February 24, 2021 • 10 mins
Couch talks is a bonus Q&A episode that comes out every Wednesday where Kat answers questions you all send in to kathryn@youneedtherqpypodcast.com. This week Kat keeps NEDA Week as the theme as she answers questions specifically about eating disorders. In this episode you’ll hear how long it takes to get your “set point” weight, if it’s possible to ever not constantly think about food and how “healthy” it is, and how to know if you’re working out to feel good or working out to burn calories. As always, we like to remind listeners that this podcast is not therapy, but a way to jump start your own journey of finding who you were truly made to be!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello everybody, and welcome back to couch Talks. If you
are new, couch Talks is a special bonus Q and
a episode of You Need Therapy that comes out every Wednesday,
where I answer questions that you all email into me
at Catherine at You Need Therapy podcast dot com. As always,
I want to remind you guys that this is not therapy.
(00:30):
This is just a therapist talking about some therapy things
I like to put out there, just so we don't
get confused that this is not a replacement for therapy.
It's just a way to get some information and start
some conversations. Now, as you may have gathered this week,
we are honoring nit A week by dedicating Monday's episode
and this episode to eating disorders and talking about those. Today,
(00:53):
I'm going to be answering questions about eating disorders that
you all have sent into me. Now, if you don't
know what NITA Week is, it is National Eating Disorder
Awareness Week, and it is a week that is aimed
to help spread awareness of not just what eating disorders are,
but also how to get help and how to find hope.
This episode is not just for those struggling with eating disorders.
It's for everybody, and this week isn't just for those
(01:15):
struggling with eating disorders, it's for everybody that is kind
of the point of need a week. So eating disorders
aren't just known to the people that work with them directly,
but that people all around us are aware of them,
and you know that they're a thing because their their
a thing. I think a lot of you have probably
seen the stat it's the deadliest mental health disorder there
(01:36):
is right now, and they're pretty serious. They're not just
about body image. They have to do with body image,
but I think that's one of the common misconceptions about them. Anyway,
I have three questions that I chose to answer today.
I kind of combined some themes of questions that I
got from you guys, and so I'm going to answer
two of them, and then I caught upon my friend
Crystal to answer one, so I thought we would go
(01:58):
with that one first. The question was how long does
it take in recovery for your body to get to
its set point? And this is the one that I
leaned over to my lovely dietitian friend Crystal from Horizon
Nutrition Counseling, Because even if I can answer a question
like this. I like to practice what it's like to
stay in your lane. So if there ever is a
dietitian ee esque question, I'm always going to go there first,
(02:21):
just so you guys get the most accurate information from
somebody who actually was trained to answer this question. Specifically.
This is what Crystal said my answer would be in
its own time. You don't know what your set point
really is because it's a range and everyone's body is different.
If someone is an interrexic, chronic dieter, or belimic, it
depends on what it's going through, how long it's been
(02:43):
going through it, and how genetics interact. Your set point
now may not be the set point it was ten
years ago, so you can't expect the same result. If
someone says my set point is around one pounds, but
they're referring to a pre pregnancy body fifteen years ago,
it's not the same. So that's the information Crystal gave
us I because it's shortened to the point, and what
I'm just gonna repeat to you guys is that we
(03:05):
there is no like six months. It takes a year.
It could take six months to a year, could take longer.
Especially you have to think about the back and forth
that we play in the beginnings of recovery. So I
hope that was helpful. All right. Second question, is it
possible to not think about food constantly all day? And
how healthy it will be? I love this question so,
oh my gosh, Yes, it is so, so, so so possible.
