During this episode, Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani joined me to talk about eating disorders and her experiences with them. She recently wrote a book: Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders. She has been working with patients with eating disorders for 11 years and has also incorporated Health at Every Size and weight inclusive principles into her practice over the last few years. She has found that it has made a great deal of difference, not only in recovery, but also in identifying patients who might have otherwise had a delay in diagnosis, or not been diagnosed at all.
In this episode:
How Dr. G got involved with eating disorder patients and HAES,
How starvation affects patients’ bodies.
Things to be aware of as a physician who might be encountering patients with eating disorders and “atypical” eating disorders.
Metabolism and fertility.
“HAES works medically.”
Something I would like to point out as well. At one point, I said something about “knowing better and doing better.” I recently found the entirety of that quote and I would like to share it because I think it is important, especially as many providers may be trying to move through guilt about causing harm through encouraging weight loss in their patients.
The important bit is to do the best you can, because we all do the best we can with what we know.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
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