QC: Defining Disordered Eating Clearly

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Ever wonder how much brain space food should actually take up? We sat down with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani—internationally recognized internal medicine physician and leading expert on eating disorders—to draw a clear line between culturally normalized restriction and patterns that quietly erode health, joy, and trust in your body. In just a few minutes, we define disordered eating in practical terms, separate medical necessity from trend-driven rules, and offer a compassionate checklist for what “normal eating” can feel like.

Dr. Gaudiani unpacks why so many people get swept into elimination, fasting windows, and fear of “inflammation” without symptoms to justify those choices. She explains how real health is less about rigid food morality and more about consistent nourishment, satisfaction, and a low cognitive load—eating enough, often enough, with foods you enjoy, so your energy and mood stabilize. We talk about listening to hunger and fullness cues, using evidence instead of anxiety as a guide, and noticing whether your food rules expand your life or shrink it.

We also make space for complexity: IBS, chronic illness, and neurodivergence may require tailored strategies that reduce discomfort while preserving variety and adequacy. Context matters. With Dr. Gaudiani’s blend of science and compassion, you’ll learn how to assess intent versus impact, replace shame with curiosity, and take small steps that quiet the mental chatter around meals. If you’ve wondered whether you “qualify” for help, consider this your sign: suffering is enough reason to seek support.

If this conversation brings you clarity, share it with someone who needs a gentler path back to food trust. Subscribe for more concise expert guidance, leave a review to help others find us, and send in your questions so we can bring the next five-minute deep dive to your feed.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Life moves fast, and so should the answers to your

(00:02):
biggest questions.
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general information and not forpersonalized medical advice.
Always consult your provider foryour case-specific guidance.
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I'm your host, Alana, and it'stime to connect.
Welcome back to Indobattery.
Grab your cup of coffee or yourcup of tea and join me at the

(00:45):
table.
Today I am honored to welcomeDr.
Jennifer Gadiani to the podcast.
Dr.
G is an international medicinephysician and one of the world's
leading experts on eatingdisorders.
She's the founder of the GadianiClinic in Denver, where she and
her team provide compassionate,comprehensive care to people
struggling with eating disordersand their medical complications.

(01:08):
She's a certified eatingdisorder specialist, a fellow of
the Academy for EatingDisorders, and the author of
Sick and Beth, a guide tomedical complications of eating
disorders, a groundbreaking bookthat changed how patients,
families, and even other doctorsunderstand this illness.
What makes Dr.
G's work especially powerful isher focus on populations often

(01:30):
overlooked, people living withchronic illness,
neurodivergence, and complexmedical needs.
She brings not only world-classexpertise, but also deep
compassion, and I couldn't thinkof anyone better to help us
explore today's conversation.
Please help me in welcoming Dr.
Jennifer Gadiani to the table.
What would you quantify as aneating disordered or disordered

(01:54):
eating?
Because I think that maybe wehear these things and we think,
oh, maybe it's just achallenging relationship with
food.
But there is some intersectionthere.
Can you kind of explain that tous and break it down a little
bit so we can understand it alittle better?
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
I will try because there, well, there are formal
criteria for eating disorders,of course.
The notion of disordered eatingis very nebulous.
And we have to contextualize itin the society we live in, which
is so diet culture focused.

SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
You know, I mean, everyone is talking about what
they're no longer eating, notbecause it doesn't, you know,
sit well with their tummy ortheir body, but because, you
know, they think it's the rightthing to do to avoid
inflammation.
I'm not eating this, I'm noteating that, I'm eating less of
this, I'm only eating at thesetimes of day.
I mean, this is so normal-izedand typical in our society that

(02:49):
even though I, as a veryhealth-privileged physician who
specializes in eating disorders,would be like, no, no, no, all
of that is disordered eating.
It's so broadly found thatpeople might be like, hey, are
you just trying to pathologizeme by telling me I've got a
problem?
And the answer is I want to befar gentler than that, but also

(03:13):
kind of come back to really goodscience about what truly healthy
eating is.
And I use that H-word roll rollcarefully, um, because boy, is
that a tricky word.
What I would say is that ifthere aren't physical
impediments to nourishing, whichof course many people have, and

(03:34):
many of your listeners have, Iwould say that normal eating
means that you spend relativelylittle brain energy on what did
I just eat and what I'm about toeat, and what did I eat
yesterday and what will I eattomorrow.
You pretty comfortably canlisten to hunger and fullness
cues, and you can nourishyourself with satisfying, tasty

(03:57):
foods in a mindful way,reasonably consistently
throughout the day, without muchchatter or shame or fear that
revolves around these topics,and that you can fuel yourself
to do what your unique bodywants to do that day.
I would say that is sort ofbroadly speaking normal eating.

(04:19):
And therefore, theoretically, Iwould say that anything outside
of that could be disordered.
That doesn't mean judgment.
That doesn't mean someone withsevere IBS, irritable bowel
syndrome, who has to avoid abunch of foods is like, oh, you
have disordered eating and I'mjudging you.
It says, gosh, you must have tospend a lot more time and energy

(04:44):
on how to fuel yourself.
And you must suffer a lot morethan other people when they can
just bolt down a sandwich and goback to work, and you're trying
to figure out how your tummy'sgonna do that day.
Eating disorders, of course,have really formal criteria in
the diagnostic and statisticalmanual fives that follow certain

(05:04):
criteria.
But I think the focus of thistime is about folks who have
gotten into a relationship withfood in their bodies, whether or
not, again, there's body imagestuff involved, which let's face
it, if you were human on theplanet, probably there's some
body image stuff involvedbecause thin privilege is so
powerful in our culture.
But what I'd like to talk to isjust the breadth of conditions

(05:28):
that might lead somebody to haveto spend so much time on how to
feed themselves and how to dealwith their body's reaction, and
that they're not alone, they'renot a mystery, and they can feel
better.

SPEAKER_00 (05:42):
That's a wrap for this quick connect.
I hope today's insights helpedyou move forward with more
clarity and confidence.
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Until next time, keep feelingempowered through knowledge.