Orthorexia is NOT an officially recognized disorder, although it shares similarities with other eating disorders. The main difference is the obsession is with healthy eating, rather than losing weight.
Jordan Younger, most popularly known as "The Blonde Vegan," recreated her brand to "The Balanced Blonde," since she no longer eats a vegan diet. The health conscious blogger gained a large following based on her vegan lifestyle.
Unfortunately, her healthy eating habits started to become obsessive-compulsive and harmful.
Jordan started to notice that she would remove herself from social gatherings when they involved going out to a fun dinner or there was going to be alcohol involved. Her habits perpetuated stress, isolation and challenges on a daily basis. If she wasn't going to be able to control the quality and purity of the food and drinks she was ingesting, she wasn't going to allow herself to be surrounded by temptation.
This type of extreme healthy eating is the antithesis of why you're supposed to be eating healthy in the first place. Jordan came to this realization and made the decision to lean away from veganism to help with her disorder.
Jordan joins Michelle and Dr. Pam to share her experience with orthorexia, as well as the physical and mental stressors that subsequently resulted. She also explains why a transition away from being a vegan was the right decision for her.
Jordan Younger is a California native who runs the blog and social media outlet, The Balanced Blonde. As a strict plant-based vegan for two years, she developed many food phobias and restrictions. She recently came out as an orthorexic, and has been in the process of rebuilding her brand. She is currently writing a book about her experience, working on a TBB app, running her clothing business TBV Apparel and studying to become an IIN health coach. She also teaches yoga.