I would say about ⅓ of the questions that come through for our podcast or email have something to do with understanding why our eating patterns are restricted. Or, questions regarding restricting and really, deep down knowing restricting is harmful to our health, but being unable to reflect or accept that fact without the feedback or acknowledgement of others. Which is OKAY. I have been there so many times before, too.

For example, when there is a question along the lines of, “I exercise “x” times a week and eat 1200 calories a day, but have “x” health problems, could this be originating with my calorie deficit?”. A lot of these inquiries  are answered by the person asking in the question, but sometimes we need to hear confirmation from others that these things are affecting us negatively.

That is also why referring to ourselves as third person is a common way to gain perspective and insight on things that may be troubling us or if we are looking for insight on what we really need.

I too, have reached out to doctors, research, and my friends or family to understand why my body responds the way it does, or more importantly, why my body isn’t responding the way I want it to. We need to understand why our bodies don’t want to shed weight, recognizing that things like stress and inflammation can cause our bodies to enter a state where shedding weight isn’t the priority in keeping our body functioning. In a way, our bodies have a mind of their own and will make decisions to take care of themselves, even if we think we already are.

Processing and challenging our disordered thinking is not an easy task; in fact it is one that requires consistent work. I have to be mindful daily to make sure I am not falling into my past negative restrictive habits. This journey is a long one, and may often feel like you are taking 8 steps back and only a half step forward some days.

As with most people, I find that there is an ebb and flow of my moods and habits, and surrounding myself with positive people, eliminating negative social media outlets, and incorporating techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy into my daily life can be grounding.

So – how can we use CBT to manage disordered eating?

What is CBT?

CBT is an evidence based treatment model focused on how our thoughts, feelings, environments, and behaviors are intertwined, and that they can be restructured to support better habits and actions. This type of treatment has been used for anxiety and depression in the past, but more so has been used for eating disorders and disordered eating patterns recently.

There are three phases to CBT  – Behavioral, cognitive, and relapse/ maintenance. Each phase is targeted on different approaches to break down our existing thoughts surrounding restrictive or disordered eating. If you are interested in reading more on the specific phases, check out this book.

So How Can CBT Help?

1. Understanding
   The first portion of CBT is understanding why we have developed the patterns that we have. This stage is to gain a grasp on why we have developed the patterns that we have, and educating ourselves on the science behind disordered eating. In order to proceed with healing, we must understand how and why our brain’s have become wired to restrict the way we do.
2. Setting Meal Times
   This may seem counter intuitive, but it is an effective step in CBT. When we have regularly scheduled meal times at realistic intervals, we know when we will be eating again and as a result are breaking up the controlling binge restrict cycle that so often is in place.
3. Challenging Our Dietary Rules
   This one is commonly discussed on our podcast, and I find so many women have some sort of dietary rules in place. A few of mine included : eating heavier meals in the morning in order to have the rest of the day to burn it off, not eating after 9 PM, eating carbs throughout the work day, etc. So with these rules we need to challenge them by reversing our thoughts on them. This can include eating a light breakfast and heavier dinner, in my situation. What dietary rules do you have that you are willing to challenge? Did you ever tell yourself a food was off limits, and if so, why? Try eating that food and really reflect on how you feel in that moment. This brings me to our next item.
4. Confront and Expose Fear Foods
    After the above steps have been incorporated, the next gradual step is to give yourself the permission to expose our fear to food. Part of this is removing the fear from food itself, and understanding food is just food. There is no evil cookie out there, the reason we see the cookie as evil is because of the negative connotation WE place on the cookie. If we remove the fear of eating the cookie, it becomes just that again.
5. Delaying
   This helps often with those that experience binging or purging. If we got caught off guard in the middle of an area that we are wanting to binge or purge, say by a call from a loved one, or an unexpected immediate deadline, we usually are able to push back our binging which can often lead to no longer feeling the need to binge after the stressor has passed. I would recommend creating a list of things to pull out of your back pocket that can intercept restrictive behaviors. This article has a great list to start with that includes doing your nails, playing with a pet, calling a friend, or listening to music. By allowing yourself to complete this task before indulging the negative behavior, we can catch and stop that negative behavior from happening.
6. Continue to Self Monitor
   By journaling (this is a great workbook) and keeping track of consumed foods along with emotional feelings we can reflect on what ultimately is causing us to feel restrictive patterns in that moment. For instance, journaling at lunch time at work describing your current mindset and what your eating can allow you to see if you are stressed out about a project at work. Over time, journaling can show us what patterns we have surrounding our mindset. Maybe we only feel binging behaviors when we are stressed at work, or maybe the binging is at home before bed. This step is about maintaining self awareness and really “knowing thyself”.

Using CBT

By no means am I a registered, educated or licensed professional when it comes to CBT. I write purely from my own personal experience and research, and from my research working with women through PfW. All of these tips can be extremely helpful while navigating the world of CBT. However. CBT doesn’t work for everyone, especially when trying to complete on your own.

I was able to utilize CBT to manage disordered eating in the most effective way by utilizing a local mental health professional. CBT takes consistency to be fully optimized; by working with a professional you are more likely to have a successful experience with CBT. To locate a therapist that specializes in CBT, click here.

Additional Resources

This website is the holy grail of resources. It contains informative handouts on eating disorders and disordered eating habits, as well as handouts, worksheets and exercises. There is also an extensive further reading page.

This website has a series of in depth modules that walk you through the CBT process.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns or if I can help in any way. Everyday we are one step closer to eliminating restrictive eating if we consistently work towards improving. Keep an eye out for a few future posts on additional ways you can work to eliminate disordered eating tendencies.