Inspirational Eating Disorder Quotes for Recovery

While fashion, social media, and influencer culture can be credited for many good things, they have given rise to standards of beauty that people, especially young girls, hold to high account. This has consequently increased the prevalence of eating disorders and body dysmorphia

Inspirational Quotes for Eating Disorders

Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions characterized by disturbances in eating habits and negative perceptions of one’s body image. 

Eating disorders are classified as:

  • Anorexia Nervosa: Individuals with anorexia often perceive themselves as fat or overweight. This leads to restrictive eating, strict dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and dangerously low body weight. 
  • Bulimia Nervosa: Bulimia involves cycles of binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. These could be self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or misuse of laxatives or diuretics.
  • Binge Eating Disorder (BED): This disorder involves recurrent episodes of eating large amounts of food, without compensatory behaviors. 
  • Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS): This category includes eating disorders that don’t entirely meet the criteria for anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.
  • Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): This is characterized by an aversion to eating. Such individuals have self-set limitations in the amount or types of food consumed. 

These disorders are cause for serious concern. Addressing them in a timely manner and encouraging self-love might be small steps.

Eating disorders don’t have a magic cure. There is an eating disorder treatment process; You need professional help and consistency to get through your struggle with an eating disorder. However, busting the beauty myth and removing the importance of physical appearance can work wonders for those fighting this silent battle.

50 Inspirational Quotes for Eating Disorder Recovery

Here are some eating disorder recovery quotes for those suffering from eating disorders. These are healthy eating quotes that can give you an unexpected laugh and help you with your recovery process

Beauty starts in your head, not in the mirror
  1. “Beauty starts in your head, not in your mirror.” – Unknown
Counting calories is not the answer because eating is not the problem.
  1. “Counting calories is not the answer because eating is not the problem.” – Dr. Anita Johnston 
  1. “To stay in recovery, you must be responsible for finding your motivation. Remember, motivation may not be easy to come by at first. It will probably be a very small, timid part inside of you. When you find it, let that part be in charge” – Jenni Schaefer 
“Food is something I am going to have to face at least three times a day for the rest of my life. And I am not perfect. But one really bad day does not mean that I am hopeless and back at square one with my eating disorder.”- Jenni Schaefer 
  1. “Food is something I am going to have to face at least three times a day for the rest of my life. And I am not perfect. But one really bad day does not mean that I am hopeless and back at square one with my eating disorder.”- Jenni Schaefer 
  1. “One of the unlikely gifts of having an eating disorder is that nobody will ever be as mean as your disorder was.” – ― Evanna Lynch, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up
  1. “When your healthy self is strong enough to deal with all that comes your way in life, your eating disorder self will no longer be useful or necessary.” – Carolyn Costin
  1. “Recovery doesn’t mean putting your life on hold. Recovery means holding on so you can live your best life.” – Brittany Burgunder 
  1. “Living with an eating disorder takes extraordinary fortitude. And when that energy can be circumvented differently, incredible things happen.”- UnKnown
  1. “I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles.” –Laurie Halse Anderson 
  1. The good news, however, is that also contrary to popular belief, full and lasting recovery from an eating disorder is possible.” – Unknown

