209: Disordered Eating: Red Flags You Should Look Out For

Trigger warning: this episode talks about red flags of disordered eating and eating disorders.

Disordered eating and clinical eating disorders aren’t always the same thing- these things fall along a continuum.

The goal of this episode is to help you identify for yourself if you are engaged in disordered thoughts and behaviors when it comes to your weight, body, exercise, and food.

Unfortunately, there’s a good chance it won’t resonate with you. You may listen to all of the things listed in this episode and cling tight to the notion that you are simply dedicated to your health and doing what is required of you to stay fit and healthy. Know that I, too, was once stuck where you are. I know for a fact that at the height of my obsession with my weight, I hid it behind a really convenient excuse: “I’m just being healthy.”

The thing is, I didn’t even realize I was hiding my obsession behind anything. It felt true. It sounded true.

If you find any sort of defensiveness come up in this episode, know that we feel defensive for two reasons: 1) we agree AND SIMULTANEOUSLY 2) HOLD SHAME.

Any sort of combative thought or defense mechanisms that pop up for you while listening to this episode is another great red flag (not mentioned in this episode) that you are steeped in disorder.

Know that this episode is meant to help you. We cannot heal what we are not aware of. So while this may be a triggering episode, we need to bring your disordered thoughts and behaviors into the light so we can look at them. Once we’re aware, we can begin to heal.

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Helpful Episodes to Reference:

Episode 154: Why You Might Be Gaining Weight Right now

Episode 155: Why Your Body Image Sucks Right Now