"IT'S NEVER TOO LATE": RECOVERY FROM DISORDERED EATING IN YOUR 60S AND BEYOND

What if full recovery from decades of disordered eating was not only possible—but joyfully transformative—even in your 60s?

- WRITTEN BY VICTORIA KLEINSMAN

In a world obsessed with youth and thinness, particularly for women, we rarely hear stories of eating disorder recovery from those in later life. But that's precisely why this conversation needed to happen.

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with two incredible women from my group coaching community—Christina (64, Australia) and Susie (69, USA)—who not only began their recovery journeys later in life, but are now living in freedom, self-acceptance, and even deeper joy than they ever imagined.

Unlearning a Lifetime of Restriction

Both Susie and Christina first developed eating disorders in the 1970s. At the time, knowledge about anorexia and disordered eating was limited, and treatment often involved little more than forced refeeding and hospitalisation. Over time, both women transitioned into what they believed was “normal” eating and living, but the disordered behaviours never truly went away.

“I thought I was just one of the lucky ones—disciplined, slim, healthy,” Susie shared. “But I now realise I was simply still living in restriction.”

For Christina, the disordered behaviours quietly persisted for over four decades, hidden beneath a successful career in the fitness industry and a commitment to maintaining a lean physique. It wasn’t until menopause hit and her usual methods stopped “working” that everything changed.