What Does It Mean to Have A Healthy Body Image??

Back in July, I read an article featuring actress Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of actor Will Smith, in which she expressed some of her thoughts and feelings about the importance of having a healthy body image. She emphasized how important it is for women to celebrate and love our bodies. In the interview, she discussed the magazine cover shoot she did for Essence in which she appeared wearing nothing. She said that she did this because she wanted to be an example for younger women, especially her daughter, to demonstrate what it looks like to have a healthy body image and to love and accept our bodies.

My question: Since when is celebrating your body and feeling good about it equivalent to being nude on the cover of a magazine? This article wasn't the first time I have noticed this implicit conclusion that is often drawn about the degree to which we physically expose ourselves and how much we accept our bodies. The whole idea makes zero sense to me. There are a lot of ways to love your body and model positive body image to young women (and daughters!!) outside of what you wear. Having a healthy body image is a state of mind, not just what you put on (or don't put on) when you wake up in the morning. Just because you may not want to get naked on the cover of a magazine (or wear short shorts, a tight dress, etc) does not mean that you don't love or accept your body!

This raises the question- What does having healthy body image really look like? As women, we are sometimes critical of our bodies and we may not always feel comfortable baring skin in certain outfits or in skimpy bathing suits. But some of us do. And sometimes that has to do with our body image, but sometimes it doesn't! So what does it mean to have a healthy body image? I think that healthy body image means that you can accept yourself and your body for what it is, and that you are able to acknowledge the beauty that exists inside and out. Just because you may wake up one morning not feeling so hot does not mean that you can't still accept your body and appreciate all that it does for you.. It can be a challenge some days but practicing healthy body image can go a long way! How we think about ourselves impacts how we feel, and how we feel often impacts how we behave and act. So how do we work on improving our body image??

Here is a short list of ideas that help promote healthy body image:

1. Focus on what your body does for you, rather than what size you wear or what the scale says.

2. Don't let your body hold you back from engaging in activities or participating in social activities that you might otherwise. If how you feel about your body is interfering with those things, you probably don't accept your body!

3. Be discriminating with what you are looking at (media images, TV, magazines, etc) and what you are reading. It is important to think and observe critically so that you know what is realistic and what is not. Real bodies are what make women beautiful! You don't really see that much in the media!

Would love to hear your thoughts on body image. For more, follow this link, or this one!

NEDA Coach and Trainer Toolkits are Out! Part 2 : )

As I mentioned in my previous post, the NEDA Coach and Trainer Toolkits are out and available for downloading here. I would encourage you to check it out, pass the link or toolkit on to anyone you know who interacts with athletes, coaches, and the health/fitness industry. I had a chance to interview Nancy Matsumoto, who coordinated and wrote the toolkits. She co-authored The Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders with nutritionist Marcia Herrin. Find out more about Nancy and Marcia, and their book, by following this link. Below is the conclusion of my interview with Nancy which I originally posted a few months ago. Enjoy!

If you missed part 1 of Athletes and Eating Disorders, you can scroll down a little to read it, or you can click here! I had the honor of interviewing Nancy Matsumoto (co-author of The Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders and a free-lance writer in NYC--follow this link for more on Nancy!), who is working on completing Toolkits for NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) that are geared towards coaches and trainers. Both disordered eating and eating disorders impact many athletes, and one of the ways to promote health amongst athletes is to educate coaches and trainers, who are in unique positions of influence to point athletes towards the proper treatment and care of their bodies. Nancy, in my previous post, mentioned a phenomenon called the Female Athlete Triad, that I wanted to expand on (courtesy of NEDA).

Below is NEDA's description of this term/phenomenon:

The Female Athlete Triad includes 1) disordered eating, 2) loss of menstrual periods and 3) osteoporosis (loss of calcium resulting in weak bones). The lack of nutrition resulting from disordered eating can cause the loss of several or more consecutive periods. This in turn leads to calcium and bone loss, putting the athlete at greatly increased risk for stress fractures of the bones. Each of these conditions is a medical concern. Together they create serious health risks that may be life-threatening. While any female athlete can develop the triad, adolescent girls are most at risk because of the active biological changes and growth spurts, peer and social pressures, and rapidly changing life circumstances that go along with the teenage years. Males may develop similar syndromes.

