Many people may feel pressured to commit to a vegan lifestyle for a variety of reasons, but when a vegan diet overlaps with eating disorder recovery, things can get sticky. You deserve to commit to a beneficial diet, prioritize your health, and wait until you are ready to go vegan – without any repercussions on your recovery.
By: Samreen Khan
It can be tricky to pursue veganism while in eating disorder recovery, primarily because of the several food groups veganism requires you to remove from your diet. For many, this avoidance of certain foods can feel overwhelmingly similar to eating disordered behaviors. Even though the intentions behind the two can be very different, this reminiscence of disordered restriction can be triggering and harmful in recovery.
When the lines between veganism and disordered habits start blurring, a good place to start is by clearly laying out your intentions. If you were vegan before developing an eating disorder, think about why you pursued that lifestyle in the first place. During your eating disorder, did you use your vegan diet as another way to restrict or control your food intake? Or, did you believe it was unrelated to your disordered habits? Whether or not you were vegan before or after your eating disorder, really examine the reasons behind your desire. What will going vegan bring you, or how will it ameliorate your quality of life? What motivates you to adopt a vegan diet?
Many people choose a vegan lifestyle because of environmental factors. Caring for the environment is admirable and important work. However, the goal of environmental preservation can sometimes be clouded by an eating disorder. You should not feel ashamed for having disordered thoughts merge with your commitment to be more sustainable. While you may feel obligated to care for the environment, remember that you cannot pour from an empty glass. Before caring for others, your top priority should be your own health and needs. If those are not being fulfilled, perhaps it is time to reconsider some of your habits. Yes, going vegan is a great way to be eco-friendly, but there are many other ways to contribute to environmental efforts that don’t involve restriction. Buying from farmers’ markets to support local growers and shop owners is a great place to start. You can also grow your own food at home. Not only is this more environmentally friendly than buying from large grocery stores, but it also allows you to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the food you are eating, which can be especially fruitful in eating disorder recovery. Contribute to your community as well by finding events to help out local gardens or plant native plants. If your reasons for going vegan are more animal-centric, taking care of furry friends in your area by volunteering or donating to animal shelters is another lovely way to help out. There are so many other ways to give back to the environment and pursue a sustainable lifestyle without going vegan.
As always, consult with your health professionals before making any drastic changes to your diet. How will you make sure you are correctly feeding yourself while embarking on this journey? Make sure that you are in a stable place in your recovery before committing to veganism. Are there any fear foods that you would be able to avoid by going vegan? If so, find vegan alternatives for these fear foods. For example, if fried chicken is a fear food for you, you could opt for fried cauliflower, fried tofu, or any number of meatless products on the market.
If you are in a place where going vegan would be detrimental to your mental health, do not feel guilty. You are not alone – there are thousands of individuals in eating disorder recovery feeling the same way – and you are not doing anything wrong. A vegan lifestyle is not for everyone, and it should be something you commit to when you are physically, financially, and mentally able. If you decide you are ready to continue or start a vegan lifestyle, be mindful about the way you navigate new dietary changes. Be sure to stay in touch with your intentions.
At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, we understand the complexities of eating disorders and provide you with comprehensive and necessary tools to help you on your recovery journey. To this end, we work closely with each client to better understand the spiritual and ethical frameworks that determine their food preferences. Within the safety of a supportive environment, we then reasonably accommodate those preferences while encouraging clients to gently increase food variety and scope. We honor our clients’ religious and philosophical backgrounds. Vegan, vegetarian, and kosher eating patterns are accommodated on a case-by-case basis.
Our admissions team would be glad to answer any questions you may have about our programs and services and how we can help you on your recovery journey. Book a free consultation call with our admissions team below, or read more about our philosophy here.
Looking for eating disorder treatment programs or services in the New York City area? Learn more about our options at BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ here or contact us here.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Samreen Khan (she/her/he/him).
Samreen is a senior high school student with an ardent drive to de-stigmatize mental illness and eating disorders. Born and raised in the Bay Area, she experienced the harmful effects of “fitspo” culture firsthand for most of her childhood. Throughout her own recovery journey, she became passionate about deconstructing diet culture and raising awareness about eating disorders in her everyday life. Samreen began extending her own ideology of intuitive eating and body neutrality to others by publishing her own writing online when she was fourteen, and has since received several awards for her prose and poetry. She has conducted research on the biological and evolutionary implications of familial mental illness, and is currently taking college-level Sociology and Psychology courses with hopes to delve further into the social and cultural constructs that bolster disordered eating, especially within marginalized communities. She’s grateful for the opportunity to combine two of her strongest passions — writing and mental health — by working with BALANCE!
