How to Overcome Fear Foods in Eating Disorder Recovery

Overcoming fear foods is a significant step when working towards full eating disorder recovery. It’s important to expose yourself to these foods and then incorporate them into your diet in order to find food freedom. 

To start, what is a fear food?

A fear food is a food, multiple foods, or even a food group that a person is afraid to eat. The most common reason that someone experiences this fear is because of negative thoughts and feelings about the nutritional content. “The patient worries about an adverse reaction, like binging on this food or instantly gaining weight,” explains Vermont nutritionist Elaina Efird, RDN, CD, CEDRD, CSSD in a YouTube video on this topic. “As a result, the fear food is entirely eliminated from their diet.” 

For an individual suffering from an eating disorder, the fear food often causes an emotional reaction, like a panic attack or burst of tears. They may even quickly leave the table in an effort to avoid this food entirely. 

As an example, Elaina discusses a client with a fear of butter. 

She attended a dinner, and her plate consisted of a protein, vegetables, and a carbohydrate. There was also a pat of butter on the carb. Rather than eating the meal as it was prepared or even removing the butter, she immediately left the table and refused to eat dinner for the remainder of the night. “Of course, that’s a pretty severe reaction,” Elaina adds. “But that’s what happens in eating disorders. The eating disorder brain takes over and tells that person what to do.”

Oftentimes, an individual’s list of fear foods grows throughout their eating disorder. As the eating disorder voice gets louder, it may increase to as many as 20 or 30 items, including entire food groups. 

So how do we reintroduce the patient’s fear foods during their recovery journey?

Following the steps below, we encourage individuals to incorporate their fear foods into their daily routine.

1. Make a categorized list of your fear foods.

Organize your list from slightly fearful to moderately fearful to very fearful. This system allows you to work through the list with your dietitian and/or therapist in a thoughtful and efficient way. 

2. Plan a day and meal to try the least fearful food. 

Let’s say peanut butter, a common fear food, is at the top of a patient’s list. Be very specific in your planning: On Wednesday, at lunchtime, I’m going to eat my meal and then have an apple with peanut butter. The more you plan ahead, the easier it is to overcome that eating disorder voice in your head.

3. When it’s time for the meal, make the experience and environment as comfortable as possible.

If you prefer to eat with family or friends, invite someone to join you. If you’d rather be on your own and reading a book, do it! This approach allows the meal to be enjoyable despite the incorporation of the fear food. 

4. If eating the fear food goes well, have that same food again in a few days.

At this point, it’s important to keep practicing with that same fear food. If you struggle at first, it’s okay! Try again in two or three days. “What we want to do is expose you more and more to this food to make it less and less scary,” Elaina shares. 

5. Now, work through your list.

Follow these steps and work through your entire list from top to bottom. This way, you can slowly reincorporate these foods into your diet throughout your recovery.

To talk to a professional about eating disorder treatment, please reach out to our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic today.