The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We also offer therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com ​​
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​Struggling with intrusive thoughts, obsessions, and time-consuming rituals is exhausting.

Many people who struggle with OCD feel ashamed about their thoughts and behaviors. However, if you are struggling, you are definitely not alone. 

As an OCD specialist, my passion is helping people to find freedom from OCD and to reclaim their lives.

The following are 5 tips for your recovery from OCD.

1. Begin to label fringe thoughts. 

In the Mindfulness Workbook for OCD, Hershfield and Corboy use the term “fringe thoughts” to describe thoughts that are not regularly in one’s consciousness, but that pop up from time to time.

These thoughts may be desirable or undesirable.

To someone without OCD, these thoughts pass by without distress, however, for someone with OCD, these thoughts have a “sticky” quality and can be alarming, leading to fears that the thought will lead to an action.

​This brings us naturally to the next tip: becoming mindfully aware of when you are engaging in thought-action fusion, a cognitive error. 

2. Thought-action fusion.

If you think something, will it automatically turn into an behavior?

It can be very powerful to remind yourself that just because you think something, it doesn’t mean that you will automatically begin to do something.

Another way to consider this is: is this thought actually dangerous? And, if it’s not dangerous, do I actually need to suppress it and engage in compulsions to make that thought okay? 

3. Seek support, not reassurance.

Many people with OCD engage in reassurance seeking.

For example, they might ask a family member: I would never _________, right?

Often, family members feel tempted to say, “of course not.”

The trouble with reassurance seeking is that you typically need more and more of it to feel better.

As a result, reassurance seeking actually makes the initial fear more powerful.

Consider finding a way to seek support instead. For example, you could say “My OCD is really trying to make me think I did something frightening,” or “The OCD voice is so strong today.” This will give your loved one a chance to give support by saying something like “I know this is really hard for you. Remember that these thoughts are coming from OCD and not you.” 

4. Educate yourself on OCD.

The more you understand the disease, the better.

That scary thought that you thought no one else had might be more common that you think.

Normalizing what you are experiencing will naturally decrease your anxiety and help you stop engaging in exhausting rituals as you are more and more easily able to attribute thoughts to OCD.

It can even be helpful to name your OCD and begin to identify it’s voice versus your own.

5. Reach out.

Talk to a friend or family member and consider meeting with a therapist.

No one should have to struggle with OCD alone.

You can find freedom from intrusive thoughts, obsessions, and rituals. 
 

​The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center in Rockville, Maryland. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, and body image issues. We also offer therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney,  Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com ​

 
“It seems like I’m actually experiencing my feelings, now that I’m no longer bingeing and purging my emotions,” my client in recovery from bulimia shared.
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Eating disorders are believed to be caused by a combination of factors including, genetic, temperamental, and environmental influences.
 
However, one thing that almost all of my clients with eating disorders have in common is difficulty in expressing, processing, and coping with their emotions.
 
 
Emotional Avoidance and Eating Disorders
 
Emotional avoidance, is described as actions that are intended to prevent an emotional response from occurring, such as fear, anger or sadness.
 
People struggling with eating disorders often turn to their eating disorder behaviors in an unconscious effort to try to help themselves to “feel better” and to cope with difficult emotions or life circumstances.
 
For instance, for many people struggling with anorexia, their response when it comes to coping with feelings of anxiety, sadness, or loneliness, is to restrict their food. This may give them a false sense of “control” and specialness. For individuals with bulimia, bingeing and purging provides them a momentary feeling of comfort, “control,” or relief. For people struggling with binge eating, eating often feels like “an escape,” comforting, calming, or a way to numb out.
 
The reality is that eating disorder behaviors often provide short-term relief or satisfaction, and long-term feelings of increased depression, loneliness, and misery.
 
Let Yourself Feel
 
Eating disorder treatment involves a variety of tools and strategies for helping clients to reclaim their lives. However, one important element is helping them to learn how to identify, process, and cope with their emotions in ways that align with their life values.

