Struggling With Food? It Might Be More Than Stress — Let’s Talk About Binge Eating
If this feels familiar, you are NOT alone — and it’s not a willpower problem.
Let’s start with something important:
So many women think they have a “food problem”… but what they really have is a stress problem, a hormone problem, a coping problem, or a biology problem.
And sometimes, they have something called binge eating disorder (BED) — even if they’ve never used that word before.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing great all day… and then the wheels come off at night…
or if you’ve ever waited until your kids or husband went to bed so you could finally sit down and eat in peace (and then felt awful afterward)…
this might be for you.
What does binge eating actually look like?
Here’s the real, honest version — not the textbook definition.
Binge eating often sounds like:
“Why can’t I just get it together?”
“I’ll start over tomorrow.”
“Everyone else seems to do this just fine. What’s wrong with me?”
“I’m so good all day… why do I lose it at night?”
“I have no willpower.”
Or it looks like:
eating fast and not really tasting the food
eating past the point of fullness
eating when you’re not physically hungry
hiding food or sneaking bites when no one is watching
eating in the car on the way home
binging once everyone is asleep because you finally have a minute alone
And afterward?
Instead of feeling satisfied… you feel disappointed, frustrated, guilty, embarrassed, or defeated.
You tell yourself the same things so many of our clients do:
“I blew it.”
“Why am I like this?”
“What is wrong with me?”
“If I just tried harder…”
Sound familiar?
Here’s the truth:
None of this is your fault. And none of this is about willpower.
Why binge eating is more common in women — especially stressed, professional women
Research shows:
BED is twice as common in women as men
The highest rates are in women 20–50
It’s strongly linked to stress, emotional overload, perfectionism, and high-pressure jobs
Women who juggle work + home + family are especially vulnerable
Translation?
If you’re a woman who’s:
✅ busy
✅ high-achieving
✅ functioning under pressure
✅ caring for everyone but yourself
✅ handling stress by the gallon
✅ exhausted
✅ and constantly putting your needs last…
You are in the exact group of women who are statistically most likely to develop binge-eating patterns.
Not because you’re weak.
Not because you “love food too much.”
But because your brain and stress response are trying to cope.
Why does this happen?
Because food is the fastest way to:
soothe your stress
quiet anxiety
numb overwhelm
create a moment of peace
get a tiny burst of dopamine when life feels too heavy
And your biology is designed to repeat anything that brings relief — even if it’s temporary.
This is not a character flaw.
This is conditioning + hormones + stress + being human.
How Merit helps (and why so many women come to us for this)
Binge eating is not solved with:
❌ another diet
❌ more restriction
❌ more discipline
❌ more guilt
❌ “starting over Monday”
At Merit, we specialize in the whole picture:
✅ stress
✅ hormones
✅ metabolism
✅ hunger signals
✅ emotional coping
✅ binge-eating patterns
✅ nighttime eating
✅ perimenopause effects
✅ and the stories women tell themselves
We help you understand why this is happening — and what to do about it — without shame or judgment.
You are NOT the problem.
Your biology + circumstances + stress response are.
And those can all be supported.
What to do next
If you read this and thought,
“That sounds exactly like me…”
you’re not alone — and you don’t have to keep doing this silently.
Let’s talk about what’s really going on underneath the patterns.
👉 Schedule a call with a Merit team member.
We’ll walk through what you’re experiencing, what might be driving it, and what support options make sense for you.
No judgment.
No shame.
Just real help.
Click HERE to schedule your call.
You deserve support that makes sense for YOUR life — not a lecture about willpower.
