The Joy Project

Help those suffering from eating disorders by voting for the Joy Project in Pepsi's Refresh Project! Pepsi has organized this project as an opportunity for people, businesses and non-profits to share ideas that will make a positive impact on communities. Anyone can submit an idea, as well as vote! And, there are only 2 days left to vote before they start a new month over and , so if you are interested, you may want to check it out soon!! The Joy Project is currently ranked #64 and needs some more votes (quickly) if they are going to receive some funding!!

The Joy Project is seeking 25k to fund a program called Roots of Recovery- the money is being used to rent a meeting space to conduct their meetings and activities, as well as fund the activities and meetings! They are not providing therapy or nutrition services, and are not licensed clinicians. However, they are interested in providing support, education and research- all things that are needed in the field of eating disorders! If you are interested in finding out more about the Joy Project (or voting), follow this link. To check our the Joy Project's website, follow this link.

EDNOS

I have posted in the past (here) about 'eating disorders not otherwise specified' -- commonly referred to as EDNOS. As a diagnosis, EDNOS is not very specific-- if one does not meet the criteria for anorexia or bulimia, then he or she is lumped into the EDNOS diagnosis. In this way, it can sometimes be seen as the 'kitchen sink' diagnosis. This can be problematic for many reasons-- mainly, a single diagnosis used for people that experience a range of different behavioral symptoms (binge eating- no purging, purging- no bingeing, night eating, etc) is not necessarily effective when it comes to treating the eating disorder. There was an article published in the NY Times awhile back that I have been meaning to post that you can access by following this link which addresses this very issue. I would encourage you all to check this article out! It helps to bust a few common eating disorder myths and provides a little more background on EDNOS. For more info on EDNOS, follow this link.

More on The Biggest Loser...

Back in April, I wrote about The Biggest Loser. Actually, I didn't really write about it so much as just post a link to a great article about it that someone else wrote! Follow this link to check out the post and article. Or if you didn't read that post (or the article) and don't feel like doing it now, I'll try to provide a quick re-cap : ).

First, I know that there are a lot of people who love watching this show (including some of my friends and family- hi guys!). This critique is not meant to encourage anyone to stop watching the show, but more so just to encourage critical thinking about what really is going on and if it is healthy! I watch a little TV that is regularly critiqued for many reasons (the bachelorette, for one- haha), so believe me, I am not throwing stones. But my overall thoughts on the show can be summarized by saying that the show seems to perpetuate some pretty unhealthy views regarding weight, body image, health, and happiness, as well as unhealthy, immoderate and unsustainable practices (exercising up to 6 hours a day?). The only reason that I bring this whole thing up again is because an article was published a few days ago by Kate Ward on Entertainment Weekly.com entitled "Former 'Biggest Loser' Contestant Claims Show is 'Dangerous'; NBC Issues Response." In light of my post a few months back, I thought that this article was an interesting follow up. Check out this link to view the article, or read the copy and pasted version for your convenience below! If you all have any thoughts or comments about this, I would love to hear them (as always)!

About twice a year, we tune into the latest season of The Biggest Loser and watch in admiration and awe as a dozen or so contestants quickly shed pound after pound from their bodies, until they’re left looking like healthy, happy individuals. But, if former contestant Kai Hibbard is to be believed, oftentimesBiggest Loser graduates are anything but.

The season 3 contestant — who lost 118 pounds on the show — appeared on CBS’ The Early Show this morning to discuss her claim that the NBC show is hurting its contestants, and promoting an unhealthy body image. (See the video embedded after the jump.) Beginning her interview by voicing appreciation for being part of something that has inspired people to lose weight, Hibbard went on to accuse Biggest Loser of supporting a “myth that’s dangerous,” and claims the show stretches the truth when it comes to its shooting schedule: “I have people that come up to me and talk to me and ask me why they can’t lose 12 pounds in a week when I did. It didn’t happen. It’s TV…a week is not a week in TV.” (Hibbard also discussed dehydration, which is used to affect the outcome on the scales, something Biggest Loser fans are already fairly knowledgeable about.)

