When Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick….

When your teen with an eating disorder is sick during recovery [Image description: drawing of a daughter in bed and appears ill and her mother is holding her head and a thermometer] Represents a parent caring for a teen with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Johnson What if Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick? One of the most common questions that arise when parents are renourishing a teen with an eating disorder is what to do when they get sick. Parents are sometimes totally overwhelmed when that happens. Some families may back off …

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This Halloween, Serve Candy to Your Teen in Recovery

Halloween Candy

A Family-Based Treatment (FBT)-approach Halloween can be scary for teens with eating disorders for the wrong reason: the candy! Most teens with eating disorders are only willing to eat a restricted range of foods. Expanding this range is an important goal of treatment, with the reintroduction of fear foods being a key step. Candy tends …

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How To Choose A Supplemental Nutrition Shake

Nutritional Supplements for Eating Disorder Recovery - Katie Grubiak, RDN in Los Angeles, California [Image description: Photo of a smiling, red-headed, white woman, Katie Grubiak, RDN, eating lunch and surrounded by all the nutritional supplements we tasted]

By Katie Grubiak, RDN at Side by Side Nutrition (formerly at EDTLA) Choosing a nutrition shake to support eating disorder recovery can be a daunting process. In a previous post, we discussed the role of supplemental nutritional shakes in eating disorder recovery. Sometimes, patients in recovery will be unable to restore their nutrition entirely with …

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Nutritional Supplement Shakes in Eating Disorder Recovery

Child Drinking a Nutritional Supplement [Image description: drawing of a girl drinking a milkshake from a cup] Depicts a potential girl with an eating disorder such as ARFID in Los Angeles, California drinking a nutritional supplement

By Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD and Katie Grubiak, RDN Nutritional supplement shakes commonly support eating disorder recovery. In this post, we will discuss what they are and how to use them. In our next post, we will taste-test the different brands and formulations of nutritional shakes on the market, share our opinions, and help you decide …

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A Viewing Guide for “To The Bone” Movie

Eating Disorder Film Guide

Ten Things I Want Viewers of To the Bone to Know “To The Bone,” Marti Noxon’s semi-autobiographical film about her experience as a young adult living with anorexia, was released today on Netflix and has already stirred up much controversy within the eating disorder community. Generally, I do not see things in black and white. …

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Five Reasons Parents Should be Included in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Eating Disorders

Parents Should be Included in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Eating Disorders

I had the honor of presenting a workshop yesterday along with Therese Waterhous, PhD/RDN, CEDRD. and Lisa LaBorde, Outreach Director for Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders (FEAST) at the IAEDP Symposium 2016. Our workshop was entitled, From “Worst Attendants” to Partners in Recovery: Empowering Parents as Agents of Change for Children and Adolescents …

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Condiments, the Final Frontier of Eating Disorder Recovery

Condiments in Eating Disorder Recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: a photo of various common condiments]

By Katie Grubiak, RDN Condiments in Eating Disorder Recovery In our work with clients with eating disorders, we help them to reintroduce recently eliminated and avoided foods that present as part of the eating disorder. We notice that as clients (both adult and child) reintroduce foods, it is often the condiments and sauces that are …

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Unintentional Weight Loss as a Trigger for Anorexia.

Contrary to popular belief, weight loss leading to anorexia nervosa (AN) does always start intentionally and may follow an illness. Some of the biggest misunderstandings about anorexia nervosa center around it being an intentional illness and related to vanity. Paper on Unintentional Onset of Anorexia A paper by Brandenburg and Andersen in 2007 entitled Unintentional …

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FBT Insights from the Neonatal Kitten Nursery

FBT Insights from the Kitten Nursery

I recently began volunteering at the Best Friends Neonatal Kitten Nursery. Best Friends Los Angeles opened its neonatal kitten nursery in February 2013.  The nursery is staffed with a dedicated coordinator and supported by volunteers who sign up for two hour feeding shifts 24 hours a day to help the kittens grow and thrive. If …

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Parental direction works, but don’t expect your kid to be happy about it: Research on The Family Meal in FBT

family at family meal in FBT [Image description: a family with their backs to us sits around a table] Represents a potential family in California receiving FBT for their teens eating disorder

Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the best-researched outpatient treatment for teen eating disorders, including anorexia. In FBT, the family plays a central role in treatment. Through family meals, parents restore their teens to health and interrupt eating disorder behaviors. In FBT, parents plan, prepare, serve, and supervise meals. Usually, parents are left wondering 1) how to …

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