The Slippery Slope Of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is all the rage right now. By its definition, it is a pattern of cycling between eating and fasting everyday. The main focus is about *when* you eat and people may fast as long as 12-18 hours each day.

In my work as a therapist, I do not tell people what they should be doing with their lives. Rather, I focus on working with people on gaining more understanding about themselves - their thoughts, emotions, traumas, relationships, childhoods, choices and behaviors.

Many people say that intermittent fasting can feel like a 'spiritual' or 'detoxifying' experience. If that is people's truth, I want to validate that. 

At the same time, I also want to assess the *intention* behind the use of intermittent fasting and identify if this is a loophole for an eating disorder to find a way into the person's life.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard clients say, "I hate my eating disorder, but I just wish I could hold on to a small piece of it". 

What this means is, they recognize how devastating an eating disorder is in their life, but they still want the sense of control they can get from their eating disorder. However, it is not possible to only have a little bit of an eating disorder. It is all or nothing.

Unfortunately, intermittent fasting can *feel* like a way for people to have a piece of an eating disorder in their lives through having permission to restrict as well as having a smaller period of time in the day where they can eat all of their needed calories (i.e., resembling a restrict/binge cycle).

Some red flags to keep an eye out for with the slippery slope into an eating disorder include:

-Noticing a sense of empowerment and control when you are able to lengthen the fasting time

-Feeling guilty when you eat outside of your designated ‘eating’ times

-Becoming more rigid in fasting/eating cycles during stressful times

-Obsessively thinking about and planning out what you are going to eat during your 'eating' times

-Feeling like you are losing a sense of control while eating during 'eating' times

-Engaging in compensatory behaviors (e.g., overexercising, vomiting) to cope with guilt of 'overeating' during ‘eating’ times

Again, I am not here to tell people what to do with their lives. What I do encourage is to have awareness around the *intention* of the eating behaviors present in your life. If you notice any of these red flags listed above, please reach out for support. 

Eating disorders and disordered eating can be very present in pregnancy and/or postpartum, and it is not discussed enough. If you feel you are struggling with an eating disorder, disordered eating, negative body image, or your relationship with food, you do not have to go through that alone. Having a therapist and/or dietitian (who specializes in treating eating disorders) in your corner can make all the difference.

Every baby deserves a healthy and well parent. Every parent deserves to feel healthy and well. <3