Throughout the text, Jennette describes a pattern of disordered eating that spans a range of behaviors including calorie restriction, anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia, and Jennette makes clear that her disordered eating both extends from and symbolizes The Desire for Control. Anorexia is an eating disorder that is characterized by a loss of appetite or refusal to eat based on distorted body image and fixation on losing weight. It is a medical condition that can result in death when left untreated. Jennette first hears this word as a child after beginning calorie restricting with her mother. Jennette describes it as her first eating disorder, and she closely associates her food intake with control, growing up, and most of all, her mother.

Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by overeating and a sense of being unable to stop. Beginning when Jennette gains some freedom from her mother in Nashville, binge eating becomes a compulsion that is tied to a sense of emotional emptiness for her. Her binge eating is often triggered by an overwhelming emotional experience, and always creates a cycle of guilt.

Bulimia is an eating disorder that is characterized by distorted body image and fixation on losing weight, coupled with binge eating.