Why Do You Not Eat All Day, then Overeat or Binge at the End of the Day?

Not Eat All Day, then Overeat or Binge at Night

This is very common in new clients coming to see me to help them eat healthier.
People buy into the idea that in order to lose weight, you have to cut calories—"the more calories I cut, the faster I lose weight," right?

Many people start skipping meals or eating only once a day, thinking this is the fast-track to weight loss.

Then, they become disappointed when the weight does not disappear. 

What gives?

I want to clarify that fasting and starvation do work for weight loss, but you have to be consistent. Just look at pictures of refugees from the concentration camps in WWII and people with anorexia. 

However, most people are fasting and are interrupted by feasting. Most people only focus on the fast, as long as they fast, "I can eat anything I want during the feast period.”

Also, most people think that beauces they have a desk job, and not moving much, they don’t burn much calories, therefore, don’t need to eat. Unfortunately, that’s further away from the truth.

The truth is that your 3-pound human brain occupies about 2-3% of your body weight. But it consumes up to 20% of your daily energy needs. Even though the brain is about 60% fat, it functions like muscles. So that means, in your desk job where you’re intensely solving problems, figuring out things, planning, strategizing, etc, your brain is running a marathon.

Another thing to remember is that the night before in your sleep, you’re fasting. When you sleep, your body does not shut down like your car, phone, or TV. Your mind becomes unconscious in your sleep, but your body is working really hard to repair, rejuvenate, and recover from the day’s stresses.

So you stop eating like 6-7pm the night before, go to sleep, then wake up, skip breakfast, work through lunch, and eat your first meal at dinner time. That’s almost 24 hours without food. This is where most people get in trouble because when you’re “starving” (as in beyond hungry) and tired after work, the Hungry Monster comes out and takes over your logical thinking. That's why you tend to overeat on junk food after a long day of skipping meals and end up eating three meals in one sitting because “I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch today” you justify to yourself. 

The metabolic stress on the body of eating 3 meals in one sitting after a prolonged fast is completely different than eating one normal meal x3 times a day. 

So if you're going to eat all three meals anyway at the end of the day after starving yourself for 12-18 hours, why don't you just allow yourself to have one decent meal three times a day?

The repercussions of this approach can be far-reaching and detrimental, particularly for professional women who are juggling demanding careers alongside societal pressures to maintain a certain body image.

Chronic yo-yo dieting not only impacts physical health but also disrupts the body's natural ability to regulate hunger, leading to a cycle of disordered eating that can be difficult to break and can impact your job performance when you’re low on both physical and mental energy, and not to mention to constant food noise while you try to stay focus.

Whispering Hunger Signals

Chronic dieting typically involves stringent calorie restrictions, meal skipping, and adherence to rigid eating schedules. These practices force you to learn and find ways to suppress your hunger so you can stay within your unreasonably low-caloric budget for the day. Also, diet culture and diet mentality teach you to ignore your hunger—drink water when you're hungry, eat some celery if you're still hungry—so you keep throwing empty junk, diet this, diet that into your body.

Your body is getting so confused because you keep eating these empty-calorie foods and ignoring what your body really wants, but your body is not getting what it needs. So you keep eating and eating without satisfaction. When all you have to do is just listen to your body, and allow your body to have whatever it wants, whether it's a cookie, a candies, a piece of cake.  

Over time, your body learns to dial down the hunger signal, "No one cares, so what's the point of asking."

That's why you don't feel hungry most of the time. And the only time you feel anything is when you're "starving ravenously."

By the time you're "starving," the Hungry Monster in you has already been released, and your logical mind goes dormant because of the prolonged not eating. 

Unfortunately, over time, the hunger signal gets softer and softer as your body learns that no food is coming. And your body learns to suppress its natural hunger signals in order to comply with the imposed dietary constraints. Over time, the body's innate ability to recognize and respond to hunger diminishes. This disconnect means that individuals may no longer feel hungry when their bodies need nourishment, leading to prolonged periods of undereating. This is why many women have struggled with weight loss for years, oftentimes reporting, “I don’t feel hungry.”

But I often remind them that “the hunger is there,” you just can’t hear it yet.

The Cycle of Starvation Overeating and Binge Eating

As the body becomes used to ignoring hunger cues, the only way you feel hungry is when you are “in raving starvation". And that’s when the “hungry monster” escapes and takes over your logical mind and eats everything in sight.

This is “eating out of starvation” and can lead to binge eating, where individuals consume large quantities of food in a short period, often accompanied by feelings of loss of control and distress.

Most people blame themselves for their lack of willpower, for being weak and unable to control themselves. In reality, your survival brain takes over control to make sure you eat and survive. Unfortunately, this cycle not only undermines weight loss efforts but also perpetuates a pattern of disordered eating that can be difficult to overcome.

Impact on Professional Women

Professional women are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of chronic dieting. The pressures of maintaining a successful career, coupled with societal expectations around appearance, can create a challenging environment for managing weight and health. Many professional women may resort to chronic dieting as a quick fix, unaware of the long-term consequences.

The constant suppression of hunger signals can lead to a variety of physical and psychological issues. Physically, the body may suffer from nutrient deficiencies, poor digestion, decreased metabolism, and fluctuations in weight. Psychologically, the stress and anxiety associated with dieting and the subsequent cycle of overeating can lead to a diminished sense of self-worth and control.

Furthermore, the demanding nature of professional life often means that time for proper meal planning and mindful eating is limited. This can exacerbate the tendency to skip meals and resort to unhealthy, quick-fix diets that further disrupt hunger signals.

Breaking the Cycle

For professional women struggling with weight loss, breaking the cycle of chronic dieting requires a multifaceted approach. Understanding and reconnecting with the body's natural hunger signals is crucial. This can be achieved through intuitive eating practices, which emphasize listening to the body's cues and eating in response to hunger rather than external rules or pressures.

Additionally, seeking support from an experienced dietitian who specializes in binge eating can provide the necessary tools and guidance to develop a healthier relationship with food. Emphasizing balanced nutrition, mindful eating, and self-compassion can help professional women achieve sustainable weight management without the detrimental effects of chronic dieting.