summer eating disorder recovery college student

How to Stay on Track with Eating Disorder Recovery during the Summer: Tips for College Students

Keeping on top of your eating disorder recovery can be tough during the summer months if you are a college student.

Summers in Texas are hot.  I mean sweaty hot.  Despite the heat, I love summer because it usually means more free time to spend with family & friends, fewer demands and most importantly – vacation.  Everything just feels a little more relaxed during the summer.  Summers in my college days were the best, whether I was taking a few summer courses, traveling abroad or hanging out home.

Keeping recovery a top priority during summer can be tough if you are a college student.  Whether you are heading home or staying close to campus, eating disorders can become exacerbated in the summer.

Pitfalls of eating disorder recovery in the summer:

  1. Change in routine.  During the summer schedules change.  Most students are relieved because schedules become much less demanding during the summer.  However, change in routine can be tough.   Routines make us feel comfortable because we know what to expect.  Routines can help you stay on track with your meal plan, treatment appointments, sleeping habits, etc.  Disruption in routine can mean a disruption of established patterns of recovery.
  2. Less structured time.  One common struggle in eating disorder recovery is being able to tolerate unstructured time.  It isn’t uncommon for eating disorder sufferers to have an increase in eating disorder thoughts and behaviors when feeling bored, lonely, etc. During the summer there tends to be a lot more unstructured time.
  3. Reduction or increase in independence.  Depending on your living situation, you may experience a decrease in independence if you are returning home for summer to live with your family.  Returning to the family home may cause some stress because you are used to living away at college and making your own decisions.  Or, if you are traveling or working away from family and friends, you may have a significant decrease in social support.
  4. Exacerbation of body image disturbance.   Because of summer temperatures, we spend more time in bathing suits, short sleeves, and shorts which can often increase body checking and preoccupation of body weight and shape/size which can lead to an increase in eating disorder behaviors.

Although there are some potential obstacles during summer, there are several ways to keep the momentum of recovery going over the summer months.

4 tips to stay on track with eating disorder recovery during summer:

  1.  Keep eating disorder recovery a priority. It is summer break from school, but not from recovery.   Keep recovery front and center if you don’t want to backslide on the progress you have made!  There are several ways to keep recovery a priority such as having regular check-ins with your treatment team, journaling about your progress and areas to improve on, reading books & articles about recovery, attending support groups, etc.
  2. Make a plan.  Whatever your summer plans are, strategize ahead of time. How are you going to keep on top of your meal plan, self-care and treatment appointments?  Talk to your treatment team in advance about your summer schedule. Collaborate with them on your care over during the summer months.
  3. Ask for help. Talk with your family, loved ones or support person about how you plan to stay on track with your eating disorder recovery.  Discuss potential areas of concern,  learn how to ask for help and communicate areas of success to loved ones.  Interact regularly with your treatment team, particularly if you feel like you are struggling.
  4. Learn to say no.  Taking on too much, particularly early on in eating disorder recovery, is an easy way to get derailed.  This may mean saying “no” to fun social engagements, a job, an internship or a vacation in order to spend time on your recovery.

While there are ways to hinder eating disorder recovery over the summer, with planning and persistence you can keep recovery front and center!

Are you interested in learning more tips about eating disorder recovery?  If so, sign-up for free tips here!

 

summer eating disorder recovery college student
summer eating disorder recovery college student
2017 year in review

2017 Year in Review

Wow! This year really flew by! Can you believe we’re already at the end of 2017?

 

I’ve covered a bunch of different topics on the blog this year. You can find them here, all in one place. Now, you can look back with me and see everything we covered with ease!  

 

If you’ve been reading for a while, you can revisit some past favorites or refresh your memory on any of the topics that speak to you. If you’re new here, this is a great place to get to know what I’m all about and become familiar with my style. My goal is to work collaboratively with clients to reduce food and weight preoccupation and teach clients to trust their bodies, rather than a diet, to know how to feed themselves.

 

First off, make sure you check out 5 reasons not to diet in 2017!

It’s relevant for every year, not just 2017. Since we’re heading into the season where everyone and their brother will be talking about their New Year’s Resolutions it’s good to have these facts in mind to support you in your choices.

 

Don’t suffer in silence!

The theme for National Eating Disorder Awareness week this year was “It’s Time to Talk About It.” Check out this post for the best place to get started on your journey.

 

Are you ready to break up with dieting?

Learn about what intuitive eating is, and the 10 basic principles that can help you get off the diet roller coaster for good.

 

There are a lot of questions you can ask yourself about your relationship with food.

Do you feel out of control with food? Is the good-bad food trap ruining your relationship with food? Are you an emotional eater?

 

Diet culture is everywhere these days.

It surrounds us on social media, on TV and in movies. It’s even present in the interactions we have with others. It’s important to understand that dieting is hazardous to your health. There are lots of myths and inaccuracies floating around that people use to justify diet culture and that lead to misunderstanding eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders don’t just affect teens- they are common in midlife, in people who suffer from anxiety disorders, and can even occur in people who are perfectionists.

 

There is hope.

Eating disorders are treatable, and there are resources available for people who are ready to ditch diet culture. It’s possible to like your body better without having to change it!

 

Let me know if there are any topics you’d like me to cover in 2018. Don’t forget to share your favorite posts with friends and family!

2017 year in review

Get Off the Diet Roller Coaster, For Good!

Chronic dieter?   Feel out of control with food?  Tired of weight cycling?  Feel guilty after eating “bad” foods?  Feel at war with your body?  Concerned about your health?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, I highly recommend reading and learning about Intuitive Eating developed by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch, MS, RD, FADA.   

The first edition of Intuitive Eating was published in 1995.  For over 15 years, I have been using principles of Intuitive Eating with clients.  Recently, I trained with Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.  I am excited to share the ins & outs of Intuitive Eating & other tools, over my blog, webinars and in one-on-one sessions.

Intuitive Eating is an evidence-informed approach to making peace with food used by counselors, dietitians and eating disorder treatment centers across the country and worldwide.Continue reading