TL;DR If food is constantly on your mind and you’re struggling to focus on anything else, the cause may be simpler than you think. You’re likely not eating enough. Restriction triggers a primal survival response that redirects the brain’s attention toward food. It can lead to obsessive thoughts, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. These are predictable …
TL; DR Before focusing on emotional coping strategies for binge eating, it’s essential to first address two root drivers. Not eating enough and being below your body’s natural weight set point. Once those are accounted for, developing a broader toolkit for managing negative emotions becomes the real work. Emotional eating isn’t inherently wrong. After all, …
TL; DR Grief is one of the most powerful threats to eating disorder recovery, and one of the least talked about. Written from personal experience, this blog explores how the sudden loss of a mother tested years of hard-won recovery from emotional eating and bulimia. And what it actually took to stay the course through …
TL; DR The holidays can be the first opportunity parents have to notice changes in their college student that may signal an eating disorder. Eating disorders often disguise themselves as “healthy habits,” making them easy to miss until they’ve taken a stronger hold. Warning signs include noticeable weight changes, food avoidance or rigidity, increased exercise …
TL;DR The “Freshman 15” is more myth than reality. Research doesn’t support that most college students gain fifteen pounds, and the fear surrounding it does far more harm than the weight gain itself ever could. What often goes unmentioned is that some weight gain during the college years is completely normal and expected, since the …
TL; DR When it comes to sending a young adult with an eating disorder off to college, six months of demonstrated recovery is recommended. Summer break simply doesn’t replicate the academic pressure, social dynamics, and independence of college life, making it an unreliable measure of true college readiness. Six months allows enough time for recovery …
![Joyful Eating in Los Angeles, California [Image description: drawing of 2 females joyfully eating ice cream] Represents potential eating disorder counseling clients in Los Angeles, California challenging diet rules and eating even when not hungry](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ice-cream-final1-1024x708.jpg)
TL;DR “Only eat when you’re hungry” is one of diet culture’s most deeply ingrained rules, and one of the most harmful for people recovering from eating disorders. The truth is, there are many valid reasons to eat even when hunger isn’t present, including: Eating disorder recovery: following a structured meal plan helps restore hunger and …
TL;DR If you’ve ever felt out of control around sugar and wondered if you’re addicted, the real culprit is likely restriction, not addiction. The concept of “sugar addiction” is widely discussed in diet culture and wellness spaces, but the science doesn’t support it. Animal studies show that addictive-like behaviors around sugar only appear when access …
TL;DR If you have bulimia nervosa, being at a weight lower than your body’s natural high point ( known as weight suppression) may actually be fueling your binge eating. When the body is pushed below its natural weight, hormones like leptin drop, metabolism slows, and appetite increases, making bingeing the body’s way of fighting back …
TL; DR If you’re stuck in a cycle of binge eating, the solution may be the opposite of what you’d expect. Restriction and dieting are most likely the root cause of your bingeing, not a lack of willpower or emotional weakness. Our bodies are biologically wired to overeat in response to food deprivation, a survival …