Nutrition
Medical Nutrition Therapy for Eating Disorders
Given the medical and psychological complexity of eating disorders, optimal treatment requires a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach. The American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the Academy of Eating Disorders all recommend including a Registered Dietitian (RD) with experience in treating eating disorders on the care team.
RDs are food and nutrition experts with a degree from an accredited dietetics program and who completed a supervised practice requirement, passed a national exam and continue professional development throughout their careers.
An RD who has extensive clinical experience treating eating disorders may achieve the Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) credential through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. A licensed clinician who has earned the CEDS credential has completed high level training and exam assessment in the effective and collaborative treatment of feeding and eating disorders. The CEDS is well versed in medical, nutritional and therapeutic treatment considerations, adheres to a high level of professional ethics, and commits to ongoing expansion of their expertise through specialized continuing education hours.
Recognizing that your child has an eating disorder is overwhelming, confusing and terrifying. Remember that eating disorders are treatable, and full recovery is possible! Using strength and evidence-based interventions, we will support you in nourishing your child, setting individualized weight and growth goals, optimizing caloric intake, designing meal structure, redirecting disordered behaviors and challenging distorted cognitions around food, weight, body image and movement Together, we will leverage your expertise on your child with our expertise in eating disorders to guide your family through refeeding.
How an RD supports recovery in FBT
In the spirit of FBT, a skilled RD provides strength-based treatment and helps to mobilize the family towards recovery. RDs can help families refeed at home by facilitating greater energy density and variety more effectively and efficiently.
RDs with expertise in pediatric EDs have a deep understanding of the physiological and psychological consequences of malnutrition and can provide specific recommendations for renourishment.
As recovery progresses, an RD can guide the family in transitioning age-appropriate food autonomy back to the client as well as adjust energy needs and eating strategies as activity level increases.
As a young adult, healing from an eating disorder can feel nearly impossible. Whether you are newly diagnosed, have suffered for time without help or are dealing with a relapse, you deserve support. You don’t need to wait until you are “sick enough” or until things get worse. Living with an eating disorder is debilitating, isolating and all-consuming. The mental headspace that your eating disorder takes up is robbing you of opportunities, experiences and joy that could otherwise be yours! We will call in support from those who love you, and eventually, your food fears will diminish, your perseverative thoughts will lessen, your intense body dissatisfaction will decrease, and you will be able to pursue your potential and live your full life!
Parent Coaching
If you have a “picky eater,” busy athlete or a houseful of specific food preferences that you just can’t satisfy all at once, you are not alone. These precious years are packed with so much growth, development and potential and as parents, we want our kids to thrive! We can work together to make mealtime more peaceful while strengthening your child’s innate intuitive ability to nourish themselves.
Feeding your family is hard. We’re all doing the best we can with what we have available to us. Mealtimes don’t need to be a battleground. I can teach you the beauty of responsive feeding and guide you in raising body-positive, intuitive eaters. I can work with you on expanding variety, fueling for sports and help you let go of any guilt that you didn’t do a good enough job getting your kid to eat the right food.
If any of these concerns sound familiar, we can help!
- Your child is a “picky eater.”
- No one wants to eat the same thing so you cook multiple meals.
- You negotiate, bargain or demand eating or trying certain foods (and they still don’t like them).
- Your kids want snacks. All the snacks. All the time. Then they don’t eat their meals.
- You worry your child is eating too much.
- You worry your child is not eating enough.
- Your child is “obsessed” with sweets.
- You grew up with the “clean the plate” mentality and don’t know how to break free.
- You’ve struggled with chronic dieting and don’t want that for your children.
- You or your physician are concerned about your child’s growth.
- Your child heard they need to eat less or shrink their body and you don’t know how to help.
- Your child heard negative food or body messaging and you need support in your response.
- You are out of ideas on what to feed your family.
Nutrition Counseling
Intuitive eating isn’t always so intuitive. For many of us who have grown up steeped in diet culture, it’s hard to un-learn mindsets and habits that complicate our relationships with food, movement and body. We can work towards letting go of the diet mentality and progressing towards intuitive eating so that you can create a more peaceful, flexible, ENJOYABLE life!
Things we can work on
- Intuitive eating
- Challenging diet-culture myths
- Meal planning to fit your schedule
- Grocery shopping/food ordering
- Expanding variety
- Focusing on health-enhancing behaviors that DO NOT involve weight loss
- Advocating for weight-inclusive care to your medical providers
- Exploring ways to make joyful and sustainable movement part of your regular routine
Going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied.
Being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it–not just stop eating because you think you should.
Being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food.
Giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good.
Mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way.
Leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful.
Overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.
And it can be under-eating at times and wishing you had more.
Trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating.
Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.
-Ellyn Satter
