Emotional Eating & Binge Eating · Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge
Emotional eating means eating for reasons other than hunger: stress, sadness, loneliness, boredom. It is not a diagnosis. Regular binges that feel out of control may be binge eating disorder, an eating disorder that calls for a physician or nurse practitioner and for treatment designed for eating disorders. For emotional eating short of that, psychological approaches show some promise, and at CARESPACE the first visit is with a counsellor or a Registered Dietitian.
When it may be an eating disorder, and when it is an emergency
See a physician or nurse practitioner as soon as you can if you think you may have binge eating disorder: regularly eating a large amount of food in a short time, until you are uncomfortably full, without feeling in control of it. The same goes if comfort eating comes with making yourself sick, taking laxatives after eating, eating very little, or exercising too much. In the UK’s national guideline, a first assessment that leaves an eating disorder suspected means an immediate referral to an eating disorder service. CARESPACE is not a specialized eating disorder program: with a diagnosed eating disorder, our counselling and dietitian care work alongside that program and your physician or nurse practitioner, not in place of them. Our Eating Disorders page covers the levels of care and the specialized programs in Waterloo Region.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you, or someone you care for, have been restricting food (eating very little) or bingeing and have any of these:
- Chest pain, with activity or at rest
- Any seizure-like activity
- Any fainting
- Irregular or rapid heartbeats
- Swelling in the ankles with shortness of breath, a cough and chest pressure (like an elephant sitting on the chest)
- Feeling lightheaded for hours
- Weakness or cramps of the legs, confusion, nausea and vomiting (these appear when sodium or potassium is very low)
- Any pain that does not resolve
If you have been bingeing and purging, go for any of the signs above, and also for:
- A large amount of blood in the vomit or stool
- Vomit that looks like coffee grounds
- Black stools (unless you are on iron or taking Pepto-Bismol, which can discolour the stool)
These lists are from the eating disorders program at the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington. Nobody at CARESPACE can rule these signs out, and none of them should wait for an appointment.
Ontario’s quality standard notes increased suicidal behaviour among people with bulimia and binge eating disorder. If you are thinking about suicide, or you do not feel safe, do not wait for an appointment: use the numbers below.
If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, help is available right now.
- Call or text 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any hour.
- Call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247 for addictions, mental health and crisis services in Waterloo Region, at any hour. here247.ca
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you or someone else is in immediate danger.
The emergency departments in Waterloo Region are:
- WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital), 835 King St. W., Kitchener
- WRHN @ Queen’s Blvd. (formerly St. Mary’s General Hospital), 911 Queen’s Blvd., Kitchener
- Cambridge Memorial Hospital, 700 Coronation Blvd., Cambridge
If you cannot get there safely, call 911.
What emotional eating is, and where binge eating disorder begins
Food can be soothing, a distraction from what is really bothering you, or a reward. Big life events such as losing a job can set it off, and so can small hassles like running late for work. Exam season at the universities and the college, or a stretch of night shifts, can do it too.
Emotional eating is not among the eating disorders the NHS lists. Binge eating disorder is. What separates them is the binge: a large amount of food in a short time, a sense of not being able to stop, and distress afterwards, happening regularly over several months.
Signs
Emotional eating tends to look like this:
- Your eating habits change when there is more stress in your life
- You eat when you are not hungry, or when you are already full
- You eat to soothe your feelings, or to put off dealing with a stressful situation
- You often reach for food out of boredom or for comfort
Signs that point to binge eating disorder:
- Eating a lot in a short time and not being able to stop when full
- Eating very fast during a binge
- Eating when not hungry
- Eating alone or in secret
- Feeling depressed, guilty, ashamed or disgusted after a binge
Having only a few of these can still mean a problem that needs treatment.
What is behind it
For emotional eating the trigger is a feeling, and the work is finding out which feelings, in which situations. For binge eating disorder the exact cause is not known. It is more likely if you or a family member has a history of eating disorders, depression, or alcohol or drug misuse; if you worry a great deal about being slim, particularly under pressure from society or your job; if you have anxiety, low self-esteem, an obsessive personality or are a perfectionist; or if you have been through a stressful event or trauma. Anxiety, depression and stress can each trigger a binge, and many people with binge eating disorder also have depression or anxiety, which may need treatment of its own.