Many of my clients struggle with being able to sit with themselves and their emotions. Often eating disorder behaviors are used as a way to try to regulate or distract from intense emotions. 
 
I often say to clients that trying to suppress our emotions, is kind of like trying to hold a beach ball under water. It takes a lot of effort and eventually the beach ball will fly up above the water with force.
 
As a culture, we are often not taught to express our emotions. However, emotions serve important functions in our lives, as they are signals of things that we need to pay attention to.

There is a quote that I love from Norah Wynne, which says "Feelings will not kill you. No one has ever died from experiencing an emotion, but people have died trying to stuff them down."

It’s important to share with clients that their eating disorder behaviors are often coping strategies that they are using to try to regulate their emotions. These behaviors may have helped them to get through some difficult and traumatic times, however they are also no longer serving them.
 
With treatment and support, people with eating disorders can learn how to heal their relationships with themselves, food, and their bodies.
 
They can also learn how to express and process their emotions, without the constant strain of trying to suppress or run from their feelings. Part of living a meaningful life is being able to experience all of one’s emotions, both pleasant and unpleasant.

One of the great privileges of doing this work is being able to see the light return into someone's eyes, for them to be exploring their true passions and interests, for their brain space to be no longer ruled with thoughts about food and their body. Full recovery and living according to your true values, is completely possible. 

An assignment to put this into practice:

• What emotions (if any) are you trying to push down, avoid, or distract from?
• What behaviors are you using to try not to experience this emotion?
• How is doing so serving you, and how is it not serving you?
• What would be on healthy way that you could process the emotions that you are experiencing, i.e. writing, an alterbook, talking to a friend, drawing, talking to a therapist?

The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center in Rockville, Maryland. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, and body image issues. We also offer therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney,  Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com 

I was excited to get the chance to interview my amazing associate, Kate Dansie, MSW, LCSW-C.

​From the moment that I interviewed Kate, I knew immediately that I wanted to hire her to work on my team! 

Kate is compassionate and warm, highly knowledgable, and is incredibly skilled in helping individuals with eating disorders and/or obsessive compulsive disorder to find freedom.  

Jennifer: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what fueled your interest in helping people recover from eating disorders and OCD?
 
Kate: From a very young age I was interested in medicine. I seriously considered a career as a nurse or doctor, but my senior year of high school I took a psychology class, and I was hooked! I went on to study psychology in college, and found my counseling classes particularly fascinating. As I entered college, my own struggle with perfectionism, obsessive worry, and an eating disorder worsened, and I sought help from my college counseling center. It was this experience that was my biggest inspiration. 
 
Jennifer: Do you subscribe to a health at every size approach?
 
Kate: I absolutely do. I was initially introduced to Health at Every Size by another eating disorder therapist. Learning about HAES was life changing for me as I know it has been for countless others.
 
Jennifer: How would you describe your approach to OCD treatment?
 
Kate: When treating OCD, I use a combination of Mindfulness, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Exposure & Response Prevention. I think it is essential to provide psychoeducation about the illness, particularly at the beginning of treatment. For example, it is important to note that those with OCD are often very conscientious, and I like to clarify that our goals in treatment are not to make them less so, but rather to free them from intrusive thoughts and exhausting rituals. I also like to have people pick a name for the OCD so they can begin to distinguish between their own voice and the voice of the OCD. This is typically a fun thing to do and makes for a wonderful beginning of treatment.
 
Jennifer: What would you say are some of the biggest challenges and most rewarding aspects of your job?
 
Kate: It can be hard at times to see how many people struggle with eating disorders and OCD; however, as soon as they come in I am also already full of hope for them. I feel truly honored to walk alongside my patients as they recover. By far the most rewarding aspect of my job is when a patient comes in and shares a victory with me, no matter how big or small. My heart just swells in those moments.
 
Jennifer: What is one piece of advice that you would give someone who is struggling in their recovery?
 
Kate: I’d tell them to remember that they are not alone. There are many others out there struggling, and they do not need to feel ashamed of what they’re going through.  I’d also remind them that recovery is not a linear process. It can be easy to feel like the obstacles that you experience along the way are blocking the path to recovery, but they are the path to recovery.
 
