Breaking Free from the Restrict-Binge Cycle: Why It Happens and How to Heal

If you feel stuck in the restrict-binge cycle, you’re not alone. Learn why this pattern happens, how restriction fuels binge eating, and practical steps to rebuild a healthy, consistent relationship with food.

You’re Not Alone in the Restrict-Binge Cycle

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a cycle of following rigid rules around food, only to swing into overeating or bingeing, you’re far from alone. As a weight-neutral dietitian working with athletes and people trying to heal their relationship with food, I can honestly say that almost every client I meet with lands somewhere on the spectrum of the restrict-binge cycle. Sometimes it looks like “clean eating” (Gosh I hate that phrase) during the week and overeating on weekends. Sometimes it’s underfueling all day (intentionally or not), then losing control around and after dinner. And sometimes it’s full-blown bingeing followed by guilt and doubled down plans to “start over and do better" Monday. No matter how it shows up, the cycle always comes back to the same thing: restriction, whether physical, mental, or both.

Why Restriction Always Backfires

Here’s what I tell my clients all the time: bingeing isn’t a lack of discipline. It’s your body’s biological response to deprivation. When you restrict (by cutting calories, skipping meals, or avoiding certain foods), your body eventually fights back. Hunger hormones rise, cravings intensify, and food thoughts take over. It’s your body’s way of trying to protect you from starvation, even if you’re not consciously “dieting”. Even mental restriction counts. If you’re eating but constantly thinking, “I shouldn’t be eating this,” your brain still registers that as deprivation. That’s why “just having more willpower” never works. It is not about willpower at all.

The Restrict-Binge Cycle in Athletes

For athletes, the restrict -binge cycle can be even more confusing. Many of the people I work with are highly motivated, goal-oriented, and used to pushing through discomfort. They often start underfueling unintentionally by trying to “eat clean,” cut sugar, or lose a few pounds for performance (which I would NEVER recommend by the way, but that is a blog post for another day...). But what happens is the opposite: energy crashes, increased cravings, poorer recovery, irritability, and eventually bingeing. That’s not a failure. That’s physiology. When you don’t eat enough to meet your training and life demands, your body will demand food until balance is restored. This is also where RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) can come into play, where chronic underfueling negatively impacts hormones, performance, and overall health.

How to Break the Restrict-Binge Cycle

1. Fuel Your Body Consistently

Eating enough consistently is the foundation. Regular meals and snacks with carbohydrates, protein, and fat help regulate hunger, energy, and mood. When your body feels nourished and safe, those binge urges lose intensity.

2. Focus on Addition, not Restriction

A huge mindset shift I work on with clients is focusing on adding instead of taking away. Our brains tend to do better when we focus on positives. For example, instead of restricting yourself from eating pizza think what can I add to make this a more balanced meal? Maybe a salad for some fiber and micronutrients and some additional protein to meet increased needs of athletes. Add nourishment, satisfaction, flexibility. When the goal becomes fueling well, restriction naturally starts to fade.

3. Ditch the "Last Supper Mentality"

Something I see often with clients is what I call the “Last Supper mentality.” It’s that feeling of, “I might as well eat all of this now because I don’t know when I’ll let myself have it again.” This mindset comes straight from labeling certain foods as "off limits" or “bad.” The brain interprets scarcity as urgency. So when you finally allow yourself to eat that food, it makes sense that you’d want a lot of it. It’s a protective response, not a lack of control. The key to breaking this pattern isn’t more discipline; it’s removing the restriction that fuels it. When you know that all foods are allowed and available anytime, that sense of urgency starts to fade. Over time, clients often notice that those “off-limits” foods lose their power, and eating them feels calm and satisfying instead of chaotic.

4. Get Curious About the Emotions Behind It

Restriction and bingeing often have emotional roots such as stress, shame, fear of weight gain, or the belief that discipline equals worth. Healing involves curiosity, not judgment. Working with a dietitian or therapist who understands disordered eating can make that process feel safe and structured.

5. Shift from Control to Connection

When clients move from trying to control food to connecting with what their body truly needs, everything changes. Hunger cues come back. Cravings settle. Energy improves. Meals become more enjoyable. Obsessive food thoughts subside. Food becomes a partner in health and performance, not something to battle.

Finding Freedom from the Cycle

I’ve worked with many people who thought they’d never trust themselves with food again. But with time, consistency, and compassion, they’ve learned to eat without fear, binge urges have faded, and food has become easy again. Healing the restrict-binge cycle doesn’t mean you’ll never have another hard day, but it can mean those days no longer control you. You learn to eat, train, and live from a place of respect rather than restriction. If this sounds familiar, know that you’re not broken and you’re definitely not alone. Your body isn’t working against you. It’s just asking to be nourished. If you need additional support overcoming the restrict-binge cycle, I would be honored to support you on your journey to a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food. Send me a message at the contact box below!