According to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 9% of the U.S. population — about 28.8 million people — will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime.

Even though this is already a horrific number, it only accounts for diagnosable illnesses like bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder.

When you bring disordered eating into the conversation — negative behaviors that often prove to be precursors to eating disorders — the numbers skyrocket.

A survey by Self magazine in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that sixty-five percent of American women between ages 25 and 45 report disordered eating behaviors.

According to the survey, this means they “endorsed unhealthy thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to food or their bodies.”

Again, these disordered behaviors often lead to more progressed eating disorders. They shouldn’t be taken lightly given their possible end results.

“Eating disorders are very destructive because they can essentially impact every system of the body, making them both physically and mentally depleting,” explains Beachbody Nutrition Manager Natalie Welch, M.S., R.D.N. “Depending on the type of eating disorder, everything from the cardiovascular system to the endocrine system can be affected.”

More people die from eating disorders than any other mental illness, with 10,200 deaths due to eating disorders each year, according to the aforementioned Harvard report.

Some of the physical signs that a person may have an eating disorder include: significant fluctuations in weight, irregular bowel habits, fainting, and changes in skin or hair.

Behavioral signs include preoccupation with weight, calories, or carbs to the point that it becomes a priority over other activities; preoccupation with body size or shape; severe food restriction; or withdrawing from food-related social activities.

Excessive exercise can also be a behavior related to eating disorders.

For a more complete list, please read this Cleveland Clinic article.

Also, if you or a loved one is exhibiting these behaviors, please bring it to the attention of a medical professional.

At Beachbody, our goal is to help people lead healthier, more productive lives.

We encourage you to focus on nutritious foods and exercise regularly and, yes, we want you to feel good about who you see in the mirror.

We do everything we can to help you accomplish this in a safe, sustainable fashion, so if you find that either you or someone you care about is showing signs of having an unhealthy relationship with their bodies, food, or exercise, here are some resources we hope can help.

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)

If you’re seeking more information about eating disorders, you might start with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website.

Here you’ll find general information, a screening tool, and free or low-cost support.

“This is a good place to start if you don’t necessarily feel you have a disorder, but you just feel that you don’t have a good relationship with food,” says Beachbody Nutrition Manager Krista Maguire, R.D., C.S.S.D. “It gives you resources to explore and determine your situation.”

“Also, if you have a friend or a loved one you’re concerned about, you can use this resource to print out material to show them,” Maguire adds.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Finding the right group of experts to help you — they’re called your interdisciplinary team — is important.

Your health care provider can help you sort out counseling or therapy.

You can find a qualified Registered Dietitian (RD) using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics “Find an Expert” tool.

After you’ve entered your zip code, make sure to click on the “Specialty” drop-down menu and select “Eating Disorders.”

Credentials such as Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS) or Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) will guarantee the person is an expert in the field, but you don’t need to limit your search.

Many RDs without this credential are still trained on the topic.

“I would say finding a Registered Dietitian who specializes in eating disorders and working with them one-on-one is the most effective place to start,” Welch says, “This, coordinated with therapy and care with a primary physician is the best method for treatment.”

“Personal attention is important because everyone is unique,” adds Maguire, “This resource can help you find someone to address your specific trigger or issue.”

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)

If you’re looking for support for a specific population (LGBTQ+, Older Adults, Larger Bodies, etc.), the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)  website offers a wide variety of support groups.

Having a sense of community can be a huge support for individuals suffering from an eating disorder, explains Welch.

“Being able to come together and share stories, struggles, triumphs, etc. with others who are experiencing something similar to you can be empowering,” she adds.

Recovery Record

The app Recovery Record is an ideal companion for your recovery journey.

Featuring food logs, meal plans, thoughts, coping tactics, charts, and other tools, it can function for self-help or as a communication tool between appointments to converse with your treatment team.

For example, your nutritionist can review your food log and provide feedback or your psychologist can share notes from your recent session.

“If you are seeing a therapist or an RD, they can communicate with you through this hub,” says Maguire. “Your whole treatment team can use it to manage your road to recovery.”

Eating Disorder Hope

Finally, if none of these resources speak to you, the Eating Disorder Hope website offers an exhaustive list of additional eating disorder support resources.

Recovering from an eating disorder or changing the course of disordered eating is a challenge that needn’t be done alone – and to truly recover, it takes a team effort.

If you or someone you care about may have an issue, find a resource on this list that speaks to you and bring your healthcare provider into the conversation.