Jennifer: What would you say are some common misconceptions when it comes to eating disorders?
 
Kate: There are so many. One of the biggest myths is that eating disorder only impact young, white females from a high socioeconomic status. This is not true at all. Eating disorders, just like any mental illness, do not discriminate and can impact individuals of any race, socioeconomic status, sex, and age. Another common myth is that eating disorders are about “vanity.” They are not. Eating disorders are diseases.
 
Jennifer: How would you describe your approach as an eating disorder therapist?
 
Kate: I tailor my treatment approach to each individual because everyone is unique. However, I enjoy drawing on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Family Systems Theory, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical-Behavior Therapy. Similar to the way I treat OCD, we begin to distinguish between the voice of the eating disorder and the healthy self. We identify rules set by the eating disorder self. Then, we design small experiments to begin breaking them and test the hypothesis that their eating disorder might be telling lies.

We live in a society where “You look great, have you lost weight?” is unfortunately seen as a normal greeting. 

Recently, I went to a party where comments about people’s bodies and weight seemed to be the initial topics of conversation. I overheard numerous conversations congratulating others for their weight loss or thinness.

I truly believe that people often do not intend to hurt others by exclaiming, “You look so thin, that’s awesome,” or “Did you lose weight? How great,” or even, “You got bigger.” In light of that, the following are three reasons why you should never comment on someone’s weight.

1. You cannot tell anything about a person’s health, happiness or life circumstances based on their weight.

We live in a society where often weight loss is perceived as “good” and weight gain is seen as “bad.” This fundamental assumption is inherently flawed. Weight loss and gain tells you nothing about a person’s health, happiness, habits, or life circumstances. The person that you are praising for their weight loss could be suffering from a life-threatening eating disorder, cancer, depression, grief, the diet-binge cycle, intense self-hatred, or numerous other issues. The person that you are judging for their weight gain may be happy, healthy, in recovery from an eating disorder, finally letting go of the diet mentality, etc.

Being thin is not “good” and being fat is not “bad.” There shouldn’t be this sense of morality surrounding weight. Additionally, our bodies are meant to change throughout our lives. This is part of being a human being and nothing to be ashamed of. All bodies are good bodies, but more importantly people’s worth is not based upon their weight or shape.

2. Weight-related comments can be highly triggering for people.

There are so many examples of how weight-related comments can trigger people. For instance, we know that for those in recovery from an eating disorder, weight-related comments can be incredibly triggering and can serve to fuel their disorder or cause a relapse. It’s also important to note that you cannot tell who has an eating disorder based on their physical appearance. People with eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes.

Let’s say that someone has simply lost weight on a diet and you applaud them on their “weight loss.” Since we know that diets have around a 95% “failure” rate when it comes to maintaining weight loss in the long-term, this “praise” will only serve to make them feel worse when they inevitably gain the weight back. This can serve to perpetuate the diet-binge cycle, which has been shown to have highly detrimental effects in regards to people’s health and happiness.

3. It shifts focus away from things that are actually important.

I am sometimes struck by how I can be among a group of ambitious successful women who have amazing careers and are raising children, yet the conversation is primarily focused around dieting and weight-related concerns. These are women who have achieved incredible things and yet they are choosing to focus on something so trivial and meaningless. I do not blame them, as this is largely a cultural and societal issue.

Body image issues and diet-culture impact people of all genders. However, I do think that particularly as women it’s important to note that a focus on these issues often keeps us from “playing big” in other areas of our lives. Diet-culture and a fixation on thinness actually rose in prominence around the time that women began to gain more political rights in our society.
​
Additionally, It’s sad to me that people will approach someone that they haven’t seen in a long time and the first comment that they think to make is about the individual’s weight. What if instead you asked them about their passions, their relationships, and how they are doing in general? There are so many more important and interesting things to focus on than a person’s weight or eating habits.

What to Say if Someone Comments on Your Weight

The following are some simple suggestions for what you can say if someone comments on your weight.

“You look great! Did you lose weight?”

