What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety

by Cole Kazdin

So she begins with asking about food preferences, how patients acquire most of their foods, what kind of budget they have, along with learning about their lifestyles and relationships. The first go-to is setting up a mechanical eating schedule: eat within an hour of waking up, then about three hours after that, then three hours after that, and so on. If someone isn’t hungry, then it’s a smoothie or something bland, like a grilled cheese. Regular eating patterns restore weight to where the body wants to be and dim down the drive to binge and/or purge. Until a person’s relationship with food is repaired, said Hellner, they’re white-knuckling recovery. “They haven’t healed the brain yet,” she said. “What we typically see when somebody is fully weight restored is they’re able to come back to the original version of themselves,” as in, before the onset of the illness. “Mood improves, sleep improves, social connections become more meaningful.” Patients may have to restore to a weight they’re not thrilled with or think isn’t the “right” weight for them. But that’s the weight at which their body is most fully functioning. Being adequately fed can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and regulate emotions.