Bulimia Nervosa Dietitians and Nutritionists

Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa Treatment

Are you or a loved one consumed by thoughts of food or body image? Do you have urges to compensate for what you eat? Do you wish you had a better relationship with food overall?

If you suspect you or a loved one is struggling with Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Courage to Nourish is here to help. You might be wondering how to begin this recovery journey. It’s possible, you haven’t yet opened up about your struggle with food. Or perhaps you are looking to add a dietitian to your treatment team. Courage to Nourish is a team of expert eating disorder dietitians. We provide high quality eating disorder treatment, including Bulimia Nervosa treatment, and support clients to build a secure and comfortable relationship with food.

What is Bulimia Nervosa?

Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is an eating disorder that is characterized by recurrent episodes of binging followed by compensatory behaviors including purging by vomiting, laxative abuse, exercise or restricting of food post binge. Some signs that you or a loved one might struggle with BN includes fear of weight gain, a preoccupation with food, body image, and/or exercise, and binge episodes followed by compensatory behaviors(not sure if that makes sense). Bulimia Nervosa, like all eating disorders, has both emotional and physical implications. The proper treatment for bulimia requires a full team, which includes a physician, therapist and dietitian.

Eating disorders, including Bulimia Nervosa, are highly misunderstood and therefore require specialized professionals that have extensive experience and understand the healing process . Courage to Nourish understands that your struggle with food and body is valid. We aim to give our clients space to heal and discuss food and body image without judgment.

How We Help Treat Bulimia Nervosa

Treatment of BN requires individualized, consistent, and compassionate support. At Courage to Nourish, our dietitians are highly trained to treat all eating disorder diagnoses, including bulimia nervosa. We value trusting and compassionate relationships between our dietitians and their clients. Not only do we work with you or your loved one in individual sessions, but we also collaborate with various members of the treatment team. We also provide text and email support and keep our caseloads small. This can assure you are getting the highest quality of care.

In terms of treating bulimia nervosa, we understand that restricting of any kind often triggers the binge/purge cycle. So, we work with our clients to feel comfortable eating satisfying, and consistent meals. We understand it can be extremely difficult to normalize your eating patterns during this process, especially after episodes of binging, when you are often feeling an array of difficult emotions alongside the short term physical side effects, like fullness and bloating. Because of this, we work as a team with each of our clients to establish an eating pattern that feels doable.

At Courage to Nourish, our dietitians work one on one with our clients and their treatment team to improve BN behaviors, urges and thoughts. We understand that this is a journey and we meet our clients where they’re at, each step of the way, to make changes to develop a better relationship with food. We value safety and a non-judgmental space so our clients are able to process their relationship with food and body in a way that is met with understanding and empathy.

Typical Clients We Work With

Families

Families

FAMILIES

Courage to Nourish specializes in working with families and bulimia. If your family life has been disrupted by an eating disorder, contact us to learn more about how our highly trained dietitians can support your family in healing from bulimia.

College Aged and Young Adults

College Aged and Young Adult

COLLEGE AGED AND YOUNG ADULT

Courage to Nourish specializes in working with college students who struggle with bulimia. Learn more about our services and how our dietitians can work to support you and your relationship with food. Contact us for more information about how we work with college students who have bulimia.

Teens and Adolescents

Teens & Adolescents

TEENS & ADOLESCENTS

Courage to Nourish specializes in working with teens who have been diagnosed with bulimia. Learn more about our services and how our dietitians can work to support your teen and their relationship with food. Contact us for more information about how we work with teens who have bulimia.

Pregnant Individuals

Pregnant Individuals

PREGNANT INDIVIDUALS

Courage to Nourish specializes in supporting pregnant and postpartum individuals who struggle with bulimia. Learn more about our services and how our dietitians can work to support you and your relationship with food. Contact us for more information about how we work with pregnancy and bulimia.

Athletes

Athletes

ATHLETES

Courage to Nourish specializes in working with athletes who struggle with bulimia. Learn more about our services and how our dietitians can work to support you and your relationship with food. Contact us for more information about how we work with athletes who have bulimia.

Adults

Adults

ADULTS

Courage to Nourish specializes in working with individuals who struggle with bulimia of all ages. We work with kids with bulimia, adolescents with bulimia, young adults with bulimia, and adults with bulimia. Our dietitians are highly specialized in eating disorder treatment – learn more about our services and how we can work to support you and your relationship with food.

FAQs About Bulimia Nervosa

How do I know if I have Bulimia Nervosa?

If you find that you are struggling with your relationship with food, body or exercise in ANY capacity, please note that you absolutely deserve space and time to heal, regardless of the symptoms you’re experiencing. If you suspect you or a loved one has BN, please take our quiz.

How long does it take to treat Bulimia Nervosa?

Treating an eating disorder takes time! Most of the clients we see are “long term” clients who we work with on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. It is difficult to set a time frame, but it’s not uncommon for clients to meet with us on a weekly basis for at least 6 months. If you feel like your healing journey is taking “too long,” just remember that recovery is not linear. It’s normal to have ups and downs.

Will I need to follow a meal plan?

That is up to you! While we can support you in creating a meal plan that meets your needs, we also recognize that meal plans aren’t helpful tools for everyone. We would never want you to feel like you are on a diet or enabling your eating disorder.

How can I help a loved one with Bulimia Nervosa?

Supporting a loved one with an eating disorder, including BN, can be so difficult. As loved ones, we often want to “fix it.” But, recovery takes time and there’s not much we can do other than offering a listening ear and a non-judgemental space. Read our blog on Supporting a Loved One with an Eating Disorder. Also, visit our resources page and sign up for our newsletter to get more tips on how to support your loved one.

How can I find support for Bulimia Nervosa?

Courage to Nourish is happy to help. Contact us for more information about working with us. We provide both virtual and in person services. If for some reason we are unable to support you, we would be glad to refer you to other resources. You can also read our blog and resources page for more ideas and support on eating disorder recovery.

Have more questions?

About Courage to Nourish

Courage to Nourish is a group of eating disorder specialized dietitians. We have in person locations in Alexandria, Virginia, Columbia, Maryland, and College Park, Maryland. We offer virtual services across the state of Maryland. Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. We offer individual nutrition therapy. As well as support groups. We would love to guide you in building a better relationship with food.

Courage to Nourish team

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