Dietitians, nutritionists and health coaches often get zero training on disordered eating, so not knowing the red flags is actually normal
When I was studying, I was told that disordered eating was a specialty and if I wanted to learn more about it, I would have to pursue that myself after I graduated.
Considering it to be ‘specialist knowledge’ in this way means there are a lot of dietitians, nutritionists and health coaches who work in other areas of nutrition, who are unsure how to spot the subtle signs of disordered eating, because they aren’t part of standard nutrition training.
And yet, disordered eating is everywhere. It doesn’t always look like extreme restriction or bingeing. Sometimes it’s as innocuous as a client saying, “I was so bad this weekend, so I’m trying to make up for it now with a gym workout and a salad.” It might not sound awful, but these little comments often signal something deeper going on below the surface.
So it doesn’t really matter what your nutrition niche is, you still need to know the signs of disordered eating. The good news? I can teach you in just 5 minutes!
And once you know what to look for, you’ll be better able to support your clients without stepping outside your scope. You don’t need to be a specialist to do this! In fact, we want more people outside of the specialized eating disorder niche picking up on these red flags and having conversations with their clients.
That’s why I’ve put together a simple cheat sheet of the most common red flags of disordered eating. You can download it here and put it into practice today!
But if you want a bit more background info, read on.
Disordered eating is normalized
Eating disorders have defined criteria, boxes that you can tick off. But disordered eating is a grey area. Someone who is fearful of eating outside of their rigid food rules and ties their self-worth to the number on the scale may not have a diagnosable eating disorder… But they could still be struggling and need support.
If you’re not exactly sure what to look out for, it can be really hard to pick up on disordered eating because many of the behaviours have been normalized by diet culture. In fact, I would go so far as to say they are socially sanctioned and even celebrated.
On their own, each red flag may not be that bad. But when you add up more and more of them, alarm bells should start going off in your mind.
💡 A key red flag: a client who not only calls their food “good” or “bad”, but calls themselves “good” or “bad” for what they eat. It may seem harmless, but it often reflects deeper struggles with guilt and control around food.
Everyday conversations might mean more than you think
Because it’s so normalized, disordered eating often hides in plain sight. Client may say things like:
- “I need to hit the gym after that piece of cake.“
- “I can’t keep chips in the house or I eat them all – I have no self-control.“
- “I think I’m addicted to food.”
- “I try to go as long as I can between meals.”
How many times have you heard these things? Often they’re said in a joking manner, but they’re really no laughing matter. A once-off comment may not mean too much, but when your client is making a lot of these remarks and you’re noticing patterns, it can indicate an unhealthy mindset that’s affecting their day-to-day life.
💡 A key red flag: if your client is using exercise purely to ‘earn’ or ‘burn’ calories, instead of recognizing the many other benefits of exercise.
You don’t need to be a specialist
You don’t need to specialize in disordered eating to make a difference! Simply being aware of the warning signs and probing further makes a huge difference to your clients. Once you know the red flags, you’ll find that you naturally start to shift the language you use and the way you think about things like dieting and weight loss as well.
For example, when your client tells you that they’ve lost weight, your first instinct will change from congratulating them, to asking them how they did it. You’ll be on the look out for disordered behaviours!
💡 A key red flag: a history of their weight going up and down and back up again, often indicates that your client has been on multiple diets and may be stuck in a yoyo dieting pattern.
Picking up on the signs of disordered eating isn’t about diagnosing – it’s about understanding. Most of us were never taught how to spot these signs! But it’s never too late to learn, grow in confidence, and better support your clients.
That’s why I created this cheat sheet of common red flags – so you have an easy list that you can refer back to when you’re not too sure! Download it here.
