Disordered Eating
“And I said to my body, softy: I want to be your friend”. It took a long breath, and replied: I have been waiting my whole life for this.”
- healthyplace.com
Disordered eating is a broad term that encompasses a lot. If you have ever been on a restrictive diet, lost control when eating, deliberately skipped a meal, felt guilt or shame after eating, or exercised to make up for something you ate, you have experienced disordered eating.
Disordered eating encompasses a wide range of unhealthy thoughts and habits surrounding food and body image. It typically does not include regular deliberate extreme food restriction, purging/laxative use, or binging, and there is not always an intense fear of gaining weight. It is relatively common in today’s day and age due to cultural/societal factors, stress, trauma, depression and/or anxiety.
Disordered eating often worsens over time and can easily lead to an eating disorder as well as other mental health conditions. Common complications associated with prolonged disordered eating include fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, hormone changes, and nutrient deficiencies that can cause an array of health concerns such as reduced bone density, headaches, muscle cramps, anemia, mental fatigue and more. Disordered eating should always be taken seriously and addressed as early as possible as eating disorders are the most life-threatening type of mental illness.
If you are looking for professional support to change the way the view food, establish a pattern of regular and healthy eating, develop coping strategies to offset emotional/binge eating, address and modify any unhelpful thinking patterns surrounding food and body image, and reach your specific health and wellness goals in a way that is sustainable, please contact us to inquire about support from our registered holistic nutritionist and occupational therapist who specializes in disordered eating.
How can Nutrition Counselling for Disordered Eating help?
✓ Restricting foods and/or food groups
✓ Skipping meals
✓ Eating for comfort
✓ Distorted body image
✓ Guilt or shame surrounding food
✓ Anxiety associated with specific foods
✓ Chronic dieting
✓ Significant weight fluctuations