Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

Let’s Clear Something Up

Just because you don’t meet the clinical criteria for an eating disorder doesn’t mean your relationship with food is totally fine. A lot of people live for years with disordered eating without realizing it, partially because our culture normalizes it. We’re told that constantly thinking about food, feeling guilt after eating, or trying the latest "wellness" trend is just being "healthy." But when food starts to feel like a source of stress, shame, or control, that’s worth paying attention to.

Let's explore the difference between disordered eating vs. eating disorders, why that distinction matters, and what you can do if any of this sounds familiar.

This blog will walk you through:

• What disordered eating is (and how it's different from a diagnosable eating disorder)

• Why this distinction matters—and why it doesn’t

• How our culture normalizes disordered eating

• What signs might indicate it’s time to seek support

• How therapy can help you rebuild a more peaceful relationship with food and your body
  

What Is Disordered Eating?

Disordered eating refers to a range of behaviors around food, eating, exercise, and body image that don’t meet full diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder but still impact your physical and emotional well-being.

Some examples of disordered eating behaviors include:

• Rigid calorie counting or food tracking

• Skipping meals to "make up" for eating more earlier

• Exercising primarily to "burn off" what you ate or "earn" meals

• Labeling foods as good or bad

• Feeling out of control around certain foods

• Frequently trying new diets, cleanses, or food rules

• Constantly thinking about your body or food throughout the day

These behaviors might not be constant. They might ebb and flow depending on stress, life transitions, or external pressures. But even if they're not happening every day, they can take a toll on your mental health, your body, and your overall sense of peace with food.

What Is an Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders are diagnosable mental health conditions that involve severe disturbances in eating behavior and often co-occur with anxiety, depression, trauma, and other psychological concerns.

According to the DSM-5-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the most common eating disorders include:

• Anorexia Nervosa: Restriction of food intake leading to significantly low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.

• Bulimia Nervosa: Episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors like vomiting, excessive exercise, or fasting.

• Binge Eating Disorder (BED): Recurrent binge eating without regular compensatory behaviors, often accompanied by shame and distress.

• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): Limited food intake not due to body image concerns, but often related to sensory issues, fear of choking, or other factors.

For more on clinical criteria, check out resources from Mayo Clinic or NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association).

To receive a formal diagnosis, individuals must meet specific criteria laid out in the DSM-5-TR. But here’s where things get tricky, many people suffer tremendously from disordered eating behaviors that don’t check all the boxes for an official diagnosis.

Why the Distinction Matters (and Why It Also... Doesn’t)

It’s important to understand whether what you’re experiencing falls under disordered eating or a diagnosable eating disorder, especially when it comes to accessing certain types of care, insurance coverage, or treatment programs. But here’s the bigger truth: if your relationship with food or your body is causing distress, it matters.

You don’t need to wait until things get "bad enough" to seek support. And you definitely don’t need a diagnosis to justify getting help.

Many of my clients come to therapy saying something like, "I don’t think I have an eating disorder, but I just feel really out of control around food," or "I’m constantly thinking about what I should or shouldn’t eat." That’s more than enough reason to start exploring your relationship with food.

How Our Culture Confuses Things

One of the reasons it can be so hard to recognize disordered eating is that our culture celebrates it. We live in a society that praises restriction, glorifies thinness, and treats dieting as a moral virtue. When you’re surrounded by messages that equate "wellness" with control and deprivation, it’s easy to lose sight of what a healthy relationship with food actually looks like.

In fact, some disordered behaviors are marketed to us as signs of success: skipping meals? You’re being "disciplined." Obsessively tracking your food? You’re being "accountable." Ignoring hunger cues? You’re being "strong."

This is why so many people struggling with disordered eating don’t realize there’s another way.

Signs It Might Be Time to Reach Out

Whether or not you meet diagnostic criteria, here are some signs that your relationship with food might benefit from some support:

• You feel anxious, guilty, or ashamed after eating

• You categorize days or meals as “good” or “bad”

• You avoid social events due to food anxiety or body image

• You feel disconnected from hunger/fullness cues

• Your thoughts about food or your body take up way too much brain space (aka "food noise")

If any of these sound familiar, you don’t need a diagnosis to get help. You just need to be ready for something different.

How I Work With Disordered Eating

This is a topic I’m deeply passionate about.

I take a weight-neutral, Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach and incorporate Intuitive Eating principles to help clients re-learn how to trust their bodies. It’s not about food rules. It’s about body wisdom.

I also pull from:

• IFS (Internal Family Systems) to explore the emotional parts driving food behaviors

• EMDR to process past experiences or traumas that may be fueling current struggles

• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to increase flexibility and self-compassion

• CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to identify unhelpful food- and body-related thought patterns
  

You Deserve Peace With Food

Whether you’re dealing with a full-blown eating disorder or some nagging disordered habits that just won’t go away, know this: you don’t have to live like this forever. Food doesn’t have to be a source of stress. Your body doesn’t have to feel like the enemy.

If you’re ready to start healing your relationship with food and your body, I’m here to help. You can schedule a free 15-minute consultation, or reach out with any questions.

You deserve support that meets you where you are—no diagnosis required.