Living With Food: The Science Supporting Eating Disorder Treatment

By Sarah Emerman and our adult day treatment clients

1. Don’t expect your loved one to eat normally right away. For many clients, treatment will be the first time in a long while that they will eat normally. They will be trying foods that terrify them, which they will need to work up to in a manner that is appropriate for them. While you should encourage variety in your loved one’s diet, realize that they may not be ready to try all foods right away.
2. Don’t set a time line on when you expect your loved one to be fully recovered. Eating disorder treatment can take a long time. The time it takes to be recovered will depend on their level of motivation, commitment, and the severity of their behaviors. Know that it is normal for motivation to increase and decrease throughout the recovery process. It does not mean that your loved one isn’t trying or doesn’t care about getting better. Check in with your loved one on how they feel they’re doing, and don’t expect their recovery to take a specific amount of time.
3. Be careful with commenting on your loved one’s food and/or meal plan. Your loved one will be working with a dietitian who is trained to support them in following their meal plan and making balanced choices. If you do have a question about your loved one’s food, ask them outside of mealtime. If you have questions about their meal plan ask your loved one if he or she would sign a release and talk to the dietitian directly.
4. Watch your own judgments about food choices. For example, be careful not to label food as “good” or “bad”. Judging something as “bad for you” or “junk food” can reinforce to the client that they shouldn't be eating that type of food and will most likely be contrary to what their treatment team is telling them.
5. Watch the diet talk and use of diet products. Your loved one’s treatment center will be encouraging the use of non-diet products and trends to foster an environment of normalized thoughts towards food and body shape.
6. Do research. Get education about eating disorders, their causes, their symptoms and evidence based care. The more you know about what your loved one is experiencing and why, the easier it will be to understand and support them in their recovery. If your loved one is in one of our higher levels of care please know that we offer a family support group on Thursdays from 5:30 - 6:30, which is included in the cost of our day treatment and intensive outpatient programs.
7. Be willing to practice normalized eating. Many people without eating disorders struggle with making balanced food choices. Be aware of unbalanced eating and strive to make good choices for yourself. Eating in a normalized way will model for your loved one what balanced eating is and will make it easier for them to practice it themselves.
8. Get involved with your loved one’s treatment team.While their treatment team will not tell you specifics about their care without a signed release, the team can provide you with education about eating disorders and give you ideas on how to support your loved one.
9. Don’t blame yourself. What we know about eating disorders is that they are highly biologically and genetically based. You did not cause your loved one’s eating disorder and you did not make them sick.
10. Get support for yourself. The effect of an eating disorder extends far beyond the person experiencing it. Make sure you are getting care for yourself during a challenging and difficult time. CCED offers a free community support group the second Tuesday of every month from 6:30 -7:30 pm, which is open to anyone who has a loved one suffering from an eating disorder. The next community support group will be Tuesday November 9th.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding this post please email blog@eatingdisorderscleveland.org.