What Does ED Recovery Mean

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Last updated on June 23rd, 2024 at 09:23 pm

Sometimes eating disorder recovery can feel never ending.  It might feel like the eating disorder voice in your head will never go away. What does ED recovery mean anyways?  

Signs your recovering from your eating disorder include: 

Recovery from an eating disorder will look a little different for everyone.  There is no appropriate timeline for recovery.  

Recovery is also nonlinear, meaning you may take one step forward and two steps back in your journey.  

Let’s explore what it means to be recovered from your eating disorder, what the recovery process looks like, and signs of eating disorder recovery. 

Infographic on what does ed recovery mean

ED Recovery Meaning 

Eating disorder recovery means that about 80% of the time or more, you are at peace with your body, food and exercise. You are no longer engaging in eating disorder behaviors.

ED recovery does NOT mean that you will never have an eating disorder thought or behavior again.  In addition, being “recovered” from an eating disorder might look very different from one person to the next. 

For some people, eating disorder recovery could mean they are  intuitive eating and not thinking about food much at all. For others, eating disorder recovery will involve the structure of mechanical eating and a meal plan long term. 

ED Recovery Means Different Things Different People

ED Recovery may look different if: 

Is Eating Disorder Recovery Possible 

Yes. 

ED recovery will look different for everyone, but ED recovery IS possible for everyone. 

People might sometimes get confused as to whether they have truly recovered from an eating disorder. 

You can be recovered from an eating disorder and still have setbacks like: 

  • Have a purging episode
  • Occasionally having a binge 
  • Feel like you hate your body sometimes 
  • Skip a meal (or a few) intentionally
  • Overexercise 
  • Body check on occasion 
  • Want to lose weight 

In fact, almost everyone who has recovered from an eating disorder will experience one or more of these symptoms at some point in recovery. While it’s important to reduce or eliminate these behaviors to the best of your ability in recovery, they may still happen from time to time.  

Recovery is embracing imperfection and giving ourselves grace in our process. It’s best to view these behaviors as they come up as relearning, not relapsing back into an eating disorder

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ED Recovery Can Mean Harm Reduction

For some people, eating disorder recovery may mean a harm reduction approach.  This means that even though you might still engage in some eating disorder behaviors, you are taking care to minimize the impacts of these behaviors and reduce the overall frequency of these behaviors.

A harm reduction approach might look like: 

  • Taking potassium supplements if you plan to purge
  • Reducing the intensity of workouts
  • Negotiating with the eating disorder (Compulsive exercise is allowed if an extra snack is added)
  • Supplementing for nutrient deficiencies versus requiring more food be added
  • Reducing purging episodes
  • Delaying a purge
  • Expectations to treat low blood sugars with glucose tablets

It should be understood that taking a harm reduction approach in eating disorder recovery is dangerous.  There is a possibility that you could develop adverse health outcomes or the eating disorder could escalate. Sometimes, a harm reduction approach can be fatal.

However, a harm reduction approach can have many positive physical and mental benefits.  We may be able to reduce some of the long term damages that can occur as a result of the eating disroder.  

For many people that have had severe eating disorder symptoms for a prolonged period of time, the harm reduction model can be what recovery looks like for them.  It can reduce some of the psychological turmoil and physical damages that go along with eating disorders. 

People using a harm reduction approach in ed recovery may also feel empowered to continue to reduce eating disorder symptoms as they feel safe. 

infographic in pink of the ed recovery process

ED Recovery Process

The ED recovery process is long and not linear.  The typal steps for the recovery process include: 

  1. Acknowledging and tell someone that you have an eating disorder
  2. Setting up a treatment team including an eating disorder dietitian 
  3. Determine the appropriate level of care
  4. Set up in person or virtual eating disorder support
  5. Get a mechanical eating meal plan with your dietitian
  6. Have friends and/or family provide meal support
  7. Weight restore
  8. Maintain a long term support system

All of these steps will come with mental and emotional challenges.  The ed recovery process often feels like you are moving in a zigzag line with lots of ups and downs.  

Signs Of Eating Disorder Recovery

There are many signs of eating disorder recovery.  

Some signs you are on your way to being recovered from an eating disorder include: 

  • You spend less time thinking about food
  • Your relationships will improve after recovery
  • You spend less time body checking or thinking about your body
  • Your eating disorder voice is not as loud
  • You use other coping tools for stress besides your eating disorder behaviors
  • You maintain healthy social relationships
  • You feel comfortable eating for emotional or social reasons

ED recovery means you get to have a life outside of your eating disorder. Your eating disorder is no longer consuming you.  

ED recovery will look different for everybody. ED recovered means that you are at the most peaceful possible place you can be with your body, your plate, and the narrative in your mind. 

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Shena Jaramillo. Registered Dietitian
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