Why Do I Binge Eat Sweets? A Salt Lake City Binge Eating Therapist Explains
Many of the women I work with in Salt Lake City and across Utah tell me they feel confused and ashamed about their relationship with sweets. They often wonder why it feels so hard to stop once they start, and why cravings for sugar can feel so intense. There is nothing wrong with liking sweets, and there is nothing wrong with you. Binge eating is not a lack of willpower. It is often the body and nervous system responding to restriction, stress, and emotional overwhelm. Working with a binge eating disorder therapist in Salt Lake City can help you understand what is driving these urges and learn how to get out of the binge-restrict cycle with more compassion and support.
There’s nothing wrong with eating sweets. I need to be clear about that from the start. Binging on sweets and not just overeating occasionally, I can imagine, might be causing you some problems. I’ve heard people make jokes about how they wish they could binge on something “healthy” like vegetables, but they don’t; they binge on carbohydrates and foods considered “sweets”. The reason for this is that biologically our bodies are wired to seek high-energy foods after dieting and restriction. Foods like sweets also trigger the reward system of the brain. While it may seem frustrating, cravings for these types of foods are normal. Let’s talk more about why that is and how binge eating disorder treatment can help if you’re stuck in a cycle of binging.
Emotional Eating:
Stress or Anxiety: When we're stressed or anxious, we might turn to sweets for comfort. The sweet taste and good feelings from eating these types of foods can make us feel better temporarily, creating a link between our mood and what we eat.
Reward System: It could be that at some point in your life, sweets are often seen as treats or rewards. When we feel we deserve a treat or need a pick-me-up, we might go for sweets as a way of rewarding ourselves. This connection can lead to overeating, especially when we're feeling emotionally vulnerable. It’s important to know that sweets are not “bad” and this is a natural response for many people.
Dietary Restriction:
Deprivation: If we restrict ourselves from certain foods, like sweets, it can make us feel deprived. When we finally have access to these foods, our cravings may become stronger, triggering episodes of eating a lot to make up for what we felt we missed.
Unmet Nutritional Needs:
Imbalanced Diet: Not getting enough essential nutrients might make our bodies crave sweet foods for a quick energy boost. We might end up reaching for sweets as a fast and easy way to satisfy this need. If there’s been a period of restriction or dieting, which often results in binges then biologically your body may crave this type of food.
Mindless Eating:
Lack of Awareness: Eating sweets without paying full attention can lead to mindless eating. When we're not aware of how much we're eating, it's easy to overeat or binge on sweets without realizing it.
Diet Culture:
Negative Relationship with Food: Society sometimes labels certain foods as "good" or "bad” “unhealthy” or “healthy”. Feeling guilty or ashamed about eating sweets with negative labels can make us rebel by binge eating them.
If you’re reading this and realizing that your relationship with sweets feels out of control or tied to guilt, shame, and cycles of restriction and bingeing, you’re not broken. Many women I work with in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah come to therapy feeling stuck in the same painful loop. Binge eating disorder treatment in Salt Lake City can help you understand why these patterns developed and how to rebuild trust with your body without more dieting or self-punishment.
Biological Factors:
Blood Sugar Fluctuations: Changes in our blood sugar levels can make us crave sugary foods. These changes may happen due to irregular eating patterns or inadequate food intake.
In conclusion, intuitive eating suggests a balanced and flexible approach to food that considers both our physical and emotional needs. Developing kindness and curiosity about why we crave sweets is essential for building a healthier relationship with food. If needed, getting support from professionals who specialize in intuitive eating or eating disorders can provide personalized guidance on this journey.
Dieting can increase cravings
After a period of dieting, it's entirely normal to experience an increased craving for sweets. Restrictive diets often create a sense of deprivation, making the allure of forbidden foods, particularly sweet treats, stronger. Intuitive eating recognizes these cravings as a natural response to the body's need for satisfaction and balance. During dieting, the body may have missed out on certain tastes and nutrients, triggering a desire for the pleasurable and energy-dense qualities that sweets provide. In an intuitive eating framework, acknowledging and honoring these cravings without judgment is a crucial step in rebuilding a healthy relationship with food. Rather than viewing sweet cravings as a failure, intuitive eating encourages individuals to listen to their bodies, understand their cravings, and make choices that align with both physical and emotional well-being.
If you’re interested in learning more about what working with a therapist looks like and how online therapy can support you across the state, you can read more about online therapy in Utah here
Binge Eating Disorder Treatment in Salt Lake City, Utah can help you stop binging
Therapy with a binge eating disorder therapist is a crucial resource when you are grappling with binge eating. Going to therapy can give you a safe and compassionate space to understand yourself and your cycle of binge eating. It can be e scary to reach out for help when you are embarrassed by your behaviors, but you don’t have to worry about being judged. The goal of binge eating disorder treatment is to help you feel better and to find ways to binge less and less. There’s a reason you are struggling with binging, and it’s not because there’s anything wrong with you. Working with an eating disorder therapist can help you unravel all the confusion you have about your struggle and find different ways of dealing with painful emotions.
Start working with an eating disorder therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah
You can find relief from binge eating. You don’t have to feel stuck in this loop. You can have a better relationship with food and your body, and binge eating disorder treatment can help. This Utah Eating Disorder Clinic has an eating disorder therapist specializing in binge eating disorder. To begin counseling, follow the steps below:
Meet with a binge eating disorder therapist
Begin feeling better
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of Maple Canyon Therapy in Salt Lake City, Utah. She specializes in working with women who struggle with binge eating, disordered eating, and their relationship with food and their bodies. Ashlee practices from a Health at Every Size (HAES) and non-diet perspective, helping clients move out of cycles of restriction, shame, and loss of control and toward greater trust in their bodies and emotional safety around food. She earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Utah State University and holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Family Life and Human Development from Southern Utah University. Ashlee has worked across all levels of care for eating disorders and has been supporting women in recovery since 2013.