Disordered eating: https://thedorm.com/signs-of-disordered-eating/
1. Obsessive thoughts about food, eating, or weight
Intrusive, obsessive thoughts and behaviors that interfere with daily life,
such as: engaging in diets, counting calories, body checking, micro-biting
at meals, compulsive exercise, and avoiding social outings that involve
food.
2. Struggling to eat in front of others
People with all forms of eating disorders experience high levels of anxiety
or feelings of shame, guilt, or embarrassment eating in front of others:
feeling as though others will judge them for what or how much they eat.
This could result in binging after the meal or only eating in private. Please
note that anxiety around eating in public can start in adolescence such as
in school cafeterias or social events, so it’s important not to write off these
behaviors.
3. Developing rigid rituals or rules around eating
Shame, anxiety, guilt, or obsessive feelings around food can lead to strict,
self-imposed rules such as: eating foods in a certain order, cutting foods
into small pieces, excessive use of condiments to make food less
appetizing, or not eating certain foods entirely.
4. Body dissatisfaction that interferes with daily activities
If insecurities or discomfort with one’s weight or shape are so persistent
that they interfere with everyday activities and enjoyment, it’s a strong red
flag of disordered eating. Individuals may wear baggy clothes, engage in
disordered behaviors to manipulate body size, body check in mirrors, often
weigh themselves, and avoid social activities due to feeling shame around
their body.
5. Eliminating food groups or experimenting with diets
Changes in diet, such as cutting down on sugar or trying new foods, can
be healthy in a lot of circumstances, but drastic changes in diet may point
to a problematic relationship with food. For example, people with eating
disorders may become obsessive with new diet trends or dietary
restrictions (i.e. “all carbs are bad”). If someone is constantly basing their
diet on external trends and not their own nutritional needs, it is worth
seeking help.
6. Exercise is an antidote or “reward” for eating
Another symptom of an eating disorder is not in what they consume, but in
how they exercise. Obsessive thought patterns, shame, and guilt around
what or how much they’ve eaten can cause someone to exercise
excessively or purge as a form of punishment, or only eat as a “reward” for
exercising.
7. Other unexplained physical symptoms
Some warning signs of disordered eating are not related to behavior or
symptoms, but instead manifest as physical symptoms. People may
experience chronic stomach issues, feeling cold all of the time, or frequent
gastrointestinal symptoms may link to a lack of proper nutrition.
What I thought would heal my brain:
Avoiding binge foods
Having more discipline to stay within my calorie goals
Finally losing weight for good.
What actually healed my brain:
Eating my fear foods regularly
Eating until mentally satisfied (not just physically full)
Finding meaning in more than my body image
Body issues:
Stopped looking in the mirror
Stopped checking out sizes
Stopped saying hurtful things to myself
Stopped weighing myself until
Stopped clicking on before and afters (as best I can) cuz it tells the algorithm to
Accounts to follow:
@Binge.nutritionist
@Realrecoveryuk
@kristinabrucecoach
@breeelenehan
@break.binge.eating
@soheefit
