Table of Contents
Last updated on July 16th, 2023 at 10:45 pm
If you struggle with an eating disorder, mechanical eating will likely be necessary during the recovery process.
Eating disorders that will usually require a mechanical eating schedule will include
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Atypical Anorexia
- Bulimia nervosa
- Binge Eating Disorder
- Orthorexia
People that are in the mechanical eating phase of eating disorder recovery and/or weight restoration will likely require an eating disorder recovery meal plan to meet their nutrition needs and get their hunger cues back.
Meal plans should be created to meet your unique needs by an eating disorder dietitian. If you are experiencing the warning signs of an eating disorder or have an official eating disorder diagnosis, you will likely need a regimented eating plan.
Let’s explore the reasons why we might need a structured meal schedule, what meal plans look like in eating disorder recovery, and how to work through challenges with structured eating.
What Does Mechanical Eating Mean?
Mechanical eating is the phase of eating disorder recovery when meals and snacks occur at designated meal times with fixed portion sizes and food choices.
Mechanical eating includes:
- Time of day the meals and snacks will be had
- Frequency of the meals and snacks
- Quantity of food to be eaten
- Types of food to be eaten at the meal
Mechanical eating is intended to be non-negotiable. Because of this, the meals and snacks will likely challenge the eating disorder voice causing a lot of difficult emotions for the person with an eating disorder.
It’s important to maintain structure during the initial stages of eating disorder recovery, and thus a designated meal plan with outlined meal times is essential.
Why Do I Need Structured Eating?
Structure eating during eating disorder recovery does several things including:
- Provides permission to eat for the person with an eating disorder that is afraid to gain weight
- It forces eating even if hunger and fullness cues are no longer present
- It keeps us nourished even if strong physical and mental aversions to hunger exist
- It helps us to know we are eating enough
- It will help us to weight restore in a safe way
Some people will experience hypermetabolism in eating disorder recovery. If this happens, energy needs will be extremely high making a mechanical eating plan even more critical.
A person with an eating disorder has a starving brain. There are real structural and hormonal shifts that will make it difficult or impossible for a person with an eating disorder to eat.
This is why structured eating is critical during the initial stages of eating disorder recovery.
Eliminating Food Rules With Structured Eating
If you have an eating disorder, you are likely engaged in many eating disorder behaviors around food and your body. These rules about food and your body can make it difficult or impossible to eat without structure.
Eating disorder behaviors that make it difficult to make food decisions include:
- Obsessive calorie counting
- Many food rules make it difficult to eat
- A long list of fear foods the person with an eating disorder avoids
- Extreme guilt after eating
- Frequent body checking can make it difficult to want to eat meals if checks don’t meet standards
- Hoarding food or secret eating
You may also be experiencing body dysmorphia which can make it impossible to eat without a designated meal plan and meal support.
If you’re a caregiver, it can be difficult to know the do’s and don’ts in what to say at structured meal times. These strategies of knowing exactly what to say to someone with an eating disorder can help.
How Long Does Mechanical Eating Last?
Mechanical eating during eating disorder recovery can last anywhere from 3 months to 2 years or beyond.
For some people, using a mechanical eating plan until six months after they get their period back if this was lost can be a good starting point.
The length of time that a structured meal plan needs to be in place will include
- Length of time a person has had an eating disorder
- Type of eating disorder recovery the person had (inpatient vs outpatient)
- Compliance with treatment programs (keeping appointments, following guidelines)
- Rate of weight restoration
- If Hypermetabolism is present
- Emotional responses to eating
For many, mechanical eating lasts about 3 months after weight restoration is complete. For some people, they may always need and choose to use the guidance of mechanical eating.
No matter what duration of time your structured eating lasts, it is important to remember that no time frame is superior for completing this. All lead to the path of recovery, and letting go of mechanical eating sooner will not necessarily mean a quicker recovery.
Mechanical Eating Vs. Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is not appropriate for someone in the early stages of recovery from an eating disorder. The one exception to this may be for someone in binge eating recovery.
Intuitive eating involves:
- Honoring your hunger
- Trusting your body
- Getting rid of food rules and fear of foods
A person in early recovery from an eating disorder is not capable of any of these things. Encouraging intuitive eating during this time will likely be very harmful to the person with an eating disorder.
A person with an eating disorder introduced to intuitive eating early in recovery will likely just translate this practice into another eating disorder behavior.
Early eating disorder recovery is not a time for gentle nutrition.
Mechanical eating, unlike intuitive eating, allows you to have enough meal structure to ensure you are meeting all of your nutrition needs in recovery.
Coping With A Structured Eating Plan
It can be difficult to feel like you have no control over what you’re eating.
You are not alone in your journey. If you are finding you need some additional resources to support you try:
- Checking out these eating disorder recovery books to see others’ experiences and wisdom
- Discover ways to respect your body that have nothing to do with food
- Practice using body-positive journal prompts
- Check out these eating disorder recovery quotes
You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out to your support team if you are feeling overwhelmed with your eating disorder.
Mechanical eating is the phase of eating disorder recovery when meals and snacks occur at designated meal times with fixed portion sizes and food choices.
The average time span for mechanical eating is about 3-6 months into eating disorder recovery. However, this number is highly variable based on the length and severity of the eating disorder.
Intuitive eating involves honoring your body’s hunger and fullness cues to make food decisions. Mechanical eating involves structured meal plans that are necessary when a person doesn’t experience hunger and fullness cues or their eating disorder gets in the way of proper nourishment.
- What Is A Non Diet Approach - January 27, 2025
- 5 Reasons Body Perfection Is A Lie - January 25, 2025
- Switch Witch: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - October 18, 2024