Building a positive relationship with food and your body

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Building a positive relationship with food and your body

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Stories

Learn more about the young people, carers and parents we have worked with
to improve body image and relationships with food

Hear from some of the young people we have worked with

At Be Body Positive we aim to give young people the support and care they need to understand body image and improving their relationship with food. We also want to give them a voice to share their own stories and advice for other young people going through the same thing.

Browse our range of stories from young people that Be Body Positive and our partners have helped to support. All identities, locations and images are changed.

"I didnt look as good as other lads"

I started to struggle with how I looked

Arfad from London

"Food became my obsession"

I found food and body image very overwhelming

Eva from Manchester

"I just noticed a gradual change"

My mental health started to change

Elijah from Birmingham

"I struggled with mental health"

I became anxious around food and socialising

Anastasia from London

"I didn’t like the way I looked"

My body image affected me at school

Jess from Portsmouth

Please note that all identities are protected and not shown on this website.

Josh

Sheffield

I remember being around eight to nine years old and beginning to develop binge eating disorder symptoms. It was at a challenging point in my life when my parents split up and then when I went to secondary school, things got worse as I had more control over what I was eating. My self-esteem was impacted by bullying in school and people around me giving me their uninvited opinions about my body and what I should be eating. The dinner lady used to say that I was not allowed to have any dessert and people would tell me I did not have an eating disorder because I was fat. All of this would lead to me going home and binging more, to a point where I was living to eat rather than eating to live.

Looking back now, I realise how much a lack of education and understanding in people around me such as my parents meant they were adding to the cycle in a negative way. There is a lot of stigma around eating disorders in general and there needs to be more of an understanding that they come in different forms and the focus should not just be on one type of eating disorder.

I found that therapy helped me understand that it was not about eating more or less food, but around eating mindfully. It also helped me understand the emotions of those around me and their behaviours, as well as how managing my own emotions was important for both me and them. Having people close to me with lived experience of eating disorders also made a difference to my experience of recovery.

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Please note that all identities are protected and not shown on this website.

Charlie

Cardiff

I remember being in Year 7-8 and starting to struggle to feel positive about my body. It wasn’t helped by some of the people around me – being bullied and called names. Things got worse in Year 9 when I started exercising every night and skipping lunches. It started spiralling to the point where I would skip breakfast and dinner as well – I remember being so hungry and tired all the time.

My parents started to notice when I was not spending my lunch money and shying away from food when I used to be such a foodie and always doing lots of baking. I had been hiding things from them for a while, vomiting what I was eating and concealing food where I could. They took me to my GP and I was referred to CEDS for review and was diagnosed with atypical anorexia nervosa. I did not realise at this point that my symptoms were bad enough to mean I needed to go to hospital. It was a shock to me, but I was determined to get out of hospital so that I could enjoy my birthday.

When I came out of hospital, I wasn’t at a point where I could truly engage in recovering. I stuck to my meal plan in a really rigid way – never eating a calorie more and it became a new way to control how I ate. When I went back to school, I started skipping lunches again which led to a teacher accompanying me at meal times and my mum choosing snacks for me. Whilst I wasn’t in the right headspace to make the best choices to support my recovery, it felt at the time like I was so out of control and cut off from my friends.

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Recently Added FAQ’s

How can Be Body Positive help me overcome my disordered eating?

The aim of this website is to support young people to identify and reflect on their eating behaviours and work toward a better relationship with food and their bodies through self-guided modules. Modules include exploring topics linked to food and eating behaviours and body image.

What is disordered eating and how is it different from an eating disorder?

Eating behaviours can be described within a spectrum from optimal eating to eating disorders, with disordered eating sitting somewhere in the middle. Disordered eating can include normalised eating behaviours such as skipping meals, overeating, undereating, binge eating and extreme dieting. It can also include other behaviours associated such as obsessive or excessive exercise. Eating disorders, on the other hand, are diagnosable conditions characterised by persistent and extreme disturbances in eating behaviour. There are different types of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and others. Eating disorders are accompanied by intense negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours towards food, weight and body image. In summary, disordered eating is a more general term that encompasses a broad range of eating behaviours, while eating disorders refer to specific, diagnosed conditions with specific symptoms and criteria.

Why is early intervention so important?

Disordered eating – a term used to describe eating difficulties that don’t require a clinical diagnosis – is becoming more common and can often be the first signs of someone developing an eating disorder. The NHS is treating record numbers of young people for eating disorders, so the need to intervene before diagnosis has become a matter of urgency. As ELFT clinician, Erica, says: “A better eating disorders’ prognosis is linked to a shorter duration between onset of illness and start of treatment. Early intervention is therefore important to allow targeted support at a time when symptoms are more malleable and less entrenched, at times preventing the deterioration of the symptoms to developing into a full-blown eating disorder.”

What are some coping strategies I can use today?

There are many coping strategies for disordered eating, including:

Mindfulness and self-care practices, such as yoga, meditation, and exercise
Talking to a therapist or support group to process feelings and emotions
Practicing self-compassion and positive self-talk
Engaging in hobbies and activities that bring joy and fulfillment
Challenging negative thoughts and beliefs related to food and body image
Focusing on nourishing the body with balanced and satisfying meals
Reaching out to friends and loved ones for support
Following body positive accounts on social media, such as @bodiposipoet or @antidietriotclub
Seeking professional help, such as seeing a registered dietitian or seeking treatment for an eating disorder.

It's important to remember that everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another. It's essential to find the coping strategies that work best for you and to seek help from a mental health professional if needed.