The former contestant also went on to explain how Biggest Loser affected her own health:Hibbard says she suffered from an eating disorder after shooting wrapped, which only ended after her husband and friends staged an intervention when they saw her substitute coffee for meals, and began to notice her hair falling out. “I left with a very poor mental body image,” she said on the Early Show. “I found myself loathing what I looked like the more weight that I dropped because of the pressure on me.” What’s more, Hibbard claims at least six former contestants from seasons after hers have approached her to complain about their own unhealthy experiences.

When asked to comment, NBC issued the following statement to EW: “Contestants on The Biggest Loser are closely monitored and medically supervised. The consistent health transformations of over 200 contestants through nine seasons of the program speak for themselves.” Of course, Biggest Loser is not new to controversy — nearly every season, the show comes under fire from viewers and health professionals alleging the show’s lose-weight-fast format is unhealthy for its cast members, especially since the show seems intent on adding bigger and bigger cast members with each new season. (Just see the latest Biggest Loser winner, Mike Ventrella, the heaviest contestant to ever enter the ranch.) But now that a former contestant is alleging the show is dangerous, is it easier to believe?

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

While I was browsing People.com for my daily dose of celebrity gossip this morning, I happened to see that Jennifer Love Hewitt was featured alongside a big headline that read, "Jennifer Love Hewitt Advises Girls to 'Love the Way You Look.' Coincidentally, she was pictured in a white bikini, showing off her body that has significantly shrunk in recent days/months/years. Does anyone remember when she was photographed back in 2007 in a bikini and was publicly ridiculed for the way that she looked in the pictures?? She was raked over the coals for the shape of her body, and I remember reading about how she started dieting and working out to lose some of the weight after that happened. Here is a brief excerpt from an article written shortly after that time:

Late last year (2007) the blogosphere got pretty mean about actress Jennifer Love Hewitt looking a little heavier than normal. At the time she said she was a size 2 and that she wasn’t fat, but she mostly worried about how the attention would affect image-conscious girls who saw the media calling her fat. While she says the two aren’t connected, she’s lost 18 pounds in the last four months with the help of trainer Stevie Sant’Angelo.

Hmmm. It seems odd to me that those two things were not connected. But either way, I find it all the more ironic that she is doling out such advice to young women to love the way their bodies look, since her way of loving her body was to change hers! Jennifer Love Hypocrite?

While I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of pressure a female in Hollywood must face to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty, I also do not think that this justifies hypocrisy. If she loved what she looked like so much, why did she feel the need to change? She is sending such an unfortunate message to young women because while she is saying, "When I meet young girls, I'm always like, 'Just do me one favor, love what you look like right now – and remember I said it 10 years from now because it's the greatest gift I can give", her actions are telling a very different story. This quote was taken from the People.com article, which you can read by following this link. A few lines down, she says that she was so embarrassed by the pictures of her body taken in 2007 that she gave up eating 'her beloved donuts' and started fitting in workouts to her schedule so that she could 'get healthier.'

I am all for being healthy. Trust me. But it just seems like she is sending a very mixed message! And I think we are all too often inundated with mixed messages from the media, to the point that we fail to see things as they really are. It's helpful to expose mixed messages when we see them, and I would encourage you all to be mindful of what you see and hear! When it comes to the media, what you see is not what you get.

I guess I just feel bad for Jennifer Love Hewitt because I feel like she is really the one who is losing here. You never win when you have to change your outer appearance in order to love yourself and be happy. Yes, sometimes we do have to make changes so that we can become more healthy, but happiness and love are not dependent on or defined by how we look in a bikini, or how good we look in pictures. Happiness, love and beauty really do come from the inside out- not by losing 18 pounds in 4 months.

Race For The Cure and Body Image

The Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure took place in Raleigh, NC this past Saturday, and it was such an inspiring event. It held special meaning for me, as I have a grandmother and an aunt who have both battled breast cancer-- and survived!!! My aunt was actually in town from Oregon for follow up care at Duke, and so we formed a group and all participated together in this event. I have heard that participating in a Komen race is very different than other races, and as a first time participant, I think I saw why. First, there were SOOO many people that participated. If you look at the picture below-- it is a little tough to make out-- but as far as you can see, there are people that fill up the streets.

