Meal Timing in Orthorexia Recovery

Why we need both consistency and flexibility in meal times—and in recovery from disordered eating

This week’s question is from a reader named Vera, who writes:

Hi Christy!

Thank you for your work and support! I am making my first steps of anorexia/orthorexia recovery, and my question is about necessity of the timing of eating.

I’ve heard many therapists of eating disorders say that it is very important to design an optimal eating regime. But for me it's hard to follow it because every day you have different circumstances, and l get worried about not having my meals at the same time every day. Also l often have to eat at nighttime because it was impossible to have dinner earlier, but then l can't go to bed for an hour or two because l believe that sleeping with a full stomach is not good for me.

So is it really important to eat at the same time every day and not to sleep right after a meal?

I will be very grateful for your response because I can't find this information anywhere.