How to Start Letting Go of Disordered Eating Patterns
Okay, so first off, I want to say that everyone is different, everyone’s symptoms are different, and therefore everyone’s journey will be different. If you’re serious about recovery and living a fuller life without your symptoms, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND working with professionals. That being said, here are some ways to start the process to let go of disordered eating patterns. These may not all pertain to you, and that’s okay!
First, the things to STOP doing:
1. Stop tracking your intake. Whether it’s calories or macros or points or any other form of tracking what you’re eating, it’s time to let it go. This can mean starting small – just don’t track one day or one meal a day, and see how that feels. When I work with clients, I often do give meal plans initially, as so many people don’t even know where to start when it comes to eating intuitively. It’s smart to follow a professional’s advice, but find someone who does not work with numbers so you can’t obsess over them.
2. Similarly, stop tracking your activity. This is just another number that you can try to manipulate and drive yourself crazy over. You know if you worked out today, you know if you walked a lot or sat in bed, that’s really enough. Most trackers aren’t very accurate anyway, so you’re just stressing over something for the sake of stressing.
3. Stop weighing yourself. This is a BIG ONE. If you’re weighing yourself everyday, cut back. Start with every-other-day. Or once a week. Whatever you’re doing right now, cut it down. The scale has this magical power to make you feel bad about yourself, even on days that you actually like how you look, and who needs that kind of negativity?
4. Stop looking at any social media that makes you feel bad about yourself (this includes “aspirational” accounts that make you want to change your body). And stop obsessively looking at food recipes, people eating food, basically most food-focused accounts on Instagram/YouTube/whatever the cool place is these days.
Okay now that we got all the “stops” out of the way, here are the fun things you can do! And I call them fun… but I am fully aware they can be scary and anxiety provoking for many people.
1. Make a list of all your “bad” foods, or fear foods, or foods that give you anxiety. Start trying to have at least one of these foods weekly. If you are working on binging, this will include binge foods. Work up to eating these foods multiple times throughout the week. Ideally, you want to start with one food and try it a few times before adding another.
2. Make social plans involving food. This can make it a bit easier to stop tracking your food, since it is harder to track restaurant food than it is to track home-made food. Let go of some of your food rigidity and control by letting someone else cook for you. Bonus if you can let your friends choose the restaurant without NEEDING to see the menu in advance. Double bonus if you can choose whatever sounds best, not whatever sounds “healthiest.” This can set binge-eaters up for a binge (everyone is different!), so if you know you’re prone to this, set up some support for after your meal. Hang out with your friends later into the night or pick a meal that is less scary (IE if you usually binge at night, go out for brunch with friends instead).
3. Make sure you’re eating regularly throughout the day, and ideally work with a professional who can help you recognize what normalized eating patterns look like. Many people truly have no idea what is appropriate, and who can blame them with so much conflicting information out there, so it is useful to consult a professional before you start.
4. If you are holding on to old clothes that you “will fit into again,” get rid of them. And buy clothes that fit.
5. Start following body-positive accounts and learning to accept your body where it is.
I know this can be a very overwhelming process, and having support is essential. If you are struggling with a clinical eating disorder, IE anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, etc., please enlist help or find a treatment center near you. And let me know if you have any questions or anything you think I missed!