Those with an eating disorder will find it more challenging to effectively participate in psychological intervention when their brain is starved.  

If you don’t have a Dietitian on your treatment team, here are five reasons to include one:

  1. Challenging the diet culture – Along with being diseases of the mind, eating disorders are partly driven by society’s dieting culture. Restrictive and prescriptive diets have become the norm in our lives and are highly celebrated in the media. A dietitian can help clients develop a greater awareness of these messages as well being more able to view them with a more discerning and critical eye so that you can better identify those that are mis-labelled as healthy and question their value and credibility. Identifying those unhealthy messages early can prevent restrictive eating patterns that can lead to malnutrition. 
  2. Supporting flexible eating – Our team believes in focusing on the foods to add in to the diet rather that take them away.  We avoid the idea of restriction or avoiding as this simply puts that food up on a pedestal and increases our desires and cravings. We help you understand that food is neither “good” or “bad”. Likewise you can be neither “good” or “bad” for eating them. We help you see all food as simply that – food with a potential to nourish our body and bring a sense of satisfaction and even joy! Dietitians are the experts in nutrition and can give you the confidence to reject diet myths  by helping you develop a deeper understanding about how nutrients are used within the body. 
  3. Understanding and enhancing health – It is difficult to see how well your food intake is meeting your nutritional needs. A dietitian understands food and your body at a nutrient level and provide guidance on how to gradually increase the nutrient density of your diet. Good nutrition forms the foundation that your body sits on. Your nutrient intake enables your body to function at it’s best and last the distance. Poor nutrition and a weak foundation can lead to cracks appearing over time or when you are under stress. Nutrition is often silent and easily overlooked so we help you have a greater understanding of the nutritional value of food and how to achieve the right balance to reach your full potential. 
  4. Understanding weight – There is the potential to be healthy at every size. We don’t question or try to change the size of our feet or our hands as we believe that these are determined and appropriate for our body. Likewise your body’s natural weight and shape is something that can not be forced to change without ignoring your body’s natural appetite and fullness signals. These natural signals can be blocked and even lost over time when we are repeatedly told to finish everything on your plate as a child, increasing portion sizes and technology that is an endless stream of distractions. We help you become aware of your body’s natural cravings for healthy and nourishing foods and the many short and long-term benefits this brings. 
  5. Listening to our bodies – Dietitians can teach clients to tune into their physiological cues, trust their body’s inner wisdom, and eat intuitively. Through doing this, not only do we liberate clients from the prison of dieting, we complement the great work that mental health practitioners do in assisting clients to pay attention to their emotions, utilise them as important sources of information, and take action that is empowering and honours their worth as a human being.

 

To get more help with an eating disorder book an appointment with one of our dietitians below.

Aloysa Hourigan Dietitian

Aloysa Hourigan
Dietitian

Aloysa has over 20 years of experience as a Dietitian and has worked for Nutrition Australia and running her own private practice in Brisbane. In addition to her dietetic qualifications, Aloysa has a Graduate Diploma in Counselling from the Queensland University of Technology.

Having a counseling qualification alongside expertise in nutrition and food has led Aloysa to focus on the area of eating disorders and has a great deal of compassion and experience providing support for long-term recovery

Specialist areas:

Eating disorders

Gut disorders

Food intolerances

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