How to get a stubborn anorexic to eat

 
"For us, nothing else happened until our daughter ate.  Nothing.  Nada. Zip.  I sometimes think others don't fully understand the depth of that statement."
 
 
A list of common behaviors to watch out for during refeeding.  "Expect EXTREME emotional distress when ED is challenged!"
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Won't eat with mum" -- anotherbite describes how she and her team were able to conquer her daughter's refusal to eat with her mother
"My d refused to eat with me and it was a challenge to move her forward...we then incorporated the ng tube into the plan...It wasn't 'fear' of the tube that enabled her to eat (and I think this is key) it was knowing the food is going in NO MATTER WHAT...She is w/r and can eat most anything now."
"I guess the thing I learned about this whole "getting them to eat" part is simply firm compassion. And I do mean... FIRM. And learning to wait out the anxiety with the patience of a saint, even when you don't feel particularly charitable or patient."
"...a list of all the pithy, wonderful FEAST sayings that keep us inspired, that give us instant food for thought and keep us going."

Creating leverage -- Shinygirl
"If I don't have leverage, then I have to CREATE the leverage. This means, as gobsmacked suggested, coming up with a list of activities we will be doing for the week (this includes everything from walking the dog to bowling to having friends over to Family Movie Night to Internet usage. These became the incentives for eating."
I said something like:    "The way this works is that I am in charge of feeding you and you are in charge of eating.  You will be anxious about what I am feeding you; you will want to negotiate ingredients and meals; you will want to know what is in things and you will want to tell me what you can and can not eat; my job is to stop your brain from doing that..."