How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder: A Simple, Plate-by-Plate Approach® to Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food

I have purchased hundreds of products on Amazon over the years. This may be the first time I have ever written a product review. The book costs $10-$20. Its value is impossible to quantify for anyone with a family member battling an eating disorder. If you are confronting that situation and you are searching for concrete ways that you can help, buy this book immediately. The authors provide incredibly valuable insight about how to prepare meals in a structured and easy to understand way. Just as importantly, the book underscores the role that parents need to play in the early phase of helping their child achieve weight restoration. In the early stages, parents are not there to support or console their child who is battling an eating disorder. Early on, when restoration is critical, parents are there to take control, to determine the food to be served at each meal, and to ensure that the food is consumed. Later on, the child begins having input on the meals once again and eventually, in the final phase, retakes control over meals. This was maybe the most valuable and illuminating concept in the book. My wife and I spent a lot of time researching books, counselors, and programs for Eating Disorders. We are fortunate to have had good experiences on multiple fronts. But if I could recommend one and only one place for parents to start, it would be with this book. It is the single most valuable product I have ever purchased on Amazon. Our family is better for having purchased it.

I feel I need to submit a review of this book with pictures because the other two reviews were negative--I felt unfairly. Let me start by saying, if you're here, this is a scary and overwhelming time! Information overload is real and terrifying. If you only have the emotional bandwidth for one book, I think this one would be a very good choice! This book is a complete guide to family-based therapy (FBT) for parents and caregivers using the plate by plate approach. It explains what is an eating disorder, the health risks and implications of malnutrition, what is FBT and how to do it at home, along with many case examples, charts, and examples of what/how to feed your child during this time. The FBT approach includes a specialized therapist, dietician, and your child's medical doctor. I believe this book is meant to be used in conjunction with your child's full care team. The book focuses particularly on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, along with binge eating disorder. This book doesn't talk very much about avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). It gives real life examples and warning signs for eating disorders in kids and teens. The book explains FBT and gives helpful and specific examples of the plate method (50% carbs, 25% protein and 25% fruit/veg). The negative review that stated hamburgers and pizza aren't healthy and can't be good to treat eating disorders could not have actually read the book. The color pages are just examples, but besides that, there's room for all kinds foods in healthy eating. Eating disorders strongly include fear of food and weight gain. The book talks about this in detail to help you understand what your child is going through, while not enabling the eating disorder. In all, How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder is an important and complete guide to helping your child through this difficult time.

Well written book—great for anyone supporting someone through an eating disorder. The book provides relatable insight and practical ways to support.

I think there are some good points. We will be using some of the suggestions. The charts make planing easy.

I am a Registered Dietitian specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. I recently took a new position working solely with adolescents using Family Based Therapy (FBT), an evidenced-based model that is proven to be most effective in the treatment of eating disorders. This book has been so helpful in supporting parents and their child in nutritional rehabilitation that aligns with the FBT model. The book is an easy read (and listen as I also purchased the book on audible). It goes into detail, but is easy to understand. I am so excited to apply what I’ve learned in the book with my patients. It is a must read for parents with children suffering from an eating disorder. It will equip you with so many tools to help fight the eating disorder and support your child. Recovery is possible for your child and this book will help you get them there! I also highly recommend for dietitians working with eating disorders who want to learn about and implement the plate-by-plate approach and also understand how they can play a key role in the FBT model. Buy it!

As a parent of a teenager with an eating disorder, I can say that this book has been an absolutely invaluable resource, getting us through the first steps of recovery and on the road back to intuitive eating. At a time when the world seemed upside down, it provided a straightforward and simple way to think about meals. Sample menus, plate pictures, and clear explanations made refeeding our teenager more manageable in an otherwise emotional and turbulent time. Beyond just meals, it offers a helpful overview of eating disorders in general, Family-Based Therapy (FBT), and medical issues associated with eating disorders. Finally, the book gives practical suggestions and much needed encouragement to parents guiding a child through the recovery process. Honestly, I can't imagine where we would be today if we didn't have this book to help us along on our journey.

I am an eating disorder dietitian in an FBT clinic and refer to this book daily. I have read and listened to the audiobook and it has helped me in practice as well as the parents of patients I work with. I can immediately tell the difference in session of parent knowledge and understanding when they have started to read it. Many families have reported they feel more empowered and equipped to help their child and love having this resource with them at home to refer to whenever they need. I could not recommend enough!!!!!

If you have an adolescent with an eating disorder, read this book! Registered Dietitians and authors, Wendy Sterling and Casey Crosbie provide an easy to understand method for re-nourishing your child by simply using a 10” plate and real food while working alongside an Eating Disorder Treatment Team. The plate-by-plate approach eliminates the need for calorie counting and food measuring and gives parents the confidence they need to nurture their child back to health. The case studies woven throughout the book, along with visual examples of meals are especially helpful! As a Registered Dietitian specializing in the treatment of individuals with eating disorders, I appreciate the scientifically sound, yet accessible approach that Crosbie and Sterling have created. This book fulfills a previously unmet need!

Can’t say enough good things about this book! We are fortunate to have found an excellent RD but it will awhile and this book was our only guide in the first weeks of FBT. It is simple, logical and how people eat in the real world. No unnecessary and complicated exchanges or calorie counting. Explains the how’s and why’s of what will happen during renourishment, covers all 3 Phases of FBT (many resources only focus on Phase 1) and teaches your loved one how to feed themselves on their road to recovery.

I have found this book a valuable resource to have at home. Great to refer to and reinforce guidelines around re-feeding process. Has given me confidence in what you're doing at home.

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I just started reading this book It is eye opening and it explains the tactics used when a child is going through an eating disorder and how to help them. I recommend it.