Do I have an Eating Disorder?

Dear Ellen:

I wonder if you could tell me if I have an eating disorder. I’ve never been a breakfast eater. Around noon, I eat a healthy lunch: salad with nonfat dressing, half a cup of cottage cheese and some fruit. After work, I make myself a healthy dinner, something like grilled chicken or fish and some salad. Later, while watching TV, I’ll say that I deserve a small snack, but once I give in to that idea, I don’t stop eating. I’ll eat whatever’s in the house: cereal, toast, peanut butter, etc. I eat until I’m very full, but I don’t throw up. I try to be good the next day to make up for it, but it seems to happen regardless of my intentions. I’m getting really frustrated with myself and thinking about food all the time. Do you have any suggestions?

Beth R.

Dear Beth:

That you’re asking if you might have an eating disorder implies that you are aware of a growing problem with your relationship to food and your body. The label isn’t nearly as important as the fact that you’re unhappy and preoccupied with your thoughts and behaviours, and feeling more and more out of control.

From your description, it seems that during the day, you are trying to impose strict and unnatural rules when it comes to eating. Think about this: we come into the world knowing exactly when and how much we need to eat. It isn’t until later that we attach emotional significance to our eating behaviour and develop ideas about our bodies and artificial strategies to get and stay slim. The main problem I see in your daily routine, is that you feed yourself so little during the day, your brain interprets this deprivation as a famine-like state of emergency, and sets in motion a series of evolution-designed events that motivate you to seek out nourishment and maintain your body’s resources. That’s why it’s so hard to stop thinking about food when you’re dieting. That’s why deprivation leads to bingeing.

I suggest that you distribute your intake more evenly throughout the day by eating larger, more satisfying meals. It would also be a good idea to add as much structure to your evening hours as possible, to keep your mind and body occupied with activities that make you feel good about yourself. If you are eating well during the day and still bingeing at night, it would be a good idea to talk to an experienced professional about your behaviour. Please feel free to contact me for information and support.

Ellen

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