Rebecca Bitzer, MS, RD & Associates, Inc



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Email : info@rbitzer.com

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Eating Disorders

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Congratulations on reaching out and taking a step towards recovery from your eating disorder. You have come to the right place! Our dietitians have had advanced training in coaching clients with eating disorders and we feel passionate about helping our clients recover from all kinds of eating disorders.

Why an eating disorder and why me? Worry about weight affects just about everyone today and this worry is being introduced at younger ages now more than ever. Unfortunately, our society tells us that image is valued over substance. Society also tells us that in order to be accepted and feel adequate, we must be the perfect shape.

We want to help you learn how to recover from your eating disorder and stay in recovery. One of the first steps we will take with you is to identify what benefit you gain from your eating disorder. We want to help you reclaim parts of your self that have been lost to your eating disorder and help you become at peace with your food, body and yourself.

  1. Signs Of An Eating Disorder

    If you are struggling with eating or body image issues, you may have an eating disorder. Look over this list of warning signs of an eating disorder. If you match the majority of the warning signs, please seek additional help.

  2. How Can We Help You?

    It can be a quite scary making an appointment with a nutritionist to help you live without your eating disorder. We want this process to be as positive and supportive as possible. We realize that your success in recovery is not measured by a number on a scale, but rather by creating new habits and new thoughts. Below are some ways we will work with you in your recovery:

    We will perform a thorough assessment, which will include evaluating your past and present nutritional status, present lifestyle and health risk status, biochemical and anthropometric values, family dynamics, understanding of the disorder, and motivation/readiness to change.

    A crucial part of recovery is developing trust with your healthcare team. This is of course an on-going process, but one we strive to establish at your first visit.

    We will actively listen and validate your concerns, and be respectful and caring towards your struggles.

    We will work together to create a meal plan that meets your needs, but also one that you can begin to feel comfortable with and trust.

    We will identify and challenge disordered thoughts through cognitive-behavioral exercises and work together to create new, healthier thoughts.

    We will identify the role your eating disorder is playing in your life and begin to take baby steps away from your disorder.

    We will provide you with accurate nutrition information and establish habits that will allow you to find freedom from your disorder for good.

    We will model and educate you on Normal Eating.

    We will together Identify food rituals or “self-imposed rules and beliefs” that limits the ability to be flexible and enjoy a variety of foods.

    We will help you develop a comfortable, safe, and enjoyable association with food.

    We will recognize the connection between appetite and overwhelming feelings and then use new tools to uncover the “true” sense of hunger.

  3. What is Normal Eating?

    Normal Eating includes eating regular meals and snacks that are regulated by internal signals of hunger, appetite and satiety. The purpose of this eating pattern is for nourishment, health and energy, as well as pleasure and social reasons. Normal eating fosters health, energy, strength, clear thinking and mood stability. It provides a source of social integration that promotes healthy relationships. “Food Thoughts” are limited to mainly meal times, rather than constant, overwhelming thoughts that won’t leave. Normal eating also allows our weight to settle in a healthy range, one that our bodies are destined and capable of living in (Reference: Winning the War Within by Eileen Stellefson Myers, MPH, RD, LDN, FADA).

  4. What are Binge Eating and Emotional Eating?

    Do you ever eat when you are not hungry? Do you sometimes find it difficult to stop eating even though you are full? Do you worry that your eating may be out of control? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are not alone. We often ask food to satisfy a need that can not be met by simply eating. We eat because we are bored, lonely, anxious, angry or sad. Therefore, we have given food the task of occupying our time, keeping us company, soothing us, or making us happy. Unfortunately, food cannot fill any of these needs, so once the food has been eaten, we are stuck still feeling bored, lonely, anxious, angry or sad.

    Let us join you on this journey on the road to recovery from emotional eating. We will help you identify your triggers to overeat and to help you see that food’s ultimate purpose in life is to nourish our bodies and allow us to live the life we want to live. Here at Rebecca Bitzer and Associates, we will increase your awareness to your behaviors and thoughts around food while creating a plan that is individual to your needs and personal goals.

    We believe that psychotherapy is an integral part to recovery from eating disorders and disordered eating. We work closely with psychotherapists in the Baltimore/DC area and have an extensive referral list.

  5. Inspirational Resources

    We have favorite resources that can help you during your journey to recovery. These include our support group, valuable eating disorder books in our bookstore, our blog with inspirational success stories, and be sure to review the items under the eating disorders tab on our links page.