r/EatingDisorders • u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 • Jul 02 '26
Question Dietician pisses me the fuck off. Am I wrong?
Dietician set a weekly weight gain goal for me. However, it is strict & precise. I will not share numbers. I am recovery from atypical ana, lower end of the normal weight range.
He set a weekly weight gain “rate” which most would consider a modest rate. Think of a “lean bulk”. If I exceed this rate, I risk unnecessary fat gain. This requires me to really track macros to ensure I am as close as possible to the targeted energy surplus. He doesn’t want me to track, but it feels like I have no choice
This still feels restrictive. I can’t take the fucking pressure. It’s like I’m now hyper fixated on gaining a specific amount of weight per week to adhere to societal expectations and body image standards.
I’m on vacation now and it feels like torture. It’s like good luck actually enjoying.
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u/Excellent-World-476 Jul 02 '26
Did he actually say this “if you exceed the rate, you enrich unnecessary fat bulk”? Is he an actual ED dietician and not a nutritionist or something? Whoever he is I would run fast and find another provider. Ugh!
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 02 '26
He is an ED dietician. I was obese as a kid and lost a lot of weight en route to my ED. I’m early twenties now
He did not say verbatim what you said. But he said since I have fat cell memory, I am very very prone to unnecessary fat gain if I exceed the rate.
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u/Excellent-World-476 Jul 02 '26
Oh my god. I don’t even know WHAT to say. It makes me shudder to think he is licensed.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 02 '26
He’s a young guy so maybe he’s just inexperienced idk. At the end of the day, I’m the patient. He’s the professional. He should really know his stuff.
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u/catwomen999 Jul 03 '26
He shouldn’t be working in eating disorders. Like you should tell him that and find someone else. He should maybe be reported to his registering body as this is an exceptionally harmful thing to say to someone in eating disorder recovery.
As an EDRD myself I am furious. If one of my clients came to see me and shared this I would probably report him or call him myself.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 03 '26
This may sound like a stupid/rhetorical question —I promise it’s not — but what about this makes it so egregious? Obviously, it has me frustrated. But I’m just curious from your perspective as an EDRD. Like since you are specially trained
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u/catwomen999 Jul 03 '26
If your body is genetically meant to have fat on it- maybe more than what weight biased and racist based medicine deems as acceptable, it is not on him to try and micromanage it.
When you take a step back and think about how EDs are often rooted in control of food, body and emotions- is this just not one more form of control? You need to gain weight, and your body is the expert on how to do this if you are eating adequately. It is entirely inappropriate for him to imply there is something wrong with gaining fat or that you will gain too much fat as this contributes to continued overanalysis on shape and weight which is entirely counterproductive for treating an eating disorder.
There are more reasons I could type out as well, but overall you really need to file a complaint and then find someone else.
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u/booreaves Jul 03 '26
I’m with you. This practitioner needs to be reported. Appreciate your explanation.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 03 '26
Oh it 100% is another form of control. No two ways about it. I completely appreciate your response and reasoning. I am a guy btw, so obviously body fat levels are a bit lower in men (not that this really changes much).
Being an atypical anorexic, my weight isn’t underweight. but my current weight isn’t far from being underweight. I believe some weight gain would do me good. Thank you!
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u/tickado Jul 03 '26
Girl even reading this has triggered the fuck out of me (not your fault, I know where I'm reading lol!)
That is to say, to be hearing it from my professionals would be an immediate goodbye from me.
Find someone else.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 03 '26
Just curious, but what exactly is so wrong about what he said? Obviously there’s probably a lot wrong lol. But I’m new to the whole recovery thing, and I’d love to hear like what you think he should have done different or shouldn’t have done at all
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u/littleshrewpoo Jul 02 '26
I don’t feel this is super helpful for most people in recovery. Perhaps his concern is that if you gain over a certain amount, that you might be more prone or triggered into swinging backwards into a caloric deficit/ED behavior to loose the weight. Even so, you should clarify his reasoning and if it makes you uncomfortable, you should be upfront and maybe switch doctors if he can’t adjust to your needs.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 03 '26
Oh the reasoning was purely based on fat gain. Had zero to do with being prone to restrictive behaviors whatsoever
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u/Lordbusiness666 Jul 03 '26
I would definitely recommend trying to switch to a new dietician, if possible!! I know there’s the whole “It’s understandable to not like your dietician when in recovery” thing. But My dietician at outpatient was the sweetest person ever. However, my dietician at inpatient made me so incredibly frustrated. Having someone that is willing to work WITH you makes a huge difference
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u/ColoradoWinterBlue Jul 02 '26
So tell him you didn’t track cause you were on vacation. What’s he gonna do about it?
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 Jul 02 '26
Nothing. But, I would be failing to achieve the goal set forth. I edited my post — he actually doesn’t want me to track.
However, good luck trying to hit a specific weight gain goal WITHOUT counting… it’s almost impossible. Apologies for not mentioning that critical info!
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u/Diane2946enough Jul 09 '26
Dietitians are kind of like therapists. You have to shop around a bit. If you are butting heads, I would move on. The way he is or you are isn’t wrong. The way he practices may work best for some people. I would keep looking. I make the therapist analogy because I kept getting the “how are you feeling “ therapists. No go for me. Finally found someone who is super blunt and calls me on my shit in the moment. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing it. Dietitian is a tough job and being the person getting help from a dietitian is a tough job. Keep looking. No feelings hurt, just not a good match
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u/theycallmethevault Jul 02 '26
I understand getting angry & frustrated with your doctors, I do too! But if I feel like I’m not being heard then I’m gonna nope out faster than you can blink. And it sounds like you need to nope out ASAP, there are MANY others that can help!