A low fat diet isn’t going to help you recover from anorexia and here is why.

(it’s not what you think btw)

Fat facilitates digestion in recovery

The less fat you eat, the less work your gallbladder has. Big deal you might think, WTF is the gallbladder anyway? Well it’s a little pouch like organ that stores and releases bile. Bile is a substance produced by your liver cells to help you digest fat. The body is clever though, no fat in the diet, no need to produce bile but here’s the trick: bile is what’s called a pro-kinetic, which means it promotes movement. No fat, no bile, no movement, no poo.

There, I said it: fat helps you poo and a low fat diet doesn’t. So given that that 99.8% of you (made up statistic) in recovery from anorexia report suffering from constipation, I think looking at increasing your fat intake might a good idea. You should definitely do that way before you increase protein, which another 99.8% of you in recovery  (still a made up statistic) want to do.

Contrary to what the anorexia is saying, fat keeps you healthy

Fat is also CRUCIAL to absorb fat-soluble vitamins: A, E, D and K. Those vitamins are needed for lots of pathways in your body (from immunity to bone health) but let me also point out their role in skin health. Who doesn’t want a nice glowing skin? 0% of us. A low fat diet is a sure way to have a problematic skin.

It is also about the calories but you know that: fat contains more calories gram for gram than carbohydrates or protein. That means that you get more energy bang for your buck with fat. On the one hand this might feel scary but on the other, it means you don’t have to eat as much, which when you need to eat three meals and snacks a day, is a major plus.

Eating more fat is scary in the moment but you will feel it less physically than protein or carbohydrate.

Your recovery on a low fat diet will take twice as long and be twice as hard because you’re going to need a HUGE amount of food.