Melainie Rogers, MS, RDN, CDN, CEDRD-S, is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) and Supervisor and is dedicated to supporting others in their quest to achieve long-term recovery. She is the Founder and Executive Director of BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ and melainie rogers nutrition, llc.

In this episode, Erin talks to Melainie Rogers about how to know if you have a problem with food. Melainie says to ask yourself: 'How much of my day do I spend worrying about food?' If you often ask yourself question after question about food each day, then it might suggest a problem or obsessiveness. We strive to have a neutral relationship with food. Erin likes to think of food as fuel for our bodies. Also, if anxiety is stirred up surrounding food, it could suggest an unhealthy relationship with food.

Then, Melainie explains the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder. These fall along a spectrum. Disordered eating is when symptoms of overeating or restricting occur. These behaviors may happen once a week or once a month. However, it's still distressing and should be of concern. Someone who is restricting most days of the week or also bingeing, that's an eating disorder. The symptoms and behaviors are the same, it's just less frequency. Disordered eating is still important, troublesome, and dangerous.

Later, Melainie explains how social media plays a role in our self-image. Social media will give us a constant stream of images for us to compare ourselves to. Pre social media, we were only exposed to TV, magazines, and billboards. With social media, we have it 24/7. As we scroll, we are comparing ourselves. Whenever we compare ourselves to others, it always make us feel bad. Social media is one of the reasons we are seeing an uptick in eating disorders at this time. Stay tuned as Erin and Melainie talk about the relationship between women's thoughts and their diets, why we need to change our "healthy" eating vocabulary, and much more!

In This Episode:

[00:30]About today's guest, Melainie Rogers
[01:00] How to know if you have a problem with food
[03:00] The difference between eating disorders and binge-eating
[06:10] How social media plays a role in our self-image
[10:05] The connection between women's thoughts and their diets
[13:25] Why we shouldn't say "clean eating"
[17:15] About Orthorexia
[20:50] Taking baby steps with your thoughts
[24:20] When to take the first step in seeking help

Quotes:

"Disordered eating is like a badly sprained ankle – it's still really bad, it might bother you for a few years, causing you a lot of pain, distress, and discomfort."

"When we compare ourselves, we usually feel worse about ourselves; it lowers our self-esteem and lowers our self-confidence. Also, it creates a distortion that we need to look like that person."

"Our mental anxiety can only increase because we feel like we are performing shortly."

"The most helpful relationship with people is food neutrality."

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Redefining Wellness: The Ultimate Diet Free Guide: https://www.amazon.com/Redefining-Wellness-Ultimate-Diet-Guide/dp/1674393180

__________________________ Guest: Melainie Rogers

Feel free to reach out to Melainie below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelainieRogers

Website: https://balancedtx.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancedtx/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BALANCEedtc/