Can I Pursue Eating Disorder Recovery and Weight Loss at the Same Time?

It’s one of the most common (and complicated) questions I hear:“Can I work on my eating disorder recovery while still wanting to lose weight?”

It’s completely understandable to ask this. We live in a culture that constantly equates health and happiness with body size. If you’ve struggled with disordered eating or an eating disorder, it’s natural to still feel the pull of diet culture, even as you work toward healing your relationship with food. Let’s talk about why this question is so common—and what recovery really means in a non-diet, intuitive eating approach.

1. The Desire for Weight Loss Is Valid—AND It Deserves Compassionate Curiosity

First and foremost: your desire for weight loss does not make you shallow or “bad.” It usually represents something deeper—like wanting to feel comfortable in your body, confident in your clothes, or accepted by others.

Instead of judging the desire, I encourage exploring it with curiosity. Ask yourself:

• What do I believe weight loss will give me?

• Is there another way to meet that need—through self-compassion, improved self-care habits, exploring new workouts, or body respect—without returning to restriction?

2. Recovery and Intentional Weight Loss Often Have Conflicting Goals

Eating disorder recovery involves rebuilding trust with your body. It means nourishing yourself consistently, allowing all foods, and learning to listen to hunger, fullness, and satiety cues. Intentional weight loss, on the other hand, often relies on controlling or manipulating food intake and exercise—exactly the patterns recovery works to heal. Trying to do both at once can keep you stuck in a cycle of guilt, shame, and distrust… I often describe this cycle to clients as feeling like you are stuck in a hamster wheel.

That doesn’t mean your body won’t change in recovery—it might! But the goal becomes supporting your body rather than intentionally shrinking it.

3. Weight-Neutral Recovery Focuses on What Truly Improves Health

In a non-diet, intuitive eating approach, we shift the focus away from the scale and toward behaviors that promote well-being and paying attention to your body:

• Nourishing your body with enough food throughout the day

• Building gentle, enjoyable movement into your routine

• Managing stress and getting adequate rest

• Creating supportive routines around meals and self-care

These are the habits that truly impact energy, hormones, digestion, and mental health.

4. Body Acceptance Doesn’t Mean Loving Every Inch Right Away

You don’t have to wake up loving your body to be in recovery. To be honest, I find the “body positivity” movement to be quite unrealistic for most of us – myself included! Body acceptance means respecting your body enough to feed it, rest it, and treat it with kindness—even on the hard days. Over time, that respect often grows into peace and gratitude. And it’s okay if that never fully morphs into 100% satisfaction with your body. We’re all humans with flaws!

5. It’s Okay to Hold Space for Both Healing and Grief

Letting go of the pursuit of weight loss can feel like grieving a dream—especially if you’ve spent years chasing it. You’re allowed to feel sadness, anger, and fear. That’s part of recovery too. Working with a registered dietitian who practices from a non-diet, weight-inclusive lens can help you process these emotions and find a path forward that honors your body and your healing.

Final Thoughts

Recovery and intentional weight loss are often on opposite ends of the spectrum—but you can absolutely work toward feeling better in your body without chasing a certain number on the scale. Healing your relationship with food opens the door to true freedom—where your choices come from self-care, not self-control.

If you’re ready to explore what recovery can look like for you, we’d love to support you at Tennessee Nutrition Counseling.