Eating Disorder and Nutrition

RE‐FEEDING PROCESS

At the beginning of the re‐feeding process you may experience some bloating which can be uncomfortable, but it is natural.

•  NEVER  force a sufferer to eat

•  Small frequent meals/snacks

•  Limit gas producing & high‐fat foods 

•  Begin re‐feeding with foods that are  easy to digest

• Once the body readjusts to food, solids can be introduced, but make sure they are introduced slowly

•  Base meals around individual preferences

•  Establish a  structured eating plan ‐  it may be useful to know what you are eating in advance

•  Distract yourself after eating with an activity you enjoy

 

 

Anorexia Nervosa and Nutrition

Easily digestible foods should be consumed to start the re‐feeding process.  Good examples include mashed potato, oatmeal, and macaroni & cheese.  Eventually solid foods can be introduced. High fibre foods should be regularly consumed to help regulate bowel movements and prevent constipation.  Good examples are cereals, oats, whole‐grains, lentils, fruit and vegetables.  

Gas producing foods include fizzy drinks, sweetened drinks, sweets and cabbage.  They can leave bloated feelings and therefore should be limited.

Low‐sodium (salt) foods control fluid retention and constipation.  Consume fresh foods, and fresh poultry, fish & lean meat, rather than canned, smoked or processed.

Energy is needed for the body to function properly and for muscular work.  Good sources of energy include: bananas, oats, jacket potato, fruit and vegetables.

Protein is essential for body growth and repair, and also supplies iron, B vitamins, zinc and magnesium which help strengthen the immune system.  High protein sources include meat, fish, poultry, milk, beans, pulses and eggs.

 

Bulimia Nervosa and Nutrition

Breaking the Cycle

To help break the cycle and achieve nutritional goals change should be introduced gradually.

Meals should be based around individual food preferences.

Initially an individual may experience bloating which can be uncomfortable, however this is natural and as the body adjusts, the symptoms will reduce.  This is only temporary!

Start off by eating little and often.

High fibre or low sodium (salt) foods help control fluid retention and constipation.

Limit gas producing and high fat foods.

Begin the re‐feeding process with foods that are easier to digest.

A structured eating plan may be useful so you know what you are eating in advance.

The GOALS of NUTRITIONAL THERAPY for eating disorders are:

•  Identify food fears 

•  Correct food misinformation 

•  Re‐establish healthy eating patterns (this may take time to achieve)

•  Restore nutritional status

•  Maintain a safe weight

•  Plan meals

•  Do not skip meals

Binge Eating and Nutrition

Breaking the Cycle

Take each day at a time and make targets small and achievable thus not setting yourself up to fail.

It may help to plan your meals and structure your eating plan in advance.

Establish a pattern of regular eating which involves restricting your meals to 3 planned meal day, plus 2/3 planned snacks.

A regular eating pattern displaces binges, with the result that the frequency of binges decrease.

Leave no more than 3‐4 hours between planned meals/snacks.

Do not skip meals/snacks, as skipping a scheduled meal/snack will make you vulnerable to binges.

Consume pre‐planned food amounts.

If binges occur, resist temptation to avoid your next planned meal/snack, this will only increase     problems.

Concentrate when eating.  Being aware of what you are doing will help ensure that meals/snacks do not turn into binges.

When cooking avoid tasting, as this can trigger a binge.

Plan food shopping or shop with a friend/relative, and limit the amount of money you carry.

 

 Taken from:

 SEED Eating Disorders Support Services Charity No 1108405. Produced in partnership with Emma Drayson.

 

Anorexia Bulimia Recovery: Top Ten Breakfasts

 

I agree that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Energize your day and your recovery by having a nutritional breakfast. My top ten breakfasts in recovery from eating disorder are:

 

Oatmeal 

40grams of Oatmeal made with milk and topped with half banana, 1 ounce Walnuts and 1 TBSP honey or 3 dates. (To make it extra delicious, soak your oats with a cinnamon stick, 3 chopped dates if not using honey overnight in 50ml milk, 50 ml water, and cook it next day).

 

2

1 Boiled Egg

2 x whole grain toasts with flora spread

200 ml skimmed milk

or Wholemeal pitta bread with hard-boiled egg slices and lettuce and a glass of milk

or eggs in any style, poached, scrambled, etc.

 3

Any high fibre cereal, shredded wheat, Weetabix, All bran, Fruit N Fibre with 200 ml Milk, Glass of fruit Juice and half whole grain bagel with honey.

or try Weetabix served with 1 cup yoghurt and topped with sliced banana and cinnamon.

4

1 English Muffin toasted with 1 TBSP peanut or nut butter and 1 tsp honey. Cup of milk and 1 banana

or 1 English Muffin toasted with 1 TBSP peanut butter, 1/2 sliced banana and cinamon

5

Breakfast Berry Merry Smoothie- 

Berries are full of antioxidant and slow down the signs of ageing.

