Fit Friends Happy Hour Podcast
If there’s one thing I emphasize over and over again, it’s this: eating disorder treatment is rarely a solo endeavor. Eating disorders often intersect with ADHD, trauma, ARFID, medical instability, and significant body image distress. As outpatient therapists, we have to constantly ask ourselves not just “Can I manage this?” but “Who else needs to be involved to best support this client?”
For decades, weight has been treated as a primary indicator of health. In medical settings, schools, media, and wellness spaces, body weight, often summarized through BMI, is frequently used as a shorthand for wellbeing. This approach can feel straightforward, but it is deeply flawed. Weight is a single data point that tells us very little about a person’s physical health, mental health, or overall quality of life. For individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating, weight-centric models can be especially harmful.
Orthorexia often begins with a desire to feel better, have more energy, or “take care” of one’s body. Unlike other eating disorders, it is frequently praised, by friends, family, and even healthcare providers. This is one of the trickiest disordered eating patterns to notice because it can be so easily written off as a version of super health.
