Orthorexia

A young woman in a yellow sweat suit makes a fruit smoothie in a blender, for an article on recognizing and treating orthorexia.

Post by Carly Poynter, Psy.D., staff therapist What is Orthorexia? Orthorexia is an eating disorder in which an individual is fixated on the quality of food and avoidance—in the pursuit of health—of foods labeled as “unhealthy” or “bad.” The person continues to pursue “health” despite experiencing considerable negative health consequences and an impact on psychological …

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Feeding a Child with ARFID and a Narrow Range of Foods

A girl looks unhappy eating broccoli and rice, illustrating feeding a child with ARFID and a narrow range of foods.

Helping a Child with ARFID to Eat Feeding a child with ARFID is challenging and most parents are not adequately prepared. Children with ARFID are not just “picky eaters” and may not respond the same way as other children. Well-meaning advice you may have received—such as, “They will eat when they are hungry,”—often does not …

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What is Diabulimia?

Purple Scrabble tiles spelling "diabulimia" for an article explaining what diabulimia is.

By Carly Poynter, AMFT Diabulimia is the combination of diabetes—“dia”—and “bulimia.” While diabulimia is not a medical diagnosis, this term describes the comorbid diagnosis of an eating disorder and type-1 diabetes. Medical provider refer to diabulimia as ED-DMTI. Type 1 diabetes is a medical condition—an autoimmune disease. In type 1 diabetes (T1D), the immune system …

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Help for Night Eating Syndrome

Drawing of a person in purple pajamas at an open refrigerator, with the moon behind them, illustrating night eating syndrome.

Do you find yourself eating late into the night? Do you wake up and eat large meals before going back to sleep? Have you wondered whether this is an eating disorder? Read on to learn more about the problem and how we can help. What is Night Eating Syndrome? Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is a …

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Eating Disorder Relapse Prevention Worksheet

Drawing of a happy woman leaning out the window of a purple car, illustrating the road of eating disorder recovery.

Relapse Prevention Plan A relapse prevention plan is an important tool for maintaining recovery. Complete this worksheet created by EDTLA’s therapist, Carly Poynter, MA. Recovering from an eating disorder takes time. You did not develop your eating disorder overnight and it will not go away that quickly either. It is important to remember that recovery …

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Eating Disorder Organizations Supporting Diverse Bodies

Purple Scrabble tiles spelling "Eating Disorder Organizations," for a list of groups that support people in diverse bodies.

As an important value in our practice is supporting diverse people with eating disorders, including those in larger bodies.  There are many US-based eating disorder organizations and nonprofits that share our mission and do good work.  Learn more about them below. National Alliance for Eating Disorders The National Alliance for Eating Disorders, previously known as …

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ARFID in Children

A boy looks unhappy eating a breakfast of cereal and juice, illustrating ARFID in children.

Does My Child Have Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)? For the most part, kids are pickier eaters than adults. If your child is a “picky eater” you may be wondering whether their eating is normal or not. You may have heard about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and wonder whether your child might have …

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Shopping While Fat

Sharon Maxwell holding clothing at the Plus Bus in Los Angeles, for an article on shopping while fat.

Shopping While Fat–And Recovering by Sharon Maxwell, Practice Manager Growing up, I loved the concept of shopping. But as a fat person, I rarely actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t that I didn’t like shopping or finding new things. However, an invitation to go shopping with friends meant that the message that my body was intrinsically …

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