How Do I Know If I Have An Eating Disorder?
Disordered eating and eating disorders have become so common in our society that it’s hard to even know what’s normal and healthy. Because disordered eating is so common, it can often be difficult to detect.
ASK YOURSELF
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to figure out if you should seek help.
Do I obsess about calories and macronutrients?
Do I feel extreme guilt and shame for eating certain foods?
Do I avoid social gatherings because I don’t want to eat around people/eat at all?
Do I ignore my body’s hunger cues and go without eating?
Do I ignore my body’s fullness cues and eat till I feel like I am going to burst?
Do I have a forbidden foods that I do not allow myself to eat?
Do I eat the same ‘safe’ foods every day?
Do I avoid eating to numb out from feeling certain emotions?
Do I eat to avoid feeling certain emotions?
Do I exercise to compensate for what I ate?
Do I exercise even when I’m injured or sick?
Does food, calories, fat, exercise, weight consume my thoughts?
Do I weigh myself daily or several times a day and feel bad if my weight goes up at all?
Do I feel anxious around certain foods?
Do I feel anxious while eating out?
Whew! I know that was a lot but all of these will help you better understand your relationship with food. Take time to carefully consider what feelings these questions trigger for you and where you may need the most guidance.
WHAT MAKES IT AN EATING DISORDER?
While many people have disordered eating behaviors, those do not usually interfere with your day-to-day life. Eating disorders on the other hand, will impede in your daily behaviors, your socialization, and your mental health.
While dieting, you may start small behaviors to control and change your natural ability to regulate hunger. For those with eating disorders, here are a few common behaviors
1. Strict Rules Around Food
You may find yourself labeling certain foods as “good” and others as “bad”. This sort of labeling often leads to avoidance of the “bad” food group. You may also cut out certain categories of foods like carbs or sugars due to the fear of them being “unhealthy”.
2. Difficulty Eating Around Others
You may have a hard time going out with friends because you don’t know what they menu is going to have that you allow yourself to eat or you fear others watching and judging your food choices.
3. Difficult Relationship with Food
A difficult relationship with food usually manifests as food avoidance, binging, or feeling out of control around food, or extreme guilt for eating certain foods.
4. Body Checking or Weight Checking
Those with eating disorders tend to hyper focus on body image and perceived issues, even if they are not apparent to others. You may pinch your stomach, or measure your body by how your clothes fit, or even weight yourself on you scale multiple times a day
5. Secret Eating
Along with difficulty of eating around others, those with eating disorders may eat secretly. The fear of judgement on how much you’re eating and what your eating drives you to eat alone where there is no perception of judgement.
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
Along with behaviors, there may be some physical symptoms you can spy when you have an eating disorder. Physical symptoms are signs from your body that it may be needing more from you via food.
Your physical symptoms may include: Stomach cramps, fluctuation in weight (up or down), menstrual irregularities (for those who menstruate), dizziness, feeling cold, leg shaking, sleep problems, or muscle weakness. While these are just some of the many physical symptoms of an eating disorder, this is not a complete list. Each person’s symptoms may differ.
WHAT TO DO NOW
If you answered yes to several of these questions, notice these behaviors, or physical symptoms, I would recommend finding a dietitian who specialize in eating disorders. They can help you manage your anxiety around food, heal your relationship with food, honor your body and recognize its natural cues, and make peace with food and your body!
We have eating disorder specialists that are accepting new clients in Arizona and Utah. Schedule a free 10 minute consult HERE!