How to Use Habit Stacking in Eating Disorder Recovery
A few years ago, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is an amazing book filled with so many incredible steps to help you change behaviors. And that’s a HUGE part of eating disorder recovery - changing behaviors even when the eating disorder thoughts and urges are screaming at you not to.
As an eating disorder recovery coach, I help clients change their eating disorder behaviors, empowering them to take care of themselves and follow through with their recovery goals. One of the difficult parts of recovery is that their eating disorder behaviors have become automatic.
James Clear explains, “Your brain builds a strong network of neurons to support your current behaviors. The more you do something, the stronger and more efficient the connection becomes.”
After time, it becomes “easier” to engage in eating disorder behaviors because the more you’ve engaged in a behavior, the stronger and more efficient that connection in the brain becomes. Engaging in behaviors that aligns more with recovery (like following your meal plan or not compensating after a meal), take much more effort.
It can quite literally feel like an uphill battle to change eating disorder behaviors. I’ve been there! I get it. It’s exhausting - mentally and physically draining. The good news is that there is hope AND it is possible to get to the other side. Recovery takes patience, practice, and consistency. And that’s where the concepts from Atomic Habits come in.
You can take control and strengthen your habits in recovery, instead of strengthening the eating disorder behaviors. James Clear writes, “You probably have very strong habits and connections that you take for granted each day. For example, your brain is probably very efficient at remembering to take a shower each morning or to brew your morning cup of coffee or to open the blinds when the sun rises … or thousands of other daily habits. You can take advantage of these strong connections to build new habits.
If you’re struggling to follow through with a recovery goal, try habit stacking.
What is habit stacking?
Habit stacking is a great way to build a new habit or routine. Identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This works because your current habits are already built into your brain. They are often automatic decisions that don’t take too much brain power. When you stack a new habit onto an already established habit, you’re more likely to stick to the new behavior.
How can habit stacking help eating disorder recovery?
Here’s an example of how habit stacking can help in eating disorder recovery. Let’s say you’re having a hard time with breakfast. Perhaps you delay it until it’s almost time for morning snack, and then your whole routine and schedule is off for the rest of the day. Then you’re in catch up mode all day, making meal times even harder and more stressful.
If you want to work on the timing of breakfast, think about a habit that you already do first thing in the morning. Perhaps you like to start your day with tea or coffee. Now, let’s try stacking breakfast on top of that habit. Instead of making your beverage and then starting on your tasks or to-do list for the day, what if you could start making your tea or coffee and then make your breakfast? Making your drink is the cue that leads to the new behavior we want to strengthen. By the time your morning beverage is ready, so is your breakfast. Now you can pair your drink with food, which will help you start your day off strong in recovery.
Once you’ve mastered habit stacking with one behavior, you can find another time when making the recovery choice is more difficult. Find habits and routines throughout your day that are automatic and pair it with a more difficult recovery behavior. The more you make recovery decisions, even small ones, the stronger those neural pathways in your brain become, making them easier to maintain.
I know it’s hard! Like anything with recovery, the more you do it, the easier it will get. You can do this! Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Find a habit where you can practice habit stacking today.
I believe in you and remember to keep fighting for your beautifully recovered life!
Hey there, I’m Lizzie, a CCI Certified Eating Disorder Recovery Coach working with clients virtually worldwide. I help individuals heal their relationship with food and their bodies through day-to-day behavior changes and goal setting.
