When Struggling With Food Is More Than “Just a Phase”

One of the hardest parts about recognising a problem with food is that it rarely announces itself clearly. Most people don’t wake up one day knowing exactly what’s wrong. Instead, they live in a grey zone — where things don’t feel right, but also don’t feel extreme enough to justify getting help.In this episode, I walk through the eating-behaviour continuum (normal eating struggles → disordered eating → eating disorders), and I explain why the line between these categories isn’t clean or predictable. I also explore why “severity” isn’t determined by how often something happens, what you weigh, or how well you hold things together. It’s determined by the cost: the mental load, the emotional labour, the rigidity, the fear, and the erosion of trust in your own body.From there, I talk about why these patterns rarely resolve through insight alone. Disordered eating and eating disorders persist because they serve a purpose — often as regulation, coping, or a form of safety when the nervous system is under strain. You can understand diet culture, believe in intuitive eating, and still feel dysregulated when you try to practice it, because these patterns live in the body, not just the mind.I also spend time on where Ozempic / GLP-1 medications enter the conversation — and why appetite suppression can complicate assessment, reinforce restriction, or quiet behaviours without addressing the underlying relationship with food.Finally, I share the markers I see clinically that suggest support may be warranted, and I explain what support can actually look like when you don’t want to keep carrying this alone.🎟️ Join a room of like-minded women - Save your seat for the One Body to Love Retreat — www. meredithmackenzie.ca/retreatOne Body to Love 10-Week Intuitive Eating Program💻 Book a Connection CallWebsite - www.meredithmackenzie.caInstagram - @Dr.MeredithMackenzieFacebook - Meredith MacKenzie Coaching Pinterest - pinterest.com/drmeredithmackenzieYoutube - @Dr.MeredithMackenzie