Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
Many people have issues with eating, weight and body image. If you are afraid to eat, eat too much or feel food has taken up too much space in your life, you could benefit from nutrition therapy. We offer nutrition therapy for:
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bulimia Nervosa
- Compulsive Overeating
- Compulsive Exercise
- Binge Eating
- Deprivation-Driven Eating
- Diet Trauma
- Disordered Eating
- Emotional Eating
- Exercise resistance
Many clients come to us because they believe they are struggling with emotional eating. Oftentimes they have been in therapy and found the emotional eating was not cured. This is because, for approximately 80% of our clients, what looks like emotional eating is actually deprivation-driven eating.
Our dietitians are trained to sort out deprivation-driven eating and emotional eating and to help you heal both. In either case, you may benefit from working with a psychotherapist specifically trained in these issues.
Eating Disorders
The best treatment for an eating disorder is a multi-disciplinary team approach involving the nutritionist, therapist, physician, and client. In nutrition therapy we will explore your relationship with food and weight, set gradual and attainable goals to improve your eating and health while learning to stop using disordered eating symptoms. Goals may include:
- Improving your ability to control your food intake
- Improving energy levels
- Raising metabolism
- Meeting essential nutrient needs
- Challenging distorted thinking about food and weight
- Recognizing internal cues of hunger and fullness
- Learning to use intuitive eating to normalize your weight
- Determining your healthy weight
Your nutrition assessment will last approximately 1 hour. In this first visit, we will discuss your eating habits, weight history, medical concerns and symptoms, activity level, and goals as you feel comfortable. We will then begin your journey to healing your food and changing your life.
Recovery from an eating disorder involves a long-term commitment and hard work. We will be there for you throughout the entire process as you need us. Follow-up appointments are usually weekly or every other week for 50 or 25 minutes.
What are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are extreme expressions of a range of weight and food issues experienced by both men and women. They include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. All are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences.
Anorexia Nervosa is characterized primarily by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. Symptoms include: refusal to maintain weight at or above the minimally normal weight for height and age, intense fear of weight gain, distorted body image, loss of three consecutive menstrual periods, and extreme concern with body weight and shape.
Bulimia Nervosa is characterized primarily by a secretive cycle of binge eating followed by purging. Symptoms include: repeated episodes of bingeing and purging, feeling out of control during a binge, purging after a binge (vomiting, use of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics , excessive exercising or fasting), frequent dieting, extreme concern with body weight and shape.
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by episodes of binge eating but without compensatory behaviors such as purging, fasting or excessive exercise. Body weight may vary from normal to mild, moderate or severe obesity.
Compulsive exercise is physical activity which is driven. Although the compulsive exerciser feels they are in total control of their activity, in fact, others may envy their "dedication," the compulsive exerciser does not have a choice, they must exercise. They rarely seek treatment because they want to stop the compulsive activity, rather because they cannot continue.
Compulsive exercise is a means of coping, a way to deal with feelings (tension, stress, anger, guilt, anxiety, loneliness, etc.). The compulsive exerciser's focus is on the desire to exercise, which pushes down these feelings. The compulsive exerciser works out their bodies rather than their problems.
When they are unable to exercise, the thoughts and feelings which have been avoided and denied flood back. Without effective coping mechanisms, they become overwhelmed with all that is unresolved, and are compelled to exercise again to control unwanted feelings.
Diet trauma, the result of dieting, occurs when a person begins to feel out of control around food. Some people get to the point where all they think about is food, even when they are off the diet. They are made to believe that this is because they are not dieting well enough and are often told to get back on a diet. No one is telling them what, exactly, about diets is causing this to happen.
Eventually, a person who restricts their food intake becomes so accustomed to dieting as a way of life, they lose touch with their natural relationship with food. They find it difficult to be comfortable around food, except to diet, which perpetuates the cycle.
Then they end up gaining weight. It is because of the diet, but they blame themselves. It becomes a vicious circle of weight cycling. With Diet Trauma, there can be guilt and shame about eating even a normal amount of food. Sometimes (over)eating becomes the only way to feel better.
Disordered Eating means that a person's attitudes about food, weight and body size/shape may be causing them to have very strict eating and exercise habits that jeopardize their health, happiness and safety. They may not have a full-blown eating disorder, but are at risk for one.
It has been said that “joyless exercise repeated as a daily ritual dampens the spirit.” It also contributes to exercise resistance where one just can’t seem to get a “fitness program” going. Ironically, to get active again, some people may need to quit compulsory exercise and throw out the rules and shoulds regarding physical activity. It is possible to overcome exercise resistance and become joyfully active.