Food For Thought (part 1): A Guide to Identifying Disordered Eating Patterns
We live in a society that is heavily immersed in “diet culture,” where we are bombarded with messages surrounding the “thin ideal” leading us to believe that our worth is based on size, shape, or weight. This is blasphemous, and it unfortunately can cause many people to struggle with disordered eating or an unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise. These unhealthy patterns are a very slippery slope, and have a high chance of developing into one of many types of eating disorders that are very life threatening if gone untreated.
How do I know if I have an unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise?? Here are some questions to ask yourself and truly take to heart:
Do I compare my body to other peoples’ bodies, or judge myself based on how I look in comparison to others?
Do I count calories and/or have rigid beliefs on how much I can or can’t eat in a day?
Do I “moralize” food by categorizing it into “healthy vs junk food,” or “good vs bad” etc?
Do I skip meals or snacks, go long periods of time without eating, or only eat portions of what’s on my plate rather than completing it?
Do I eat even when I’m not hungry and cause myself to feel sick from eating a portion that is significantly larger than what my hunger/fullness cues were telling me I needed?
Do I engage in exercise as a way to compensate for eating, exercise in secret or in excess, or use exercise to try to control my weight?
Do I drink water or liquids as a way to suppress my appetite?
Do I not allow myself to eat certain things that actually sound good/appealing, and cut things out of my eating routine/grocery list such as carbs, sweets, etc?
Do I weigh myself often and/or do I feel guilty when I see a certain number on the scale and compensate in an unhealthy way in an attempt to feel better?
Do I use food as a means of control or comfort?
Do I engage in purging behaviors to get rid of the food that was just consumed, such as forcing myself to throw up or taking laxatives after eating?
Do I restrict food after a period where I felt like I ate a lot?
Do I “body check” to track my weight or shape, such as pinching certain parts of my body, measuring myself using belts or tape measure, staring at myself in the mirror for a prolonged amount of time, trying to fit in a certain size as an unhealthy goal, etc?
Odds are, most people likely answered “yes” to at least one of these questions. We’re human, and it’s easy to fall into the patterns of what’s going on around us– whether it’s a new fad diet, or internalizing messages from other people saying negative comments about us that lead to insecurities and a desire to alter our appearance. If we want to prevent becoming our own worst bully with this inner criticism about our bodies that can lead to an eating disorder and many physical and emotional complications, we first need to face the real issues at the root of these struggles to find true healing and inner peace.
I’m here to tell you that that diet is not going to help you truly feel better about yourself. That one snack is not enough to nourish your body for the whole day. Turning to food for comfort is not going to provide lasting healing for you. Your worth is so much more than a number on a scale or on a tag.
As hard as it is to fathom, every body is built differently. Not just everybody, but literally every BODY has its own genetic makeup– and trying to make yourself look like someone else is physically impossible, especially as your body has its own “set point” of what it needs to run properly just as someone else’s body has their own “set point” that is unique to them too.
If you struggle with any unhealthy pattern with food and/or exercise, I encourage you to explore what’s underneath the reason behind it: Why do I feel the need to restrict my food intake, or turn to food for comfort/control? What happened in my life that led me to feel insecure about my body in the first place? How can I meet myself differently without criticism, and fulfill that need in a healthy way, or find alternative means of coping instead?
You deserve to be happy in your own skin, just as you are. All bodies are good bodies, and we need a positive relationship with food to fuel our body appropriately for it to take us to the places we truly want to be in life. You are capable!