Welcome to the first episode of Understanding Disordered Eating. Today, we’re sitting down with certified eating disorder registered dietitian and supervisor, Dina Cohen. She is a nutrition therapist who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, chronic dieting, women’s health, and pediatric nutrition. She is also the founder of Eat Well Soon, a nutrition counseling practice in Lakewood, New Jersey where she’s dedicated to helping individuals and families develop lifelong healthy habits and a positive relationship with food. 

In this episode, Dina helps us understand the definition of eating disorders, the importance of prevention, and why we should be careful in trying to achieve an "ideal body image." Let’s dive in! 

[00:01 - 7:01] Opening Segment

• Welcome to the first episode of Understanding Disordered Eating 
• Dina defines what a eating disorder is 
  • Mix-up of food and feelings 
  • Causes an individual so much distress 
  • Affects an individual’s physical and mental health 
  • Characterized by anxiety 
  • Severe disturbance to a person’s eating behavior
• Disordered Eating vs Eating Disorder 

[7:02 - 11:38] The Importance of Preventing Eating Disorder

• Causes of eating disorders 
  • Biopsychosocial
• Clarifying the definitions of eating disorder concepts 
• Weight change as a symptom 
• Restriction results to binge eating
• Dina talks about the eating disorder categories 

[28:06 - 33:59] Achieving the Ideal Body Image

• Weight loss as social currency 
• Follow us in our social media pages and give us a review
  • See links below
• Final words

Tweetable Quotes:

“Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean that it’s ok. But it [eating disorders] is getting normalized because it’s so common.” - Dina Cohen

“We want to see the weight as a consequence of a healthy lifestyle.” - Dina Cohen

Check Dina's website at www.eatwellsoonrd.com. You can also send her questions through this email [email protected].  

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You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected].