Let’s Talk About My 0rth0rexia Past (Details I've NEVER Shared)

Hey everyone I’m Abbey Sharp welcome to Abbey’s Kitchen. Today we're going to get really personal and talk about my history with orthorexia.

FREE HUNGER CRUSHING COMBO™ E-BOOK!

FREE PROTEIN 101 E-BOOK!

A FEW DISCLAIMERS
1) The information in this video is for education and entertainment purposes only, so you should always speak to a health care provider about your unique health needs.
2) Please use this video (as with all of my review videos) as educational, not as unique recommendations.
3) Please be kind in the comments.
4) Trigger warning to those with disordered eating tendencies.
5) Don’t forget to subscribe to this channel and ring the little bell so you never miss out!

RESEARCH LINKS

Follow me on Instagram and TikTok! @abbeyskitchen

Anorexia & Restrictive Dieting Freedom E-Course
(Use promo code Abbey20 for 20% off)

If you liked this video, please leave me a comment below with your thoughts and let me know who you want me to review next!

With Science & Sass,
Xoxo Abbey

[JoCeLyNpeaceful]

"Under-fueling your body literally hijacks a healthy brain" COMPLETELY sums up my ED experience. Your mind, experience, and judgment is so compromised. Recovery is wonderful and so worth it!

[kimberlyoliveri]

Thank you. As I was a baby ballerina at 4 and danced until my mid 20s, I've struggled with EDs all my life. Now at 63, I eat the same things everyday and exercise constantly to validate what I eat. I get that dopamine rush when people say how thin and disciplined I am. If only they knew how all consuming it is. Again, thank you for sharing. I have to make a change ❤

[mandymk]

Your pup wanting to hold your hand is so sweet! 🥰

Also, anxiety and IBS-D here. It Therapy helps!

[elled]

Best advice I ever got: if you’re looking for a sign to recover, just having that thought is your sign. Do it.

[zigzaglychee]

It's always anti sugar stuff that kicks it off, isn't it. It was for me too. I was a biochemistry undergraduate and I had to take modules on metabolism. I remember sitting in a middle of a lecture about diabetes. I was struggling with binge eating at the time, so my diet was pretty terrible (and I spent a large amount of time constipated, with horrible stomach pains). And my head started reeling when the lecturer was talking about prediabetes. I was convinced that I must be prediabetic. If I didn't change my diet quickly I was definitely going to get diabetes! And from there it was downhill. I began cutting out sugary foods. It became even worse a few months later when I also became convinced that my teeth were going to rot, and I began cutting out even more carbohydrates. Lockdown helped me recover because I moved back home to my family, though I did lose a lot of weight during this time.

And this is why the MASSIVE anti sugar push online screams danger to me. Yes, too much added sugar isn't good. But you also NEED sugar to live. Your cells function on glucose! You should NOT be cutting out fruits, bread, rice, etc (unless you have worked with an ACTUAL doctor to help with a DIAGNOSED medical condition).

[EtherBunny-zk]

As a “husky” child of the 80s, I feel like you’re describing the rollercoaster I had been on since being put on my first diet at age 12. I’m almost 40 at this point and feel like I’m finally learning to break the cycle. ❤

[alexb]

Thank you for sharing! I just took the first step today in scheduling an initial appointment with an ED recovery program and I'm feeling so nervous, but your content has been so inspirational and helpful to me. I truly don't know if I would have taken this step had it not been for finding your videos. Thank you for everything you do 🩷

[buddyzpal]

Your dog putting their paws on you is so sweet. 💞

[JoanaTrincaoAaltonen]

Aww... Giving the paw all the time! What a cutie! 🥰

[Kleigh]

Your pup being a main character and making sure you are ok ❤❤ much love to you Abby and thank you for shining some light on mental health x

[michaelaturkova]

Abbey, I adore you! This is your most open personal confession I have seen on your channel over several years. I wished so much to give you a hug while listening you. I have been struggling with anxiety, OCD, OCPD and orthorexia for more than 30 years. I am almost 46 now. I have made peace with myself and accepted my weaknesses, trying to live as well as possible, because I know that I will never get rid of them.

