Welcome

Welcome to Lose the Diet. Love Your Body. Eat in Peace. 

I am a Los Angeles- and New York City-based psychologist specializing in eating disorders and body image issues.

I have designed this site to communicate my ideas about food, weight, size, and more, in order to open up a conversation about them with the public. 

My mission is to provide support, promote healthy eating and body image strategies, reduce the incidence of eating disorders, and improve women's self-esteem.  

I hope you find the information useful. 

Best,

Stacey Rosenfeld, Ph.D                           

www.staceyrosenfeld.com

What You May Not Know About Eating Disorders 

Anorexia and Bulimia are not the only eating disorders:  Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) is the name for other eating-disordered presentations. People who do not binge/purge frequently enough to meet criteria for bulimia would be classified as EDNOS, as would those who engage in regular binge eating; restrict their food and exhibit eating-disordered thoughts, feelings, and behaviors but are not below 85% of their ideal body weight; and those who chew and spit out their food. 

Purging can include excessive exercising and more:  Purging is a general symptom of bulimia that does not involve just vomiting.  People may purge by using laxative, enemas, or diuretics, or by engaging in compulsive exercise. These are all compensatory techniques.  Even if you do not engage in these behaviors, if you binge, and then restrict your intake (not eating the day after a night-time binge), you may still meet criteria for bulimia.

Eating disorders in men are on the rise: While the majority of eating disorder patients are female, men can develop them, and we are seeing the numbers among men and boys climbing as the media now presents similarly unrealistic body ideals for men (e.g., the Abercrombie & Fitch models).  In addition, historically, men may not have presented in treatment as frequently as women due to shame or failure to recognize their symptoms as disordered (because of their gender).  Now, they may be a bit more comfortable seeking treatment as our culture becomes more fluent in eating disorders and there’s more of an understanding that they affect men, too. In the past, we may have underestimated the rates in men because they did not seek help as frequently in women. 

Underweight does not necessarily mean a disorder:  Do not judge a book by its cover and never assume that an underweight person is anorexic.  Without a clinical interview, it is impossible to determine an eating disorder. An underweight person may be ill or incredibly hyper-metabolic. You cannot judge from someone’s weight or shape whether or not a disorder exists.  People who struggle with bulimia, for example, may be underweight, at a healthy weight, or even overweight.

Eating disorders occur in all age groups and populations:  While eating disorders may frequently develop during the teenage/young adult years, older individuals can develop disorders for the first time later in life.  We are seeing more and more of this these days. As with men, it may be that older women are feeling more comfortable presenting in treatment, which would explain the jump, but there are other reason as well.  The media continues to present an even more impossible body ideal (women are supposed to lose their baby weight within weeks after delivery, older actresses stay lean while the general population doesn’t), all of which affect women beyond their 20’s.  Also, eating disorders are (albeit unhealthy) coping skills.  We’re living in difficult times and women of all ages may turn to an eating disorder as a way to deal with difficult emotions and circumstances, a way to gain some semblance of control  Some believe an eating disorder to be either a Caucasian problem or a “rich person’s disease.”  Not true.  Eating disorders affect all races, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. 

Eating disorders co-exist with other serious issues:  Many parents of patients with eating disorders will insist that their children/teenagers are problem-free outside of their disorder.  Evidence suggests the contrary.  Those who struggle with eating disorders often meet criteria for other psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, alcohol/substance abuse, and exhibit symptoms such as cutting, or other self-destructive behaviors. Treatment for the eating disorder must involve attention to co-occurring psychiatric illnesses.

Eating disorders are glamorous and convenient ways to lose weight:  Often, people will say, “I wish I had an eating disorder." No, you certainly do not.  Eating disorders are not successful diets or evidence of indestructible will.  They are physical and psychological diseases that take on a life of their own, even when those who struggle become intent on recovery.  Most eating disorder patients would do anything they could to be free of the spell of their disorder.

 Eating Disorder Myths

Myth: The thinner you are, the healthier you are.

Weight is not a perfect proxy for health. The best predictors for health: family history, eating a balanced diet and engaging in regular exercise.  Being too thin can have negative health consequences, and there are many healthy-weight or heavy women who are in perfect physical health.

Myth: Skinny = happy.

Not true.  There are plenty of fat people who are happy, plenty of thin who are not.  It’s not a 1-to-1 correlation, and true happiness doesn’t lie five or 10 or 20 pounds from now.

Myth: Men are only attracted to super slim women.

Most men are attracted to a woman who looks like a woman, not an eight-year-old boy. They appreciate curves.

Myth: Women who are diagnosed with anorexia nervosa have a great deal of will-power.

While it may seem that they are in extreme control over what they eat, in fact, their disorder is controlling them.

Myth: Anorexia nervosa is a desirable condition, something to aspire to.

AN is a horrible physical and psychological disease, that has one of the highest fatality rates of any psychiatric illness.  Most women who meet criteria for AN are unhappy and wish they could go back to the time before they had the disease.

Myth: People with bulimia nervosa, who purge, are ridding themselves of excess calories. Purging is not an effective weight-loss technique, and can significantly impact health–multiple bodily systems are affected, and electrolyte imbalances due to frequent purging can even lead to death.