How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder Lib/E: A Simple, Plate-By-Plate Approach to Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food

by Casey Crosbie, Wendy Sterling

Help your child eat normally again.

Parents are the first to know when their child starts behaving differently. Has your son stopped eating his favorite food, or does he refuse to eat out with friends? Has your daughter drastically increased her exercise regimen or become obsessed with health foods? These are among the telltale signs that your child, like millions of others, may have an eating disorder (ED).

In this essential guide, registered dietitians Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling introduce an all-new strategy you can use to help your child at home. The plate-by-plate approach is rooted in family-based treatment -the leading psychological therapy for EDs. Unlike complicated exchange systems, this is simple: Crosbie and Sterling coach you through every aspect of meeting your child's nutritional needs, using just one tool-a ten-inch plate.

Paired with therapy, this intuitive, visual method is the best way to support your child on the path to recovery. Plus, the authors cover how to talk about diet and weight, what to do while traveling, what to expect from your child's doctor, and much more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nutrition, Food

Audio CD

Published July 24, 2018

Reviews

[Sivan]

"Hopefully, your child will maintain a fully recovered life, made possible by all of the effort put towards treatment, and this eating disorder will keep its place as only one scary chapter of your child's otherwise healthy and happy life. To all of the parents out there, we salute you. Your child could not beat this illness without you."

Couldn't have said it better myself. Throughout reading, I was struck by just how much effort is necessary to combat this disease. All that effort which parents are putting in is a show of love. I hope this book is useful to those who need it. Stay strong.

I would recommend this book to friends of families dealing with eating disorders as well since it offers great insight into the colossal time and effort necessary to reach recovery, as well as highlights the seriousness of this disease.

[Sparklle Rainne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m 29- my dietician and I still use this to plate meals and snacks! It played a huge role in saving my life, and I am pumped for the book for adults to come out soon.

Absolutely recommend FBT to anyone who can do it. I love that the book teaches parents how to navigate tough times in recovery.

[Katie Schimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read!! My absolute favorite technique for working with kiddos❤️ Forever belongs on my office bookshelf.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource! Definitely a book I will keep and reference for years to come.

[Heather Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and simple method! I am so grateful that this exists in the space of ED recovery. Well put together and easy to implement.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're around six months into active treatment and almost a full year removed from the initial onset of our child's eating disorder behaviors, and this book probably would have been better for me to read when we were just starting intensive treatment. I think some of the early behaviors and interventions described caused me anxiety in revisiting them, even though my child has largely moved past them. I certainly don't ever want to go back to that.

I ended up purchasing a hard copy of the book because I did find many of the suggestions in the later stages of treatment to be very helpful, in conjunction with input from our well established treatment team. My dream and goal for my child is for food to be a neutral or even pleasant thing, and for eating to be normal again, and this book seems like a good guide toward that end, especially for the days when I'm not able to consult with our treatment team. It can get lonely and discouraging.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by two RDs with eating disorder (ED) experience and certifications as specialists in sports dietetics, this book demystifies the Family Based Treatment (FBT) of EDs particularly anorexia nervosa. This book walks a parent through the three FBT phases and explains their role with refeeding their child with practical steps, meal plans, and common concerns.

For a parent, this book would be read ideally as part of FBT with a live treatment team monitoring your child's recovery. I read this book as a RD seeking to understand the FBT specifics related to refeeding and exposure therapy. It's a practical and easy read.

While I found my own decades long path to recovery, if my parents and I would've had a treatment option + this book when I first struggled with a ED, it could've been a much simpler path forward. Bravo to these authors.

[Crystal]

Tons of information. Can be triggering for those who have experienced or still have disordered eating ( eating disorders) . But still a much needed resource to bridge the gap from letting the disordered eating take control of health and going into understanding the difficulty and different types of disordered eating in modern living and how to overcome challenges in a family based therapy treatment program with plate by plate theory. Will definitely be a reread. Mostly geared towards preteens and teens. I read it to heal my inner child and face my own disordered eating challenges and to look into what is happening in my child's disordered eating habits.

[Mary Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book I hope to ever have to recommend to anyone, but if you find yourself dealing with this issue, this is the guidebook you need. Working with the plate-by-plate approach outlined in this book, along with a registered dietician, saved my daughter's life. This is an excellent resource for navigating a very scary issue that I knew little about. Not only does it plot a path to recovery, but it explains the mindset of those with eating disorders and how, in many ways, our toxic diet culture is responsible for fueling these problems (eye opening on many levels).

[Megan Uy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource—well-researched, reassuring, encouraging, even inspiring. And CHALLENGING. Not every parent will be able to provide this kind of support to their child’s treatment and recovery, however much we as clinicians know it works. I struggle to imagine that a single-parent breadwinner with more than one child would be able to devote the kind of time, energy, and attention this approach takes.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my lifeline when my daughter was in the process of being diagnosed and when I had no clue how to address her AN. It's highly practical and was an excellent starting place for me as I was clueless about HOW to feed her and nourish her. As someone who has always eaten intuitively, this gave me parameters and guidelines and examples to help me help her.

It's not a complete guide and I would recommend Lauren Mulheim's book as such a thing.

[Karlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful resource for any working with those with eating disorders, but especially as a guidebook for parents and guardians. Such great information on navigating throughout the entire spectrum of recovery and what to expect with action steps throughout!

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent educational book. Easy to read and accessible. I think it has a couple of gaps of information but I'm looking forward to discussing further with colleagues/in supervision.
This book will be kept in my desk at all times for reference and can be modified for adults too!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible and important read. I wish we did not need this book but I am grateful for the accessible concepts, scientific base, and simple plating ideas and support this book offers parents/caregivers of a child with an eating disorder.

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book out their to coach parents on the specifics of nourishing their child through an ED. Great resource for nutrition professionals working with adolescents and their families.

[Sam With Veggies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a clinical tool that I forsee myself recommending to people in the future. Oh what a difference my teen years would have been if my parents have read something like this for me

[Angela Parisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a clinical placement in my master’s program!!! A very good read and I think it can definitely help parents navigate their child’s eating disorder.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kasey and Wendy are gamechangers for this work. Perfect for clinicians and parents.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and helpful.