We had a discussion with Mahmoud Zaki, a psychologist and eating disorders specialist, on disordered eating and eating disorders in Ramadan, and here are some tips he gave on navigating through it: (TW)

- The first thing you need to do is notice your triggers and write them down in order to track them and avoid them. Triggers can be due to several challenges:
1. Social: For example, having to eat around people, having to be around food in any gathering or having people comment-

- on your body or eating.

2. Mental: This can be how you set expectations for yourself to lose a certain amount of weight during Ramadan, or how your minds starts obsessing about food since you won't be eating for a while.

3. Situational: For example, having so many tempting foods around or having the people around you always talk about food.

- The next thing you need to do is to ask yourself why did you fall into a certain eating pattern or behaviour. Was it because of emotional difficulties that you are going through? Gaining this awareness will help you gain control over the situation and how to deal with it.-

If it is because of a negative thought that you have about yourself try to challenge this thought and prove it wrong. For example, ask yourself: Am I thinking in black and white? Am I generalising? Is this thought exaggerated? (this is better done on a paper as well)

- Lastly there are some techniques that can help you cope or stop the unhealthy behaviours:
1. The pause technique: If you get into a binge eating episode, try to interrupt it with a 5 minute break to do anything else. The odds are you're not gonna go back to eating or the-

- episode will be less intense than it could have been.

2. The full-stop technique: choose a certain part of your daily routine to mark the end of your food intake. For example, after brushing your teeth, there's no more eating. This can help contain the urge to binge.

3. Setting a reward system: Having a cheat day once a week can help you meet your cravings and encourage you for the week after.

4. Exercise: It releases negative emotions, releases dopamine to replace that you get from food and it lessens your guilt about what you eat or how you look.

5. If you are suffering from Anorexia, try to not isolate yourself all the time, tell your family to not comment on your eating or pressure you into eating when you are with them and if it gets too much, you don't have to eat with them every time.

Link for the full discussion: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CN5g_TtHs3o/?igshid=1rrmahxslcfhw