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Do you, or someone you love, suffer from an eating disorder (ED)? These disorders are about more than just food and weight. An ED can cause major disruptions in a person’s life, from school or work performance to physical health problems. Yoga is a mind-body practice that is known for its mindfulness and natural healing properties. Yoga can be a useful tool for navigating the recovery process and a sustained yoga practice (in combination with psychological treatment) can be helpful year round.

What makes yoga a good fit for eating disorders?

Yoga is a mindful practice that requires deep concentration, and it’s a great way to focus on your breathing and body as a way to stay in the present moment. Because eating disorders are caused by many factors, including a lack of coping skills and stress, yoga can be a helpful part of treatment, and perpetuate positive changes and healthy habits.

How yoga helps with eating disorders

There are multiple benefits of yoga, including improved sleep, and positive impact on mental health, well-being and quality of life. When stress, difficult emotions or other triggers arise, one can practice yoga instead of turning to disordered eating behaviors to cope. Disclaimer: This is not a suggestion to use yoga practices as a way to avoid what comes up or shift obsessive behaviors into another location. But it is possible to let urges towards destructive habits become a cue to press the “pause” button and step on your mat.

The practice of yoga can strengthen digestion, relieve constipation and reduce reactivity around the painful process of re-feeding. The emotional effects of yoga helps ground and process strong feelings, needs and longings. Meditative practices help reduce negative thought patterns and long held emotions can be released during or after a class.

Disordered eating often stems from attempts to avoid feeling painful emotions. A hatha yoga practice can be a safe place to ride the waves of your experience by practicing breathing exercises, self-acceptance, relaxation, and watching and allowing your feelings to flow through you. This may sound easier said than done, but consider your mat a lab where you can practice greeting difficult sensations without avoiding them. Practiced consistently, the ability to sit with emotion and sensation during yoga can ultimately translate to your life off the yoga mat.

A review of the emerging research on yoga for eating disorders concluded it is too early to state with certainty whether the practice of yoga is helpful, although no data suggests it is harmful.

Considerations for eating disorder patients interested in yoga

1. Choose your practice wisely

Certain forms of yoga may be more therapeutic than others for those with eating disorders. For example, some may use power yoga as a form of compulsive exercise, which might reinforce symptoms. So instead of a “hot yoga” or power class, try something less vigorous, with a mindful or gentle component. Slower forms of yoga (like yin and restorative yoga) that help you re-inhabit your body with loving awareness are likely to be more therapeutic, even if they seem less ideal initially. Choosing the right class will assist you in cultivating self-compassion, which will counteract the harsh self-talk characteristic of eating disorders.

2. Practice meditation, especially loving-kindness (metta) meditation

Practicing meditation, whether seated or during postures, will help ensure that you don’t turn your asana practice into a continuation of your ED. Consciously inhabiting your experience will support your mental and physical health, and research increasingly suggests that meditation may benefit eating disorder patients. Taking a loving-kindness approach to your practice will support your ability to appreciate each part of your body and what it does for you. If there are parts of your body that you despise, practice sending them thoughts of kindness, or placing your hand on them, allowing yourself to feel the warmth and support. Over time, this self-kindness will extend from the physical body to other parts of you—judgmental cognitions or feelings of shame, for example.

3. Be mindful of media views of yoga

Media portrayals of yoga often replicate the same objectifying tendencies as mainstream media depictions of women that are widely theorized to contribute to eating disorders. Be aware of these messages and, if you can, avoid consuming popular yoga media that emphasizes the thin ideal, weight loss, or even the attainment of complex or gymnastic postures. These messages convey that your worth is still tied intrinsically to your body, rather than honoring that the body is just one facet of the self.

4. Steer clear of diets and cleansing

The yoga lifestyle is often associated with special diets, such as veganism, mono-diets, or stringent cleansing routines. While these are commonly said to align with the yogic lifestyle, those with eating disorders should exercise caution, as adoption of these diets may trigger symptoms. Remember, “health” is subjective, and what may be entirely appropriate for one person is not necessarily healthy for another. As you begin your journey into yoga, consider focusing your attention on meditation, mindfulness and supportive asana rather than restrictive and rule-based dietary suggestions.

Keep these simple guidelines in mind, as well as inspirational stories like that of Chelsea Fox, who as a teenager experienced healing from anorexia through yoga. As noted by Chinese sage Lao Tzu, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

The practice of yoga can be a helpful complement to your eating disorder recovery. A consistent yoga practice and weekly yoga classes is recommended to reap the maximal effects of yoga. Working with a yoga therapist or a registered yoga teacher can further support the recovery process and can fine tune the practice to your individual needs.

On our Membership Site: A complete list of yoga poses for Eating Disorders and a yoga therapy resource guide for Eating Disorders.

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