- I choose not to focus on my weight. There are so many more interesting things about me.
- No clue. I don’t weigh myself. So how has your family been?
- I feel great and that’s all that matters.
- Nope. I just look and feel great.
- That question honestly makes me pretty uncomfortable, as I try not to focus on my weight as a barometer of my worth.

“Have you gained weight since I last saw you?”

- I’m happy and healthy, thanks for noticing.
- Is weight something that you focus on?
- No clue. I don’t tie my self-worth to a number on a scale.
- I’m trying not to focus on my weight, so I’d rather you not comment on it.
- Yep! (with a smile).
- I don’t think that’s an appropriate question. My body is nobody else’s business.

Ultimately, your worth and your value do not come from your appearance, the number on a scale, or your body. Your value lies in the kindness that you extend to others, the spark in your eyes when you laugh, the way that you pursue your passions, and your relationships. You are enough, just as you are.
 
The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center in Rockville, Maryland. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, and body image issues. We also offer therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney,  Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com ​​​

Dealing with body image during pregnancy and during the postpartum period is difficult for any woman.  But when you are in recovery from an eating disorder, adjusting to and dealing with all the bodily changes during and after pregnancy can be completely overwhelming. 
 
As a new mother, and someone who struggled with an eating disorder for many years, I know the struggle of dealing with body image during pregnancy and postpartum very well.  At the time I became pregnant, I had four solid years of full recovery under my belt, and thought that my pregnancy would be a breeze body-image wise.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  I still struggled with seeing my clothes get too tight, watching my body change, and feeling all of the physical effects of pregnancy.  Postpartum, it was difficult to look at my body when it still appeared to be pregnant for a long time, even though it wasn’t.
 
In our society, we are so often bombarded with images and news stories of celebrities “bouncing back” from childbirth and debuting their seemingly perfect bikini bodies on the beach or on the red carpet just weeks after giving birth.  It seems that they were never even pregnant at all.  We feel the pressure to give birth to our babies and then jump on the bandwagon of diets and exercise plans to lose the baby weight and “get our bodies back”.  I am here to tell you that what we see in the media is a lie, and the last thing we need to be focusing on in the early days of motherhood is dieting and punishing our bodies for giving us the most precious gift we will ever receive.
 
If you are pregnant, are a new mother, or plan to become pregnant in the future, here are a few ideas to think about and ways to navigate the pregnancy/postpartum body image challenges:
 
1. Focus on Body-Acceptance and Body-Appreciation
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When our bodies are changing, whether it is due to pregnancy or not, it can seem impossible to imagine getting to a place where we can say, “Wow, I LOVE my body”.  Instead of focusing on getting to a place of body-love, it can help to rather focus on getting to a place of body-acceptance and body-appreciation.  During my pregnancy, it was very helpful to shift my focus from my body’s appearance to the amazing things my body was doing to grow and nourish my baby girl.  When I would start to feel uneasy about how my body looked, I would start thanking it for taking such good care of the little baby inside me.  After my daughter was born, I began to focus on appreciating my body for being able to produce milk to nourish her, and also just focusing on my caring for my daughter rather than focusing on my body’s perceived flaws. 
 
Here are some examples of things you might think or say to yourself:
 
During pregnancy:  
 
“I accept that my body is doing what it needs to do to grow a healthy baby.”
 
“I know that my body needs to grow and change to accommodate this little human inside of me.” 
 
“I appreciate my body for allowing me to grow and nourish this baby.” 
 
Postpartum: 
 
“My body just went through growing and birthing a baby and needs time to recover.”
 
“It took my body nine months to expand to accommodate my growing child, and it is going to take even longer for it to get used to its new normal.”
 
“I accept my body just as it is, even though it is different.”
 
“I am so grateful to my body for giving me this precious gift and I won’t punish it by trying to make it look like it used to.”
 
