College and Promoting Intuitive Eating in Eating Disorder Recovery

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Director of Content and Social Media at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

Eating disorders are often the anti-thesis to what is needed for thriving in life, and many eating disorder behaviors are contrary to what is normal and natural to thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically.

One of the basic fundamentals for living is grossly distorted by eating disorder behaviors, and this involves being able to recognize and honor basic hunger and fullness cues.

While this may seem oversimplified, individuals who engage in recurring abnormal eating behaviors, such as restricting, binging, and purging, effectively destroy their capacity to nourish their body appropriately.

The Basics of Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy that encourages and supports individuals in returning to basic and nutritive feeding cues as a means for nourishing the body adequately. In a society that is inundated with nutrition myths and fads, knowing what and how much to eat can quickly become convoluted.

For those who are trying to recover form an eating disorder, this process can be even more difficult, as eating disorder behaviors often override the body’s natural intuitive eating cues.

Recovery efforts often help an individual re-learn not only the basics of eating and nutrition but how to effectively listen to the body’s natural hunger and fullness cues as a guidance for eating, living, and thriving. It is important to note that intuitive eating is typically the end goal of many eating disorder treatment programs, and individuals who are severely malnourished cannot be expected or allowed to eat intuitively.

Intuitive eating should occur under the guidance and supervision of qualified health professionals, and a person in recovery should be medically cleared to begin integrating this process in treatment.

Practicing Intuitive Eating as a College Student

If you are a college student in recovery and have effectively reached a point in your journey where you are able to eat intuitively again, you may find that this becomes more challenging while in college.

The college life is often one that includes all-nighters, overloaded schedules, and little down time, and this can be disastrous for someone trying to practice intuitive eating. The good news is that this can be continued, even in changing circumstances.

As much as possible, try to plan out your schedule in a manner that allows for adequate breaks for eating regular and consistent meals and snacks. Give yourself the appropriate time and space needed to sit down for meals and practice regularly checking in with yourself and your body to determine what it is that you need to sustain your health and well being.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

What do you think might make it more challenging for a college student practicing intuitive eating?

About the Author: Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Special Projects Coordinator for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on August 21, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com