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wellbeing<br />
Top tips for those struggling with orthorexia:<br />
Q<br />
I’m trying to eat<br />
healthier at the<br />
moment, and am<br />
finding myself thinking<br />
about food a lot. Is it<br />
possible to take healthy<br />
eating too far?<br />
A<br />
It’s wonderful to hear that<br />
you are considering your<br />
health. However, if you are<br />
starting to think about food a lot,<br />
it may be time to shift your focus<br />
from health to balance.<br />
When we focus on healthy<br />
eating, often we restrict the foods<br />
we really enjoy. This increases<br />
our thoughts around these foods,<br />
and makes them more desirable.<br />
In many cases, it is far healthier<br />
to take an intuitive approach<br />
to nutrition, where we focus on<br />
nourishing the body as well as<br />
allowing ourselves the foods we<br />
enjoy – satisfying both our wants<br />
and needs.<br />
It can also be helpful to consider<br />
if what you are eating is enough<br />
for you. This is important because<br />
one of the direct effects of undereating<br />
is increased thoughts<br />
around food.<br />
1. Create a supportive<br />
environment for yourself.<br />
This may include spending<br />
more time with people who<br />
have a balanced relationship<br />
with food, leaving triggering<br />
environments, and following<br />
supportive accounts on<br />
social media.<br />
2. Keep focused on your<br />
motivation for recovery – your<br />
‘why’. List all the reasons why<br />
you want to recover – think<br />
about what making peace<br />
with food will bring you. Next,<br />
create a vision board inspired<br />
by your list, so you can wake<br />
up ready to take on the day.<br />
3. Get the right support.<br />
Working with an expert will<br />
arm you with the tools and<br />
support to break free from<br />
the problem. Take the time<br />
to choose someone who<br />
specialises in this field, and<br />
can support you with the<br />
different aspects of recovery.<br />
<strong>happiful</strong>.com | September <strong>2021</strong> | 35
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