38: Binge Eating Disorder with Jennifer McGurk, RDN, CDN, CDE, CEDRD-S

Did you know that binge eating disorder (BED) is a widely misdiagnosed eating disorder? 

I am chatting with Jennifer McGurk, a NY-based registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and the practice of intuitive eating.  She explains what binge eating disorder (BED) is and why so many people try to “fix” this disorder with a diet or even bariatric surgery. The trouble is that these “fixes” rarely get to the root of why a person is bingeing. It is a much more complex disorder requiring more than the temporary “band-aid” of weight loss. 

My conversation with Jennifer about binge eating disorder is straightforward, factual, and eye-opening. We talk about:

How EVERYONE has ups and downs when they embark on disordered eating recovery and most of us don’t hear about the “messy middle” of others’ recovery process.  Jennifer’s personal journey with food, an eating disorder, and how it played a role in the work she does today. How her education in nutrition taught her that the diets she tried were NOT the way to go with eating.  Jennifer’s recent mention in a Seattle Times article, “Why Willpower is Not the Antidote to Binge Eating Disorder”. Many are going undiagnosed and using means like dieting as a method of treatment, which can exacerbate the issue.  Are binges driven by food addiction? We talk about systematic habituation and how being exposed to foods repeatedly could actually decrease this overwhelming desire, or addictive-like drive, to eat a “forbidden” food.  She defines binge eating disorder and how it’s different from overeating. What the landscape is like dealing with COVID-19, trying to be intuitive with eating, and managing eating disorder triggers.

If you struggle with bingeing, you don’t want to miss this episode with Jennifer!

Jennifer is the owner of her group private practice Eat With Knowledge in Nyack, NY, and creator of the online course Feel Fabulous About Food to teach clients all about eating disorder recovery and intuitive eating.

She also offers resources for professionals on growing an intuitive eating business with the Pursuing Private Practice for Intuitive Eating Program and For Professionals: Help Your Clients Feel Fabulous About Food programs. She is a podcast host for the Pursuing Private Practice podcast and also a clinical supervisor and business coach for other dietitians.

Mentioned in this episode:

Jennifer's practice Eat With Knowledge

Pursuing Private Practice website

Pursuing Private Practice podcast

Jennifer on Instagram

8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder

Jessica Setnick, MS, RD, CEDRD-S

Francie White

“Why Willpower is Not the Antidote to Binge Eating Disorder”, Seattle Times article by Carrie Dennett

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