Beauty and The Mile High City !!!

Happy Saturday, everyone! It appears that I have taken an unintentional vacation from blogging :). I think it’s been almost two weeks since I’ve posted! A LOT has been going on! I am currently on a plane from Denver to Detroit (hey Eminem!) and will hopefully be back in Raleigh in a few short hours after a quick layover.

This past week, I had an opportunity to visit Eating Recovery Center in Denver on Thursday and Friday. It was an amazing trip and I’m looking forward to sharing more about my time there very soon! I will say… the staff there is beyond excellent. Four of the leading eating disorder doctors in the world work there (this is no joke), and together make up a pretty powerful team. I absolutely loved my time there, love their approach to treating adolescents and adults with eating disorders, and loved my time in Denver. I even got to see one of my oldest friends, Melissa, who lives in Denver- so, so fun.

I did have something I wanted to share real quick, in going along with my last post- ‘Body Beautiful.’ I watched Glee for the first time ever while I was on my way out to Denver Thursday. I’ve been told I’m a little out of the loop since I’ve never seen an episode so I thought I would take advantage of my time cooped up in a plane to catch up. Because I haven’t seen it before, I can’t really tell you much about where I was in the storyline, who the characters are etc.. But it just so happens that I watched an episode about beauty and weight. Funny, huh? :) The cheerleaders were being weighed like wrestlers, and had to ‘make weight’ in order to cheer at a pep rally or something. Well, this one girl started trying to starve herself so she could make weight. At the end, she realized that the whole thing was not worth her health and well-being, after being miserable and having another girl open up and share her own experiences with unhealthy, disordered eating. It was slightly cheesy and there were a few touchy, unfunny jokes about weight/eating disorders, but the overall message was really important and good. Below is a clip from the episode (wish I could find one that wasn't just the song, but -- I just thought it would be fun to post anyways). Check it out- and don't mind the first few seconds of the clip that are in Spanish and advertising a video game or something :).

I’m going to sign off and catch up on a few things, but I’m excited to share more about my trip to Denver soon! Also, don’t forget about the National Eating Disorders Association Walk happening THIS SUNDAY!!! At Meredith College in Raleigh. If you are interested in participating (or are not able to be there but would like to donate to the cause) follow this link. 

What Will You Gain This Year??

On my way to work the other day, I heard a radio advertisement that started out with a woman saying something like- "This year, I don't want to lose weight." That got my attention pretty fast!! ... You don't hear that very often, especially around this time of the year! Out of curiosity I kept listening and the ad continued on, while the actress re-stated the same objective (not wanting to lose weight)-- just in different ways. Then she said, "This year, I will gain ten fingers, and ten toes." I was a little taken aback by that, but once I realized that this was an ad for a local fertility/reproductive center at a local hospital I laughed and understood!! I think what I liked about this ad was that it focused not on losing something about ourselves in the New Year but on gaining or adding something to ourselves in the New Year. And I don't mean weight!! 

I think at this time of the year ("diet season") when it's so easy to get caught up in the latest diet fads, celebrity 'diet tricks and secrets', resolutions to drop X number of pounds...  it's helpful to consider instead what we might GAIN in this new year. Now, again... I am not talking about weight in all of this. :) What I am talking about is what we might add to our lives, what we might gain in experiences, perspective, knowledge, faith, love, etc.. Consider 2011 as an opportunity to grow, to do new things, to add meaning to your life in new ways. Rather than having resolutions or goals that reinforce unhealthy beliefs or behaviors, think about putting your energy into positive things that will enrich your life and will enable you to pursue your dreams and aspirations. Growing in health might certainly be one of those goals, and that is fantastic. Remember above all what it means to be healthy!! Health is more than just a physical state, it is a mental, emotional, and spiritual state as well. Be mindful and aware of your goals and how you approach them- Are your goals adding something beneficial to your life? Are you growing in knowledge of yourself and others?  Do you have any accountability or support in your life to help you pursue your goals and dreams? Maybe those are some questions for us all to think about as we move towards our goals this year... ! Happy 2011 everyone! : )

Happy New Year, friends! While I planned on my first post of 2011 being lighthearted with some encouraging thoughts for the New Year (don't worry, those are coming soon), I felt like I needed to first address something that has been coming up the last few days in many conversations that I have had with friends and clients alike. French model Isabelle Caro died at age 28 after a long struggle with anorexia. She had been struggling with anorexia since her youth, the struggle spanning half of her short life. When she entered the world of modeling, she was already struggling with her eating disorder; however, the environmental pressures resulted in further triggering her into an extremely dangerous state which in 2005 ultimately led her into a coma. Doctors thought that she would not survive, but she came out of the coma, was discharged from the hospital and continued to model. She wanted people to see the devastating effects and impact that an eating disorder has on its sufferer, and as a result, she decided to pose nude for an Italian advertisement in 2007 in an attempt to de-glamorize the thin ideal. More recently, within the last few years, she had been on different television shows and news programs discussing her experience with anorexia. Her recent death is extremely upsetting- and this entire story has raised some really important questions for me.

