How to Keep Yourself Healthy After Recovering from an Eating Disorder
Keep a food journal to monitor your eating habits., Be aware of signs of relapse to prevent yourself from falling back into old habits., Reward yourself when you do well to provide positive reinforcement., Establish a support system to keep your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Keep a food journal to monitor your eating habits.
It is very importance that you maintain a healthy diet while recovering from your disorder.
There will be times when you want to avoid food all day and times when you would want to eat more than you should.
Try to maintain a journal where you write down the time and the amount of what you eat.
This will encourage you to eat well because you will be holding yourself accountable for your diet.
It would help even more if someone, such as your food counsellor or a friend or family member could check your journal from time to time, keeping an objective eye on your progress. -
Step 2: Be aware of signs of relapse to prevent yourself from falling back into old habits.
There will be times during the recovery process where you might fall back into your eating disorder.
You should notice the signs of relapse as soon as possible and seek your doctor's help to prevent yourself from reversing your hard-won progress.
These are some signs of relapse you should look out for:
Always thinking about the changes you have made to your diet.
Weighing yourself again and again.
Looking yourself in the mirror too often.
Feeling guilty right after eating.
Not being honest with your health professional regarding your eating patterns.
Finding ways to skip meals.
Trying to expel the food in any way right after your meal. , You are confronting a difficult challenge, and you should feel happy knowing that what you are doing is important.
You are working hard to recover from an eating disorder, so try to remind yourself every day that you are a strong person who is overcoming a great obstacle.
Bask in your success and treat yourself occasionally by having a slice of cake or an ice cream.
You will boost your self-confidence and work against your disorder by eating a treat that you would have previously avoided. , Establish a great support system around yourself while recovering from the disorder.
Collect all your friends and family who have been supporting you throughout your problem and ask them to stick by you for the long haul.
Loved ones are always a great source motivation when you are recovering from any kind of problem.
With their love and support, you will feel supported and keep going.
Also, if you think you are going to relapse, your loved ones will be there to pull you back towards health and improvement.
If you do not have access to a lot family members or friends, join a support group.
People in a support group understand each other, as most them are going through the same problem. , Maybe there have been times in the past when you stood in front of the mirror and recoiled from your own body.
Now it's time stop feeling bad about yourself and start loving what you have.
Appreciate the things that you like about yourself in front of the mirror, and fall in love with them.
This will eventually make you feel good about your whole body.
Always remember that inner beauty matters most. , During an eating disorder, it is common to eat at random and inconsistent times.
It is important to have a proper schedule of eating to help yourself recover from your disorder.
With the help of your journal, create fixed times to eat.
It’s good to have a small meal every three hours rather than having a big one three times per day.
Keep yourself healthy by eating fruit or other healthy snacks at times when you feel hungry , Make sure you are eating the right amount of food, not too much and not too little.
At first, it can be hard to control your diet or eat more than you are used to, but after sometime it will become a habit and your metabolism will adapt to your new diet.
Make a medium size meal in a bowl and always have your meals in that particular bowl so that you keep your portion sizes consistent. , Stay healthy by exercising every day.
Exercise keeps your body healthy and keeps you slim by helping you digest your food and burn calories.
Your body will gain muscle and become toned, allowing you to be healthy and look attractive at the same time.
If you were suffering from bulimia or anorexia, your body might be extremely weak at first.
Try getting back normal eating first to get some energy, then start off by just walking every day for 30 minutes.
Slowly and gradually increase the duration of exercise. , It’s not uncommon for eating disorders to cause social withdrawal.
It is important to participate in numerous social activities.
If you're out with a friend, you're less prone to think about your problems at home by yourself.
It's important to enjoy the company of others.
Join a new team or organization, you'll be glad that you did. , Learn to cook healthy meals, and you may even start to enjoy cooking.
Once you learn that food is not the enemy, there's a whole world of exciting possibilities.
If you're a creative person, this will be especially beneficial to you.
Build a connection with your food, cooking with passion instead of fear. , If you purposely skipped a meal one day, acknowledge this.
No one is perfect and recovery is a long process.
Accept your mistake, it does not mean that you have failed.
Pick yourself back up and focus on the next upcoming day.
Hiccups do not mean failure. -
Step 3: Reward yourself when you do well to provide positive reinforcement.
-
Step 4: Establish a support system to keep your spirits up.
