If you’ve searched for an eating disorder nutritionist in Washington D.C. but aren’t ready to commit, because you’re unsure about what working with an Eating Disorder Nutritionist really looks like…we’re here to bust some myths.
A lot of women who struggle with disordered eating are hesitant to seek professional help out of fear – fear of losing control, of gaining weight, of losing sight of health consciousness, etc….
It’s not easy to let another person in on an issue you’ve likely tried hard to keep hidden, but if your relationship with food is negatively impacting your life, there’s help available.
Some days it might feel impossible to change the habits you’ve established surrounding food and eating, but a reputable Nutritionist with experience working with women with eating disorders is well equipped to help you heal.
Five Common Misconceptions About Working with an Eating Disorder Nutritionist
Let’s address some common misconceptions that might be holding you back from reaching out for help:
Misconception #1: You have to have an eating disorder to work with an Eating Disorder Nutritionist.
You don’t have to have a diagnosed eating disorder in order to seek help healing your relationship with food, eating, and body image.
Because of how prevalent “health and wellness” and diet culture are in our society, it’s possible to exhibit disordered eating behaviors that don’t reach the point of being considered an eating disorder, but are placed instead in the category of disordered eating behaviors.
Disordered eating behaviors:
- Constantly thinking about what and how much you eat
- Calorie counting
- Often talking about or thinking about body size
- Frequently weighing yourself
- An extreme preoccupation with “healthiness”
- Being inflexible about what you do and don’t eat
- Being secretive about eating habits or avoiding social situations involving food
Unfortunately, some of this behavior is normalized and even encouraged in a health- and thinness-obsessed society. You might consider yourself someone who simply prioritizes health, but if your preoccupation with healthy eating is harming you mentally, ask yourself – is it really healthy?
Misconception #2: Working with an Eating Disorder Nutritionist will cause you to binge.
Eating disorders and disordered eating both contain the worst kind of ebb and flow. You’re in control, you’re out of control. You’re restricting, you’re bingeing. You start to feel better about your body, and you’re checking the number on the scale after skipping a meal.
It’s not uncommon to fear that getting help from an Eating Disorder Nutritionist is a one-way ticket to losing total control over eating, but remember that healing your relationship with food does not mean abandoning healthy eating.
In fact, intuitive eating – a strategy many Eating Disorder Nutritionists teach their clients – is associated with improved physical and mental health outcomes, and with fewer weight fluctuations.
Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors, on the other hand, can increase your likelihood of a wide range of health problems, such as:
- heart disease
- GI issues
- diabetes
- bone and tooth decay
- organ damage
- issues with cognitive function
- anxiety and depression
- increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Thinness does not equal health. True health lies in a general sense of well-being, in feeling good physically (energized and without pain) and mentally (low stress levels and with an overall positive outlook on life).
Right now, your eating disorder or disordered eating is likely causing you a great deal of stress, but in the long run, that stress will snowball into something even harder to handle. Reaching out to a professional for help can propel you down a path toward food freedom and true health.
Misconception #3: Your Eating Disorder Nutritionist will want you to gain weight.
An experienced, reputable Eating Disorder Nutritionist will want to focus on how you feel as opposed to how much you weigh. We can’t speak for everyone in this field, but here at our practice, we prioritize intuitive eating, tuning into the body, and calming the mind as methods for healing.
Teaching women how to utilize intuitive eating is our favorite strategy for recovery from an eating disorder or disordered eating because it reconnects the mind and body – an inseparable relationship, each impacting the other for better or worse.
What intuitive eating is:
- Listening to hunger cues (signs your body is hungry)
- Listening to fullness cues (signs your body is satisfied)
- Practicing mindful eating (being present, smelling, and tasting while eating)
- Choosing foods that leave you feeling good (nourished and energized)
- Allowing yourself treats and fulfilling cravings
What intuitive eating is NOT:
- Checking the number on the scale to make sure you’re “doing it right”
- Keeping a running list of “good” foods and “bad” foods and adhering to it
- Obsessing over eating healthy 24/7/365
- A free-for-all junk food eating marathon
When intuitive eating is done right, the beautiful, balanced space outside the binge-restrict cycle is finally reached. We don’t ask our clients to step on a scale or do weigh-ins, but to simply focus on eating to feel good.
Misconception #4: Nutrition is a pseudoscience and so an Eating Disorder Nutritionist isn’t worth the investment.
The reason Nutritionists get a bad rap is because anyone can call themself a Nutritionist. Nutrition is no pseudo-science and there are many qualified and experienced Nutritionists out there, you just might need to do a little digging to find them.
If you’re looking for an Eating Disorder Nutritionist in Washington D.C., here are some key things to look for to make sure you find someone reputable:
Credentials: Look for one or more of the following credentials – Registered Dietitian (RD), Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS), or similar.
Experience: Make sure your Nutritionist explicitly mentions having experience working with clients with eating disorders and disordered eating – if their preferred title is “Eating Disorder Nutritionist”, even better!
Green flag phrases: If an Eating Disorder Nutritionist mentions any of the following phrases when describing their practice, consider it a definite plus –
Weight-inclusive: this term refers to focusing on clients’ well-being rather than their weight.
HAES®-informed approach: HAES stands for Health at Every Size and supports the notion that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare regardless of size – like weight-inclusive, it focuses on overall health and well-being instead of body size.
Collaborative style: This means your Nutritionist will be willing and enthusiastic about collaborating with other Healthcare Professionals (your PCP, therapist, etc.) to achieve optimal health outcomes for you.
Trauma-informed care: This demonstrates the ability of the provider to recognize trauma and its impact and respond to it appropriately.
Because not only do you deserve guidance and support on your path to recovery, but you deserve it from someone who’s knowledgeable, experienced, and non-discriminatory.
Misconception #5: Finding a good Eating Disorder Nutritionist is a complicated process
If you’re now feeling ready for help, congratulations – you are so brave for taking this first step. Now that you know what to look for, you can search for an Eating Disorder Nutritionist in your area and read their website or reach out to them directly to see if they meet your standards.
Ready to Work With an Eating Disorder Nutritionist in Washington, DC?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and looking for an Eating Disorder Nutritionist in Washington, D.C. specifically, here at Kate Brock Nutrition, we can make things easy.
We are a team of Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionists and Certified Nutrition Specialists who focus on 1:1 care for clients who suffer from eating disorders or who struggle with disordered eating behaviors.
We take a weight-inclusive and trauma-informed HAES approach that recognizes all body types and sizes and tackles recovery through a therapeutic lens; our priority is to couple research and expertise with personalized care and support…because you deserve so much more than a semi-regular check in from someone who barely knows you.
If you’re interested in talking with an Eating Disorder Nutritionist who meets all the criteria we went over in section 4 and treats clients in the D.C. area, you can follow this link to book a free call with us.
Remember that an Eating Disorder Nutritionist is on your side and here to make recovery less scary. With a qualified, experienced Nutritionist in your corner, your healing journey can begin.
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