Breaking Free From Binge Eating

- Kat James

Five years ago, Britt McMartin, age 44, an interior designer from Chicago, dusted off an unread book and uncovered a truth that would lead to her own physical and emotional freedom. We sat down to talk with McMartin about her remarkable journey.

Looking at you today, it’s hard to believe that you ever struggled with weight or health issues. Could you share some of the emotional and physical spirals that led to your turnaround?

My struggle started in high school. I felt a strong need to be “perfect,” so as my body started to change, I started restricting my food intake, which seriously backfired. Those periods of starving myself always ended by eating increasingly ridiculous amounts of food. Then I’d be so disgusted with myself that I’d try to “make up for” what I’d just eaten by skipping breakfast and lunch the next day. Then inevitably, I’d binge again the next night. My moods became as extreme as my eating. My body became shameful to me, and I started to isolate myself and hide when photos were taken.

I was strapped into this vicious roller-coaster for the next few decades, with only occasional periods of extended, “successful” starving. By college, I’d gained even more weight, and my mood swings and depression were even worse. I pretended to be happy around others so as not to be a downer, but I was miserable pretty much all the time.

Eventually, I started to notice health problems, like my racing, uneven heartbeat. I tried to make emotional sense of what I was doing to myself, and even confided to someone that I had an eating disorder. You know what they said? “Well, you’re not very good at it.”