3 Tips for Eating Disorder Recovery in College

Change is hard. Recovery is hard. But college can be an amazing time of self-discovery, independence, and doing new things. A lot of the reservations that individuals have about college surrounds the fear of the unknown, fear of change, and feeling out of control in a new environment.

Here are three tips to help manage all that while maintaining your eating disorder recovery.

Tip #1 – Plan Ahead

Typically, the dining hall menus on college and universities campuses are considered ‘rotating’ menus. This means that they typically change on a day-to-day basis but may be the same on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, (i.e., every two weeks the menu will repeat, or the first week- fourth week are always the same from month to month, etc.)

That all being said, asking for the dining hall menu from a staff member or the dining hall dietitian (some universities have one on staff with a office in the cafeteria), and/or checking the online dining hall website (search dining hall on the college website and it should be the first thing to pop up) can help you feel prepared and aware of options to help you make a complete and satisfying meal.

Also, when it comes to planning it’s important to prioritize menu planning your days/weeks, buying groceries, and prepping meals, as needed. My biggest tip is always pick a time on your schedule, and make it a non-negotiable. Just like you will prioritize and go to class, it’s incredibly important to prioritize planning in recovery.

Think of it in the same way you would think of an assignment—it’s due every week, and if it’s not done there is a consequence, and the consequence here is not giving your body the fuel to take care of you properly, including allowing you to retain information you learn in classes, participating in social activities/sports, and any additional activities you participate in on or around campus.

So when it comes to planning ahead, consider the following: writing a grocery list/menu plan for the week (including meals and snacks), going to the grocery store to pick up any items needed, and meal prepping itself. Also remember—these don’t have to all be on the same day, they can be different days/different times if doing it all at once isn’t feasible or is too overwhelming.

Tip #2 – Keep snacks in your backpack and in your dorm room

You know the old saying ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’? Well, not having available fulfilling snacks or meals on hand or available is one of the easiest ways to slip back into ED behaviors.

Think on a weekly basis, What is my schedule like? How many snacks do I need to pack on a daily basis? Maybe even consider getting a lunch box just to keep snacks in for your backpack. Remember we need to fuel our bodies every 2-4 hours, and it is very common for college classes to go back to back, and even run through ‘traditional meal times’.

This does not give you a reason to skip a meal, but a snack is a good alternative to giving your body some fuel before you’re able to have a later breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal (also commonly dining halls cater to that need and will serve meals later than what may be felt as a more traditional meal time).

Also think about having a variety of snack options (sweet, savory, easy to grab, etc.) Having different options (especially with a busy schedule) can help you get what you need physically, mentally, and quickly.

Tip #3 – Plan times to go get meals in between classes and/or meet up with new friends for a meal

It’s easy to fall into a thought pattern of ‘Well I can figure it out later’ or I’ll just ‘skip this meal this one time’. Both of these thoughts can be problematic. Again, refer back to ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’ thought. So when looking at your calendar and schedule of classes, also look at the dining hall hours to help you best prepare for when a meal time would be most feasible.

Second, think about meals that you can plan to have with friends, which allows you to hold yourself accountable to not skipping a meal because you’re too ‘busy’ but this also allows you to have someone to share a meal time experience with (a beautiful example of what food can give us outside of fuel alone). Also even rallying support from a friend if you’re having a challenging food, meal, or day can help with the continued positive outcomes in your recovery.

College transitions can be hard for a myriad of reasons, but when you take a moment to pause and come up with a plan, your recovery can continue to move in a positive direction. Remember it is also okay to need more support in the middle of such a big change and transition, so if you need to schedule with your dietitian or therapist to help the planning be more effective, don’t hesitate to reach out!