How binge eating disorder is diagnosed
A physician or nurse practitioner asks about your eating habits, your medical history, your mental health and how you feel about food and your body, checks your general health, and refers you to an eating disorder service when one is needed. The UK guideline (NICE) tells clinicians not to let any one measure, BMI or the length of the illness for example, settle whether treatment is offered. Counsellors and dietitians do not diagnose.
What the evidence says about treating emotional eating and binge eating
- Where this comes from. The UK’s national guideline (NICE) and Ontario Health’s quality standard for binge eating disorder; a 2023 systematic review for emotional eating without an eating disorder. NICE’s “offer” is firmer than its “consider”.
- Binge eating disorder in the UK: guided self-help first. Offer adults a guided self-help programme built for binge eating disorder: cognitive behavioural self-help materials with brief supportive sessions. If that is not acceptable, or is not working after four weeks, offer group eating-disorder-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-ED); consider individual CBT-ED when a group is not available or is declined.
- In Ontario: CBT-ED. It should be offered to adults with binge eating disorder, and interpersonal psychotherapy is also recommended for them.
- What that therapy works on. Regular meals and snacks so that you do not get too hungry, the cues and emotional triggers for a binge, negative beliefs about your body, and how to handle setbacks.
- Weight loss is not the target, and medicine is not offered alone. Psychological treatment for binge eating has a limited effect on body weight, and weight loss is not a therapy target in itself: the advice is not to try to lose weight, for example by dieting, during treatment. On medicine the UK guideline is firm: do not offer it as the only treatment for binge eating disorder.
- Emotional eating without an eating disorder: some promise. The review covered 34 studies and 3,229 adults, most of them living with overweight or obesity and without a diagnosed eating disorder. Psychological programs showed some promise in reducing emotional eating, and CBT the most, though only three studies used it. The studies differed considerably and showed signs of publication bias, which the reviewers say makes the size of the effect less certain.
How each CARESPACE service helps with emotional eating
Counselling & Psychotherapy
A counsellor can help you map what happens around the eating: which feelings come first, and what you say to yourself before and after. CARESPACE counsellors offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the approach that showed the most promise for emotional eating in the 2023 review. The guideline treatments for binge eating disorder are more specific: guided self-help and CBT-ED. If you have binge eating disorder, or think you might, ask when you book for a counsellor trained in CBT-ED. If nobody is, that therapy comes through a specialized program.
Nutrition & Dietitian
No source we read tests dietitian care for emotional eating on its own: the 2023 review covered psychological programs only, and HealthLink BC’s advice names no profession. What is written about a dietitian’s role is for diagnosed eating disorders. In Ontario’s standard, nutrition care there includes education, dietary recommendations, meal planning and meal support. Standards for dietitians in Australia and New Zealand add that it should keep foods in, not cut them out, and that it is one part of a team’s work, not something delivered on its own. A Registered Dietitian’s subject is eating itself, and this is not weight-loss care. If binge eating disorder is diagnosed or suspected, ask when you book for a dietitian who has worked with eating disorders; if nobody has, nutrition care comes through the specialized program.
Other services people ask about
Exercise and personal training. A 2023 review found five trials, in 264 women with binge eating disorder; in two of them exercise was added to CBT. Binge eating symptoms improved, and the authors call exercise a promising, possibly effective part of a wider treatment plan, while asking for larger and more rigorous trials. The UK guideline disagrees: do not offer a physical therapy, with weight training and yoga among its examples, as part of treating an eating disorder.
Where most people start
With a counsellor or a dietitian: a counsellor if feelings are plainly driving it (the research on emotional eating is about psychological programs), a dietitian if your questions are mostly about eating itself. If binge eating disorder is a possibility, see a physician or nurse practitioner first.
How your team works together
The counsellor works on the feelings and triggers, the dietitian on a steady pattern of eating, and a physician or nurse practitioner on diagnosis, physical health and any medicine. Tell each of them who else you are seeing.
