THE BENEFITS OF MEAL
SUPPORT WITH US
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Our meal support sessions are 100% virtual, so that you can keep living while you are in recovery. Need support at school? We can do that. Work? Home? We can be anywhere with you during meal support, making it a convenient and practical option no matter where you are in your recovery journey.
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One on One Private Sessions
A member of our integrative team will work individually with a client during meal times. This approach contrasts with group meal supports, where multiple clients share meal times under the supervision of a professional.
Privacy is a significant concern for many individuals with eating disorders. One-on-one meal support ensures that the experience remains confidential, providing a comfortable and non-judgmental space where clients can focus entirely on their recovery without the added stress of social dynamics or comparison to others.
This allows for personalized care, tailored nutritional guidance (if required) and a safe space for emotional support.
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7 days week, evenings and weekends. We provide the support you need, when you need it. Eating disorder recovery is happening every day, and we are here to help you navigate through the journey.
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We will work with you and the family to determine the most beneficial amount of support necessary to help reach recovery goals
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Every individual's recovery timeline is different. One-on-one support respects this individuality by allowing the pace of meal support to be adjusted according to the person's specific needs. Whether it's taking small steps to introduce new foods or addressing underlying emotional triggers, the process is entirely customized, ensuring that the individual doesn't feel rushed or pressured. Your eating disorder recovery should never feel rushed or dictated by anyone else's timeline. In the gentle rhythm of one-on-one support, the pace is established based on where the CLIENT is at - it eliminates the “one size fits all” approach. Every step, no matter how small, is a leap towards reclaiming your life. This is where you learn to dance to the beat of your own heart, one meal at a time.
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At The Holistic ED Recovery Center, we believe in the inclusion of the entire family during the recovery process. We do not believe in a “sink or swim” approach - telling the family what to do without teaching them how to do it effectively.
Regardless of the type of eating disorder - binge eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, EDNOS, orthorexia, ARFID etc - all individuals in recovery need to relearn to eat in a structured way. This aspect of eating disorder recovery is immensely difficult for the individual, and is often accompanied by anger, panic, fear, resistance, anxiety, negotiating, and a number of obvious and subtle eating disorder behaviours.
This can lead to uncomfortable power dynamics at meal times, conflict, ultimatums, frustration, overwhelm and burnout within the family. At The Holistic ED Recovery Center, we provide support AND supervision.
An external pair of eyes to note not just WHAT is being eaten, but HOW it is being eaten. Eating disorder behaviors are not always obvious to the caregiver. Having a professional facilitate this (especially in the early days of recovery) can ensure that ED is not showing up to the meal, total adherence to a meal plan, and allows the family to remain in the supportive role, not act as the “food police”. This can reduce conflict at home.
This is why we operate from a Supported FBT angle. In time, we will teach the family what to look for at meal times, and how to appropriately address any unwanted behaviours as we gradually move to more meals eaten with the family.
LEARN MORE
What is meal support?
How it can benefit the person in recovery from an eating disorder?
How can it have a positive impact in reducing conflict at meal times, therefore nurturing a healthy and supportive family dynamic?
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Meal support provides a structured and supportive setting for individuals to consume their meals. This structure helps reduce anxiety and uncertainty about eating, and provides a safe space that is highly monitored to reduce the space for eating disorder behaviors to appear during meal times.
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The individual will have real (not theoretical) modelling of healthy eating behaviors. This modeling can be instrumental in teaching and reinforcing positive eating habits and attitudes towards food. An individual in recovery is not only required to re-feed for physical health, but they are also trying to determine what is “normal” and what is not when it comes to food and eating.
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The presence of supportive professionals (or family) during meals can offer immediate encouragement and reinforcement. This support can help individuals challenge and overcome disordered eating behaviors and thoughts in real-time. Support is offered by validating how hard the experience is, and acting as an “external brain” with rational encouragement and safety phrases.
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Eating can be a source of significant anxiety for individuals with eating disorders. Meal support helps address these intense emotions directly, providing strategies and support to manage anxiety and distress associated with eating. To put the level of anxiety into context, imagine: an alcoholic in recovery REMOVES alcohol from their life. They learn to live WITHOUT their triggering substance. An individual in recovery from an eating disorder has to FACE their fear every single day, multiple times a day. This is immensely anxiety provoking, scary, and uncomfortable.
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For those in recovery, particularly those dealing with the physical consequences of eating disorders, meal support ensures that they receive adequate nutrition. This is crucial for the restoration of physical health and the normalization of eating patterns.
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Meal support is not just about eating; it's also about developing skills for meal planning, portion sizing, and coping with the social aspects of eating. These skills are essential for long-term recovery and relapse prevention.
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This setting allows for immediate feedback from the professional team, which can be used to make real-time adjustments to treatment plans and strategies to overcome eating challenges.
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Regular, supported meals can help with the adherence to a meal plan which requires mechanical eating (typically in the earliest days of recovery). A person in recovery cannot eat “when they feel like it”, because hunger and fullness cues have been affected by E.D., so they cannot rely on the physical sensation of hunger to prompt eating, and intense fears about food and/or body can lead to food rules that impact how much and what a person is willing to eat.
The individual in recovery requires consistent nutrition for physical health and consistent exposure to eating in order to reduce fears and food rules. This normalization is a crucial step towards developing a healthier relationship with food.
Book a FREE meal support consultation
The program changed my life. Learning to listen to my body and learning how to nourish it has made my life so much better, and I am so grateful to you for helping me overcome my disordered eating, and showing me there’s a much, MUCH better way to live.”
— CLIENT TESTIMONIAL