2. Clean Out the Closet and Go Shopping EARLY!

Another thing that is very important is to make sure that you pack up, put away, or get rid of clothes that are already fitted or will become too small BEFORE THEY BECOME TOO SMALL!  Even though I knew my clothes were going to get too tight and no longer fit my pregnant body, it was still distressing when I would put them on and notice that they were tighter or had become too small.  Go ahead and shop for looser fitting clothes for the earlier days of pregnancy and get some maternity clothes in your closet early so you have options when you need them!  (**If finances are a concern, there are a lot of consignment stores that sell maternity clothing, as well as folks on platforms like Facebook Marketplace looking to get rid of their maternity clothing for free or at a low price!)
 
After giving birth, our bodies need time to recover.  I was still wearing some maternity clothes six months after giving birth!  I also knew that my pre-pregnancy pants would be tight, so I went shopping for new ones and did not even try on the old ones!  Make sure that you don’t rush to get back into pre-pregnancy clothes and focus on wearing clothes that fit your body right where it is.  That may mean wearing looser fitting clothes or buying a larger size in pants in order to feel comfortable! 
 
3. Focus on your values!

Throughout my pregnancy and postpartum journey, I had many moments where I would start thinking about how unhappy I was with my body.  In those moments, turning my attention to my values was SO helpful.  What is important to me?  My daughter, my family, my recovery, my job, my spirituality, joy, and peace.  If I continued to focus on my body and wanting to change it, my energy and attention would be taken away from everything I value.  Instead of spending energy trying to change your body, focus on what matters to you and make decisions that bring you closer to THOSE things.
 
4. Get support!!

I cannot stress this one enough.  After taking a break from therapy for several years, I decided during my pregnancy to go back.  Not because things were terrible, but because I knew that I wanted to do everything I could to keep myself in the best shape mentally and emotionally that I could.  Whether your support team includes professionals or not, find your “tribe”.  These people could be friends, family members, partners, a local mom’s group, church members, or anyone else that you can think of to include.  The early days of motherhood are TOUGH and it is so important to have people around who can be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to hold the baby while you shower and take a nap!
 
You see, you don’t need to get your body “back”.  Your body never left!  This body is STILL my body.  It is strong. It is capable.  My body’s so-called 'imperfections' tell the story of the amazing things it has done for me, and so do yours.  In fact, I am learning to love and appreciate my body more now than I EVER did before because it gave me the greatest gift I could ever have hoped for, my sweet baby girl. 
 
Lauren Hill is a counselor in Wilmington, NC who specializes in working with clients struggling with eating disorders, addiction, depression, and anxiety.  She is also in long-term recovery from an eating disorder and volunteers as a Walk Coordinator for the National Eating Disorders Association.  She also serves as a social media intern for Jennifer Rollin MSW, LCSW-C.  (Follow her for recovery inspiration on Instagram @lauren_hill_lpca)

​While mental health has been a hot topic in the media recently, there is still a lot of stigma around the idea of struggling with a mental illness.
 
Many people struggle with feelings of shame when it comes to struggling with their mental health. This is perfectly understandable given the amount of stigma in society. However, would you feel shame around struggling with hypothyroidism or an autoimmune disease?
 
There’s still this pervasive myth about mental illness that they are simply “choices,” that depression is just about “feeling sad,” that anxiety is just about worrying, and that eating disorders are “just about wanting to be thin” or a “diet gone too far.”
 
These myths could not be further from the truth. No one would ever choose to struggle with suicidal thoughts. No one would want to feel unable to get out of bed or to lack the energy to even make a cup of coffee. No one would ask to struggle with intense anxiety and constant thoughts around food and their body. No one would say, “I want to struggle with binge eating where I feel completely possessed and eat until I feel physically uncomfortable. And then feel incredible guilt and shame after.”
 
Mental illnesses are not choices. The same way that physical illnesses are not choices.
 
Why is it that people often don’t feel shame about saying they are going to see a doctor for their physical health, but for some sharing that you see a psychiatrist or a therapist can feel stigmatizing?
 
Why is it that when someone is diagnosed with a serious physical health condition, often people bring food or call them to offer support. However, if someone has a child in the psychiatric unit-the response is generally not as supportive.
 
