Disordered eating can involve attitudes and beliefs towards food and body shape, as well as unhealthy weight management behaviours. It includes:

• Food avoidance
• Habitual dieting
• Preoccupation with food and body weight
• Unbalanced eating e.g. over-restriction of particular food groups

Repeated dieting is a common form of disordered eating. It can sometimes be associated with episodes of binging or severe over eating. When these behaviours begin to interfere with your social life, or create regular feelings of guilt and shame, it may be time to speak with a specialised health professional. Louise is the ideal dietitian to assist clients with disordered eating behaviours due to her professional development and further education in Psychology, Counselling and mindfulness.

Anyone with disordered eating behaviours deserves access to quality treatment and Louise recognises clients may have low motivation and feel embarrassed about seeking help. Consultations are without judgement, full of kindness and compassion. You don’t need to have a diagnosed eating disorder to receive help for disordered eating.

It’s important for the dietitian to work alongside other health professionals (doctors and psychologists) when necessary to ensure clients receive appropriate support and this team input can be a key to recovery. Louise can assist clients with changing their unhealthy food beliefs and eating behaviours to improve their relationship with food, however if these behaviours are occurring in conjunction with other mental health conditions such as depression, the involvement of a like-minded, compassionate psychologist is usually necessary.

With the right support and assistance, it is possible to change eating behaviours. It will require some personal commitment and a little patience and seeking help from a suitable health professional may be your first step.