Episode 048 – The Intuitively You Podcast

Binge Eating vs. Overeating

This one can be confusing – What’s the difference between binge eating vs. overeating? There are some key technical differences between these two struggles with food. However, different individuals may have a different perspective on their experience, and may use these two terms interchangeably. 

No Matter What, You Deserve Support

No matter what kind of “box” or terminology your struggles with food fit into, you still deserve support. There absolutely can be different needs in terms of support and treatment based on the different symptoms and severity of symptoms you have in your relationship with food. But know that that is up to the provider and your health care team to determine. 

I’m going to repeat that, because I want you to remember this. No matter what, you deserve support! You deserve to improve your relationship with food. And you deserve to feel better from any of these food-related symptoms that may be impacting your day-to-day life, like binge eating and overeating. 

Remember: this article is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here. 

Now, let’s dive into defining these two terms:

The Difference Between Binge Eating and Overeating 

Binge Eating

Binge eating, as opposed to overeating, is defined by eating a large amount of food within a relatively short period of time, and is accompanied with a feeling of loss of control. 

Overall, binge eating looks like:

• Eating a large amount of food
• Relatively short period of time
• Feeling of loss of control 

If this sounds like what you may be experiencing, you might be experiencing binge eating. If you want to learn more about binge eating, click here to learn all about what binge eating is!

Binge Eating Disorder

A big difference between binge eating vs. overeating is that binge eating can be classified into an eating disorder diagnosis classified by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) within the DSM-5, called Binge Eating Disorder. 

*The technical stuff* 

Now, please remember what I said at the beginning of this article. I am going to share with you what the diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder is, but it does not mean that you need to meet this criteria in order to reach out for help! And also, this is not a substitute for medical advice or diagnosess.

Criteria for Binge Eating Disorder is defined by the DSM-5, which includes: 

• Recurring episodes of binge eating, which means eating a large amount of food within a distinct period of time with loss of control. 
• Meeting 3 or more of the following criteria in relation to binge eating episodes:
  • Eating much more rapidly than normal
  • Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
  • Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
  • Eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating
  • Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating
• Distress regarding binge eating behaviours is present 
• Binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for 3 months
• The absence of compensatory behaviours (i.e. purging)

Overeating 

How do we decipher the difference between binge eating and overeating? To do so, let’s take a look at what the definition of overeating is. Overeating is “the action of eating more food than your body needs, especially so that you feel uncomfortably full” (According to Cambridge Dictionary). 

My take on this is that when you overeat, you’re eating to the point where you push yourself past the level of comfortable fullness, into an area of being overly full. This is best explained when looking at the hunger-fullness scale:

As you can see, there’s what I call “the sweet spot” in the middle when it comes to hunger & fullness levels. On the fullness side of things, you can see that once you pass a hunger-fullness rating of 8, you get into an overly full, slightly uncomfortable place. And then it gets increasingly uncomfortable from there. 

When looking at the differences between binge eating and overeating, overeating is much more common than binge eating. A classic example of this is at Thanksgiving. During holidays centred around food like Thanksgiving, it is really common for people to overeat. There are a lot of tasty food around, maybe ones you don’t get often, and we get excited. So we may eat to that point of uncomfortably full. 

Binge Eating vs. Overeating Checklist 

Again, this checklist doesn’t make you any more or less deserving of support in your struggles with food. And it also doesn’t substitute medical advice or treatment. Please just use this checklist as a point of reference to learn more about yourself and what potentially might be going on for you! 

1. Do you experience a feeling of “loss of control” when eating? This is a key characteristic when it comes to binge eating, and potentially one of the biggest differentiating factors.
   • Yes? It might be binge eating.
   • No? Or not really? It might be overeating.
     
     
2. Do you have a feeling of “blacking out” when eating? Many binge eaters describe a feeling of having the binge episode be a “blur,” whereas with overeating you may be more conscious of what’s going on.
   • Yes? It might be binge eating.
   • No? It might be overeating.
     
     
3. What level of guilt or shame do you feel after? Although you may feel guilt and shame with both of these experiences, often those struggling with binge eating experience quite high levels of guilt and shame when it comes to food.
   • A lot of guilt or shame: It might be binge eating.
   • Some or no guilt or shame: It might be overeating.
     
     
4. Would the amount of food be described as “overly excessive”? Of course in either binge eating vs. overeating you’re eating more food than the comfortable amount. And even though the amount is vague, binge eating it is typically a larger amount of food.
   • Overly excessive amounts of food: It might be binge eating. 
   • More food than comfortable, but not overly excessive: It might be overeating.
     
     
5. Are you eating in secrecy? Since there’s a lot of shame involved in binge eating, binge eaters often do it in secret while alone. Overeating can happen in that instance too, but it’s more common to not wait until you’re alone to overeat.
   • Yes? It might be binge eating. 
   • No? It might be overeating. 
     

Resources for Binge Eating vs. Overeating

Get Support

Reaching out for support from a professional can be a pivotal point in your journey. Although it may be scary, trust that there are many professionals out there who deeply understand what you’re going through and truly want to support you to be able to live the life you desire for yourself. A life without binge eating, stressing over food, or all the shame that comes along with it. 

Embodied Food Freedom is my highly supportive binge eating group coaching program. This program was carefully crafted to take you from binge eating, overeating, and emotionally eating to embodying your version of food freedom. If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in the cycle of binge eating, I’d love to support you in finding peace and freedom with food inside of EFF! Click here to apply or join the waitlist. 

Explore my other intuitive eating coaching services here. I’d love to support you in your journey of improving your relationship with food, however it works best for you!

Some other places to look for additional support could include: National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), and Eating Disorder Hope. 

Free How to Overcome Binge Eating Quiz

I have a free Why Do I Binge Eat Quiz that you can take right now, and it only takes a couple minutes. This free quiz will allow you to figure out what’s keeping you stuck in the binge eating cycle and holding you back from food freedom the most at this time. You’ll also get a personalized action step that you can do today (so you can be a little bit closer to food freedom).