Extreme Hunger and Binge Eating in Recovery

When I decided I was done chasing the “perfect body” and dieting myself into the ground, I experienced a period of a few months where I ate upwards of tens of thousands of calories every single day. I would eat carrot cake for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

I felt so defeated and unable to stop. My body had completely taken over and I was on autopilot.

Even though my stomach was painfully full, I was still hungry – mentally hungry.
My body kept asking for more. This is also referred to as “extreme hunger”.

Why it’s important to follow your hunger and not restrict

My digestion couldn’t possibly keep up, so I was suffering from severe and painful water retention in my legs, mid section and even my face. It was not pretty…
HOWEVER: it is a very common experience if you have a history of restricting food.
AND: it will pass, as long as you truly surrender to it.

Your hunger- and fullness will balance out and your weight will stabilize once your body has understood that food is consistently available. If you are currently experiencing something like this, I want to encourage you to eat up, rest up and be kind to yourself throughout this process

It’s still SO uncomfortable for me to share this with you, so I want to thank you for making me feel safe enough to open up about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of recovery. You are not alone.

If you are looking to dive into Intuitive Eating and learn more about the first steps to take, click here to read a helpful article on my Top 3 Tips for Beginners.