Track body checking and body avoidance behaviours, their triggers, and function.
Body checking (pinching skin, measuring, mirror gazing) and body avoidance (refusing to look, baggy clothes) both maintain preoccupation with shape and weight. Log each behaviour to build awareness.
Introduce in Stage 3 of CBT-E when targeting body checking and avoidance behaviours. Use to identify the frequency and function of body checking (e.g., mirror checking, pinching, measuring) and body avoidance (e.g., avoiding mirrors, loose clothing, avoiding being seen).
Normalise that most people with eating difficulties develop checking or avoidance habits around their body. Explain that both maintain preoccupation with shape and weight. Frame the diary as a way to become more aware of these automatic patterns.
For clients who are unaware of their checking behaviours, start with a psychoeducation session on common checking and avoidance behaviours before introducing monitoring. For those with comorbid BDD, coordinate this work with BDD-specific interventions.
Use with caution in clients with active self-harm, as increased body awareness could trigger self-harm urges. Ensure the client has adequate coping strategies before increasing awareness of body-related behaviours.
Both excessive checking and complete avoidance maintain the problem — the goal is 'normal' body awareness. Help clients see that checking provides temporary reassurance but increases long-term preoccupation. Plan graduated reduction of checking and graduated exposure to avoided situations.
Suitable for clients working with eating disorder, body checking, body avoidance, cbt-e, body image. This tool can be used as a standalone worksheet or as part of a structured homework plan.
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Identify rigid dietary rules and design experiments to test what happens when you break them.
Explore how difficulty tolerating emotions drives eating disorder behaviours — and develop alternative ways to manage intense feelings.
Track weekly weight to observe natural fluctuation and reduce the power of daily weighing.
Plan and track a pattern of regular eating — three meals and two to three snacks — to establish a predictable structure that reduces binge urges.