Orthorexia 101

Do you struggle with rigidity and rules around food?

Do you follow a particular diet or way of eating like Paleo, Keto or Vegan and feel distress when eat foods that are not prescribed by that diet?

Do you get anxious when certain healthy foods are not available to you?

If you answered “yes” to any of the following you may be struggling with orthorexia meaning “An obsession with proper or healthful eating.”

Orthorexia may or may not be a term you have heard before. It is a relatively new term, but unfortantly an all too common struggle for our wellness and diet saturated culture. Orthorexia is not a diagnosable eating disorder like Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia or Anorexia but it can still be extremely difficult for many people.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with health and wellness. New diet books hit the book stores monthly for the public to consume information on the latest and greatest regarding weight loss and clean eating. All of the diet and health information available has created a level of anxiety for many people regarding if they are consuming “the right” foods or not.

Orthorexia takes the desire to be healthy to an unhealthy and obsessive place.

Orthorexia is rooted from extreme or chronic dieting, body image issues as well as the intense desire to be as healthy as possible.

When we struggle with how our body looks or feels we often turn to dieting as the ultimate answer. We tell ourselves if we could just lose those extra pounds then we would feel and look better. This leads to the search for the perfect diet, which produces feelings of excitement

Signs & Symptoms of Orthorexia:

• Compulsive checking of ingredient lists and nutrition labels

• An increased concern about the “health” of ingredients

• Cutting out entire food groups (sugar, carbs, dairy, gluten, meat, animal products etc.)

• An in ability to eat anything but a narrow group of pure or clean foods

• Unusual interested in the health of what others are eating

• Body image struggles

• Obsessively following healthy lifestyle people or blogs on social media

• Showing high levels of distress when certain healthy foods aren’t available

• Concerned about what foods might be served at upcoming events

Health Issues from Orthorexia

Disordered eating and eating disorders of any kind can cause a variety of health issues including: cardiovascular issues, gastrointestinal issues, neurological issues and endocrine issues. If you would like to learn more about the health issues of disordered eating and eating disorders please check out this article from the National Eating Disorder Association.

Treatment & Healing from Orthorexia

• Intuitive Eating

  • Working towards changing your relationship with food and your body. Read more about intuitive eating from these blog posts: Intuitive Eating Part 1 and Intuitive Eating Part 2

• Counseling or Coaching

• Group Counseling

The difficult thing about orthorexia is it can come from a really good place of wanting to be healthy and possibly lose some weight. After years of practicing this wellness mindset it can become obsessive and overwhelming for you and for the people around you. You may feel trapped by food or overwhelmed with anxiety because you feel like you can and should only eat certain things.

If you are struggling with Orthorexia I want to reassure you that you are not alone. Food restriction and food rules can feel all consuming and completely overwhelming. If you are experiencing obsessive food thoughts, fear or overwhelming or body image struggles counseling might be a really good option for you.

With Gratitude,

Chelsea

Sources:

National Association for Eating Disorders

Encounter Counseling offers in-person counseling in Grand Junction and online counseling state-wide in Colorado including Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs.