How to improve your relationship with food: Me and My Eating Program
The Me and My Eating Program has been designed by our multidisciplinary team at our clinic to support individuals who experience/live with an Eating Disorder. It is a comprehensive program based on the concepts of mindful eating and Mentalization-Based Treatment, therapeutic dining, individual and group nutrition sessions, nutrition workshops, and other activities.
The Me and My Eating program aims to support and guide individuals with eating disorders in the process of adopting self-care strategies. Through practices such as mindful eating, we promote a healthier and more conscious connection with food, going beyond the physical act of eating to address the overall relationship with food.
Mindful Eating: What it is and how we do it
We focus on the whole eating process and actively involve the patients in it, with the aim to create a different, complete and integrated experience.
- First, we individually assess the nutritional state and the needs of each person to personalize nutritional recommendations as part of the recovery process.
- We make individual decisions, but, at the same time, we work with the group to choose the meals we will prepare.
- We plan meals and go grocery shopping together, so patients can be part of the process and decisions, so they learn self-care routines they can continue after the program ends.
- We prepare the meals and experiment with recipes, flavors, colors, etc. The act of preparation is a creative and mindful process that prepares us to enjoy the dish.
The recovery diet in an eating disorder goes beyond what we eat; it includes the entire process related to food: planning, shopping, preparation, and rest. These stages can trigger difficult emotions, and our goal in the Me and My Eating program is to address them within a community, working together in the safe space provided by the ART Project.
- Eating together in a group may be the most challenging part for most patients. Learning to do so while respecting respecting hunger and satiety signals, enjoying the experience, managing fears, sharing it with others and considering self-care, are the main goals of this part of the process.
- After eating is very important to respect digestion and take a rest.
In addition to the eating process, we carry out nutritional activities to foster curiosity, support and build an eating identity, debunk myths, address fears and play and experiment with different foods and recipes.
Families and companions will also have access to nutritional support to gain more knowledge about how to help their loved ones during this process.