The other thing that seemed different to me was the heart and spirit in this event. I think that most people participating had been touched in some way by breast cancer. While my grandma and aunt are survivors, not everyone wins their battle with breast cancer. One of my friends that participated on our team lost her mother to breast cancer. Many, many people have lost loved ones to this illness and it is really heartbreaking.

The picture below is actually a shot of a few of the women that were on our team-- "Breast of Friends" : ) and you will notice the hot pink paper on these women's backs. These hot pink sheets of paper served as memorials to write names of people that you were walking in celebration of (survival), or in memory of, for those who have passed away. It was really sobering and emotional to see all of the names of people who have lost their lives to this illness. I think anytime, with any illness or disease, seeing names or faces make an impact because it personalizes the illness. In talking to my aunt over the course of her visit to Raleigh, she shared with me that battling and surviving breast cancer has changed her life and the way that she lives it in so many ways. One thing that she said that stood out to me was that she is thankful every single morning when she wakes up and realizes how blessed she is to be alive, and to have a body that works and is healthy.
This really impacted me and made me consider how her wise words can be applied to those of us who have not battled breast cancer! First, I think that her attitude of thankfulness is one to be emulated. There are a million ways that having an attitude of gratefulness and thankfulness can impact us-- as well as those around us. Whether it means that we worry a little less, we appreciate what we have more, or take our eyes off of what we lack and what we wish we had and focus on what we do have, it is always good to have perspective, and to live in a way that reflects that attitude.

Secondly, I think that this relates to body image and the ways that we think of and care for our bodies. I want to be clear, like I am often, that eating disorders are a mental illness. Part of having an eating disorder (diagnostically) is experiencing a severe disturbance and preoccupation with one's weight, shape, size, body-- so this is in no way meant to minimize the severity and nature of these thoughts. What I will say though, is that for those of us who struggle with body image and have a negative self-image, this may be a good reminder and an encouragement about all that our bodies can do for us, and how blessed we are to have bodies that are able to function how they are supposed to, that allow us to be active, and that allow us to experience life! Yes, it may be upsetting when our jeans fit more snug; yes, it may get you down when you flip through a magazine and see nothing but airbrushed 'beauties'; and yes, it may be frustrating when you don't feel good about yourself! These are all feelings that most women have experienced before, so you are not alone! But I will encourage you with the words of my brave aunt, who said that she wakes up every morning, thankful to be alive and to have a body that works. Rather than focus so much on the way that our bodies look, maybe if we start to appreciate all that our bodies do for us, and the fact that they allow us to experience life, we may begin to embrace our bodies a little more and appreciate them for what they are and what they do for us.

Some of you may have heard about the t- shirt that Urban Outfitters recently pulled from their online catalogue after much hate mail was received. The shirt said 'Eat Less' and was featured on a waif-y model. It is hard to believe that they actually went there! But they did, and while it may have been to generate some publicity (tacky, much?), enough people protested that they thankfully took it off of their website. I also heard that the shirt has been pulled from stores--so hopefully that is true!

A couple of my therapist friends who I got to know while doing some contract work at the Carolina House brought an awesome article to my attention that I just have to share. Below is this article that was published in Durham's Independent Weekly newspaper and written by Rebekah L. Cowell (follow this link to see the article) about some local women who are in recovery and working towards exposing myths about eating disorders that this t-shirt's message was perpetuating.

Amy Lambert used to tell herself what Urban Outfitters is telling millions of other young women: Eat Less.

It wasn't unusual for Lambert, who had an eating disorder for more than eight years, to consume little more than one container of yogurt in a day. Now recovering, Lambert led a protest last week outside of Urban Outfitters at Southpoint mall in Durham.

Last week, Urban Outfitters placed in their online catalogue a gray V-neck T-shirt worn by a rail-like young woman. On the front, in script, the words "Eat Less."

"Urban Outfitters targets a young demographic, and they are reinforcing the idea that eating disorders are a choice, not an illness," she said.

Four other women from a Durham Eating Disorder Support Group joined the peaceful protest, brandishing signs that read, "Messages Can Re-Enforce Deadly Beliefs" and distributing fliers titled "Messages in Media: 'Eat Less' is Humor That's Not Funny."

