How can I tell if I am just on a diet, or if I am developing disordered eating behavior?

A person with an eating disorder is not simply someone on a diet with a lot of self-control. Normal dieters begin at an unhealthy weight. The diet is “over” when they have achieved a weight that is healthy, comfortable and sustainable. Even those who transform a diet into a lifestyle change do so hoping to maintain that loss, not to lose weight indefinitely. A diet can lead to disordered eating when the dieter becomes addicted to the process of losing weight, and terrified of gaining weight back. A disordered eater will never be satisfied with their present weight; the continuation of the disorder depends on dissatisfaction with their weight.