(03:27):
I promise. The problem here is that most people run
into is that it takes longer to get there than
when people want to experience. So we do this back
and forth thing, and it can make the whole experience
like a million times longer than it really needs to
be or has to be. Now that being said, I
think we will all always have moments when we think
about food and our body image. We all have bad
(03:47):
body image days. But the thought in the quote days
don't dictate the majority of our lives and all of
our behaviors. One of the problems we end up having
when we engage in eating sort of behaviors in diet
culture things is that we take the habituation process away
from food. So imagine that you ran into your garage
with your car and put a dent in it. Now
(04:08):
you will be driving home every day to see that dent,
and at some point it will just become part of
the garage. You'll stop seeing it. I mean that in
the sense that it won't be as noticeable to you.
You will be habituated to it. Now, say you invite
a friend over and they haven't been to your house
since you ran into your garage. That friend has never
seen the dent in your garage, so I'm sure one
of the first things that they will say is hello,
(04:29):
what happened to your garage. You'll probably be like, oh,
my gosh, I forgot I did that. Habituation can be
good and it can be bad, but we actually want
that process to happen when it comes to food, because
without it, food becomes like magic. It becomes like something
special or forbidden that you only get to experience on
very rare occasions. If ever, so when you do, you
(04:50):
won't really get to enjoy it because you're so focused
on getting all of it because you'll never get it again,
or you're thinking about how much of a horrible thing
you are doing, when in reality, if all food were
available all of the time and you were in a
healthy place emotionally, you won't want to eat all of
something or none of something. Every time you see something
that you like, you will be able to eat it
(05:11):
when you want it, and you will be able to
let it be when you don't want it. So I'm
trying to stay here is Yes, it's possible to not
think about food all the time, but it takes consistency
and in time to get there. So I would encourage
you to gather some resources and some support to help
guide you along the way. I also want to just
know that you might have times when you overeat or
(05:32):
under eat through this process. It takes a while to
get there, like I said, So it's not a snap
of the fingers and then all of a sudden you're
habituated to food just because it's available. You have to
get used to that again, just like you would get
used to seeing the dent in your garage, and the
beginning of that happening, you would notice it. It would
take a couple of weeks or a month or so.
I don't know how long it would take me to
(05:53):
not notice a dent in my garage. I don't have
a garage. But like that's different for everybody. When it
comes to food, it's there's not like a time period,
but it does take time. So it is possible I promise.
What I want to say to a lot of this
stuff is these are things that I have seen um
and many clients and in myself, and I would never
ever talk about and encourage people to do things that
(06:14):
I didn't believe and I didn't think we're real, because
why would I do that. I have a good heart,
and I do really want to help people get out
of these ikey parts of their lives, and so I
say that to gain a little bit of trust in
the sense that I'm not making this stuff up. I'm
telling you what I know to be true from my
experience as a professional and as somebody who's gone through it. Now.
Third question, how do you differentiate between working out to
(06:38):
feel good and working out to burn calories and get
a body that you want? And you know this question
is right at my alley. I could talk about this
for like twenty minutes. Probably we're not going to do that.
It's also is tough, So this is a tough It's
a tough thing to do. So I'm glad somebody asked this,
and actually a couple of people ask this question. I
think that this is a muscle we actually have to build,
(06:59):
right And one what I would ask is, does your
anxiety skyrocket when you're not able to engage in whatever
movement you tend to choose without being able to sue
it in any other way outside of exercise. That would
be your first red flag. So movement is not the
only way to help our bodies feel good. And also
intense movement is not the only way to feel good
(07:20):
through exercise. So I would really look at, like, when
you want to feel good in your body, when you
want to be kind and carrying towards your body, and
you can't exercise, does your anxiety skyrocket and you're not
able to kind of regulate that and feel good. That
would be one area where we would we would know
why you're doing something. The other part that I would
look at if you are someone who has struggled with
(07:42):
exercise compulsions and addiction, I would encourage you to look
at the type of exercise you have historically chosen. I
know for me, I would choose the thing that I
could see that burned the most calories in the least
amount of time, and I would track everything. Those are
two other red flags. I did a lot of cardio,
and back then it wasn't because I loved it. It
(08:02):
was just because I could see the results on like
a screen. The fastest I would specifically do a lot
of running and the elliptical, which I cannot stand the
elliptical now. I also would encourage you guys to look
at what happens when I take my like Apple watch
or whatever like fit bit thing off when I'm not
tracking my calorie burn? Do I still think the exercise counts?
