ABSTRACT
Structured eating gives organization to food and feeding through nourishing balanced meals, mini-meals and snacks throughout the day. A dietitian must set the meal plan parameters during the Structured Eating phase, because the eating disorder and nutritional imbalance arrest the patient’s ability to plan restorative feeding. Patients build from Structured Eating into Mindful, Intuitive, and Mastered phases—and, because recovery is seldom linear, nutritionists reassure patients that Structured Eating remains their foundation. When patients practice Structured Eating after years of disordered eating, their bodies often take a while to get all cylinders running. They may “stall” occasionally, producing unexpected “by-products” like flatulence, bloating, and belching. Navigating the balance requires vigilance about how eating disorders distort and control thinking—and cunningly redefine and mis-define simple words like “servings”. A matter-of-fact, non-didactic conversational tone helps to reduce resistance tension—and share some reality about the science of nourishing the body.
