Parents, Don’t Let Your Kids Diet!

Just say no to kids' diets in Los Angeles, California [Image description: purple scrabble tiles spelling "Just say no to kids diets']

Updated July 2023. Previously published in 2019 as a response to the Weight Watchers Kurbo app for kids. In January 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics released guidelines for treating children and teens in larger bodies with “intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment”–what I call a diet. In case you are tempted to go down …

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Getting Your Teen with an Eating Disorder Ready for the First Day Back at School

Getting ready for school with eating disorder [Image description: drawing of a boy with a backpack and lunch box and there is a purple school bus in the background] Represents a teen or child with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

It’s almost the first day of school and parents of students with eating disorders have additional concerns to address on top of the usual back-to-school frenzy. Transitions can be tough for all teens—they are especially difficult for those with eating disorders. However, there are some preparations you can make to help things go more smoothly. …

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Cutting Down on Food and Fitness Tracking

Cutting Down on Food and Fitness Tracking in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a person looking at their wearable smart watch] Represents a person in counseling for an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Have you been tracking your food via a calorie-counting app? Maybe you’ve been tracking your exercise through a wearable or other system. Did you know such tracking: May encourage a disordered relationship with food and your body? May actually be jeopardizing your health rather than helping you to monitor it? If you’ve noticed that you’re …

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Do I Need to Quit X to Stay in Recovery?

Do I need to quit X to stay in recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a girl in a swimsuit looking away from the pool during a swim meet] Represents a potential teen in eating disorder recovery wrestling with whether she can continue her sport.

By Carolyn Hersh, LCSW, CEDS-S Clinical Supervisor A difficult decision in recovery is knowing when to let go of an activity–or even a job–that could potentially re-ignite the eating disorder. As a therapist I find myself guiding my clients through exploration of their values. Some come to realize that the sport or career path they …

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When You Have Adapted a Health At Every Size Approach and Your Family is Still Stuck in Diet Culture

When You Have Adapted a Health At Every Size Approach and Your Family is Still Stuck in Diet Culture [Image description: photo of a crack] Represents a potential chasm between a patient in California receiving HAES eating disorder therapy and their family still stuck in diet culture

For many of my patients who have firmly joined the anti-diet camp and embraced a Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach to health, dealing with family members entrenched in diet culture can be a minefield that is tough to navigate. Let me say that I get it! I also have friends and family members who …

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Seven Reasons You Should Eat When You’re Not Hungry

Joyful Eating in Los Angeles, California [Image description: drawing of 2 females joyfully eating ice cream] Represents potential eating disorder counseling clients in Los Angeles, California challenging diet rules and eating even when not hungry

In my work with clients with eating disorders and disordered eating, I often find that the fear of eating when not hungry is one of the most difficult bits of dogma to overcome. One of the cardinal rules of dieting is “Eat only when you’re hungry.” People with eating disorders and good dieters everywhere have …

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FBT Treatment Team Members

FBT Treatment Team Including Therapist, Dietitian, and Medical Doctor in Los Angeles, California [Image description: Purple scrabble tiles spelling "FBT Treatment Team"]

Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In an ideal world, every person with an eating disorder would have access to a full treatment team. This team could include a therapist, a dietitian, a medical doctor, and a psychiatrist. However, manualized FBT calls only for a …

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Nana’s Poundcake, Food, and Cultural Connection

Nana's Poundcake, Food and Cultural Connection [Image description: photo of Nana's poundcake on a white plate] Eating Disorder Therapy LA

Cultural Connection–Through Food Cultural Connection happens through food. Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships. –– Winona Laduke Food is about more than sustenance. It is …

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When Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick….

When your teen with an eating disorder is sick during recovery [Image description: drawing of a daughter in bed and appears ill and her mother is holding her head and a thermometer] Represents a parent caring for a teen with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Johnson What if Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick? One of the most common questions that arise when parents are renourishing a teen with an eating disorder is what to do when they get sick. Parents are sometimes totally overwhelmed when that happens. Some families may back off …

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Sweatin’ for the Wedding: Say, “I don’t.”

Sweating for the Wedding? Say: I Don’t. Image description: photo of the ankles and feet of a bride in a white gown with white shows and a groom with black pants and black shoes] Represents a potential person in Los Angeles, California preparing for a wedding.

by Carolyn Comas, LCSW, CEDS-S Wedding Diet? Just say No! In November 2018, my boyfriend proposed to me. It was one of the most exciting days of my life thus far. With a proposal comes the next exciting chapter: wedding planning. For many brides-to-be, this entails finding that perfect gown. Sadly, although not surprising, once …

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