Not all Dietitians are created equal!
Myrtle Oak Clinic dietitians invest in their knowledge, attending additional specialized eating disorder training, attend regular supervision and follow evidence-based practices. It’s ok to think: “I am not sure seeing a Dietitian will help me”
This is common statement from some of our clients who experience binge eating disorder (BED) when we recommend an appointment with our eating disorder Dietitians.
Other thoughts:
“A Dietitian will just tell me to only eat healthy foods and to stop eating the foods I binge on, and I can’t do that”
Or even “I don’t know if I want to give up binge eating, because sometimes I feel like I really need to eat lots of food”
It is also common for people to enquire into support with Myrtle Oak Clinic without realising that they meet the criteria for an eating disorder diagnosis. Many people feel that they just eat too much and would like to eat less of certain foods, feel out of control with eating or that they lack ‘will power’. Before we delve any deeper into how we can help you, let us define the two types of binge eating.
Objective Binge Eating: The DSM-5 define objective binge eating episodes as a sense of loss of control overeating in a specified time frame, during which the amount of food consumed is definitely larger than what most people would eat under similar circumstances. The large amount of food is not only subject to clinical judgment but also excludes the other form of binge eating, subjective binge eating.
Subjective Binge Eating: This is where a person perceives a loss of control over an amount of food that they perceive to be large, which would otherwise be classified as a normal amount of food.
Like all eating disorders, BED has severe psychological and physical effects that leach into all aspects of a person’s life, their relationships, social life, self-confidence and of course, their relationship with food.
What we generally see is that someone suffering from binge eating disorder is caught up in a never ending, exhausting cycle of restricting, then bingeing, and then ‘making up for it tomorrow’.
This often results in a buildup of shame and guilt, and consumption of a lot more food than what would have been eaten had there been normalisation of eating. This cycle strengthens and maintains the eating disorder which means it becomes harder and harder to get out of.
How could I benefit from seeing a Dietitian?
Our Dietitians are trained specifically in eating disorders and understand that prescribing a rigid meal plan does not work. This is because rigid meal plans promote a restrictive mindset, and a restrictive mindset contributes towards binge eating behaviours.
We take a different approach.
We aim to help you draw the connection between the eating disorders ‘agenda’ and your behaviours, to provide you with the space and opportunity to understand the role your binge eating is currently serving, to deliver support for you, to develop the confidence to break the cycle. To develop a balanced approach to eating, a healthy approach to all foods and to help you find the joy in eating again.
We support you to form a trusting relationship with food.
Call us on (02) 4362 3443 to book an initial assessment with us.