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Step 5: Stop recoiling from your own body image to accept yourself.
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Step 6: Set an eating schedule to create proper eating habits.
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Step 7: Keep your portion sizes correct to maintain a healthy weight.
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Step 8: Exercise to keep your body healthy and improve your self-esteem.
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Step 9: Be more social to feel fulfilled and connected to others.
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Step 10: Get involved in cooking to make eating fun.
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Step 11: Accept your mistakes to maintain a healthy outlook.
Detailed Guide
It is very importance that you maintain a healthy diet while recovering from your disorder.
There will be times when you want to avoid food all day and times when you would want to eat more than you should.
Try to maintain a journal where you write down the time and the amount of what you eat.
This will encourage you to eat well because you will be holding yourself accountable for your diet.
It would help even more if someone, such as your food counsellor or a friend or family member could check your journal from time to time, keeping an objective eye on your progress.
There will be times during the recovery process where you might fall back into your eating disorder.
You should notice the signs of relapse as soon as possible and seek your doctor's help to prevent yourself from reversing your hard-won progress.
These are some signs of relapse you should look out for:
Always thinking about the changes you have made to your diet.
Weighing yourself again and again.
Looking yourself in the mirror too often.
Feeling guilty right after eating.
Not being honest with your health professional regarding your eating patterns.
Finding ways to skip meals.
Trying to expel the food in any way right after your meal. , You are confronting a difficult challenge, and you should feel happy knowing that what you are doing is important.
You are working hard to recover from an eating disorder, so try to remind yourself every day that you are a strong person who is overcoming a great obstacle.
Bask in your success and treat yourself occasionally by having a slice of cake or an ice cream.
You will boost your self-confidence and work against your disorder by eating a treat that you would have previously avoided. , Establish a great support system around yourself while recovering from the disorder.
Collect all your friends and family who have been supporting you throughout your problem and ask them to stick by you for the long haul.
Loved ones are always a great source motivation when you are recovering from any kind of problem.
With their love and support, you will feel supported and keep going.
Also, if you think you are going to relapse, your loved ones will be there to pull you back towards health and improvement.
If you do not have access to a lot family members or friends, join a support group.
People in a support group understand each other, as most them are going through the same problem. , Maybe there have been times in the past when you stood in front of the mirror and recoiled from your own body.
Now it's time stop feeling bad about yourself and start loving what you have.
Appreciate the things that you like about yourself in front of the mirror, and fall in love with them.
This will eventually make you feel good about your whole body.
Always remember that inner beauty matters most. , During an eating disorder, it is common to eat at random and inconsistent times.
It is important to have a proper schedule of eating to help yourself recover from your disorder.
With the help of your journal, create fixed times to eat.
It’s good to have a small meal every three hours rather than having a big one three times per day.
Keep yourself healthy by eating fruit or other healthy snacks at times when you feel hungry , Make sure you are eating the right amount of food, not too much and not too little.
At first, it can be hard to control your diet or eat more than you are used to, but after sometime it will become a habit and your metabolism will adapt to your new diet.
Make a medium size meal in a bowl and always have your meals in that particular bowl so that you keep your portion sizes consistent. , Stay healthy by exercising every day.
Exercise keeps your body healthy and keeps you slim by helping you digest your food and burn calories.
Your body will gain muscle and become toned, allowing you to be healthy and look attractive at the same time.
If you were suffering from bulimia or anorexia, your body might be extremely weak at first.
Try getting back normal eating first to get some energy, then start off by just walking every day for 30 minutes.
Slowly and gradually increase the duration of exercise. , It’s not uncommon for eating disorders to cause social withdrawal.
It is important to participate in numerous social activities.
If you're out with a friend, you're less prone to think about your problems at home by yourself.
It's important to enjoy the company of others.
Join a new team or organization, you'll be glad that you did. , Learn to cook healthy meals, and you may even start to enjoy cooking.
Once you learn that food is not the enemy, there's a whole world of exciting possibilities.
If you're a creative person, this will be especially beneficial to you.
Build a connection with your food, cooking with passion instead of fear. , If you purposely skipped a meal one day, acknowledge this.
No one is perfect and recovery is a long process.
Accept your mistake, it does not mean that you have failed.
Pick yourself back up and focus on the next upcoming day.
Hiccups do not mean failure.
About the Author
Carolyn Lee
A passionate writer with expertise in lifestyle topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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