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mechanical eating
Mechanical eating means developing a regular eating pattern that will not leave you physiologically hungry. Distributing energy intake over the course of the day is the healthiest way to eat for all human beings, not just individuals recovering from an eating disorder.
It is essential to learn to “eat mechanically” rather than in response to hunger, as your hunger / fullness system will not start to become reliable and function normally again for several months. Only then is it possible to react to your body’s signals about hunger, urges to eat certain foods, and when you feel you have had enough.
You can encourage the return of normal internal / fullness controls by following certain guidelines:
A pattern of regular eating:
It is essential to learn to “eat mechanically” rather than in response to hunger, as your hunger / fullness system will not start to become reliable and function normally again for several months. Only then is it possible to react to your body’s signals about hunger, urges to eat certain foods, and when you feel you have had enough.
You can encourage the return of normal internal / fullness controls by following certain guidelines:
A pattern of regular eating:
- 3 meals and 2-3 snacks spread throughout the day.
- Not going over 4 hours without having something to eat. It is important to remember that feeling full is normal, it is temporary and it is not noticeable to other people. If you focus on it, scrutinise your stomach and generally spend time worrying about it, it is likely to feel worse. If you are able to do activities that distract you whilst you feel full, it is likely to pass much easier (look at Activity 15 for some ideas or to create your own).
- Aim for balanced meals and snacks: Eating a variety of foods, moving away from strict dietary rules about good and bad foods.
- Follow an eating plan (some examples).
- Eating enough to maintain a healthy weight or gain weight to achieve a healthy weight.
