Spelade
-
We know that treating an eating disorder can be complicated. But when you’re managing an eating disorder along with a co-occurring medical condition, that can add extra complexity.
It’s quite common for eating disorders to co-exist with other health issues but it's often unclear whether eating behaviours are to appropriately mitigate symptoms or are a disordered response to distress. In this episode, we talk to guests living with coexisting conditions. Host Sam Ikin also talks to experts who help their clients to manage both.
Psychologist Dr Angelique Ralph says it’s sometimes difficult to know if you adjusted the way you eat to treat a chronic health issue or if it is an eating disorder. “Is the health condition impacting the eating disorder, the eating disorder impacting the health condition, or are they both reinforcing each other?”
For Lizzie, the eating disorder came first but she was managing it until she was diagnosed with coeliac disease. “My eating disorder flared. And I realised I was using my diagnosis as a reason not to eat.”
Sienna has had a long history of diabetes coupled with an eating disorder to create a condition called diabulimia. “If you don't take your insulin, your body eats itself,” she says. “It attacks all of your organs. It eats your fat first, then everything that you put into your body is pretty much burned up.”
Dietitian Shannon McDonough works primarily with people diagnosed with diabetes. "Around 35% of those living with diabetes also experience disordered eating or are actually living with an eating disorder." she says, "It's quite staggering really."
Ange lives with endometriosis and has also experienced an eating disorder. “There was a mix of me self-medicating when I wasn't seeing a professional, and professionals actually giving me these diets,” she says. “I became addicted to this cycle of restriction.”
As we listen to each guest’s perspective, we also find out what model of treatment can help.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Fellow anti-diet dietitian Taylor Chan joins us to discuss “fence-straddling” between intuitive eating and traditional dietetics (and eventually jumping over to the other side), how her desire to be a “good dietitian” pulled her further into diet culture, the privilege inherent in diet culture’s version of nutrition, the nuances that make intuitive eating an inclusive practice, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to handle loss of appetite during the COVID-19 pandemic. (This episode originally aired on May 4, 2020.)
Taylor Chan is a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer in Baltimore, Maryland. She brings an Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size lens to her current role in school food service, and also has a virtual private practice where she helps clients take the fear out of food and eat to support all aspects of their well-being. In her spare time, you can find her hiking, traveling, eating, and creating doodles that dismantle diet culture. Find her online at FoodAndFearless.com.
Subscribe to our newsletter, Food Psych Weekly, to keep getting new weekly Q&As and other new content while the podcast is on hiatus!
If you're ready to break free from diet culture once and for all, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. You'll get all your questions answered in an exclusive monthly podcast, plus ongoing support in our private community forum and dozens of hours of other great content.
Christy's first book, Anti-Diet, is available wherever you get your books. Order online at christyharrison.com/book, or at local bookstores across North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Grab Christy's free guide, 7 simple strategies for finding peace and freedom with food, for help getting started on the anti-diet path.
For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, go to christyharrison.com/foodpsych.
Ask your own question about intuitive eating, Health at Every Size, or eating disorder recovery at christyharrison.com/questions.
-
With so many developmental and even physical changes happening in their lives, teenagers are particularly vulnerable to body image issues. Spurred on by social media, they’re constantly comparing themselves to others.Having a positive body image can help teens to develop self-esteem, self-confidence, and to develop socially. It can lead to better mental and physical health later in life.The problem is research shows that, consistently, body image is one of teens’ top three concerns. Also, the number of adolescents reporting body dissatisfaction is increasing, exposing more and more youngsters to long term effects.Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s top parenting experts says a healthy body image starts at home. “The last thing we should be doing is shaming bodies,” he says. “When a child feels disconnected, shamed and unworthy, they're less likely to take the input of their parents.”Clinical Psychologist Dr Louise Adams agrees: “Body image is about much more than our bodies,” she says, “It’s actually how we feel about ourselves, based on our physical appearance, and how our physical appearance has been treated in the world.”In this episode, we look at how the home environment can have a significant influence on a teen’s body image. For example, positive role-modelling and demonstrated kindness toward our bodies and others’ can act as a protective factor to other influences our teens can’t control.We also hear from Jem and their dad, Richard, and Ashlee and her mom, Christine – Jem and Ashlee have both battled debilitating body image issues, but their families have learned to review body image in ways that are helping to see them through.
To find out more about Justin Coulson’s work go to https://www.justincoulson.com/To hear more from Louise Adams go to https://untrapped.com.au/And for more on Butterfly’s Body Kind Families program, visit www.butterfly.org.au/bodykindfamiliesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
![[Repost] #238: How Diet Culture Influences the Nutrition and Dietetics Field with Taylor Chan, Anti-Diet Dietitian and Illustrator](https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts115/v4/b0/6a/f5/b06af5b3-b897-5a7e-392f-e7bfda02fba1/mza_8570668435130137134.png/80x80bb.jpg)