Practicing Mindful Eating as a College Student

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

When it comes to life as a college student, many people would characterize it as overloaded and busy.

With schedules filled to the brim with academics, homework, social activities, Greek life, school functions, roommates, work, and more, college students are constantly on the go, leaving little time for rest or reflection.

For a college student who may be in recovery from an eating disorder, this type of lifestyle may not be conducive to recovery efforts for many reasons.

Maintaining Adequate Nourishment

One of the key components to sustaining ongoing recovery is to keep consistent and adequate nourishment. This means getting in regular meals and snacks and aiming for a balance of foods.

As a college student, there can be many challenges that might make this challenging, including an overbooked schedule, lack of income or financial resources, lack of time, and more. Anticipating these potential situations as a college student can be helpful in creating a plan for success. Because college is a transition time, planning ahead can be an important aspect of sustained recovery efforts.

If you are in recovery, you have likely worked with a registered dietitian as part of your treatment team, who has guided you in terms of how to best nourish your body. Establishing and maintaining normalized eating patterns are critical for recovery, as lapsing into eating disorder behaviors can be triggering.

When faced with a time crunch while in college, it can seem easy to justify a missed meal here or there, or to attempt to get by with minimal food – only to find yourself starved when getting home for the night. Maintaining your food intake is necessary for preventing lapses into restricting, bingeing, and/or purging behaviors.

The Importance of Mindful Eating

As another aspect of your recovery and treatment, you may have also practiced eating mindfully, or learning to tune into your body and pay attention to what you are eating and how you are eating in response to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. Because eating disorder behaviors override the body’s natural cues, such as continuing to eat even when physically full, or denying the body food when feeling hungry, chaos is created when it comes to food and body.

Mindful eating can be an important way to reconnect to the body and learn how to respond appropriately to cues that are natural and normal when it comes to eating. Mindful eating can also help neutralize foods where there may have previously been judgment, or “good” and “bad” foods. Learning to eat mindfully can help a person begin to look at food for what it is – nourishment for the body in any form, and this is important for an individual recovering from an eating disorder.

Continuing to Practice Mindful Eating While in College

If you are a college student in recovery, you may find it difficult to implement many of the aspects of your treatment in the college setting.  Jumping from class to activity to work, there may seem like little time to do the things that matter to your ongoing recovery, but it is necessary to keep these things a priority. If you find yourself in the position of being overrun, exhausted, skipping meals, or losing grips on your recovery basis, be sure to get back to basics.

Taking the time you need for an adequate meal while eating mindfully can be helpful, but it is crucial to make the time for this. Allow yourself the necessary time to sit down, enjoy your food, and listen to your body. Whether in the dorm rooms, school cafeteria, or out with friends, you have the ability to continue listening to your body and honoring your physical needs, such as adequate nourishment and rest.

With the full schedule and life that is involved in the day of a college student, it is important to make the efforts to keep your priorities centered around your recovery, as your life depends on it.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

What do you think are some of the challenges college students face when it comes to eating mindfully?

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 September 4, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com