2 tsp Flaxseed oil

1 cup pineapple

1/2 cup ice

1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

10 strawberries stems removed

1 cup Rachel's organic yogurt

Just whizz it all in a blender till smooth and creamy.

6

Full of soluble Fibre

Beans on Toast with 200 ml Apple juice

7

1 toasted poppy seed bagel with 1 tbsp cream cheese and smoked salmon with a glass of juice

8

1 pot of any breakfast yogurt with 28 grams of mixed museli topped with 1/2 cup of raspberries or chopped strawberries.

I love Activia

try it with fresh figs

9

 Pancakes with mixed fruit salad and yoghurt

10

Best Breakfast ever Barley

Quinoa and Barley breakfast porridge with cinnamon and honey

or Barley porridge with dried apricots, almonds and dates

or sweet barley porridge with a glass of juice

Low Cal High Nutrients Energy Boosting Snacks for Anorexia Bulimia Nervosa

I really believe that if you want to kill your eating disorder, then you have to make eating 3 small meals and 3 snacks frequently through the day part of your daily regime. There were several reasons for changing my eating habits, but I really was sick of feeling overly hungry by night time and my extreme mood swings due to malnourishment were getting on everyone's nerves. 3 snacks, actually healthy snacks prevent overeating at meal times. In recovery we cannot trust our hunger levels, therefore snacking is a crucial part of restoring normal eating.

I used to be a sugar addict, carbonated drinks, sweets was my answer to everything. After I relapsed, I would get very hungry later, which would make me susceptible to making even less-healthier choices and adopting dangerous behaviors to get body rid of that gooey greasy sugar affects.. shuderrrrrrrr..

I'm not an active person, but I do get hungry after every 1-2 hours and in Eating Disorder days I would not eat for several several hours which would naturally lead to another eating disorder behavior at main meal times.

Six small meals is what my body wants from me.

Making healthy snack choices prevents me from entering subconscious overeating state of mind at lunch and dinner times and enables me to stay within my set calorie intake for that day.

Most filing and least sugar laden snacks in relapse recovery for me are:

Home made Walnut butter-  My recovery is not complete without walnuts, just add walnuts to food processor , add 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil and blend until smooth. Refrigerate and use it on bagel, in breakfast cereals, smoothies , puddings etc.

Low fat Greek Yogurt- with any fruit or granola or flaxseeds. If I had that for my morning snack, then it was a smooth transition to lunch with friendly bacteria humming in my stomach.

Flavored Frozen Yogurt- I love mangoes and peaches so puree a fruit of choice, and mix it into plain Greek yogurt and freeze it.. In my old days i would make a fruit coli to go with my perfect frozen yogurt. Lots of calcium, home made and say Adios to Pinkberry.

Date bars or add 3 dates to your smoothies. I love dates. Combine

dates with 1 ounce of pistachios.



Granola Bar- I swear by them, my Favorite is Planters Nutrition Digestive Health Bar

Nothing can beat this KIND Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants 190cals



Tuna- mini tuna salad on melba toast is excellent. (low in calories but high in goodness) 160cals

Salmon- If you're crazy for Salmon (like me) then this baby snack is perfect, smoked salmon on rye cracker or rice cracker or whatever

Almonds- 1 ounce about 22 almonds provide you with protein, fibre, 75mg calcium, and highest amount of vitamin E from all nuts. Or take 11 almonds and combine then with few dates... hmmm bliss

Pistachios 1 ounce (48 nuts) or a pistachio bar 149 cals

Dry cereal with trail mix-  I love this , if I know dinner will be super delayed due to any reason.  

Pumpkin seeds high in Vitamin E that keep your hair shiny and skin beautiful.


Pumpkin Seeds Snack recipe by Paula Deen

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, roasted and salted
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried dates, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted almonds
1/2 cup candy coated chocolate pieces

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well incorporated. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Figs- In Islam, Quran says that fig is a fruit of paradise. Cannot find  fig or hate it, try a fig bar. I love figs, they are amazing.

Milk, either in cereal, oats , with Oat biscuits, seeded biscuits or make a  smoothie- (best one is 1 small banana, 2 dates, 1/4 cup iced. This is also used in eating disorder recovery to prevent heart attack---recipe by gorgeous Shaye)

Pretzel sticks in walnut butter and honey. If you're in US of A, then go for Snyder's whole wheat Pretzel sticks

Hunger Suppressant Dark Chocolate- Persoanlly I'm not a fan, but after choking it down, i was acting weird for several hours and yes it satisfies some weird neuro transmitter in your brain that even at dinner time your not too hungry.

Trail Mix- I make my own, customize it with your favorite dried fruits and nuts.

