--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I finally understood that by being on a…" description: "\"I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a \"disordered\" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/portia-de-rossi-7193_anorexia_i-finally-understood-that-by-being-on-a_1547672.png" --- # I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I… ![“I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a "disordered" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and in need of nutrition and binged when I was so grotesquely full I couldn't be comfortable in any position by lying down. Diets that tell people…” quote by Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/portia-de-rossi-7193_anorexia_i-finally-understood-that-by-being-on-a_1547672.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/portia-de-rossi-7193_anorexia_i-finally-understood-that-by-being-on-a_1547672.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/portia-de-rossi-7193_anorexia_i-finally-understood-that-by-being-on-a_1547672.png) > “I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a "disordered" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and in need of nutrition and binged when I was so grotesquely full I couldn't be comfortable in any position by lying down. Diets that tell people what to eat or when to eat are the practices inbetween. And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating.” [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constant dieting creates an unhealthy relationship with food, mirroring disordered eating patterns. **In simple terms:** Restrictive eating leads to binge cycles, similar to eatingxia. Key Takeaway Adopt balanced, intuitive eating habits. Themes health body image self-care Mood thoughtful empathetic Type personal motivational When to use this quote - weight management - mental health - nutrition counseling Key Concepts intuitive eating diet culture Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your restrictive habits? - How can you practice self-compassion? A Different Perspective Changing lifelong habits is difficult without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anorexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/) [Bulimia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulimia/) [Dieting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dieting/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Nutrition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nutrition/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating. "Ordered" eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/and-dieting-i-discovered-was-another-form-of-disordered-eating-just/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [“Anorexia is, without doubt, a serious eating disorder, but there is a hell of a lot of mainstream disordered eating going on out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/anorexia-is-without-doubt-a-serious-eating-disorder-but-there-is-a/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) > [One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/one-must-bear-in-mind-that-the-expansion-of-federal-activity-is-a/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [“I didn't realize there was a ranking." I said. "Sadie frowned. "What do you mean?" "A ranking," I said. "You know, what's crazier than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/i-didn-t-realize-there-was-a-ranking-i-said-sadie-frowned-what-do-you/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [I have a remarkable ability to delete all better judgement from my brain when I get my head set on something. I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-have-a-remarkable-ability-to-delete-all-better-judgement-from-my/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Recovery doesn't mean putting your life on hold. Recovery means holding on so you can live your best life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/recovery-doesn-t-mean-putting-your-life-on-hold-recovery-means/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [A little bit of anorexia, a little bit of bulimia. I'm not totally OK now but I don't think any woman is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-winehouse/a-little-bit-of-anorexia-a-little-bit-of-bulimia-i-m-not-totally-ok/) [Amy Winehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-winehouse/) > [I suffered with bulimia and anorexia when I was training for the Olympics - I felt like I was overweight and eating too much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-suffered-with-bulimia-and-anorexia-when-i-was-training-for-the/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/a-snapshot-feature-in-usa-today-listed-the-five-greatest-concerns/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [ “Emma cites the structure of the \[Eating Disorder\] Unit as being important to her decision to disengage from her illness, and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lee/emma-cites-the-structure-of-the-eating-disorder-unit-as-being/) [Carol Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lee/) > [“I promise no food will ever hurt you as much as a negative mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/i-promise-no-food-will-ever-hurt-you-as-much-as-a-negative-mind/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [I struggled with restricting and purging. It is not really anorexia or bulimia. It is more anorexia than bulimia, but it doesnt fit super…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malika-andrews/i-struggled-with-restricting-and-purging-it-is-not-really-anorexia-or/) [Malika Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malika-andrews/) > [If you are going to recover you HAVE to want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-going-to-recover-you-have-to-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dear Anorexia, You are my best friend, and my worst enemy at the same time You are my greatest achievement, and yet my most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-blue-cicilline/dear-anorexia-you-are-my-best-friend-and-my-worst-enemy-at-the-same/) Dakota Blue Cicilline > [We think of bulimia and anorexia as either a bizarre psychosis, or as a quirky little habit, a phase, or as a thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/we-think-of-bulimia-and-anorexia-as-either-a-bizarre-psychosis-or-as/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## More by Portia de Rossi > [In high school I had sex with girls quite a few times. They were straight women who I convinced to jump in the sack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/in-high-school-i-had-sex-with-girls-quite-a-few-times-they-were/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [Supermodels are over, and the new picture girl has become the television actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/supermodels-are-over-and-the-new-picture-girl-has-become-the/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I knew that I was gay, I knew it. I just couldn't see myself as a gay woman, even though that's where my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-knew-that-i-was-gay-i-knew-it-i-just-couldn-t-see-myself-as-a-gay/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [You don't have to be emaciated or vomiting to be