(08:24):
Does it change how I feel? And really does like
when I track how many calories I burn? Does that
take away from the experience for me? And I know
that I test that out every once in a while.
I really like to know my heart rate because I've
had some issues with that getting high at times, and
that's one of the reasons I wear my watch at times.
But I also practice taking it off like every other
(08:46):
time that I work out, and sometimes I don't even
wear it for weeks. I forget that I have it,
or if I use it, I'll put it where it
doesn't like show up or light up. If I'm going
on a run and just need to like map out
like mileage so I know how far I've been running,
but I'm not looking at every five seconds like I
used to make sure my paces on on track and
how many calories are burned in the last mile and
all that. So what I would do is encourage one
(09:08):
everybody to take a break from tracking through watches and
all that stuff. But also I would encourage anyone to
take a break from their typical routine. So maybe choose
a different kind of movement that gives your body a
break to see if you even really like it. I
took a really long break from running and the elliptical.
I did not return to the elliptical. I did eventually
(09:28):
learn how to run again for fun. But I really
got to evaluate. Am I doing this because I've been
told that this is like the good exercise that I
should be doing. Am I doing this because I enjoy
it and it feels good? And I don't know. Yeah,
I sweat when I would do the elliptical, but it
just is dreadful. So there are some thoughts on that.
If you have any more questions around that, I would
(09:49):
love to hear them. But I would really encourage you
to think about those three things. One, when I can't
do it, what happens to what happens when I take
my tracker or whatever kind of device I'm wearing off.
Does it still count? Do I feel differently about what
I'm doing? In three? What happens when I change up
my routine? And you can take from there. That wraps
up our special Couch Talks episode today. Thank you guys
(10:11):
for sending those questions, and I love the curiosity that
you guys have around some of this stuff. Whether it's
for you, or to help a friend or family member
that you see struggling, or you know an acquaintance, You
can help anybody. So I will be back on Monday
with the full episode of You Need Therapy. Make sure
to follow us at You Need Therapy Podcast on Instagram
(10:32):
and me at at cat dot dotata
Hello everybody, and welcome back to couch Talks. If you
are new, couch Talks is a special bonus Q and
a episode of You Need Therapy that comes out every Wednesday,
where I answer questions that you all email into me
at Catherine at You Need Therapy podcast dot com. As always,
I want to remind you guys that this is not therapy.
(00:30):
This is just a therapist talking about some therapy things
I like to put out there, just so we don't
get confused that this is not a replacement for therapy.
It's just a way to get some information and start
some conversations. Now, as you may have gathered this week,
we are honoring nit A week by dedicating Monday's episode
and this episode to eating disorders and talking about those. Today,
(00:53):
I'm going to be answering questions about eating disorders that
you all have sent into me. Now, if you don't
know what NITA Week is, it is National Eating Disorder
Awareness Week, and it is a week that is aimed
to help spread awareness of not just what eating disorders are,
but also how to get help and how to find hope.
This episode is not just for those struggling with eating disorders.
It's for everybody, and this week isn't just for those
(01:15):
struggling with eating disorders, it's for everybody that is kind
of the point of need a week. So eating disorders
aren't just known to the people that work with them directly,
but that people all around us are aware of them,
and you know that they're a thing because their their
a thing. I think a lot of you have probably
seen the stat it's the deadliest mental health disorder there
(01:36):
is right now, and they're pretty serious. They're not just
about body image. They have to do with body image,
but I think that's one of the common misconceptions about them. Anyway,
I have three questions that I chose to answer today.
