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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I don't know, if it is indeed about control for her, this sounds like it could backfire big time. In fact, it is kind of using food as an emotional control. Food is tricky because we need it and good nutrition is important, but we have to manage it ourselves. If you make it "non-negotiable" you're kind of setting yourself up for a battle. What are you going to do if she doesn't want breakfast? Hold her at the table staring at it for hours? Tie her down and make her choke it down? You can't do that. I think an overall day by day normal total is fine, but that could be in the form of snacks, no breakfast and a big lunch, etc. Forcing 3 squares sounds kind of outdated and setting yourself up to make food a point of contention. Plenty of healthy people don't eat that way and don't have eating issues. I think the advice to back off and just quietly track what she goes for sounds a lot better for now. [/quote]

Yes, PP, you exactly hit on the reason why treating anorexia is so incredibly difficult.  In the ideal situation, the human body desires food, and just goes about eating what we need.   When kids have anorexia, there is something in their minds that interferes with this process.   Kids sometimes actually describe a voice telling them that they are "bad" if they eat food, even if they are very very hungry in reality.   Some kids, especially the younger ones, are fearful to eat certain foods all of a sudden; they get horribly anxious thinking about eating and feel a sense of relief only if they do not eat.

The treatment for anorexia is indeed to require kids to eat.  For some kids it can be easier than others.  If you catch it early enough, it might be enough just to insist of three meals and three snacks a day, and no phone or other devices or other treats until everything has been eaten.  For others the recovery process is much much harder, and might involve a feeding tube for a time, until the kdis are able to eat again on their own.   [/quote]

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