suffering. All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/you-don-t-have-to-be-emaciated-or-vomiting-to-be-suffering-all-people/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I began to see myself as someone who can help others understand diversity rather than feeling like a social outcast. Ellen taught me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-began-to-see-myself-as-someone-who-can-help-others-understand/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [The most important thing for me was to never, ever, ever deny it. But I didn't really have the courage to talk about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/the-most-important-thing-for-me-was-to-never-ever-ever-deny-it-but-i/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I would eat 300 calories a day - a lot of Jell-O and no-sugar everything, of course. I was doing Pilates, weight-training, circuit training;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-would-eat-300-calories-a-day-a-lot-of-jell-o-and-no-sugar/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [The diet industry is making a lot of money selling us fad diets, nonfat foods full of chemicals, gym memberships, and pills while we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/the-diet-industry-is-making-a-lot-of-money-selling-us-fad-diets/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I really never stopped thinking about Ellen, because I just haven't felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-really-never-stopped-thinking-about-ellen-because-i-just-haven-t/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [Even if I'm hormonal and I feel like I've got a couple pounds of water weight, I will never starve myself, I will never,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/even-if-i-m-hormonal-and-i-feel-like-i-ve-got-a-couple-pounds-of/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [Restriction generates yearning. You want what you cannot have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/restriction-generates-yearning-you-want-what-you-cannot-have/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I didn't choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman-that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-didn-t-choose-the-fact-that-i-was-gay-but-i-did-choose-whether-to/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [You live with the fear people might find out. Then you actually have the courage to tell people and they go, I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/you-live-with-the-fear-people-might-find-out-then-you-actually-have/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I'm living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-m-living-by-example-by-continuing-on-with-my-career-and-having-a/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I stumbled into acting and just loved it. I deferred law school-and I'm still deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-stumbled-into-acting-and-just-loved-it-i-deferred-law-school-and-i/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) [Explore all 93 Portia de Rossi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) ## More Anorexia quotes > [“Anorexia is, without doubt, a serious eating disorder, but there is a hell of a lot of mainstream disordered eating going on out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/anorexia-is-without-doubt-a-serious-eating-disorder-but-there-is-a/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) > [If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elmore-meegan/if-we-are-ready-to-tear-down-the-walls-that-confine-us-break-the-cage/) Michael Elmore-Meegan > [“Being constantly hungry is no life at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/being-constantly-hungry-is-no-life-at-all/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) > [“I’ve never had anorexia, but I know it well. I see it on the street, in the gaunt and sunken face, the boney chest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/i-ve-never-had-anorexia-but-i-know-it-well-i-see-it-on-the-street-in/) Harriet Brown > [“Between 10 and 20 percent of people with anorexia die from heart attacks, other complications and suicide; the disease has the highest mortality rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/between-10-and-20-percent-of-people-with-anorexia-die-from-heart/) Harriet Brown > [ “Emma cites the structure of the \[Eating Disorder\] Unit as being important to her decision to disengage from her illness, and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lee/emma-cites-the-structure-of-the-eating-disorder-unit-as-being/) [Carol Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lee/) > [I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don't realize you have it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/i-was-struggling-with-anorexia-and-one-of-the-biggest-problems-with/) [Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/) > [Finding a cure for anorexia should be a piece of cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-elba/finding-a-cure-for-anorexia-should-be-a-piece-of-cake/) [Charles Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-elba/) > [“I know what you're thinking. ‘How the hell does this broke ass piece of trailer trash know words like caveat,’ right? Well guess what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isobel-irons/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-how-the-hell-does-this-broke-ass-piece-of/) [Isobel Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isobel-irons/) > [I wanted to kill the me underneath. That fact haunted my days and nights. When you realize you hate yourself so much, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wanted-to-kill-the-me-underneath-that-fact-haunted-my-days-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even with friends, I had difficulty giving or receiving physical affection, although I secretly craved it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-m-taylor/even-with-friends-i-had-difficulty-giving-or-receiving-physical/) Kate M. Taylor > [Man is never alone. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, that which dreams through him is always there to support him from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/man-is-never-alone-acknowledged-or-unacknowledged-that-which-dreams/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I am forever engaged in a silent battle in my head over whether or not to lift the fork to my mouth, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-morrow/i-am-forever-engaged-in-a-silent-battle-in-my-head-over-whether-or/) Jena Morrow > [“Fooling the body into thinking it's full on only a thousand calories can be difficult. The trick is to chew the food until it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/fooling-the-body-into-thinking-it-s-full-on-only-a-thousand-calories/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) [Browse all 197 Anorexia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a \"disordered\" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and in need of nutrition and binged when I was so grotesquely full I couldn't be comfortable in any position by lying down. Diets that tell people what to eat or when to eat are the practices inbetween. 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