating and it all starts with the thought 'I can't handle this'.
But what if there was a way to reframe that thought and change the course of your actions as a result? It all starts with combating overwhelm, building up alternative strategies, and garnering your support system in times of need. Learn fro...
The Lie Behind "I'll Make Up For It Tomorrow"
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Join us in today's episode as we dive into one of the most pervasive thoughts in the binge-restrict cycle: 'I'll make up for it tomorrow.'
We'll explore how this seemingly harmless thought is a clustered cognitive distortion, combining all-or-nothing thinking, future tripping, moral reasoning, should statements, and magical thinking. Learn how this mindset disconnects you from the present, adds emotional pressure, and often leads to more binge behaviors.
What the Latest Research Says About Binge Eating Disorder
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In this episode, we delve into the latest research on Binge Eating Disorder (BED), exploring its most common causes and effective treatments.
Recent studies new findings show BED's connection to brain activity and reduced impulse control. Research also demonstrates the roles of systemic inflammation and the gut-brain axis in BED. You will also hear us share about the significance of interoceptive awareness, and the strong correlation between ADHD and bin...
"I've been so good, I can afford it" (The Overconfidence Trap)
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Are you someone who experiences a period of good weeks followed by bad weeks? Maybe you've heard yourself thinking, "I've been so good, I can afford it." This is an unhelpful thought that we hear pretty regularly from our clients and it's something we call "The Overconfidence Trap". Someone usually falls into this trap when they are doing well with their eating and health behaviors and feeling successful, only to be th...
How To Eat Like A "Normal Person"
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"I want to eat like a normal person". That's what people tell us over the phone, on Zoom, via email, or written into our new client assessment.
In today's episode, we want to explore with you what it means to be a 'normal eater,' and highlight that normal eating encompasses a range of behaviors rather than a specific definition.
We delve into how comparisons and societal expec...
When Food Isn't The Fix: Emotion Regulation Skills (Part 3)
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Have you noticed a pattern in your life where you use food to solve all the things? Whether you are cold, tired, behind schedule or intimidated or unsure or angry, does your brain say "should we eat something?" Even if you aren't hungry at all?
This is exactly how emotional eating makes us act: We find ourselves using the same action (eating) to respond to any kind of feeling rat...
The Incredible Relief of Changing Your Story
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We all have tapes that play in our heads or narratives in the background of our lives. The stories we tell ourselves cast us into roles and you can be certain that they impact how you feel, the choices you make day to day, and how you eat.
If you are a creative person, a writer, a poet, or artist, you probably have a really developed skill for weaving dr...
When Food Isn't The Fix: Emotion Regulation Skills (Part 2)
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Have you noticed a pattern in your life where you use food to solve all the things? Whether you are cold, tired, behind schedule or intimidated or unsure or angry, does your brain say "should we eat something?" Even if you aren't hungry at all?
This is exactly how emotional eating makes us act: We find ourselves using the same action (eating) to respond to any kind of feeling rat...
Let's Help Marissa
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We love when we get letters from listeners! Today, we want to share one that came in from longtime listener, Marissa.
Marissa has stopped binge eating thanks to following the skills she's learned from this podcast! However, she shared with us that she is still experiencing some challenges with managing her treats intake, particularly sugar. She has been working on experimenting and creating plans, but needs some more support.
<...When Food Isn’t the Fix: 4 Emotion Regulation Skills (Part 1)
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Have you noticed a pattern in your life where you use food to solve all the things? Whether you are cold, tired, behind schedule or intimidated or unsure or angry, does your brain say "should we eat something?" Even if you aren't hungry at all?
This is exactly how emotional eating makes us act: We find ourselves using the same action (eating) to respond to any kind of feeling rat...
Your Winter Wellness Survival Guide (The Art of Wintering)
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Winter is here! For many of us, it's a long stretch of the year—one that can throw a wrench in even the best-laid health plans. If you're someone who tries to stay active, eat well, and nurture your mental wellness throughout the year, you probably know that winter brings its own unique set of challenges.
Whether it's battling the winter blues, staying on track during holiday festivities, or simp...
Why You're Procrastineating (and How to Change It)
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Today on the show, we are going to talk about procrastineating, which is procrastination, where food is concerned. Procrastineating may show up like snacking or grazing, or it may be the form of a binge.
When we sort through procrastination eating, we are less concerned about the magnitude of eating and more concerned about why it's happening in the first place. Because like many problems, as we discover the re...
How to Halt a Binge in Its Tracks
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Whats the best way to smother a binge before it snowballs, stopping it from gaining momentum, and spreading it to destroy your day, weeks, or decades? Well, we actually are going to talk about exactly that in today's episode.
Overcoming binge eating challenges must happen from several different angles. First, we can look at it from a prevention angle: identifying the triggers you experience and learning to prevent binge ea...
What To Do When Your Brain Goes Into "Cut and Run Mode"
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Our group coaching client Emma recently reached out feeling defeated. Her vacation got derailed by an incoming hurricane. She felt like a failure of the program because she was going back to old ways of using food to cope with the disappointment of her intended family plans, wondering if she would ever get better from these eating and body struggles.
Maybe you've been there too...
Thankfully, she re...
Are you Anti-compassion, Anti-Praise, or Anti-Encouragement?
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This is our 100th episode of the Breaking up With Binge Eating Podcast! Thank you, listeners, for the love and support of this podcast. We are glad you are here and thankful to be a small part of your healing journey to food freedom.
Does encouraging yourself feel weird? If so, then this episode is for you. In fact, the "weirder" it feels to give yourself praise and encouragement, th...
Ways To Connect With People That Don't Center Around Food
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Food can be a wonderful tool of connection. You can use it to connect with others, to a nostalgic memory, while traveling to a new culture, or even connecting to your own heritage. But food is not the only way you can connect to these things.
In today's episode, join Georgie as shares some ideas for other ways you can connect with and enjoy time with others without feeling li...
How To Have Honest Conversations About Your Eating (Without Excessive Awkwardness!)
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The days are gone when eating disorders and body image struggles were secrets to keep. Nowadays, people talk about them openly, which a beautiful thing. But if you aren't prepared, those conversations can get awkward, or worse yet, start disagreements when you were only asking for some help and support.
Join Georgie and Christina in this episode to hear how we guide our clients through chatting about your experience wit...
How to Move Away From Calorie Counting
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Are you a long term calorie counter? Then you may want to consider whether it is helping or hurting your journey to breaking up with binge eating. What we have seen with clients is that calorie counting and binge eating are linked, and can unfortunately perpetuate the pendulum swing of binge and restrict.
Maybe you have used calorie counting as a way to manage your weight or feel more in...
How to Recover From A Slip Up With Compassion
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“We all make mistakes” - you’ve heard that so many times that I bet it’s practically meaningless. It’s like a bland hallmark card inscription that has zero power for most of us. Many people who are working on improving their relationship with food, such as stopping binge eating or emotional eating say their #1 struggle is how to recover after slipping up.
Knowing what to do AFTER a slip is oft...
"I'm not fighting myself anymore on eating" (An Insider Review of Our Coaching Program)
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This week, we are excited to share an insider review of our Breaking up with Binge Eating Group program. Join Georgie and Berenice, as they discuss her journey from being a listener of the podcast, to joining the group program 6 months ago, to overcoming the binge and restrict cycle and developing food freedom. Berenice is a joy and a delight to talk to and we hope her story will encourage and in...