The Female Athlete Triad puts female athletes at risk, and also inhibits their athletic performance. I am glad Nancy mentioned this because it is something that not many people know about (even in the field of eating disorders!). Below are the last few questions/answers of my interview with Nancy- I hope that you will find this informative (like I have)!

Me: What are some things that you have been struck by or learned about eating disorders and athletes through this process?

Nancy: One thing I’ve learned about athletics and eating disorders is that for the coach, the line between encouraging athletes to achieve peak performance levels and promoting unhealthy eating and training behaviors is blurred. For this reason, when coaches and trainers, are told they need to be more vigilant in spotting and addressing dangerous behaviors it can sound to them like their ability to do their jobs is being questioned and curtailed. They want to create winning athletes, and the traits that create champions—perfectionism, the desire to please coaches, and strong drive to succeed—are those often associated with eating disorders. They may fear that in order to encourage healthier behaviors among their athletes, they will have to discourage the very traits that make their athletes excel. What we hope the Toolkit will do is show that the better nourished and healthier the athlete is, the better her or his performance will be, and that although eating-disordered behaviors may seem to improve performance in the short run, in the long run they do not support athletic excellence.

Me: For many elite athletes who are competing at world class levels (whether collegiately, professionally, in the Olympics, etc), particularly in sports that may encourage (implicitly or explicitly) a high degree of scrutiny over body composition and weight for performance purposes (gymnastics, ice skating, running, wrestling, etc), eating disorders and disordered eating are increasing. Do you have any thoughts about how we might work towards helping athletes approach their performance and bodies from a more healthy standpoint?

Nancy: Yes, education and support for both athletes and coaches is very important. Some coaches are still not fully aware of the risks for and dangers of eating disorders among their athletes. We hope that once they do understand the facts, they will be open to discussing these risks with the team, stop making negative comments about weight or size, establish a zero tolerance policy for eating disordered behaviors, and foster a climate in which an athlete feels she or he can discuss these issues without fear of reprisal. For athletes, it’s great to have a sports nutritionist speak to the team about the importance of adequate fueling and hydration in their sport, to go over the warning signs for problem eating and exercise behaviors, and to encourage them to seek help at the earliest signs of a problem.

A lot of these strategies are about de-stigmatizing eating disorders, making athletes understand that disordered eating and eating disorders are a common problem among athletes, and that they can and should be discussed. Athletes should also know where there is help available, and that these problems can be solved with the right professional treatment. In many athletic settings, lack of knowledge about eating problems creates a climate of fear among eating-disordered athletes that makes it very difficult for them to admit to this problem. This causes a lot of suffering in silence. All the recovered athletes I spoke to talked about the tremendous stress of having to perform while also sustaining their disorder in secret.

When the Toolkits are completed and available, I will be sure to post a link so that any of you who may be interested in passing this information on to a coach you know, an athlete that you know, or if you are a coach/athlete yourself that desires this information, that you will be able to access it! By raising more awareness and promoting education for coaches and trainers, we can hopefully provide more care and restore health to those who are suffering from eating disorders and disordered eating. For more information on eating disorders, follow this link to access the National Eating Disorders Association site.

NEDA Coach and Trainer Toolkits are Out! Part 1 : )

Not too long ago, I wrote a few posts on eating disorders and athletes. I had a chance to speak with Nancy Matsumoto, who coordinated and wrote the coach and trainer toolkits for NEDA, which are designed to educate coaches and trainers about eating disorders. According to Nancy, "One of the goals of the toolkit is to balance an understanding of the goals and methods of coaches and trainers with the perspective of the eating disorder professionals who treat affected athletes."

I wanted to re-post the interview, as well as provide a link for you to check out these toolkits. If you are an athlete, a coach, a trainer, or know anyone who is, I encourage you to send around the link so that they can access and download this information! One of the best parts? It's free!! : ) Find it here! Below is the first post on my athletes and eating disorders series (or check it out here)- I will be posting the second one tomorrow! Enjoy! And for more info on the toolkits, follow this link to check out Nancy's blog post about it here.

Just a few days ago, I was saddened to read about a 16 year old high school sophomore named Krista Phelps, who recently lost her battle to anorexia. A talented, high school athlete from Des Moines, Iowa, Phelps collapsed and died while running. Just a few days prior, she had been 'healthy' (according to this article-- which clearly she was not) and competing in her second state track meet. The community is grieving this devastating loss, and in the midst of their grief, some interesting questions about athletes and eating disorders are being raised. This is not a new topic of discussion- many athletes have come forward to share their experiences with eating disorders and disordered eating (read about Tanith Belbin's story here). An anonymous coach is quoted in this article about Phelps as saying "anyone who's coached girls sports long enough knows of at least one [girl who has had an eating disorder]."