Why is it that insurance companies often will cover physical health conditions but deny or shorten coverage of life-saving eating disorder residential treatment stays?
 
There are many people who are informed about mental health and are happy to support those who are struggling, however ultimately the amount of stigma in our society is still a very pervasive issue.

The same way that it's important to meet with a doctor to take care of your physical health needs. It is crucial to take care of your mental health, whether that involves setting boundaries with certain people, seeing a therapist, taking psychiatric medication, or doing activities that improve your mental health.
 
You Are Not A Burden
 
Additionally, many of my clients share with me that they struggle with feeling like because of their mental health challenges that they are “a burden” to their loved ones.
 
However, would you call yourself a burden to your family if you had a broken leg or an autoimmune disease?
 
You are not a burden. You deserve support, and the fact that you are struggling with a mental illness is not your fault.

Further, reaching out for help when you are struggling is not a sign of weakness, it's actually a sign of courage.  
 
We don’t get to choose our brain chemistry, and struggling with a mental illness can be incredibly tough. However, with access to treatment and support individuals can go on to lead productive and purpose-filled lives.

People struggling with mental illness are ultimately some of the  most intelligent, resilient, brave, and compassionate people that I know.

 
The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center in Rockville, Maryland. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, and body image issues. We also offer therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney,  Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com ​​​

I was running errands with my son this morning and we drove past a gym with a giant billboard that reads "summer bodies are made here." A while later I hopped on my emails to read one that tells me how I need to 'cleanse regularly.'

​This evening I was in the checkout at the grocery store and the cashier was having a conversation with the woman in front of me about her new venture into "clean eating." I waited patiently with my combo pizza, chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream.

This is all an example of diet culture and a great example of what is very wrong with how we view the concept of well-being.

A good friend of mine told me recently that she was about to sign up for a yoga retreat when the owner let her know it probably wasn't the best idea because "yoga is difficult for people with larger bodies." This is an example of the very real issue of weight stigma and fat-phobia. 

Diet culture surrounds us everywhere. Starting a new diet, beginning a new workout program, going on a cleanse (shout-out to my liver and kidneys for making this totally unnecessary!), it can all seem harmless enough however there are a lot of negative side effects that come along with it. I could share the research, I could offer the scientific data, I could show you study after study but I think whats more important is to really take a look at how these approaches make us feel about our worth.

What happens when my son grows up reading billboards everywhere telling him he needs to change his body because summer is coming? What happens to the person who goes on a diet and develops a life-threatening eating disorder (in part due to genetic/temperamental roots)? Or to the person who starts to believe that their value lies in the size of their body? How would you feel if you were told you probably shouldn't do something because someone had a bias against your body shape and size? 

As an eating disorder recovery coach for The Eating Disorder Center, I work with clients who are in recovery from eating disorders. Diet culture plays into their eating disorder on a daily basis.

So what does that look like? It looks like isolation, a living hell and treatment costing up to $30k a month. It looks like time away from their family, lost friendships and being constantly preoccupied with thoughts about food, body and weight. It looks like shame, exhaustion and a constant battle against diet culture.

Those in recovery are the bravest and strongest people I know. They're fighting an eating disorder in a culture that very much normalizes disordered eating.

The thing about diet culture is It's tricky, it's sneaky and it's created by us. Some of us may not even know we are playing into it and that's the reason I encourage you to get curious. Challenge your beliefs, your biases and your approaches. 

I think one of the most important things to remember is that it's not black and white. There is room for veggies and quinoa and pizza and cake. There is room for movement and rest. There is room for large bodies, small bodies, short bodies, tall bodies and every body in between. A lot of times this makes people uncomfortable. It isn't sexy. It doesn't sell. It doesn't fit into a clean box. You can't wrap it up in a pretty marketing strategy and make $60 billion off of it. That's a tough sale.

But know this, the more we get curious, honest and real about what diet culture is the more we can fight it.

​The more we can educate, stand up to it and challenge it, the more likely someone can gain their life back.
​
If you are struggling know that you are not alone. Reaching out for help is so brave.
​