Eating disorders are alarmingly prevalent in the United States, with an estimated 20 million women and 10 million men being affected by one at some point in their lives.

But despite how common they are, they remain stigmatized to a large extent, with sufferers feeling unable to seek help until the situation has already gotten out of control.

This stigma makes managing an eating disorder more difficult than it needs to be, particularly when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle while in recovery.

While breaking the behavior patterns associated with eating disorders is crucial, it's only the first stage of recovery. Lasting success depends on establishing a healthy lifestyle after an eating disorder.

For the best chance of leading a healthy life after an eating disorder, check out these tips.

1. Overcome the Idea that Food Is Bad

When you experience disordered eating, it's common to see food as the enemy. And unlike other addictions, you can't avoid it altogether. Food is everywhere and you need it to survive.

So the first change that you need to make is to undo this mental conditioning.

Give yourself permission to enjoy all types of foods. In the early stages of recovery, this can prove difficult, so a helpful strategy is to "experiment" with one new food at a time. Asking friends or loved ones to eat with you can help provide support.

This is also a time to reconnect with your personal preferences. Allowing yourself to eat what you crave goes a long way towards helping you feel content and developing a healthier relationship with food.

2. Stay Appropriately Hydrated

Dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities often go hand-in-hand with eating disorders, so part of how to live a healthy lifestyle is establishing good hydration habits.

Proper hydration would be important no matter what, but it is especially so if you're recovering from an eating disorder. When you're dehydrated, your body sends out signals that are often mistaken for hunger, which can exacerbate disordered eating. Learning to maintain good baseline hydration will help allow for clarity in what your body is asking for.

3. Learn to Practice Self-Care

Self-criticism is a major driver of most eating disorders. Learning to be gentle with yourself is a major part of lasting recovery.

Mentally, this could include taking time to focus on your positive qualities. It can also include practicing body awareness. Taking a few moments a day to "check-in" with your body and focus on feeling all of your physical sensations can help you to stay grounded and learn to appreciate your body.

Physically, self-care can mean taking the time to pamper and maintain your body. And spiritually, you need to discover what activities allow you to cultivate joy and practice them.

Living a Healthy Lifestyle After an Eating Disorder Is Possible

Though they can manifest at any age, eating disorders often form early with 13% of youths developing one before the age of 20. Many of these youths think their eating disorder will define them for the rest of their lives.

But that doesn't need to be the case. Long-term recovery is possible, and living a healthy lifestyle is a major step.

Just as important as making the right lifestyle changes is learning to cultivate who you are as a person. To better understand this importance, read up on why relying on willpower alone doesn't always lead to successful recovery.

Addiction is far from something to be ashamed about. One in ten Americans have suffered from some kind of addiction at some point. However, when you're suffering from addiction, it's easy to fall into a pattern where you identify an addictive mindset

One of the best ways to break out of this pattern is to learn how to set personal goals. But setting and achieving goals isn't as easy as it seems. There's a reason why only 9 percent of New Years Resolutions succeed.

This article will walk you through some of the ways you can set achievable goals.

Understand the Importance of Setting Goals

The first step to achieving your personal goals is understanding why it's important to set personal goals in the first place. You might say to yourself, what's the point of personal goals? Things will work themselves out the way they want to, and if I want to do something I can simply do it.

However, for those suffering from addictions, something in the way you've been living clearly isn't working for you.

Setting goals is all about creating a road map on how you're going to change your life. When you set a goal, you set yourself a target for change and open yourself up to new pathways.

The saying knowledge is power doesn't mean much in the abstract. However, when when you apply it to the knowledge of the things you need to fix, you can gain power over your situation.

Figure Out What You Need To Accomplish

Take a look at your life. You might have realized that things are going wrong for you. However, setting goals is about figuring out the root of these problems.

When you figure out the goals that you want to address, understand what you need to change to make sure your problems go away.

Tackle your problems in small doses. Rather than setting a huge goal like "beating my addiction", take actionable steps: plan to get certain toxic friends out of your life, and to talk to your loved ones about your addiction.

When you accomplish these tasks, you'll find yourself beating your addiction as time goes on.

Establish Your Own Order

While you need to be rigid with yourself on actually achieving these goals, you can be relaxed on the order you take on your tasks in. Start with the task that seems most achievable to you, and accomplish it first. See where this momentum takes you, and let it carry you into your next tasl.

Understand How to Set Personal Goals

As you can see, the answer to how to set personal goals is going to be different for every person. Personal goals are personal after all.

However, when you understand the importance of setting goals, you can better plan yourself goals that you can accomplish. When you identify the root of your problems, you make sure your goals are actually achievable. When you let yourself stay flexible in your order, you allow momentum to carry you through your goals.

For more information, contact us today.

No matter where you are in the process of your recovery, there can always be a difficult day around the bend. Instead of learning how to avoid these difficult days altogether (hint: that might not be possible), it can be better to think about how to build yourself up to make it through these darker times.

Self-love is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal when it comes to getting through the recovery process. To practice self-love is to improve your self-esteem, your sense of self, and find the power you need to make it through moments of doubt and pain.

If you don't know how to practice self-love, don't stress out! It's a habit that can be hard to get into if you're brand new to it. Read on and we'll walk you through some tips that can help.

1. Let Go of Comparisons

'Comparison is the thief of joy.' That's a line as old of time but one that you may want to keep close to your heart as you move forward on a path of self-love.

It's part of the world we live, to be competitive. Competition is likely something that was introduced to us at an early age.

Comparison is natural but something that can bring us a lot of pain as well. There's no point in feeling you have to compare yourself to others when there is only you that you need to worry about.

The more you can focus on your own journey through this life, the better off you will be. While it can be easy to get hung up on the accomplishments of others, viewing your life in its own context and space will provide you with a better frame of mind.

2. Allow Mistakes

The power of self-love often comes in the form of the power of forgiveness. Mistakes happen, and yet, we can be all too hard on ourselves when we are the ones behind said mistakes.

Making mistakes is a part of life. We make mistakes so that we can learn from them and avoid them in the future. Mistakes are a part of growth. To be afraid of making mistakes is to avoid living life.

You'll want to let go of that nagging voice in your head that says you aren't allowed to make mistakes. Instead, embrace them -- they've made you who you are, and who you are is wonderful.

This way of thinking can help you overcome many obstacles.

3. Make Positive Changes

Many of us feel the pressure to stay in situations that are not pleasant due to social pressures. We stay in relationships, friendships, and social situations because we feel we have to, not because we want to be there.

Self-love means taking action to prioritize your own happiness over these tired conventions. If you need to cut toxic people out of your life, you can and should.

How to Practice Self-Love

If you're looking to better your sense of confidence and happiness, there are few things that might be more worthwhile to do than to practice self-love. The above tips and tricks can help you to get started down this path.

Need more assistance in righting your course and getting back on the path to happiness? Contact me about a session anytime.