More Quotes

  1. “Make peace with the mirror and watch your reflection change.” – Unknown
  1. Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty that they couldn’t obtain by being healthy. When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin.” -Unknown
  1. “Focus on how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go.” – Unknown
  1. “And I decide, now, in this moment, that I want it; I want this body. I want to inhabit her, enjoy her, care for her, and defend her in this world. And I no longer want to be yet another voice telling her she’s disgusting or embarrassing or inadequate or too much” -Evana Lynch
  1. “And I said to my body, softly: ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath. And replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.'” – Unknown
  1. “Binge on life. Purge negativity. Starve guilty feelings.” – Unknown
  1. “Fat is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her. I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’, or ‘cruel’? Not to me.” – J.K. Rowling
  1. “A woman is beautiful when her passions define her more than her looks.” – Unknown
  1. “Enjoy your body… Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it”- Kurt Vonnegut
  1. “Don’t let your mind bully your body.” – Unknown
  1. “I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you.”-Lady Gaga
  1. “The dinner table is a battlefield where warriors defeat the eating disorder one bite at a time.” – Unknown
  1. “We get so worried about being pretty. Let’s be pretty kind. Pretty funny. Pretty smart. Pretty strong.” – Unknown
  1. “Weight does not dictate your worth.” – Unknown
  1. “The first principle of recovery is the empowerment of the survivor.” Judith Lewis Herman
  1. “The misconception that eating disorders are a medical disease in the traditional sense is not helpful here…You fix it yourself. It is the hardest thing that I have ever done, and I found myself stronger for doing it. Much stronger.” ― Marya Hornbacher
  1. “I destroyed my body for a peace of mind I never got.” – Unknown
  1. “The size of my waist has nothing to do with my worth.” – Unknown
  1. “You don’t have to be ready to recover; you need only to be willing.” – Unknown
  1. “Sometimes your biggest bully is you.” – Unknown
  1. “You can’t weigh beauty.” – Unknown
  1. “Anorexia isn’t a diet, bulimia isn’t a bad habit, EDNOS is not just being a picky eater. These are horrible disorders, not life choices.” – Unknown
  1. “Girls don’t just simply decide to hate their bodies; we teach them to.” – Unknown
  1. “Having anorexia doesn’t mean you don’t eat. It means you’re consumed by a voice constantly telling you you’re not good enough.” – Unknown
  1. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  1. “Don’t believe everything you think.” – Unknown
  1. “I intend to accept my body today love my body tomorrow and appreciate my body always.” -Unknown
  1. “The only way to heal from the inside out is to be aware of what is going on in your mind and body.” – Demi Lovato
  1. “You can never be thin enough, blonde enough, tan enough, or young enough. Ever.” – Tyra Banks
  1. “Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners.” – William Shakespeare
  1. “Having a healthy relationship with food means you are not morally superior or inferior based on your eating choices.” ― Evelyn Tribole
  1. “No food will ever hurt you as much as your eating disorder will.” – Unknown 
  1. “How much you eat at a single meal has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you’re a good friend, daughter, mother, sister, aunt, thinker, worker, citizen or overall human.” – Unknown 
  1. “Making peace with food requires that you transition from a place of fear to a place of love.” – Dr. Anita Johnston 
  1. “Feeling guilty for eating when you’re hungry is like feeling for breathing when your lungs need oxygen.” – Unknown
  1. “Your relationship with food is one of your earliest and most meaningful relationships. It’s also a relationship you will have for the rest of your life. It might as well be the best relationship that it can be.” – Unknown 
  1. “You have to make peace with food. You have to learn, and program your brain to understand: your body needs food.” – Callie Bowld 
  1. “You are meant to have the option to comfort yourself with food. You are not a robot eating battery pellets for energy.” – Caroline Dooner 
  1. “Flexibility in your food choices is healthy. Eating a variety of foods is healthy. Focusing on enjoying your food is healthy. Not stressing about your food is healthy.” – Unknown 
  1. “Your body is always deserving of food. You don’t have to earn it.” – Unknown

The first step to recovering from an eating disorder is getting support. Learning to understand a better representation of beauty is also a powerful tool. Learning new ideals of beauty, convincing yourself that you deserve better and can make good choices. Remember, even on your worst days, the size of your body doesn’t matter. 

What Are Eating Disorders?
About the author
Shannon M
Shannon M's extensive experience in addiction recovery spans several decades. Her journey started at a young age when she attended treatment aftercare sessions for a family member and joined Alateen meetings, a support group for young people affected by a loved one's addiction. In 1994, Shannon personally experienced the challenges of addiction and took the courageous step of joining Alcoholics Anonymous. This experience gave her a unique perspective on the addiction recovery process, which would prove invaluable in her future work. Shannon's passion for helping others navigate the complexities of addiction led her to pursue a degree in English with a minor in Substance Abuse Studies from Texas Tech University. She completed her degree in 1996, equipping her with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide compassionate and effective support to those struggling with addiction. Shannon M both writes for Sober Speak and edits other writer's work that wish to remain anonymous.