Cheesy popcorn - 75 cals

• 1 cup(s) hot air-popped popcorn


• 1/4 cup(s) freshly grated Parmesan cheese


• Cayenne pepper, to taste

---

Directions

1. Toss popcorn with Parmesan and cayenne to taste.

(Recipe taken from delish)

Bulimia Anorexia Nervosa Recovery Meal Plan in Week 2

At the eating disorder unit all meal plans change in the second week to assist with weight gain (there is an increase in portion sizes and inclusion of more complex carbohydrates).  Please do bear in mind that this meal plan was not devised by me but a dietitian from National Health Services.

Week 2 Eating Plan

Breakfast 9:00am

Fruit Juice 200ml

1 Cup Breakfast cereal, i.e. Corn flakes, Bran Flakes, Frosties etc with 200ml skimmed milk

2 x slice toast white or whole grain (with 1tsp of flora margarine per toast) and jam or marmalade (1 TBSP per slice)

Morning Snack 10:30am

Glass of Milk (200ml) with 2 biscuits

Lunch 12:30pm

Fruit juice 200ml

Main course 1 portion about 200 grams of Broccoli and salmon pasta ( 1 1/2 portion  if you want to replace potatoes)

With

1 x serving of carbohydrates, e.g.  rice, chips or potatoes or if choosing mashed potato then serving size was x2.

and

1 x serving of vegetables, either carrots, beans, peas etc (about 80 grams)

Dessert : Pudding or custard, i.e. 1 serving of treacle tart with 1 serving of custard ( various puddings appeared on menu from apple crumble to banana cake to jam pudding to cheese cake, everything was served with custard)

Following dishes also appeared on weekly menu (everyday was different, different dish, different pudding):

As a Muslim I can only eat Halal, so my menu was always meat free and gelatin free.

Vegetable gratin

Veg lasagne,

Cauliflower cheese,

Cod fish,

Jacket potato,

Veg pie,

Tuna pasta,

Macaroni cheese

Afternoon Snack 3:15pm-

Nutritional supplement, e.g. fortisip, ensure plus etc.

Dinner 6:30pm

200 grams of baked potato with 1/2 can of tuna fish or baked beans and butter

1 pita bread with 1 1/2 serving of any curry

or

150grams of cooked pasta, i,e, chicken pasta, tuna pasta, macaroni cheese,

or

Rice with serving of any curry

Dessert Fruit Yogurt , rice pudding,

Bed time snack 8:30pm

Milk with 2 biscuits or dates

Anorexia Bulimia Nervosa Eating Plan- What did you eat in recovery?

Before the refeeding or recovery from ED, it does not matter what you had been eating, how much food you had been consuming or how much you survived on just plain O2. What matters is what you eat during your recovery, how much you eat and how you conquer your fear of consuming food every 3 hours.  (It is imperative that in refeeding one makes the right choices regarding their nutritional intake,  as it will psychologically influence their eating habits for coming years).

In Islam they say it takes 40 days of practice to break your ego and bad habits. I firmly believe in 40 days practice to form new positive habits and to break away from the restrictive cycle of anorexia nervosa.

I was referred to eating disorder unit in my local vicinity. I had to be there by 9:00 am for breakfast and would come back home after my afternoon snack.

I remember my first day and the meals that I had to consume in groups.

NHS Eating Plan for First week in recovery and refeeding

Break Fast- 9:00am

(this remained same for whole week, though you can pick between a varied selection of cereals, such as weetabix, frosties, bran flakes, porridge etc)

200 ml Milk

1 Cup of  any of the following cereals: Cornflakes, Frosties, All Bran, 2 x Weetabix

200 ml Fruit Juice- Cranberry , Apple or Orange (spoilt for choice)

Morning Snack 11:00 am

200 ml Milk

Lunch 12:30 pm

1 serving of Veg Lasagnia (about 150grams)

1 scoop of mash potato or 1 serving of potato croquette or whatever type of potato is on menu.

Dessert Muller Yogurt

Afternoon snack 3:00pm

Fortisip - not everyone has fortisip, it all depends on your dietitian:( - (you can pick from Strawberry, Tropical, Toffee, Choco, Vanilla and Caramel)

Now what do you eat at home?at home my meal plan included:

Dinner- 6:30pm

1/2 chappati with 1 serving of any curry

or 200 grams of baked potato with 1/2 can of baked beans or tuna with butter and salad

Dessert Fruit yogurt or rice pudding or (whatever I told my dietitian in my distorted mind that I'll be having at home).

Bedtime snack-9:00pm

200 ml Milk and 2 fruit shorties

Hmm so was I skeptical of this meal plan? No, not in the beginning, because so many of these foods were not part of my daily diet at home, so I was pretty much clueless when day after day varied pastas , veg dishes and fish dishes appeared on my lunch menu.

In the first week of refeeding, you are monitored closely for fluctuation, edema and etc. And yes I slept through most of the week, after brekkie (cat nap), after lunch (snored for 30min, was a bliss as my disordered mind completely shut down). Indeed with refeeding chemical balances in your body change and strangely your starved brain starts to function cognitively for once.

hmm I really wonder what secret ingredients they used in my pastas and potatoes to achieve these results:)