by Admin | May 16, 2020 | Eating Disorder Recovery
5 Ways to Use Your Values in Eating Disorder Recovery A few months ago, I heard a dietitian named Chere Bork speak. She considers herself to be a “life coach” or “energy igniter.” Chere also goes by “Chere Banana” and gives talks to kids! Chere Bork MS, RDN Chere Banana! Chere actually supports super busy individuals in achieving their goals, getting and staying motivated, and reigniting their passions. Seeing Chere speak was an amazing experience and I was so glad I got to hear all the advice she had to offer. I felt like I was able to brainstorm about how I can energetically achieve my own passions and goals… Of course, it also got me thinking about how this talk can be used in recovery from an eating disorder. She spoke a lot about living life close to your values. What are values? Webster dictionary defines “values” as the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. OR a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life. So, basically living life closer to your values means you are holding the things you find important close to your heart and respecting your beliefs. That’s how you can truly make your life more abundant. Another way to think about this is “you attract who you are, not who you want to be.” (Another quote by Chere). I took this to mean your values and who you truly are as a person is the driving force in achieving your goals. If you go against values, or try to be... 
by Rebecca Bitzer | May 14, 2020 | Eating Disorder Recovery
Looking for a treatment team and feeling overwhelmed with insurance and eating disorders? See below for details about the insurances that we participate with. Health insurance and eating disorders If you are looking for a nutritionist or registered dietitian to help you recover from an eating disorder, you have come to the right place. Our dietitians are participating providers for the following insurance plans. Aetna Cigna CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield FEP Johns Hopkins EHP Medicare (*Medicare does not cover eating disorders unless you also have diabetes) Our empowered eating program works within Rebecca Bitzer & Associates: A Dietitian for Every Condition and we are happy to help you get the care that you need. Take a look at more of the details of the basic insurance parameters. We are happy to discuss your insurance situation in more detail. Feel free to reach out to us anytime. We also work closely with therapists who are also in network with these insurance companies to help coordinate the care that you need to help you heal from your eating disorder. To find out more about our dietitians who work with clients with eating disorders, take a look at the bios for Dana Magee and Klara Knezevic who are here to help you virtually during the pandemic and either virtually after the pandemic or in person whichever meets your needs. Reaching out for help can be a scary thing, if it is easier for you to contact us through the web, feel free to email us at rebecca@empoweredeatingblog.com. ... 
by Rebecca Bitzer | Apr 17, 2020 | Eating Disorder Recovery
Where to get help during the pandemic? Looking for meal support resources during COVID-19 pandemic? Here are ideas to help you follow your meal plan during recovery Meal support resources during pandemic and beyond: INSTAGRAM support during pandemic: @covid19eatingsupport – community care@monte.videos – daily quotes & inspiring videos@libbyshappyproject – body positive illustrator@bodypositivepear – atypical anorexia remission@nerdabouttown – plus size body positivity@gracefvictory – plus size body positivity@selfloveclubb – a mental health/body positivity@allisonkimmey – getting off the yo-yo dieting@calliethorpe // theconfidencecorner – self love@hi.ur.beautiful – body positivity quotes@i_weigh – body positivity@saggysara – “instagram vs reality” factor@chessiekingg – body positivity influencer@bodyposipanda – body positivity influencer@celestebarber – comedian using humor to tackle body positivity@effyourbeautystandards – body positivity@iskra – body positivity influencer@lindseyhallwrites – PCOS and eating disorder@beating_eatingdisorders – recovery inspiration@recovrywarriors – recovery from ED@healthyisthenewskinny – “choosing health over the beauty ideal”@covid19studentsupport – support for students, by students BLOGS: Recovery WarriorsBeauty Beyond BonesI Haven’t Shaved in Six WeeksLane9 ProjectEvery Body is Beautiful ProjectTrans Folx Fighting Eating DisordersLet’s Queer Things UpThe Friend I Never Want(ED)Marginalized Voices Project – NEDA’s storytelling opportunity for underserved voices FACEBOOK support: CFD Nutrition ClubEmpowered Eating PODCASTS for eating disorder recovery: Eating Disorder Recovery with Dr. Janean AndersonFood Psych PodcastPeace Meal – the Emily Program Eating disorder Recovery APPS: Recovery RecordAn easy and discrete way to chart progress and check in with yourself – as well as your dietician.Rise Up + RecoverFrom the blog Recovery Warriors, this uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help monitor diet and exercise to determine what your triggers are.JouvrieTrack meals, provide coping strategies and printable archives, while focusing less on what you eat, and more on how you... 
