National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

As some of you may know I am deeply invested in the subject of eating disorders.  I have spent a lot of time to understand these disorders and how to fight them.  One area that I am beginning to become very passionate about in my attempts to fight such insidious disorders is to fight it before it even emerges.

Eating disorders are becoming so rampant in our society and so many people do not even know how they are adding to the hostile attitudes that make people more susceptible to eating disorders.  I urge you all to be more aware of the way you talk about your bodies and the way you talk about food.  Avoid the obnoxious chatter about how fat we all are and how horrible the food we eat is.  This chatter is nothing but toxic to those who are susceptible to eating disorders.  It is also damaging to you.  Take the time to love your body and appreciate the fact that you can walk, run, jump, go up stairs, hike, bike, swim, play sports.  Our bodies are amazing.  Also remember that food is neither good nor bad.  Food is just food.  If you actually take the time to listen to your body it will tell you what it needs and how much it needs.  This is only another thing to add to the list of why our bodies are so amazing.

If you would liked to have a better understanding of this topic I urge you to read "Life Without Ed" "Intuitive Eating."  There are also documentaries which discuss the media and how disempowering it is for women and men "Killing Us Softly" & "Miss Representation."  For more general information about eating disorders you can visit nationaleatingdisorders.org.