anorexia recovery Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Everyday Chocolate

November 15, 2023November 11, 2023 by Libby

5 Tips for When Anorexia Recovery Feels Overwhelming

When I think of what generally causes a person (such as myself) to feel overwhelmed by any sort of big goal or desired end result, there are often two key aspects that can cause overwhelm:

(1) the nature or difficulty of the goal itself, and

(2) how we are approaching the goal mentally and emotionally (regardless of its actual objective difficulty).

Overwhelm Source #1: The nature or difficulty of the goal (recovery) itself.

From an objective standpoint, recovering from anorexia is a very challenging process. There is a reason recovery rates are so grim. (BUT that does NOT need to be the case for you!)

There is the obvious physical/nutritional health component. This may include things like:

The often extreme GI discomfort (and unpleasant related symptoms) of the GI system getting used to more food
The challenges of extreme hunger as the body “re-awakens” from its starved state and is desperately needing ALL THE FOOD NOW
Working on balancing and healing hormones and the gut
The COPIOUS amounts of food that need to be eaten to achieve said weight gain (*cue head spinning*)

So much more could be said, but suffice it to say for the purposes of this post that weight restoration / overall bodily healing is often very uncomfortable from a purely physical standpoint.

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September 13, 2023September 12, 2023 by Libby

Understanding Anorexia: Set-Shifting

Today I wanted to return to an ongoing series I am doing regarding different facets of “understanding anorexia.” This series will focus on various factors related to anorexia, including biological predispositions, genetic/epigenetic factors, personality traits, micronutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, environmental factors, and more. Anorexia is certainly a complex illness with many “pieces to the puzzle” (many of which are still not well understood). My hope is that these posts will continue to shine more and more light on aspects of what might be going on for each person suffering. (Or, bring more clarity to anyone who has recovered).

You can read my first post in this series on zinc deficiency and anorexia here.

Today I wanted to focus on the concept of “set-shifting” as it relates to anorexia.

This post will discuss:

What is set-shifting?
How might set-shifting relate to anorexia?
What are some practical tips and strategies to consider?

What is set-shifting?

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August 16, 2023August 11, 2023 by Libby

Healthy Food Boundaries vs. Unhealthy Restriction

Something I am passionate about when it comes to food is the idea of increasing permission with food. Working on “permission with food” is almost always a big part of disordered eating recovery.

Giving yourself greater permission with food might look like…

Allowing yourself foods that you like but typically avoid because they are “less healthy” (and doing so without guilt or “compensatory measures” like restricting the next day)
Growing in flexibility with how you approach food, such as enjoying a dessert at a time of day you might not normally eat dessert
In general, starting to heal any food rules you might consciously or subconsciously be using to navigate food decisions in a fear or anxiety-based way

Many of us may know from experience that restricting food intake and/or NOT giving yourself permission with food is a surefire way to experience chaos and obsession with food. You can read more on this idea and the cycle of restriction in this blog post. Chaos/obsession with food might look like binge eating, compulsively eating, and/or obsessively thinking about food (whether or not you “act” on those obsessions by eating).

If you are growing in healing your relationship with food and your body, maybe you have started to experience some of the benefits (nutritionally and mentally/emotionally) of giving yourself greater permission with food. HOWEVER, you may also be at a place in your journey of wondering when/if it is “okay” to say no to a food without doing this from a place of restriction…(the place/mentality you are working so hard to leave!).

When making a food choice, is there a healthy/life-giving way to say no to a certain food without it coming from a dieting/restricting mentality?

In other words, what is the difference between setting what I call a “healthy food boundary” versus engaging in unhealthy, disordered eating-type restriction?

Let’s begin to explore this idea in the rest of this post! As always, I’d love to hear any thoughts that you have (feel free to leave them in the comments or message me personally).

To get us thinking, let’s consider an example evening dessert scenario.

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July 12, 2023July 12, 2023 by Libby

10 Thoughts About Anorexia Recovery {From Personal Experience}

Happy Wednesday!

Today I’m sharing some thoughts on my experience recovering from anorexia (the most intense part of my recovery took place when I was in high school).

While this was an extremely difficult time in my life that I would never want to repeat, I am also thankful for it because of all the personal growth and healing that has resulted from it! While painful at times, beginning recovery has been the gift that has kept giving.

I hope you find the following thoughts and reflections both helpful and encouraging if you are currently recovering from anorexia, or if you are thinking about starting recovery.

If you are recovering from a different eating disorder (or any degree of disordered eating), I think you will also find this post encouraging!