16 Things to Do and To Avoid if You want to Recover from Disorder Eating
Straight to the point and practical tips to move forward and embrace life
8 Things to Stay Away from if you Want to Recover from Disordered Eating Behaviours
Throw the scale
I made myself believe (although I knew deep down inside that I was cheating all along) that stepping on the scale was a good thing, as I could monitor my progress and see how fast it would take me to gain weight. Right! As if it was THAT easy!
There is no way to sugarcoat the pill; if you really want to monitor your weight, let a doctor, or a nutritionist do so. You can set up a monthly appointment and take it from there.
You won’t get your period back by monitoring every gram you put on (which is sometimes due to stress, dehydration, and lack of sleep), and you will give yourself a headache instead.
Bottom line: chuck the scale.
Fitness and Food Tracking apps
When we start recovering, our determination is usually through the roof, and we don’t want to half-ass anything. We are ready to get our cycle and health back. And so, we do everything to control the amount of food we eat and the time spent exercising. We are so keen that we even download a fitness and food tracker app or rely on an expensive watch. We want to make sure that our caloric intake is enough to compensate our 10 miles run: as we all know, calories in=calories out.
Well…yes and no. The truth is that recovery is all about energy availability, and our body will ovulate and menstruate when it feels safe enough to do so. Adopting a controlling, stressed out, maniacal attitude towards what we eat and how we move, won’t help us, and it is not sustainable in the long run.
Try instead to tune in with your body’s desires and give a rest to your beautiful and clever brain.
Comparison (that bitch)
It is human nature to compare our body, life, successes, and failures with the people surrounding us. Do you know what the problem is? We have no idea what is going on behind closed curtains. If money, being skinny and fame would bring happiness, how come that so many young models and actors commit suicide or give into alcohol and drugs, or suffer from depression? And yet, we buy the lie every time.
Stop comparing yourself to what you don’t know, or even to what you think you know. That fit, healthy, outgoing friend of yours may be going through a super rough patch but isn’t ready to share her story yet. Walk your path and put some thick blindfolds on.
Old Pictures
Delete.
I can write a 500 words paragraph on this topic, but I don’t think I need to explain to you (super clever wonder woman) why you are damaging your soul (day, self-esteem, happiness) if you keep comparing yourself to someone you are not anymore.
Once again, delete.
Cleanse/Detox/Fasting/Detox Teas
Unless you need to fast for a religious, or a supervised medical reason, please refrain from doing so. We have organs in charge of detoxifying our system, and nothing good comes out of restriction and deprivation, especially if you are a woman in reproductive age. You can instead substitute nutrients to boost your current diet and improve your overall health.
And when it comes to pre-packaged, store-bought, advertised, marketing pushed cleans/Detox/ appetite suppressing teas and lollipops….why??? No, seriously…why???
Over-exercising
We live in a society where training is deemed as safe, healthy, and overtraining is overlooked and brushed off.
“I exercise to relax”; “exercising is my therapy”; “I go to the gym five days at 5 am to get a couple of hours of workout before starting work”.
I have heard them all, and I’m wondering when exercising became almost a duty, and when cross-fit classes and long-running sessions have replaced gentle walking, leisurely swims, and dancing.
This new obsession towards a “fit” body, can lead to a myriad of issues, and overtraining is one of them.
How much do you need to exercise to suffer from overtraining?
That’s the beauty of it. It depends, and you are the only one who knows.
Depending on your experience, genetics, and how sensitive your body is to stress, you may need only one cardio class a week to suffer from overtraining.
Restriction
When you restrict your food and your caloric intake, you limit your life.
When you don’t allow yourself to enjoy a social meal, you hide away from the opportunity to welcome abundance.
When you say NO to a slice of cake because you are afraid to eat it or feel guilty afterward, you are not giving yourself the chance to live life at its fullest potential.
Be bold, be free, have the cake (or the food you want), and smile.
We are made of dust, and we won’t be around forever.
Triggers
May them be friends, a partner, or social media accounts.
Sorry for my harshness, but you need to let them go if you want to move forward and recover.
