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Recovery

"What are the signs that my loved one is recovering?"

First, a word about recovery


First, it is important to know that recovery is possible. It is a journey with stages, cycles and ups, downs, curves and pitfalls. It is important to keep hope alive for full recovery, even when eating disorders seem difficult, complex and entrenched.

Recovery happens in connection with others. The person struggling with the eating disorder should not be left in isolation. The eating disorder will do all it can to keep the person disconnected from others. Reach out to the individual or find someone the person trusts and ask her/him to reach out.

Treatment for eating disorders is intended to lead to recovery. There are benefits of being evaluated by and receiving treatment from specialized clinicians. In fact, some eating disorders can be treated in a relatively short period of time. Others take longer. Early intervention is essential. It is important to break the cycle and take action as early as possible in order to reach full recovery. There are options for levels of care for adults and adolescents including outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, and inpatient care. Individual, group, family and multifamily therapies are all available.

Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes and really aren't about what you look like or how much you weigh. They are about how people feel about themselves on the inside. They affect both genders, all ethnic groups, average weight, overweight, and underweight individuals at all ages. The recovery journey is different for different individuals.

Here are signs of recovery


  1. Eating occurs at regular intervals and is guided primarily by physical rather than emotional hunger.
  2. Metabolic rate, if measured, is restored and maintained at a healthful level.
  3. The ability to recognize and respond to hunger as a guide for eating appropriately has returned.
  4. Weight for height based on age and gender is restored to a healthful range.
  5. For females, menstruation is achieved or restored and maintained without oral contraceptives.
  6. Skin health, dental health, regulation of body temperature, hair growth, and digestion/absorption functions are restored to normal.
  7. Healthy body composition (lean body mass and body fat) is restored and maintained.
  8. Caloric and nutrient intake is appropriate for maintaining a healthy weight and body composition.
  9. Purging behavior, e.g., self-induced vomiting, diuretic (water pill) and laxative or enema use, is absent.
  10. Use of diet pills or appetite suppressants is absent.
  11. Excessive exercise is absent.
  12. Binge eating behavior is absent.
  13. The ability to tolerate a wide variety of foods so that a good balance of high-quality protein, carbohydrates, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins is maintained.
  14. The ability to tolerate natural shifts in weight (one to several pounds) related to such factors such as hydration (fluid shifts) changes, illness, and season of the year.
  15. The ability to tolerate 'spontaneous' natural eating - especially out in public.
  16. Weight gain does not deter from eating well.
  17. Acceptance of genetically-determined body type, size and shape.
  18. The percentage of waking hours spent obsessing about weight, food, and/or body image is reduced to 15% or less.
  19. The ability to take care of oneself and effectively cope with problems in ways other than through disordered eating behaviors.
  20. After physical health is restored, the ability to understand and resolve, other than through disordered eating, the issues underlying and driving disordered eating.
  21. The ability to recognize signs of relapse and to seek appropriate help if relapse occurs.
  22. Triggers for relapse thinking or behaviors can be identified.
  23. The family as a whole has moved beyond food and weight preoccupation.
  24. The family as a whole is able to identify, explore, and cope with normal adolescent issues.
  25. The family as a whole has created a healthy culture related to food and regular meals.

(Published by Cris Haltom in the Eating Disorder Survival Guide for Parents, www.EDsurvivalguide.com, May 25, 2006 adapted from Coutier, J. and Lock, J. What is remission adolescent anorexia? The International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2006, 39:3, 175-183. Hudson, J. I. et al as reported in Eating Disorders Review, "BED: A chronic or temporary condition?" 2005, 16:6, 7. Peterson, C. and Mitchell, J.E. Self-report measures. In Mitchell, J. and Peterson, C. Assessment of Eating Disorders. 2005, 98-119. New York: The Guilford Press)