Psychotherapists
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Ayshen Tuncel, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
Life can become overwhelming in ways that aren’t always visible to others. You may find yourself overthinking, being hard on yourself, trying to meet expectations, or carrying emotions…
Dietitians
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Next available: Nov 21
Samantha Rocca, BASc, PMDip, RD
Dietitian
When food feels confusing, stressful, or harder than it should, Samantha Rocca, BASc, PMDip, RD helps you make sense of it in a way that feels practical, compassionate,…
Browse by service: counselling and nutrition.
What to expect at your first visit
- With a counsellor. The counsellor works to understand your concern and comes up with a plan. You may be asked when the eating tends to happen and what is going on at those times.
- With a dietitian. You may be asked how an ordinary day of eating goes for you. With either practitioner, you decide how much to share.
- Useful to have with you: a list of any medicines, the names of other people involved in your care, and your journal if you keep one.
- You leave with a plan, which may include seeing a physician or nurse practitioner.
What you can do at home
These come from HealthLink BC. If you have binge eating disorder, use them inside your treatment plan, not in place of it.
- Keep a journal. Note when and what you eat, and what you were doing and feeling just before. It is for spotting triggers.
- Check in first. You may not notice when your body is hungry or full. A hunger scale can help you tell true hunger from the other kind.
- Plan a different response to your triggers. Call a friend, take a walk or drink a glass of water, then notice how you feel.
- Find other outlets for stress, such as volunteering, reading or meditation, and be patient with yourself: change comes one goal at a time.
Outlook
Most people recover from binge eating disorder with the right support and treatment, though it may take time. For emotional eating without an eating disorder, nothing we read gives a timeline.
Help with emotional eating in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge
Kitchener. Counselling in Kitchener and Nutrition in Kitchener. Locations: Victoria North, Fischer-Hallman, Westmount East and Deer Ridge.
Waterloo. Counselling in Waterloo and Nutrition in Waterloo. Locations: Weber North, Uptown Waterloo and Waterloo GoodLife.
Cambridge. Counselling in Cambridge and Nutrition in Cambridge. Location: Hespeler Road.
The city pages linked above show the locations and practitioners for each service, with their next availability.
Common questions
Is emotional eating an eating disorder?
No. Binge eating disorder is, and the line between them is regular binges that feel out of control. If you are not sure which side of it you are on, see a physician or nurse practitioner.
Should I go on a diet to stop binge eating?
The UK guidance for binge eating disorder says no: eat regular meals and snacks so you do not get too hungry, and do not try to lose weight by dieting during treatment.
Is there medication for binge eating disorder?
Medicine can be part of treatment, but never the only part. Whether it suits you is a decision for a physician, nurse practitioner or psychiatrist.
How is binge eating disorder different from bulimia?
Both involve binges. In bulimia a person then takes drastic action to avoid gaining weight; in binge eating disorder that does not happen. Each is an eating disorder, and each calls for an assessment by a physician or nurse practitioner.
Can I get help with emotional eating in Cambridge?
Yes. See Counselling in Cambridge or Nutrition in Cambridge, book online, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will find the closest location with an opening.
Do I need a referral?
No. Book online or call 519-208-2273. You pay at each visit and receive a receipt for your extended health plan. More on fees and insurance →
Sources
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (NG69). 2017, last updated December 2020.
- Ontario Health. Eating Disorders: Care for People of All Ages (quality standard). 2023.
- Smith J, Ang XQ, Giles EL, Traviss-Turner G. Emotional eating interventions for adults living with overweight or obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023.
- Raisi A, Zerbini V, Piva T, et al. Treating binge eating disorder with physical exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2023.
- Heruc G, Hart S, Stiles G, et al. ANZAED practice and training standards for dietitians providing eating disorder treatment. Journal of Eating Disorders, 2020.
- HealthLink BC. Emotional Eating, current as of March 2023, and Binge Eating Disorder, current as of October 2022.
- NHS. Binge eating disorder, reviewed July 2023 (its next review was due in July 2026), and Overview: Eating disorders, reviewed January 2024.
- Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington. When to seek Medical Care for an Eating Disorder (undated). Read November 2026.
Related conditions
Ready to book?
Book online with a counsellor or a dietitian, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will match you with the right person and the closest location.