[yvonnewalker]

Got put on a 1, 000 calorie diet when I was 10 or 11 right before hitting a growth spurt because I was “husky” . I’m 59. It’s always int the background, but mostly inactive. Anyway I know they meant well but when I hit the teen years, I dieted down from 135 to 99. I’m 5’8. That need for affirmation came from having a mentally ill mom who was mostly hospitalized and a dad who used alcohol to cope with raising me and a sister with a borderline intellectual disability. I could go into a long discussion of how that affected me in other ways, but healing is possible! Love the non restrictive approach and try to incorporate at least one fear food daily!

[shannonsuggs]

I’ve been watching your channel for years and never clicked so fast on one of your videos before. You’ve helped me to understand one of my loved ones who has had an ED, so much better! Thank you for all of your content! Love you and your videos!

[sarahsaccoach]

I still remember an ad on Nickelodeon from when I was a kid telling you to avoid hidden sugar. “Fructose, sucrose, dextrose snd maltose. All words that rhyme with GROSS” and they dressed the sugar up to look evil. Maybe the intention was good but my perfectionist self did NOT take well to that. Appreciate you sharing your story

[marinekarmann]

I've been binging your content for weeks now as it helps to maintain the mindset of not getting back to "orthorexic way of thinking". The cycle of restriction-binge is so difficult to get out of, especially as I need to lose fat for health reasons. I also suffer from ADHD, anxiety, IBS and Hashimoto. The journey is sooo damn difficult sometimes. But I wanted you to know that your videos makes a difference. I used to listen to fitness influencers and their advice only wortsen my ED. So thanks a lot for your Channel and your honest and relatable vulnerability. Makes me feel less lonely.

[sarahsiave]

Thank you for being so vulnerable and open 💖 Your dog constantly trying to hold your hand through this video absolutely killed me .. 😢❤

[charleys]

Thank you for sharing. I've recently been forced to confront the fact that my relationship with food is nowhere near as good as I was pretending it was. The part where you spoke about getting the dopamine hit from other people's validation of your "willpower" really hit home. I've always been slim and feel an intense pressure to stay that way. I've been skipping meals and consciously trying to control what I eat since I was nine years old. As I've got older I've applies the same obsessive tendancies to exercise (must hit a certain number of steps, burn a certain of calories etc). Every positive comment reinforces the idea that I'm "winning" by doing this. I thought I was better but recently have found myself paralysed by thoughts about food - being so unbelievably hungry but unable to eat any of the food in the house because none of it is "good". I finally broke down a few weeks ago and told my partner of 12 years about all of it. He doesn't really understand but he really wants to help, so we're trying to figure out the best way for him to do that.

[barbettecaravaggio]

GO Abbey Go! I admire your candour and strength :)
This story totally explains why you got into nutrition and are now still making your living off of it, it is like you wanted to get rid of your own issues, and with that are now trying to help others get help and handle their food issues. I appreciate your work.

[avarielavariel]

Thanks for sharing your journey. I think as a human being we always have something to work on, as we all are a work in progress, no matter what profession we are in. And being able to admit that is something really liberating. My prayer is that we all have someone to turn to whenever we are struggling with something❤

[chantaldespres]

I have so much emotions over this video.. In high school I started to eat less cause I convince myself I was not hungry. When people asked question, I lied . Then a guy I barely knew told me I will disapear if I continued like that. I realised I had a problem, slowly forced myself to eat more. It was pretty good for few years. Then I started to binge and eat my emotions.. Gained lots of weight over the years. Few months ago, at 45, I decided to loose weight. Reduced my portions, stop snacking in the evening. it's working, people are complimenting me, I feel good. But your video made me realised I'm slowly going back to my high school habit... I need to find a balance and it's not easy !