Mall security shut down the protest 30 minutes later.

"We want to make it a friendly family environment," said Public Safety Officer Sellers, who refused to disclose her first name. "We can't just have people here doing that [protesting and handing out literature]."

Urban Outfitters did not return the Indy's calls or e-mails regarding the ad campaign, but after national outcry the T-shirt was removed from the chain's website, though the shirts that have already been shipped will be in stores. When the Indy visited the store and asked for the T-shirt, it was not on the sales floor. An employee who didn't want to be named called the slogan "harsh."

At least 24 million Americans suffer from eating disorders, which have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Twenty percent of people with an eating disorder will die prematurely from complications related to their disease. Telling an individual with an eating disorder to "eat less" aggravates emotional, psychological and physical issues. And for those still stuck in dangerous patterns, it is a message of validation, says Chase Bannister, clinical director for Carolina House.

In fact, the T-shirt has been posted on "pro-anorexia" sites as a source of "thinspiration."

"The banner-statement 'Eat Less' can be a stinging trigger for women and men with anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder," Bannister added, "ultimately providing reinforcement for the distorted belief our patients work so hard to stamp out: 'I will never be okay unless I'm thin.'

The women said by holding the protest, they sought to empower themselves and spread a message of acceptance for a healthy body. Sandy Yarnall had anorexia for more than half of her life. She finally received treatment in 2008. "I struggle every day with wanting to go back to a very unhealthy size, and where I was before recovery, and seeing that message did distress me."

Rebecca Clemins has had an eating disorder for 25 years. "Urban Outfitters put this tee on a waif-like model, which enforces the idea that being waif-like is preferred, and they are encouraging a lifestyle that is killing young women," she said.

"I can't imagine endorsing something that creates so much misery," said Carson Hadley, who developed her eating disorder in eighth grade. She had to drop out of high school during her senior year to get in-patient treatment at Carolina House. "That shirt reminded of what I can't be if I want to live."

I am so proud of the women who participated in this protest, shared their stories, fought to raise awareness and exposed myths about eating disorders. This can certainly be an inspiring act for those with eating disorders who are working towards health to see- that not only is recovery very possible, but that it can also be empowering to take a stand and work towards educating people about the truth about eating disorders.

Anyone Need a Body Image Boost??

While the first official day of Summer has not yet arrived (it's June 21st if anyone was wondering!), Memorial Day has come and gone and regardless of where you live, the weather is probably/hopefully starting to get a little warmer. I know that here in Raleigh, NC, the weather has been downright HOT. These 90 degree days filled with humidity have me a little concerned about what August may bring. But at least it's finally pool weather right???

Well, for some women (I would bet most), warmer weather and getting into a bathing suit can trigger anything from a few nerves to a full on panic attack. The obsession with our bodies continues to reach new heights, and sometimes what we need is to step back and get a giant body image boost. Dr. Michael Levine and Dr Linda Smolak, together with NEDA, compiled a list of 10 "will-powers" for improving body image. I have been using this list with some of my clients lately (because I think that it is pretty great), and because I have gotten a lot of feedback on how helpful it has been, I wanted to share a few of them with all of you. My hope is that the following list may help us all to spend more time enjoying the sunshine, the company of friends and family, and the water this summer, rather than focusing on what we perceive to be the flaws and faults in our bodies!

1. I will ask myself, "Am I benefiting from focusing on what I believe are the flaws in my body weight or shape?

2. I will think of 3 reasons why it is ridiculous for me to believe that thinner people are happier or 'better.' I will repeat these reasons to myself whenever I feel the urge to compare my body shape to someone.

3. I will surround myself with people and things that make me feel good about myself and my abilities. When I am around people and things that support me and make me feel good, I will be less likely to base my self-esteem on the way my body looks.

4. I will practice taking people seriously for what they say, feel and do. Not for how slender, or 'well put together' they appear.

5. I will list 5-10 good qualities that I have, such as understanding, intelligence, or creativity. I will repeat those to myself whenever I start to feel bad about my body.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words- those of which I will not be writing :-) But I did want to post this image of Madonna's face, which is only half photoshopped-because it's a good reminder that what we see in print does not always exist in real life...