by Admin | Feb 15, 2020 | Eating Disorder Recovery
Dana Magee Speaks on Treating Emotional Eating in the Smart Women Series What is emotional eating? I recently spoke at a Smart Women series at Anne Arundel Medical Center, alongside two other practitioners in the eating disorder community: Ann Caldwell and Dr. Ramona Seidel. The topic of the evening was “Conquering Emotional Eating.” My portion of the presentation was, of course, REBEL Dieting. The reason for this is that dieting can start off as something very innocent, but it becomes a slippery slope that can grow into a full-fledged eating disorder. The diet industry is constantly pumping our society full of products and diet plans, but the problem is that diets do not work! Dieting only addresses the WHAT of eating, and the measure of success and failure only lies in the measure of weight. So if not a diet, then what? How do we treat emotional eating, compulsive eating, binge eating? That is why we encourage our clients to REBEL: Not only focusing on the WHAT of eating, because after all our body needs energy and nutrients to power its organ systems, but also the WHERE, WHEN, WHY, and HOW of eating. I like to describe the WHEN and the WHY with the concept of intuitive eating. This concept is centered around eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Seems pretty simple, right? But what if for the last 5,10, 20 years you have been following diet plan after plan that tells you what and how much to eat regardless of if you are hungry or not? We lose touch with this and end up ping ponging back... 
by Rebecca Bitzer | Feb 4, 2020 | Eating Disorder Recovery
Sharing Taste the Sweet REBELLION on RealTalk with Dr. David Anderson Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest on Dr. Anderson’s RealTalk radio show to discuss our brand new book Taste the Sweet REBELLION: Rebel Against Dieting. RealTalk with Dr. David Anderson hosts an afternoon radio show called Anderson Speaks that airs 3PM daily in the Washington DC area. On Wednesdays his program is called Wisdom Wednesdays and I was honored to be chosen to speak on how to change the way you think about dieting and weight loss. How to improve your mental and physical health without being trapped in “diet prison” and see how research combined with our REBELLIOUS spin can help you find both health and happiness without depriving yourself of your favorite foods. Rebecca on RealTalk Rebecca and Dr. David Anderson It is not you who has failed diets. It is dieting that has failed you. There is another way to find health and happiness around food and we can help! How can we REBEL dieting? Here are the principles of REBEL outlined in our workbook to help you boldly nourish your mind, body, and soul: R= REBEL against dieting E= EAT like a REBEL by embracing nutrition B= BUILD confidence in your eating by learning to trust you appetite and increase your awareness of the what, when, where and why of eating E= EMPOWER yourself by developing a healthy relationship with food L= LIVE joyfully by unleashing your inner REBEL and ditching diets forever We work with clients who have struggled with disordered eating and eating disorders and here is a text... 
by Admin | Aug 13, 2019 | Eating Disorder Recovery
Is is possible to be fully recovered? A strong support team is necessary in order for an individual to recover fully from an eating disorder. Parents can be huge support. They learn along with their child about the eating disorder and the best ways to cope. Here is one parent’s feedback about what she has learned. “I have learned that it takes a village- you cannot help someone with an ED alone- you need the obvious “team” as you all like to refer to it (doctor, therapist, dietitian), but you also need sympathetic family, friend, and even co- workers. And they need to be in for the long haul. The next most valuable piece of info I learned is that recovery looks like an upward spiral. That thought helps brace me for the inevitable down turns that recovery can and does take. Having knowledgeable, caring, “with-it” people are the greatest support my child had. People who aren’t afraid to rock the boat and push the kid past the “status quo” of living with an eating disorder. People who hound her with e-mails, texts, and an app that beeps at her to remind her of what she should be doing…. Rebecca – you have been great. I lived for your emails [about my child’s recovery.]” Connect with us at admin@empoweredeatingrd.com or call 240-670-4675 to make an appointment. Note: This blog was edited and re-posted from July 11,...