I kind of combined some themes of questions that I
got from you guys, and so I'm going to answer
two of them, and then I caught upon my friend
Crystal to answer one, so I thought we would go
(01:58):
with that one first. The question was how long does
it take in recovery for your body to get to
its set point? And this is the one that I
leaned over to my lovely dietitian friend Crystal from Horizon
Nutrition Counseling, Because even if I can answer a question
like this. I like to practice what it's like to
stay in your lane. So if there ever is a
dietitian ee esque question, I'm always going to go there first,
(02:21):
just so you guys get the most accurate information from
somebody who actually was trained to answer this question. Specifically.
This is what Crystal said my answer would be in
its own time. You don't know what your set point
really is because it's a range and everyone's body is different.
If someone is an interrexic, chronic dieter, or belimic, it
depends on what it's going through, how long it's been
(02:43):
going through it, and how genetics interact. Your set point
now may not be the set point it was ten
years ago, so you can't expect the same result. If
someone says my set point is around one pounds, but
they're referring to a pre pregnancy body fifteen years ago,
it's not the same. So that's the information Crystal gave
us I because it's shortened to the point, and what
I'm just gonna repeat to you guys is that we
(03:05):
there is no like six months. It takes a year.
It could take six months to a year, could take longer.
Especially you have to think about the back and forth
that we play in the beginnings of recovery. So I
hope that was helpful. All right. Second question, is it
possible to not think about food constantly all day? And
how healthy it will be? I love this question so,
oh my gosh, Yes, it is so, so, so so possible.
(03:27):
I promise. The problem here is that most people run
into is that it takes longer to get there than
when people want to experience. So we do this back
and forth thing, and it can make the whole experience
like a million times longer than it really needs to
be or has to be. Now that being said, I
think we will all always have moments when we think
about food and our body image. We all have bad
(03:47):
body image days. But the thought in the quote days
don't dictate the majority of our lives and all of
our behaviors. One of the problems we end up having
when we engage in eating sort of behaviors in diet
culture things is that we take the habituation process away
from food. So imagine that you ran into your garage
with your car and put a dent in it. Now
(04:08):
you will be driving home every day to see that dent,
and at some point it will just become part of
the garage. You'll stop seeing it. I mean that in
the sense that it won't be as noticeable to you.
You will be habituated to it. Now, say you invite
a friend over and they haven't been to your house
since you ran into your garage. That friend has never
seen the dent in your garage, so I'm sure one
of the first things that they will say is hello,
(04:29):
what happened to your garage. You'll probably be like, oh,
my gosh, I forgot I did that. Habituation can be
good and it can be bad, but we actually want
that process to happen when it comes to food, because
without it, food becomes like magic. It becomes like something
special or forbidden that you only get to experience on
very rare occasions. If ever, so when you do, you
(04:50):
won't really get to enjoy it because you're so focused
on getting all of it because you'll never get it again,
or you're thinking about how much of a horrible thing
you are doing, when in reality, if all food were
available all of the time and you were in a
healthy place emotionally, you won't want to eat all of
something or none of something. Every time you see something
that you like, you will be able to eat it
(05:11):
when you want it, and you will be able to
let it be when you don't want it. So I'm
trying to stay here is Yes, it's possible to not
think about food all the time, but it takes consistency
and in time to get there. So I would encourage
you to gather some resources and some support to help
guide you along the way. I also want to just
know that you might have times when you overeat or
(05:32):
under eat through this process. It takes a while to
get there, like I said, So it's not a snap
of the fingers and then all of a sudden you're
habituated to food just because it's available. You have to
get used to that again, just like you would get
used to seeing the dent in your garage, and the
beginning of that happening, you would notice it. It would
take a couple of weeks or a month or so.
I don't know how long it would take me to
(05:53):
not notice a dent in my garage. I don't have
a garage. But like that's different for everybody. When it
comes to food, it's there's not like a time period,
but it does take time. So it is possible I promise.
