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This is an issue I have struggled with for a great part of my ED Therapist career!
It is just amazing to me how many ED sufferers come into treatment as a
vegan or vegetarian. What surprises me is that according to the clients - it has nothing
at all to do with their ED. Which of course to me is complete nonsense! I'm not sure
who these folks think they are fooling - but it appears only themselves! This is a sad
but true statement! So here is some information on the topic for you to consider.
What’s the Link Between Eating Disorders and Vegetarianism?
Vegetarianism was my attempt at being “healthy” (translation: lose weight).
Many experts have debated, analyzed, studied, and written about
a possible connection between vegetarianism and eating disorders.
In reality, the link is a lot more complicated than many deem it to be.
Here's my take on it. This isn't to bash vegetarianism. It isn't a judgment
one way or another on it. This is to share my experiences and what I've learned.
a possible connection between vegetarianism and eating disorders.
In reality, the link is a lot more complicated than many deem it to be.
Here's my take on it. This isn't to bash vegetarianism. It isn't a judgment
one way or another on it. This is to share my experiences and what I've learned.
Having grown up an omnivore, I can remember when I first started to consider
becoming a vegetarian. My mom and I had been riding down the California
coast and we stopped on the side of the road because I wanted to take pictures
of a pasture full of cows. Most of the cows ignored me, some stared back at me,
some ate, some mooed, and some did... other cow things. I decided they were cute,
were my new favorite animals, and I didn't want to eat them anymore. Around that
time, the movie Babe came out and while I didn't become as enamored with pigs,
I decided I didn't want to eat them either.
Not long before I decided to become a vegetarian, I started wanting to lose weight.Did I want to stop eating animals because I genuinely didn't want these creatures
to suffer? Yes. Was all of it a tangled web of empathy, guilt, health and self-image?
Probably. Did I think, I can become a vegetarian and lose weight in the process?Absolutely.
As it turned out, my parents told me I couldn't be a vegetarian. I was twelve at the
time and they said they wanted to make sure I got enough of the nutrients I needed.
They said if I wanted to be a vegetarian when I turned 18, I could do so. In the
meantime, we agreed to a compromise that I didn't have to eat red meat.
My story isn't an anomaly. I've found there is a high co-occurrence of people who
have eating disorders and who also are or have been vegetarians. From my own
experience, I don't think it's a coincidence that only shortly after realizing I
wanted to lose weight, I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian. I thought that if
I became a vegetarian I could be "healthy". Healthy translated to lose weight,
although I was hard pressed to admit it. Animals or no animals, I wanted to
become thinner and rationalized that being a healthy vegetarian was the way
to do it. I wanted to be healthy until I noticed I wasn't dropping as much weight
as I wanted to that way. At that point, I decided I needed to adapt unhealthy
methods. Not long thereafter, I had a full-blown eating disorder.
Is this the case for everyone? Of course not. Many become vegetarians with
the best intentions, and I think I had good intentions too, but mine were
cloaked with a desire to lose weight first, and the rest was a distant second.
Years later, vegetarianism - specifically veganism - helped my eating disorder
recovery, which I'll discuss in the next piece. The third piece discusses
patterns I've seen in many people, including myself, who both became
vegetarians and had eating disorders.
What’s the Link Between Eating Disorders and Vegetarianism? (part 2)
I became a vegan to stop practicing my eating disorder.
I became a vegan out of desperation, not to be healthy, not to save the
animals, not to lose weight, but to stop practicing my eating disorder.
animals, not to lose weight, but to stop practicing my eating disorder.
I was nineteen, enjoying my first year of college, but my eating disorder kept
rearing its head. I realized I wanted to be in recovery regardless of whatever
it took. One of the things I did was look at the foods that I usually binged and
purged on. It seemed that almost all of the items contained milk or eggs.
I decided to eliminate milk and eggs from my diet and figured that since I
already didn't eat red meat, I might as well cut out all meat products.
While, as I mentioned in my previous piece, my desire to lose weight
and my initial desire to become a vegetarian were interrelated, veganism was
a tool that helped me in my eating disorder recovery.
rearing its head. I realized I wanted to be in recovery regardless of whatever
it took. One of the things I did was look at the foods that I usually binged and
purged on. It seemed that almost all of the items contained milk or eggs.
I decided to eliminate milk and eggs from my diet and figured that since I
already didn't eat red meat, I might as well cut out all meat products.
While, as I mentioned in my previous piece, my desire to lose weight
and my initial desire to become a vegetarian were interrelated, veganism was
a tool that helped me in my eating disorder recovery.
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