As someone who is vegan for animal welfare reasons, and who had an ED for 10 years, it's definitely something my therapist was concerned about initially. The thing is, when you're in an ED, a choice could be done for both good AND bad reasons. So with my ED I wanted to exercise because it made my body feel good AND because it would burn calories. With my ED I wanted to eat fruit and vegetables because I enjoy them and I feel good after eating them, AND because I saw them as "good" foods compared with "bad" foods.

The thing is, recovery doesn't look like "never exercising again" because you could have done it for a bad reason as well as a good reason. Likewise if you ARE plant based because of animal rights or sustainability reasons, you can recover while also staying true to your beliefs.

I truly believe I have recovered from my ED. I am still vegan, but I don't have obsessive thoughts about weight anymore, I do practice intuitive eating, I don't feel that certain foods are "morally bad" for having more calories, and if I feel I've gained some weight I go "huh" and move on. Likewise if I lose some weight I feel "huh, I guess that's a thing" and move on.

Recovery isn't necessarily "omg I adore my body and think I'm the most gorgeous person in the world" but more body and food neutrality, and you can then use your body as the vehicle for life and experience that it's supposed to be. :)

So I applaud your journey in this regard Shannon and I hope you find healing in your own journey, whatever that looks like for you. It sounds like you're on the right path.