binge eating and 'almond mothers': why the disorder is not about food

julie mai is a registered dietitian and binge eating coach who helps women heal from the restriction and shaming that may come from diet culture and make positive changes in their lives. healthing spoke with mai about what drives people to binge and why just a handful of almonds is not the solution.

what does binge eating mean?

mai: binge eating is actually a psychological diagnosis that is different from overeating, compulsive eating or emotional eating. those are just terms. binge eating disorder is a period of excessive overeating in large volumes. and it needs to happen at least once a week for three months in order for it to be classified as binge eating disorder.

you use cbt, cognitive behavioural therapy, in your coaching. combining this therapy in weight loss treatment is relatively new. how connected is mental health to weight?

m.: it’s very connected. if there are people who have obesity and they’ve been struggling to lose weight for so long using the traditional methods like nutrition and exercise without any luck, sometimes it’s because they have an undiagnosed binge eating disorder. the treatment looks completely different from how you would treat weight loss.

there was a time decades ago when diet culture was front and centre of just about everything. do you think this is still the case?

m.: i really think it’s getting better, and for gen z, specifically. i think we have been children of parents who grew up around diet culture. there’s the concept of an “almond mom” that gen zs talk about. this is what gives me hope. i’m a tiktoker myself, and that’s where you’ll see it. it came from just an episode of real housewives. there’s a scene where bella hadid the model says to her mother, who’s also a model, ‘i’m feeling really weak.’ and the mother says, ‘just eat a few almonds and chew them slowly.’

food restriction is one way people try to lose weight. why is this strategy flawed?

m.: for many reasons, strictly scientifically speaking, we know our bodies can only keep up restriction for so long, and then we end up binging. your body’s going to find homeostasis — or balance — either way. whether all of the 10,000 calories are in one day or distributed over seven days. another reason food restriction doesn’t work is that, from a human behavioural standpoint, food is all around us and it’s very difficult to maintain that level of discipline or restriction. plus, when you have chronic calorie deficits or you’re eating below the amount of calories your body needs to keep you alive, your metabolism really slows down and then you end up holding onto more weight as a result of restrictions.

do you have any advice for parents of young women who may be weight-conscious? 

m.: for young women, it’s really touchy age. we know that once females hit puberty, a lot of things are changing. this is a very high-risk age for eating disorders to develop. so families can prevent that, hopefully, through creating a safe environment for the child. that safe space means we’re not making judgment-based comments on weight, appearance or food.

what’s the most rewarding part of the work that you do?

m.: i think being able to create that safe space for people. talking about food sneaking, for example, these are things that people sweep under the rug. the clients i’m seeing have never spoken about this to anyone, let alone acknowledged it themselves. usually when you’re binging, it’s very quick because you’ve got to be sneaky, you hide everything. you don’t even acknowledge it. so finally being able to let that out in our sessions is really rewarding.

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binge eating and 'almond mothers': why the disorder is not about food

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