How I Healed My Binge Eating

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125: How I Healed My Binge Eating (Part 1)

My Story—How I Fell Into the Cycle of Binge Eating

I’m peeling back the curtain on something that is deeply personal.
This is a raw, vulnerable conversation about my journey with binge eating.

I want you to know—you are not alone.
If you’ve struggled with food, body image, or feeling at war with yourself, my hope is that my story reminds you that healing is possible.
And I’m going to show you how over the next two episodes.

So let’s dive in.

Looking back, I think I always had a rocky relationship with food and my body.

I’m going to take you back for a bit…

My two sisters and I grew up in what I’d call a pretty “standard” Aussie household.

My parents divorced when I was 12, and my dad raised us. He did his absolute best—bless him—but food wasn’t exactly a source of joy or nourishment.

Dinner meant chewy pepper steaks, creamy lasagnas, sugar-loaded meatloaf, and sausages with over-steamed veggies.
Breakfast was Weet-Bix sprinkled heavily with white sugar, and snacks were often Milo, Nesquik, white bread toast, and the like.

Our parents did what they could with what they had.
But somewhere along the way, I internalized this weird mix of scarcity around food and also overindulgence.

Fast forward to 2006. I was 19.

I packed my entire life into my little green Hyundai Excel and moved to Swan Hill for my first journalism job.

Alone. In a town I’d never been to.

I was brave…but cooking?
Oh boy.

I burned two-minute noodles. Regularly undercooked—or completely scorched—chicken. I had no idea how to cook rice.

Most nights, I’d give up and head to McDonald’s.
And sugar? Sugar became my comfort.

It wasn’t unusual for me to demolish an entire tub of ice cream in one sitting, followed by cookies the size of my face.

My energy? It was in the gutter.
My clothes? Tight.
My mood? Low.

But then—this Christmas gift changed everything.

An “I Can’t Cook” cookbook from my cousin. At the time it felt like a joke, but it became my little sous-chef.

I started learning to cook nourishing meals. And you know what?

My clothes felt comfier. My energy lifted. My mood shifted.

It was the first time I realized... food could actually fuel my body and my joy.

But this wasn’t a fairytale.

The journey didn’t magically fix itself.

For years, I tried and failed.
I chased every diet.
I made all the mistakes.
I restricted. I binged. I sabotaged.

I would eat tuna, salad, and celery all day, thinking I was being “good”—only to end up bingeing on garlic bread and Mint Slices in my trackies by night.

Why?

Because I was chasing this unattainable perfect body.

I thought if I just ate perfectly, trained perfectly, and looked perfect, then I’d finally feel good about myself.

Spoiler alert: even when I was at my lowest weight—the “goal” weight—I felt empty.

The bingeing became my way of filling the void.

When I was working in radio and television, living alone in regional towns with no family or friends nearby, my self-worth was completely tied to my career and my appearance.

I wanted to be known. I wanted to be seen. I wanted strangers to adore me.
Because deep down… I didn’t love or even know myself.

Every time I felt stressed, lonely, or exhausted, I’d turn to food.

My binge ritual?

• A tub of Ben & Jerry’s

• A packet of chocolate chip cookies

• Reese’s Cups

• A jar of Nutella

I’d mix it all into a bowl and eat until I couldn’t move.

Then, hours later, I’d lace up my runners and try to “run it off”.
The next day, I’d barely eat at all—trying to compensate.

I felt hollow.
Unworthy of feeling good.
Trapped.

And here’s the truth that took me years to understand:

Your body will always meet you where your mind is at.

If your mind doesn’t believe you’re worthy of feeling good, no amount of weight loss, perfect eating, or exercise will ever be enough.

I didn’t binge because I lacked willpower.
I binged because I didn’t feel worthy of a healthy, joyful life.

And that’s where I’m going to pause my story for today.

In next week’s episode, I’ll share exactly how I healed my relationship with food and my body.

It’s been a long road—but one paved with self-love, self-worth, and reconnecting to who I truly am.

See you in Part 2, beautiful.

126: How I Healed My Binge Eating (Part 2)

How I Healed My Binge Eating—The Power of Self-Love and Self-Respect

I want to share not just what I did, but what truly worked—and the mindset shifts that allowed me to finally, after years of struggle, break free.

Let’s dive in.

In my darkest moments—when I was sitting in that cycle of bingeing, restricting, and shame—something inside me knew this wasn’t me.

