Breaking Free: Redefining Eating Disorder Recovery in a World of ‘Shoulds’

Posted by Feelings Found on November 22, 2024

Written by Alexandra Dawson

Imagine This: A world where your worth isn’t tied to a scale, where your relationship with food isn’t dictated by TikTok trends, and where healing doesn’t come with a side of shame. Sound impossible?

Megan Luybli, MS, RDN, LDN (she/her), founder of A Soft Place to Land and a weight-inclusive dietitian, is proving it’s not. Through her transformative work in eating disorder recovery, Megan is helping individuals redefine what it means to heal—on their own terms.

Beyond the Numbers Game

When most people hear the word "dietitian," they picture calorie counters, BMI charts, and strict meal plans. But Megan is flipping that stereotype on its head. Her approach focuses on healing relationships with food, body, and self—not just simply achieving arbitrary numbers.

Drawing from her own recovery journey, Megan challenges traditional dietetic frameworks that often prioritize metrics over humanity. “We need to unlearn these harmful approaches,” she says. By centering lived experiences, Megan empowers her clients to embrace recovery as a journey, not a checklist.

The Weight of Healthism: It’s Giving Red Flags

Ever feel like you owe society a perfect version of yourself? That’s healthism in action. Megan defines it as “the idea that we’re obligated to be ‘healthy’ by society’s standards—or we’re failing.” It’s not just about gym memberships or green smoothies. It’s the pervasive belief that your worth is tied to arbitrary health ideals.

This toxic mindset seeps into every corner of life. Social media trends like “girl dinner” or “cortisol face” may seem harmless, but Megan highlights how they often repurpose diet culture under a new name. The result? Recovery becomes even harder for those already struggling.

Recovery as Radical Liberation

Here’s the twist: Megan sees recovery as more than healing—it’s an act of rebellion. It’s about breaking free from the “shoulds” society places on how you eat, look, and feel. “Recovery isn’t about loving your body every day,” Megan says. “It’s about learning to respect it, even on the hard days.”

This shift in perspective changes everything. Instead of striving for perfection, Megan encourages finding peace in imperfection. Recovery, she notes, involves grief—letting go of what you thought your body should be. But on the other side of that grief lies freedom.

Food: More Than Just Fuel- Maybe Even Love

For Megan, food isn’t just sustenance—it’s deeply woven into cultural identity, family traditions, and human connection. “Food is an integral part of being human,” she explains. “It’s in our grief, our celebrations, and our memories.”

This perspective transforms the way clients see their relationship with food. Megan recalls how many individuals in recovery long to enjoy food again. “That grief—that longing—is so real,” she says. But reclaiming those positive associations is a vital part of the healing process. As Rae chimed in, “Like cooking fudge with my grandfather—that memory is pure joy, and it has nothing to do with health.” It’s a reminder that recovery isn’t about rules; it’s about reconnecting with the love and tradition behind food.

Building Your Support System

Recovery is never a solo journey. Megan emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with people who understand and validate your experience.

For caregivers, she suggests three key steps:

Educate yourself about eating disorders.
Reflect on your own relationship with food and body image.
Offer support without judgment.

A New Framework for Healing

Megan’s weight-inclusive approach models what compassionate care looks like in action. She offers resources like “I’m Requesting Weight-Inclusive Care” cards, empowering individuals to demand better from healthcare providers. Her work also highlights the systemic barriers to recovery, underscoring the need for structural change alongside personal healing.

A Cultural Shift: Breaking Free from Diet Culture

As wellness culture becomes ever more pervasive, Megan’s message is a breath of fresh air. She’s calling for a radical shift in how we view health and recovery, reminding us that healing is personal—not performative. It’s about rejecting diet culture and creating space for every body, every experience, and every path to recovery.

The Takeaway: Healing Is Messy, Human, and Worth It

Megan’s approach offers something rare in the mental health landscape: hope without pressure, support without judgment, and healing without shame. She reminds us that, sometimes, the most radical act of self-care is simply choosing to exist on your own terms, in whatever body you have, day after day. Because recovery isn’t about meeting societal expectations—it’s about breaking free from them. “It’s about creating space. Space for all bodies, all experiences, all ways of healing. It’s about rejecting the idea that there’s one right way to recover or one right way to exist. It’s about being human—messy, imperfect, and worthy of care.” “Recovery is radical. It’s revolutionary. And it’s worth it”.

About Megan Luybli, MS, RDN, LDN (she/her)

Megan Luybli is a weight inclusive registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor. She is the founder and director of A Soft Place to Land, a multidisciplinary group practice based in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania that specializes in eating disorders, body image care, and weight inclusive nutrition for endometriosis and PCOS while in recovery. She is fiercely on a mission to be a loud advocate for ethical care of every BODY. Her goal is to provide a weight inclusive and trauma informed safe space with an emphasis on social justice, fat liberation, self-exploration, and compassion.