Eating Disorders Advice

Do:

• Stick to regular mealtimes – breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your weight is very low, have morning, afternoon and night time snacks too.

• Try to think of one small step you could take towards a healthier way of eating. If you can’t face eating breakfast, try sitting at the table for a few minutes at breakfast time and just drinking a glass of water. When you have got used to doing this, have just a little to eat, even half a slice of toast – but do it every day.

• Keep a diary of what you eat, when you eat it and what your thoughts and feelings have been every day. You can use this to see if there are connections between how you feel, what you are thinking about, and how you eat.

• Try to be open about what you are or are not eating, both with yourself and with other people. Secrecy is one of the most isolating aspects of an eating disorder.

• Remind yourself that you don’t always have to be achieving things – let yourself off the hook sometimes.

• Remind yourself that, if you lose more weight, you will feel more anxious and depressed in the medium-term, even though you may feel better short-term.

• Make two lists – one of what your eating disorder has given you, one of what you have lost through it. A self-help book can help you with this.

• Try to be kind to your body, don’t punish it.

• Make sure you know what a reasonable weight is for you, and that you understand why.

• Read stories of other people’s experiences of recovery. You can find these in self-help books or on the internet.

• Avoid websites or social networks that encourage you to lose weight and stay at a very low body weight. They encourage you to damage your health, but won’t do anything to help when you fall ill.