Eating Disorders.

An eating disorder is an emotional illness in which the patient distorts his/her diet.

Refusal to maintain body weight.

Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat.

Distorted body image.

Amenorrhea (period stops).

Severe restriction in food intake.

May do extreme exercise.

May practice bulimic behavior.

Recurrent episodes of binge eating.

Feeling a loss of control over one’s eating.

Self induced vomiting, use of laxatives, and or diuretics.

Strict dieting or starvation modes.

Depression may be part of this disorder.

Can be biological (depression) or emotional.

Can be of normal weight to overweight/obese.

Feels out of control.

Consumes large amounts of food.

Ineffectual dieting.

Preoccupation with dieting.

“Sneak” eats.

May have a mood disorder (low grade depression).

Difficulty with intimate relationships.

A team approach works best. Including:

Medical: needed for management of health concerns associated with eating disorder.

Nutritional: for behavior therapy and education, to help “normalize” eating.

Psychiatric: needed to deal with the psychological aspects of the eating disorder.

Registered Dietitians at Medical Nutrition Network are highly trained and educated in the treatment of eating disorders. Medical nutrition therapy is an integral part of the treatment process for recovery and management of an eating disorder. Our role as a food “coach” enables you to make the changes necessary to improve your health. If necessary, we will direct you to a team of professionals that can help you in different aspects of your recovery, or we can work with any other professionals that you are in treatment with.