Prior to this year, I had no idea what “disordered eating” was. I knew of eating disorders but did not realize you could still have a poor relationship with food, but not qualify for the diagnosis of an eating disorder. Yet, having disordered eating still impacts someone’s mental and physical health greatly and needs to be talked about.
According to Psychology Today, disordered eating “is often engaged in some of the same behavior as those with eating disorders but at a lesser frequency or lower level of severity.” Having disordered eating does not need to be diagnosed, like an eating disorder would, and therefore, it is pivotal that y’all know the signs of one.
Additionally, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, symptoms and signs include:
- Frequent dieting, anxiety associated with specific foods or meal skipping
- Chronic weight fluctuations
- Rigid rituals and routines surrounding food and exercise
- Feelings of guilt and shame associated with eating
- Preoccupation with food, weight and body image that negatively impacts quality of life
- A feeling of loss of control around food, including compulsive eating habits
- Using exercise, food restriction, fasting or purging to “make up for bad foods” consumed
It is concerning how many of those signs/symptoms I have seen within myself and my loved ones. From me skipping breakfast in the morning to do “intermittent fasting,” to my friend drinking coffee as a meal replacement, to my family members doing a low-carb diet, it has become so normalized in our diet-centered society to be hyper focused on everything we eat. It has become normalized for certain foods like bread and cookies to be labeled as “bad,” whereas broccoli and chicken are labeled as “good”.
It’s a horrible cycle. Food is not the enemy. You do not need to be miserable when eating food to be healthy, nor should you ever have to cut out a food group to be “healthy.” There is a way to be both healthy and happy… and it begins with having balance and moderation in your diet, rather than restriction.
I understand it is way easier said than done and I never want to minimize one’s struggles with food. Simply put, I’m hoping that through writing this, I make others more aware of their actions regarding their thoughts and actions with food. Maybe you read this article and reevaluate your relationship with food, maybe you see a nutritionist or therapist to help you address your disordered eating, or maybe you start having these tough discussions with friends you’re concerned about. Whatever it be, one thing I hope you learn is to be more aware of how no food is “good” or “bad” and how there is so much more to you than your weight, workout routine or diet.
A method I have tried to use to work on my own personal disordered eating is following intuitive eating. It was created by two dieticians to enable people to have a non-diet approach to living a healthy lifestyle, while not restricting foods; rather, they listen to their hunger, their satisfaction from the foods they want to eat, and their fullness. It works with you to figure out how you can eat your best life while still being nutritious and listening to your body’s cravings, guilt-free. There is a lot more information on intuitive eating here, and I encourage you all to take a look into it.
It is a tough issue to tackle, but I believe having conversations about the tough issues will ignite the solution, whether it happens in one-on-one conversations or globally. I just hope it happens.
If you find yourself or your loved one ever struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders’ helpline.