I remember grabbing my journal, tears often still drying on my cheeks, and writing things like:

• “I am not my food addiction.”

• “I love my food, my food loves me.”

• “I do not binge.”

• “I am no longer aligning with this disorder.”

Even though I didn’t fully believe the words at the time, something deeper—my subconscious, my intuition—knew that this bingeing was just a part of me.

It wasn’t all of me. I wasn’t going to identify with “Hayley is a binge eater.”
There was so much more to me than that.

I wrote those affirmations over and over.

As I was doing that, I was building new beliefs.
I was starting to tell my brain, and my body, a new story.

That journaling practice became my anchor.

Even when I slipped up, even after a binge, I would still pick up that journal and do the work.
Every single time.

I was slowly, consistently creating new neural pathways.

And here’s what I’ve learned, and now teach in my Naturally Well program:

If you truly love and respect yourself—you won’t sabotage yourself.

Think of someone you love deeply. Your partner, your bestie, your child.
You would never sabotage them. You wouldn’t harm them or talk down to them.

But when we binge, emotionally eat, or punish ourselves with exercise, we are doing those things… to ourselves.

And that’s a reflection of how we feel about ourselves deep down.

Even when I’ve found myself criticising others—my partner, my child—I know it comes from a place of self-criticism first.

No diet or meal plan can fix that.

It can only be healed by doing the inner work—
by facing the limiting beliefs and negative stories you hold about yourself.

So that’s what I did.

I kept journaling and kept doing the work.
I kept writing—even when the words felt like lies.
I listened to my inner critic, and then I questioned her.

I started reading books about self-love, spirituality, and personal growth.

Then came the breakthrough moment.

I was out running, listening to a Gabby Bernstein audiobook, when it hit me like lightning:

I didn’t want to live for external validation anymore.

I didn’t want to chase approval or be defined by my body or my career.
I wanted depth.
I wanted to know myself.
I wanted to love myself—from the inside out.

That moment was so powerful, I actually stepped away from my career in commercial radio and TV. I no longer aligned with the shallow, image-driven world I was in.

I was ready to finally meet me.

The more I did the work—
the more I faced my triggers, continued to heal my inner child, and cultivated deep self-respect—
the less I turned to food.

Even though it wasn’t perfect, even though there were slip-ups, I kept going.

Now, it’s been over 10 years since I last binged.

Yes, I’ve had tough moments.
I’ve faced trauma.
I’ve been triggered.

But bingeing? That version of me doesn’t exist anymore.

When challenges come up now, I don’t reach for food.
I reach for self-awareness.
For movement that feels good.
For nourishing foods that support me.
For my journal, my breath, my support systems.

I do not align with that behavior anymore—because it doesn’t align with my values or who I am.

There have been many triggers and traumas that would have sent me back into bingeing in a nanosecond years ago.

But, hand on my heart, I don’t do that anymore.

So if you’re reading to this right now and you feel trapped in that same cycle, please hear this:

You are not broken.
You are not your binge eating.
You are not your limiting beliefs.

You can heal.

And it starts not with more restriction or willpower—but with self-love and self-respect.

That’s what changed my life.
That’s what created the Naturally Well program.
And that’s what I now get to teach other women every single day.

If you’re ready to not just break free from binge eating but to completely transform your health, your mindset, and your relationship with yourself…

Naturally Well is where that healing happens.

It’s my signature 3-month experience where I help women like you:
✨ Heal their relationship with food and their body
✨ Drop weight without dieting or punishment
✨ Rebuild deep self-love and unshakable self-worth
✨ And become the happiest, healthiest version of themselves—the woman they’ve had on their vision board and in their heart for far too long.

Inside Naturally Well, we dive deep.
We transform you from the inside out.
We don’t just chase a number on the scale—we realign your mind, your body, and your life so you can finally live the life you’ve been dreaming about.

If you’re ready to make this your reality, come join us.
Head to the link inside the episode description or jump over to Instagram @hayley_morcom and I’ll pop you the direct link in the DMs.

Your healthiest, happiest, most radiant self is waiting. 

P.S. Ready to feel lighter, clearer, and more connected to your body?
Naturally Well Accelerator is currently closed, but you can join the waitlist here to be the first to know when doors reopen.

Or, if you’re ready to begin your transformation today, Naturally Well Foundation is now available—my self-paced, self-led program designed to help you eat, move, and think in a way that creates lasting vitality.

Your next chapter of health and confidence starts here. I’d love to walk it with you.