Because anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that goes much deeper than food, a diet plan for recovering anorexics requires the same wide scope. Those suffering from anorexia are generally suffering from emotional issues with which they try to cope by obsessively controlling their food intake and weight. A successful diet plan will help restore both physical and emotional health.
Basics
Specific foods are generally not the focus of a diet plan for anorexics, but receiving necessary nutrients is. Consulting a doctor or professional nutritionist is the best way to ensure the diet meets daily dietary requirements and calorie requirements to first restore and then sustain a healthy weight. The most severe cases of anorexia can result in hospitalization and nutrient-rich intravenous fluids. Once a recovering anorexic receives a diet plan to follow on her own, a doctor usually monitors her weight and health to ensure she is eating the prescribed amounts.
Supplements
People suffering from anorexia have typically deprived themselves of necessary nutrients. While a healthy diet can eventually supply those nutrients and restore the body to good health, many might still be lacking. Vitamin and mineral supplements are frequently a necessary component of a diet plan for recovering anorexics, with specific supplements recommended by a professional nutritionist.
Diet Plus
Other components of a recovering anorexic's diet plan typically include re-establishing healthy eating habits and counseling. The re-establishment of healthy eating habits comes from learning what constitutes a healthy food intake and healthy body weight. The counseling tackles the emotional issues that led to the disorder in the first place. Recovering anorexics need to be aware of what their healthy weight is supposed to be and strive to achieve it, a success that can only come from changing their mode of thinking and habits, both of which often require therapeutic assistance.
Considerations
Avoiding triggers that spiral the recovering anorexic down to old behaviors is another important component in re-establishing a healthy diet. Triggers can include seeing super-thin models or movie stars, isolation and pro-anorexic websites which erroneously tote anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than a disease. Stressful or difficult situations can trigger a relapse into the old, calorie-restricting behaviors. The scale and the mirror can also be enemies, pulling the anorexic back into the delusion that her weight gain is not a positive step, when in actuality it could save her life.
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