You might be asking yourself, “How do I start recovering?” When you’re uncertain about the first steps of eating disorder recovery, it can feel impossible to know where to focus your energy. What comes first? How do you track your progress? It’s understandable that with these kinds of questions, making actionable changes can feel more difficult. Not knowing where to start in recovery may seem intimidating at first, but there are simple, essential steps you can take to restore both your physical and mental health. If you’re wondering how to start eating disorder recovery, these tips will help you begin your restorative journey toward healing.
1. Prioritize Eating 3 Meals and 3 Snacks a Day
A crucial part of how to start eating disorder recovery is focusing on getting your physical health back on track through regular meals. How are you supposed to make any progress toward leading a healthy life if you’re still making space for the disorder that wants to harm you? Whether you’re struggling with restriction, bingeing, or bouncing between the two, the first step in healing your relationship with food is giving your body the nourishment it needs. By making it a habit to eat three meals and three snacks a day, you begin denying your eating disorder and fulfilling what is actually good for you.
If you’re someone who restricts what you eat, the goal here is to break the cycle of depriving yourself and instead, allow your body to get enough food throughout the day. Regular meals will strengthen your resolve in recovery, as you’ll regain your energy levels, have a clearer head, and remember all the reasons that motivate you to change.
For those struggling with a cycle of both restricting and bingeing, this step is just as important. Restricting leads to cravings, and those cravings can often trigger a binge. The key is realizing that avoiding food isn’t a solution and instead actually fuels the binge-restrict cycle.
Bottom line: breaking those restrictions is essential. When you start eating regularly, including those foods you used to think were ‘off-limits,’ you’ll notice that they lose their power over you. This is a step that is easier said than done, so don’t feel unhelpable if you’re having trouble resisting the urge to restrict and control food. Eating disorders are more than just a willpower problem that can be easily fixed by “just eating;” sometimes, more intensive steps are needed to start recovering.
Know When to Ask for Help
If this step feels too daunting to manage on your own, seeking guidance from a therapist, dietitian, or eating disorder recovery coach can be incredibly helpful. Therapists can help you recontextualize your eating disorder by focusing on the root causes that drive it, bringing insight into the recovery journey. Dietitians are also important as they can assist in creating a plan that supports your personal nutritional needs if you’re not sure how to begin approaching regular meals. Lastly, an eating disorder recovery coach could walk step-by-step with you throughout this process, providing encouragement and guidance along the way. Remember that help is out there if you need it.
2. Focus Your Recovery Goals
Now that your body is being properly nourished, it’s time to begin feeding your mind. The next step in how to start eating disorder recovery is to set clear and motivating recovery goals that set your sights on the bigger picture. Defining what recovery means to you will help keep you focused, even when things get tough.
Think about how you want your life to look when you’re free from your eating disorder. Ask things like:
- What does my relationship with food and my body look like?
- What activities or experiences am I excited to try?
- How would I describe myself? Or how would I like to describe myself?
- What do I want to do with my time?
- How would my life look?
The more detailed and clearer a picture you paint for yourself will make that vision easier to manifest in your regular life. The more intent we put into our actions, the stronger our output will be. Write a few of these goals down in a place where you can see them often and make it a habit to revisit your answers each day. While reflecting, imagine what your future looks like and try to tap into the feelings you’d have if you were already living that life.
Let these feelings of excitement and enthusiasm for a life without an eating disorder drive you to the finish line. Not only will setting recovery goals help you measure your progress, but they will give you a sense of purpose as you learn how to start eating disorder recovery and continue your healing journey.
3. Open Up to Your Support System
Eating disorders often thrive in isolation. They will encourage you to keep everything to yourself, making your disordered thoughts seem like the only voice you should be listening to. If you have people you trust in your life, let them help you out of this dark place. Recovery is highly individualized and it’s important to learn how to stand on your own feet eventually, but there’s nothing wrong with gaining that strength over time alongside the supportive power of your loved ones. Opening up to trusted people in your life can build the network you need in the tougher times in recovery.
Start by talking to someone you trust and simply ask them to be there for you if you need it. If they are a true friend or family member, this request will be accepted and welcomed unconditionally. Be honest about what kind of support you’re looking for–whether it’s accountability, emotional reassurance, or help with avoiding triggers. Your loved ones may not immediately know how to assist you, so being clear with what you need and want will only help them help you.
You might also want to seek out some recovery groups both on and offline. Finding others who are walking the same path you are will help you feel seen, heard, and accepted in a way that may be more difficult with those who don’t struggle with an eating disorder.
Ultimately, letting go of the secrecy and shame that comes with your eating disorder will aid you in taking steps out of it. It can be hard to put words to your struggle, but the relief that comes after will lift a huge burden off your shoulders. Remember, you don’t have to do this alone; there are people out there who love you and want to help.
4. Ditch Destructive Habits
Part of how to start eating disorder recovery is recognizing and breaking away from the harmful habits that have maintained your disorder. Although these behaviors may feel ingrained, you can gradually shift to healthier practices through awareness and persistence.
Here’s how to get started identifying what you need to get rid of:
Evaluate Your Behavior:
Think back to times when you can identify your disordered-driven thoughts and behaviors. Were you checking yourself multiple times in the reflections when you were out? Do you find yourself looking at other people’s bodies and comparing your own? Did you track and compare calories for different meals on a menu? Begin by identifying these behaviors that lend themselves to your eating disorder and monitor your reaction to them. Becoming more aware of the thoughts will help you regain control over them and change the narrative in the future.
Unfollow Unhelpful Accounts:
Our social media feed will tell us so many unhelpful things, bombarding us every day with how we should look or live. Unfollow anybody who doesn’t inspire you meaningfully and only exists to serve your eating disorder. Being fuelled by jealousy or envy won’t help you live a self-fulfilled life; focusing on your own path to self-love instead will inspire your recovery.
Clear Out Triggers from Your Space:
Take a moment to remove things from your environment that bring up negative thoughts, like clothes in a size you’re trying to fit into. Instead, fill your space with items that make you feel good and reflect your journey toward recovery. Make your room the center of positivity and not the source of your burden.
Replace Bad with the Good:
As you start to acknowledge bad behaviors, learn how to replace them with a healthy routine. Keep a daily journal where you can keep positive affirmations, quotes, notes to self, and other feelings surrounding your recovery. Putting them into words will help you manage them more clearly than letting them sit in your head. Another simple act of self-care to focus on is getting more sleep, which will only benefit your health across the board. Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule and make time for self-care activities in between that uplift you.
Trust the Process
Learning how to start eating disorder recovery is just the beginning of a journey that will deeply transform your life. Recovery is not linear, and there will be challenges along the way. However, each step you take, no matter how small, brings you closer to a life free from the control of your eating disorder. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you start your eating disorder recovery; your future self will be grateful for the effort you’re putting in today.
