Emotions before and after loss of control eating

ABSTRACT

Our study examined momentary mood and emotional instability pre- and post-loss of control (LOC) eating on non-LOC and LOC eating days, using randomly timed assessments. Community and university participants (n = 45) who endorsed LOC eating at least once per week completed 2 weeks of ecological momentary assessment. All negative moods and emotional instability were elevated on LOC eating days, but trajectories between days did not differ. Guilt exhibited an increasing trajectory prior to a LOC eating episode, but remained elevated after LOC eating episodes. Additional analyses revealed that size of the LOC eating episode did not change these results dramatically.

Clinical Implications

• Binge eating may not make patients feel better

• Binge eating is more likely on days when negative mood is higher

• Binge eating is also more likely on days when emotions are more unstable

• Amount of food eaten was not associated with mood changes

• Instead, self-reported loss of control over eating was associated with mood changes