There are some common dietary habits that people may assume to be perfectly healthy, but can actually be detrimental to their mental health. Some people are able to incorporate certain diet-related behaviors into their lifestyle without feeling overly restricted or stressed as a result. However, some people may be more prone to eating disorders or eating disorders.
At the end of the day, it’s a great idea to take a look at how your eating habits and thinking affect you. We talked to nutrition experts and dieticians to find out exactly what they see over and over again in their clients that may be a sign of disordered eating behavior.
If you notice that you exhibit any of these behaviors, it does not mean that you automatically have an eating disorder or even disordered eating tendenciesbut it does mean that you may want to talk to a professional for more information.
Let’s find out exactly what eating habits can be disordered behavior.
Intentionally skipping meals
skipping meals, or substituting calorie-free beverages for meals to “save” calories for later, may be a sign of deeper behavioral disorders. An example of this would be constantly skipping breakfast and only having coffee.
Saving calories by skipping breakfast is not only potentially messy, it’s also likely to increase hunger and cravings later in the day and make it even harder to meet your nutritional goals.
We spoke with Kayley Myers MS, RDN who explained how good restraint behaviors can be harmful. “A common disordered eating habit is avoiding certain foods to make up for what you ate earlier in the day. This is usually due to rules about what we ‘should’ eat rather than our internal experience,” Myers says.
Obsessive calorie counting
counting calories it is controversial in the space for messy eating. Some people are able to track their food with calorie counting with minimal negative side effects. Others, however, may feel anxious looking at their meal calorie counts or daily totals.
Counting calories or counting macros can be incredibly overwhelming without professional support or guidance on what these numbers mean. What we recommend is working with a dietitian to ensure you have support and education when tracking your food.
Counting calories in foods that are already very low in calories, such as mustard, spices, or hot sauce, can indicate a disordered pattern is at play.
Obsession with the quality of food
There is a new type of eating disorder called orthorexia. Rather than restrict or overeat, people with this type of disorder eat constantly and can appear incredibly healthy and balanced in their choices. Internally though, they have a lot of stress and anxiety around their food choices being ‘clean’, and this may be taking a toll on their mental health.
With the rise of social media and “what I eat in a day” videos, dietitians are waving red flags about the rise in orthorexic tendencies.
Mandy Tyler, M.Ed, RD, CSSD, LD told us: “The extreme focus or obsession with eating ‘clean’ can turn into a form of disordered eating or possible orthorexia. What starts out as a desire to eat a healthy diet can turn into an elimination of many foods that do not meet the definition of the individual. of ‘healthy’ or ‘clean'”.
Only stick to individual “safe” foods
There are many reasons why someone might feel that some foods are not safe. Except any allergiesFood sensitivities or health conditions may have made certain foods feel incredibly harmful.
People with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, frequently report fear of food due to gastrointestinal reactions. This is valid, albeit super complex and often requires trained medical professionals for support.
Andrea Senchuk, RD, MHSca Monash-trained dietitian, explained how IBS and fears of food can be linked.
“Living with IBS can be distressing. There is no cure, symptoms fluctuate, and searching for effective treatment can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. So it’s no surprise that as you try to cope with digestive symptoms relentless, many people with IBS develop disordered eating behaviors Driven by fear of painful cramps, embarrassing gas, urgent diarrhea, or constipation for days, some IBS patients may chronically undereat, skip meals, or stick rigidly to a short list of “safe” foods,” says Senchuk.
Guilt of tripping over yourself
Guilt about food, or seeing food as “bad” can moralize our food. If you are struggling with disordered eating behaviors, you may feel an immense amount of guilt and shame after eating. Often these scenarios are associated with arbitrary, self-imposed rules around food that may or may not have scientific roots.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LDN, The Culinary Dietitian and Nutritionist says, “Guilt can arise because you ate after a certain time of day or feel additional anxiety because you’re hungry when it’s not yet a certain time of day. Sometimes in our quest to lose weight or do what we feel is ‘healthier,’ we ignore our mental health. We shouldn’t jeopardize emotional health just to follow a current trend that isn’t really helping.”
Eliminate entire food groups
Most of the population, with the exception of specific health conditions, would do well to incorporate balance into their diet. When we cut out or eliminate entire food groups, we often feel more restricted and more likely to binge later on.
Specifically, when we eliminate an entire food group with the intention of losing weight or fear of weight gain, we see an increased likelihood that it is a disordered pattern.
Kim Arnold, RDN of Enlitened Nutrition further expands on this topic. Says Arnold, “Eliminating or severely restricting an entire food group due to fear that it’s negatively affecting weight or causing health problems is a form of disordered eating. I see this often with carbs and sugar. There are plenty of carbs that provide a quality nutrition. and energy and can support a healthy weight. I’m a firm believer that all foods can fit in when not eaten in excess.”