There seems to be a very fine line among athletes who train to be as fit as possible to achieve their best performance, while also remaining healthy and taking good care of themselves. It seems to me that coaches are in a unique position to pick up on warning signs and act as a liason for their athletes who may be struggling with an eating disorder by directing them towards the proper treatment. The challenge is that many coaches do not know what to look out for, and do not always know how to handle such fragile and potentially life-threatening situations! For that reason, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) has initated a project to make toolkits for trainers and coaches. Nancy Matsumoto, who co-authored The Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders and has written for publications such as People Magazine, The LA Times, The NY Times and The Wall Street Journal (among others), has been appointed to create these toolkits. I had a chance to ask her a little more about how she got involved and what NEDA is doing to help come alongside coaches to support athletes who struggle with eating disorders. In light of Krista Phelps tragic death, I think this is something that would benefit us all to hear.

Me: I have been excited to hear that you are working with NEDA to make toolkits for trainers and coaches to help educate them about eating disorders. I know that this is still a work in progress and is not yet available, but can you share a little bit about your involvement with this project?

Nancy: Sure! Through my work as a former People magazine correspondent and as co-author with Marcia on The Parent’s Guide to Eating Disorders, I have reported various articles on eating disorders and body image. NEDA asked me to bid on the job of Toolkit Coordinator for their newest online Toolkit for coaches and trainers, and I was lucky enough to be contracted to do the job. NEDA’s existing online Toolkits are the Parent Toolkit and the EducatorToolkit. I started working on the Toolkit in January. At the moment, the Advisory Committee, made up of about a dozen experts in the field, is reviewing the Toolkit. We hope it will be online in late spring or summer, and will be publicized at the NEDA conference in New York City in the fall. We are now brainstorming on ways to publicize the Toolkit, so you can definitely help with that by telling your readers about it. If you have other ideas of ways to publicize the Toolkit, please let me know!

Me: What kind of information is being provided to trainers and coaches in these toolkits, and what are the goals of such a project?

Nancy: The first sections of the Coaches Toolkit will provide basic information on the different eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia and EDNOS, binge-eating disorder and disordered eating. It will answer frequently asked questions and debunk common myths about eating disorders; detail factors that put athletes at risk for eating disorders (for example participating in a weight-class sport, such as crew or wrestling, aesthetic sports, such as gymnastics or figure skating, or endurance sports, cross country, Nordic track skiing); discuss eating disorder symptoms common to athletes, and the Female Athlete Triad (a syndrome of three interlocking symptoms, disordered eating, irregular periods and low bone mass). There will be sections on encouraging healthy exercise among athletes, the role of the coach in eating disorders, and prevention among middle and high school athletes. Oh, and there will also be athletes’ own stories and conversations with professionals: nutritionists, psychologists and coaches themselves. The goal is to reach out to, educate and offer support to coaches and trainers who are on the front lines of eating disorders, but often do not know how to recognize or handle the problem.

I think that Nancy highlighted very well an issue that is all too common- coaches and trainers, who are on the front lines, need education and support to properly handle athletes with eating disorders. To see what else Nancy had to say, check back here soon for the rest of her interview! And to find out a little bit more about Nancy, follow this link to view her website!

Update: Another Pro-Ana Slogan, Snack Factory?! Really?

If you didn't get a chance to check out my last post, scroll down and check it out... The Snack Factory, a company based out of San Francisco that makes different snack foods, recently began an ad campaign for their pretzel thin pretzel snacks by using a pro-anorexic advertisement. As you can see from the ad that is pictured in the post below (or you can click here to view it), this was a very offensive ad and the Snack Factory agreed to take it down. Well, believe it or not, this image to the left is what they replaced it with... "Tastes as good as skinny feels." Umm.... Hello!!! How is this any better than the previous one?? Are they just really that clueless or do they not care what the ad communicates?

I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are just really ignorant- but I think this again just highlights the need for a) more education and information to the general public about eating disorders and b) the need for continued advocacy and awareness being raised which may eventually help to change things like this that we see and encounter from day to day. It doesn't mean grand gestures. Maybe it means reading up on eating disorders (follow this link for great info on the NEDA site), encouraging your friends (and yourself!) to avoid fat talk, or maybe you point out myths about eating disorders when you have the opportunity! No matter what you do, there is nothing too small to help raise awareness. Every little bit counts.

