disordered eating Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Everyday Chocolate

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 by Libby

Bringing Awareness to Food Rules

If you have been trying to diet for any length of time or experience any degree of disordered eating, you likely have a number of food rules that you follow, whether you are conscious of them or not. Creating food rules is an anxiety and fear-driven way to try and “manage” one’s eating. If you follow your food rules (however arbitrary they may be), you are doing “well'” with your eating and your anxiety is minimal. If you break any of the food rules, you “messed up,” ate “badly,” “cheated,” and/or experience guilt and anxiety.

Examples of food rules include the following:

Only eating dessert once a week on your “cheat day”
Excluding entire food groups
Only eating what you measured/planned even if you are still hungry
Refusing to eat what other people prepare (out of anxiety / not being able to control or know for sure what’s in the food)
Only eating ____ calories per day and obsessively tracking this
Only consuming dessert if you plan to “work it off” later
Only eating at set times, even when you are hungry at other times

Of course, it is helpful to have some structure to our eating. I generally eat at similar times each day and have other intuitive, broad patterns to my eating. I would consider this normal, and also helpful so that we are not constantly “starting from scratch” completely wondering how and what and when we are going to eat each day. In addition, some people follow certain “rules” for medical/health reasons that are not rooted in fear or anxiety – for example, a type 1 diabetic counting her carbs, or someone mindfully avoiding less sugar right before bed because she knows she is prone to not being able to sleep otherwise.

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May 17, 2022May 17, 2022 by Libby

Moving from Restriction & Obsession to Freedom with Food

We have all likely noticed from experience that when something we want or need is in short supply, or even perceived to be in short supply, we can become anxious or obsessive in our thinking about the thing that is limited (or perceived to be limited). This can apply to many areas of our lives, whether it is money, time, relationships, food, clothing, or other material items.

I know for me, I find myself struggling with this a lot in the area of time. I tend to too often live in this perpetual “emergency, fight-or-flight state” of feeling like I don’t have enough time, even though there is generally plenty of time to do the things that I want or at least need to do. When I feel like time is in short supply I end up feeling anxious and obsessive about time. This leads to unpleasant side effects like jam-packing my days, running through the day at too fast a pace, and a lack of margin, rest, and presence. When I was studying for my RD exam, I perceived and experienced such scarcity of time (whether that was self-induced or not is another question…) that even when I had a bit of time to rest on the weekends it was hard for me to fully rest and relax because I was anxiously and obsessively worrying about the lack of adequate time to rest!

This type of thinking is what can be thought of as a scarcity mindset. A scarcity mindset is when you are experiencing or perceiving a lack of something, leading to obsessive thinking about the thing that is limited (in actuality or in your perception). While time is one of the biggest ways I experience this now, I certainly used to experience this a lot with FOOD and still can from time to time (albeit in more normal and at times, unavoidable ways).

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May 3, 2022May 3, 2022 by Libby

I’m Done! & Brief Update

So…I finished my dietetic internship and passed my RD exam! I’M SO HAPPY TO BE DONE STUDYING FOR MY TEST. And to finally be an RD!

I haven’t been posting on the blog for the past couple of months because life got so busy towards the end of my internship and with studying that I had to let some things go. I am excited to be back to posting regularly!

What’s next?? You may have noticed that there is now a “work with me” tab at the top of the blog, as I am going to be working on opening my private practice! Coming soon…

Libby Stenzel Nutrition will be focused primarily on helping others heal from eating disorders and disordered eating. I will see clients virtually at least to start (this will also always be an option), so location need not be a barrier! Be on the lookout for details regarding my services in the coming months.

In addition to working on the blog and business, I will be back working at Juicy Kitchen. Come see us for a delicious breakfast or lunch if you are in the Ann Arbor area!

That is all for now – looking forward to connecting more in the coming months!

January 5, 2022January 4, 2022 by Libby

What Foods Do You Consider Healthy?

Hello! I hope you enjoyed the holiday season and were able to spend time with friends and family. I always find the week after New Year’s a bit challenging in terms of getting back into normal rhythms and routines and no longer having the Christmas season to look forward to. Anyone else??

The holiday season got me thinking about wanting to write a brief post on “healthy foods.” What comes to mind for you when you think of healthy foods or eating healthy?

I tend to hear more comments at the holidays about foods being healthy or unhealthy, good or bad. It seems when people make these sort of black-and-white comments, the general consensus I notice is that they are referring to a food being (1) relatively low in calories (such as a salad automatically being healthier than a burger) or (2) relatively nutrient-dense (such as a carrot automatically being healthier than pretzels). People may feel guilty after eating a food they deem bad and may feel the need to compensate in some way (for example, through restriction at the next meal or increased exercise).

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December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 by Libby

Is Your Relationship with Exercise Healthy?

Health messaging all over the Internet and in the offices of healthcare professionals is often, in unison, recommending that we should be exercising more – more often and with greater intensity. We are told we should be exercising more to lose weight, prevent diabetes and heart disease, and on and on. This leads many of us to think that the more exercise we do, the better. However, is exercise always healthy? And, when it comes to exercise, can there be too much of a good thing?

I think there are two main angles to look at to discern whether or not the exercise you are engaging in is healthy. On the one hand, there is a point at which the exercise you are engaging in is physically unhealthy. On the other hand, there is a point at which the exercise you are engaging in can be mentally and emotionally unhealthy. I will illustrate this with a few examples.

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