What I want to say to a lot of this
stuff is these are things that I have seen um
and many clients and in myself, and I would never
ever talk about and encourage people to do things that
(06:14):
I didn't believe and I didn't think we're real, because
why would I do that. I have a good heart,
and I do really want to help people get out
of these ikey parts of their lives, and so I
say that to gain a little bit of trust in
the sense that I'm not making this stuff up. I'm
telling you what I know to be true from my
experience as a professional and as somebody who's gone through it. Now.
Third question, how do you differentiate between working out to
(06:38):
feel good and working out to burn calories and get
a body that you want? And you know this question
is right at my alley. I could talk about this
for like twenty minutes. Probably we're not going to do that.
It's also is tough, So this is a tough It's
a tough thing to do. So I'm glad somebody asked this,
and actually a couple of people ask this question. I
think that this is a muscle we actually have to build,
(06:59):
right And one what I would ask is, does your
anxiety skyrocket when you're not able to engage in whatever
movement you tend to choose without being able to sue
it in any other way outside of exercise. That would
be your first red flag. So movement is not the
only way to help our bodies feel good. And also
intense movement is not the only way to feel good
(07:20):
through exercise. So I would really look at, like, when
you want to feel good in your body, when you
want to be kind and carrying towards your body, and
you can't exercise, does your anxiety skyrocket and you're not
able to kind of regulate that and feel good. That
would be one area where we would we would know
why you're doing something. The other part that I would
look at if you are someone who has struggled with
(07:42):
exercise compulsions and addiction, I would encourage you to look
at the type of exercise you have historically chosen. I
know for me, I would choose the thing that I
could see that burned the most calories in the least
amount of time, and I would track everything. Those are
two other red flags. I did a lot of cardio,
and back then it wasn't because I loved it. It
(08:02):
was just because I could see the results on like
a screen. The fastest I would specifically do a lot
of running and the elliptical, which I cannot stand the
elliptical now. I also would encourage you guys to look
at what happens when I take my like Apple watch
or whatever like fit bit thing off when I'm not
tracking my calorie burn? Do I still think the exercise counts?
(08:24):
Does it change how I feel? And really does like
when I track how many calories I burn? Does that
take away from the experience for me? And I know
that I test that out every once in a while.
I really like to know my heart rate because I've
had some issues with that getting high at times, and
that's one of the reasons I wear my watch at times.
But I also practice taking it off like every other
(08:46):
time that I work out, and sometimes I don't even
wear it for weeks. I forget that I have it,
or if I use it, I'll put it where it
doesn't like show up or light up. If I'm going
on a run and just need to like map out
like mileage so I know how far I've been running,
but I'm not looking at every five seconds like I
used to make sure my paces on on track and
how many calories are burned in the last mile and
all that. So what I would do is encourage one
(09:08):
everybody to take a break from tracking through watches and
all that stuff. But also I would encourage anyone to
take a break from their typical routine. So maybe choose
a different kind of movement that gives your body a
break to see if you even really like it. I
took a really long break from running and the elliptical.
I did not return to the elliptical. I did eventually
(09:28):
learn how to run again for fun. But I really
got to evaluate. Am I doing this because I've been
told that this is like the good exercise that I
should be doing. Am I doing this because I enjoy
it and it feels good? And I don't know. Yeah,
I sweat when I would do the elliptical, but it
just is dreadful. So there are some thoughts on that.
If you have any more questions around that, I would
(09:49):
love to hear them. But I would really encourage you
to think about those three things. One, when I can't
do it, what happens to what happens when I take
my tracker or whatever kind of device I'm wearing off.
Does it still count? Do I feel differently about what
I'm doing? In three? What happens when I change up
my routine? And you can take from there. That wraps
up our special Couch Talks episode today. Thank you guys
(10:11):
for sending those questions, and I love the curiosity that
you guys have around some of this stuff. Whether it's
for you, or to help a friend or family member
that you see struggling, or you know an acquaintance, You
can help anybody. So I will be back on Monday
with the full episode of You Need Therapy. Make sure
to follow us at You Need Therapy Podcast on Instagram
(10:32):
and me at at cat dot dotata
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