I'm not sure if these ads are still up; I have not been able to find anything more on whether the Snack Factory pulled them or not. Hopefully they did. Please feel free to contact them and tell you how you feel about their ads if you are so inclined. Here is the link to their website and contact info!

Think Before You Advertise

Just a few weeks/months ago, there was controversy surrounding a t-shirt that Urban Outfitters was selling on their website and in stores. It said "Eat Less." [I wrote a post about it that you can check out here.] Since then, the shirt has been pulled from stores as well as from the UO website. It just boggles my mind when a company endorses an idea like this- it really makes me wonder who signed off on this, thinking it was a good idea!!

Well, the Snack Factory, a snack company based out of San Francisco, is marketing their new pretzel thin pretzel snacks and has stirred up quite a controversy over their choice of creative advertising. The picture above is the ad, and while I try to avoid using triggering images, I thought that this image was relatively safe- and important to show! So, here is the Snack Factory's idea of clever advertising. Too bad their advertising campaign comes at the expense of millions of young women and men who struggle with this very lie that 'you can never be too thin'. In response, people in New York City have been covering these ads with pictures of emaciated women, and the phrase, "Actually, you can [be too thin]." The Snack Factory responded to complaints via Twitter by saying that they are "using the word ‘thin’ in a creative way to describe our product," and that people "seem to be interpreting it in their own way... we're a thin pretzel cracker!"

I get that they thought they were being cute and creative, but that does not make it appropriate or okay. When you choose to promote a pro-eating disorder belief as your advertising campaign, you have to take responsibility for it. Thankfully, the VP of marketing for the Snack Factory has heard the public outrage and is responding by pulling the pictures and ads. This is another reminder that speaking out makes a difference, and that we can truly make an impact! This is also a good reminder that more education about eating disorders is needed, and that we need to continue to bust the myths about eating disorders so things like this will become less frequent.

Scouts Honor

I don't really have many regrets in my life- but one that I do have is that I was never a Girl Scout. Ok, that's kind of a joke- but I was a Campfire Girl :). Based on the name, you might have a good idea of what kind of group this was- an outdoorsy, camping group for young girls (similar to the Girl Scouts, just more focused on camping and outdoor activities). The funniest part about this is that I asked if I could be a Campfire Girl. For those of you who know me, this is pretty laughable. I love sunshine and being outside, but I'm not exactly the prototypical nature lover and I wasn't really what you would call an outdoorsy child. When the Campfire Girls used to have camping outings, I used to ask my parents to pick me up so I could go home and sleep in my own bed, and then drop me off back at the campsite in the morning so that I could sit around the bonfire in the morning with everyone else. How terrible is that?! Haha. Now that I look back, I'm thinking there was probably a better group for me. Perhaps the Girl Scouts? : )

The Girl Scouts have recently launched a new initiative to help boost girls' self-esteem. I have been so impressed with The Girl Scout organization- they have done SO much for young girls and have really invested a lot into nurturing the self-esteem and confidence of girls all across the US. Their mission: To build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Their new campaign, 'The Changing Face of Fashion' is based upon research that they conducted. They found that in spite of girls knowing that the fashion industry's ideals of beauty are unattainable and unrealistic, 89% of them still wanted to adhere to those standards!! As a result, the Girl Scouts hired four plus-size models and had them share their stories in a series of online videos about self-esteem and body image.

I really, really applaud the Girl Scout organization for using research and targeting a specific need of young women. I wonder though if there is a way for them to address this issue without the use of models? I wonder what it would be like for these young women to hear real women share their struggles with body image and self-esteem, and the impact that the fashion industry has had on them and how they have dealt with it and are dealing with it. I watched some of these videos (check them out here) and I wonder if these plus-size models (who are likely size 10's) do anything to help dispel these beliefs held by young women. I don't know that I have a better suggestion, but what I do know is that using the flawed modeling/fashion industry as a way to combat the irrational beliefs often perpetuated by the industry just seems a little confusing and backwards. I think at this point though, it is great just to get young girls to consider that beauty comes in all different sizes and shapes and colors. And it seems like that is what the Girl Scouts are doing! To check out more about the Girl Scouts and what they are doing, follow this link.