And don’t get me started on Magazines!
Celebrity Magazines, Goss Magazines, even Health Magazines. Chuck them away.
Stop following silly articles about celebrities that have shed a considerable amount of weight by following the “bird” diet. Stop reading lies that make you feel unworthy.
You may think that skimming through them when you are at the hairdresser won’t do you any harm, but it isn’t true.
Article by article, they will put a seed to your brain that will keep on growing and create new detrimental habits.
9 Things to Include in your life if you Want to Recover from disordered eating behaviours
Fun Foods
Bread is delicious, nuts are delicious, pasta is delicious.
Eat the foods that make you happy, feel satisfied, and that you are craving for. Don’t deprive your belly, and don’t deprive your soul. Stay away only from the foods that make you feel sick (allergies, intolerances, etc.), that are spoiled, or that have been previously licked by a rat.
Walks in Nature
Walking helps to engage the ‘default mode network’ — the network of brain regions that spring into action whenever we’re not doing something highly active. The result is that your mind wanders and you feel calm and creative. Fresh air and scenic views will do the rest. A five-minute spin around the block is all it takes!
Nap and sleep
The Mediterranean countries know a couple of things when it comes to health; that’s maybe why they live for so many years. Nap when you can instead of reaching for another cup of coffee. A short 20 minutes nap has been shown to recharge your body more than 3 cups of coffees (I just made this up, but trust me on this).
Sleep is of the utmost importance when stressed. 7–8 hours a night is ideal, and the earlier, the better to make the most of the most rejuvenating hours between 10PM and 3AM. This is when our bodies do most of their healing. It has been said that for every one hour of sleep before midnight, it’s worth 2 hours after midnight.
Date nights/ Friends Dates
Go out and have fun. If you have been dealing with disorder eating tendencies, chances are you have been hiding away from social gatherings. It is time to reintroduce them to your life, dust off those high heels, and take them out dancing. Or simply take them to the local pizzeria, they will be happy anyway.
A pet
Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and improve cardiovascular health. Caring for an animal can help children grow up more secure and active. Pets also provide valuable companionship for older adults.
And they are cute and cuddly.
A journal
Make it your new best friend. Write down your hopes, fears, goals, whys.
Journaling is a great habit that lowers stress and keeps you accountable. Buy a nice one that fits into your bag so you can carry it around. It takes a while to get into the groove of it, so don’t give up and keep on writing. You don’t need to jolt down an essay every day; a couple of lines a week can serve you wonderfully.
A Meditation practice
Just five minutes of meditation can be more than enough to help boost your mood and help you to feel better. The aim of meditation is to calm your brain by focusing on something other than the negative thoughts you’re experiencing — even if that ‘something else’ happens to be nothing at all!
Just set a timer for five minutes, and make an effort to push all concerns out your brain. It’s that easy!
“Un-tech” time
Unplugging and turning off is also a good way to enjoy a calmer and less stressed life. The very nature of screens — their bright luminescence — means that they trigger a release of the stress hormone cortisol. Not only that, but these portals into other people’s lives are what gives us that feeling of dissatisfaction and constantly having to move forward. If you can take some time away from screens and machines, you’ll find it’s much easier to appreciate what you have already and to find other ways to make fun.
Help
I can almost feel your resistance, especially if you are used to doing things alone. But it is so much easier to recover when you can talk it out with the people that love you. You will have shitty days, waves of guilt, and you will also overcome immense obstacles and feel that you can achieve whatever you want in the world. Wouldn’t it be better to have a pal or a professional that support you and stand by your side?
A hobby
What can you do instead of counting calories?
What can you do instead of spending 3 hours at the gym?
Let me guess…read a book, write a book, clean the house, learn a language, learn crochet…I think you have guessed where I’m going.
Claudia is a Qualified Nutrition & Dietetic Consultant (BHSC) specialised in hormonal balance, women’s health, and disorder eating behaviors. She sees clients online and in clinical practice; you can find more about her or the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery program by following her on Instagram, Facebook, or by checking her website.