First, in 2007, when Isabelle posed for this campaign, she reportedly said regarding her intentions and hopes for such a campaign.. "I've hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance. I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is. " I think what makes me so sad about this is that she wanted to recover, she wanted to live a full life, and yet she wasn't able to do it on her own. Anorexia is a mental illness, and it is extremely difficult for one to recover on her own. I guess I just wonder if her death could have been prevented. Why did the people around her continue to allow her to be the face of anorexia in the media, rather than helping her take the steps to health that she could not take on her own? I am not saying that her death is the fault of her acting coach, or booking agent, or doctor, or whomever, but when someone suffering from an eating disorder reaches a certain point (not just weight wise- but health wise), hospitalization/treatment is necessary for recovery. How is it that she was made famous by her eating disorder, and yet people stood by and let her continue in it? I'm angry that she was encouraged and supported to keep putting herself out there and it makes me wonder why the people closest to her did not stop her and lovingly get her the help that she needed. I know that the sufferer has to want to recover, and no one can force recovery, but it sounds like she did want to recover.. she just was not able to do it on her own, like so many others. I don't know if the people around Isabelle tried to get her into some kind of treatment, and I would have to imagine (or hope) that they tried at some point. But I think this whole story highlights both the nature of anorexia as a mental illness AND the importance of people receiving the appropriate care, treatment and help that they need-- and how sometimes that means that they NEED help from others in order to get there.

Secondly, the Italian fashion house that promoted Isabelle's 'no anorexia' campaign wanted to support Caro by using " the naked body to show everyone the reality of this illness, caused in most cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion. " I think that eating disorder education certainly needs to happen, and I respect the efforts of those involved to that end. What concerns me is that eating disorders are not caused by the fashion industry. Certainly the thin ideal, the unrealistic standard of beauty created by the media etc contributes, but if the fashion industry causes eating disorders, then why do we not all have them? It is because eating disorders are caused by many different factors, including significant genetic ones. 

I guess all of this got me thinking again about helpful ways to educate people about eating disorders. How do we effectively portray the severity and danger of an eating disorder while also not plastering photos around that can be more triggering and harmful than good for people to see? When someone suffering from an eating disorder sees a deathly looking skeletal body and may not look the same, she may be tempted to think that she is not really suffering or struggling as badly, or that her health is not being impacted. And in some ways, images further stereotype what an eating disorder 'looks like.' One in four college aged women suffers from eating disorders, but that does not mean that one in four college aged women are walking around looking like skeletons... or that their eating disorders are any less of a threat to their health because of what they look like. I think we need to be careful about how we communicate about eating disorders. I don't know that I have any good global solutions at this point, but I think it's important and necessary to ask the questions. 

In all of this, I am just sad that another life has been lost as a result of a devastating mental illness. I hope that her death is not in vain, and that she may serve as a reminder to all of us that anorexia (in addition to other eating disorders) is a real and dangerous illness that is capable of tragic outcomes when not treated.  

Helpful Hints for the Holidays...

I came across this creative acronym below ('happy holidays') on a site called 'Something Fishy'-- a resource for eating disorder information, as well as referral sources for treatment care providers. Anyways, Sharon Sward is the one who created this acronym, and it is a little tool that serves to remind us of some helpful things during a season in which food can be a central part of celebrations, and consequently can cause anxiety, discomfort, urges and triggering thoughts and feelings. Check it out below... 

Hunger means you eat when physically hungry instead of emotionally hungry.

Attitudes about your size have to do with the size of your heart instead of the size of your body.

People accept and value you for who you are, not according to how you look.

Problems are resolved in ways other than stuffing your feelings with food.

You spend as much time and energy on helping others as you do on how you look.

Happiness comes from within rather than from expectations of others.

Occasions for the holidays emphasize relating to others instead of emphasizing food.

Love of self means you deserve to treat yourself in the best humanly possible way.

Identity of self involves more than how you look.

Disapproval of self is changed to approval of who you are.

Acceptance of what one can not change includes your body features.

You treat yourself as you treat your best friend.

Society values you for being you without emphasis to your weight or size.

by: Sharon Sward, President of Eating Disorder Professionals of Colorado

Author of You Are More Than What You Weigh

Radio Talk Show Host on self-esteem, weight, and eating disorders

Jenifer Ringer: A Body Image Role Model for the Holidays

One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up?? Going to see the Nutcracker Ballet. I was pretty involved in ballet until the 7th grade, so it made the ballet even that much more meaningful and special to me. I have to say it's been a few years since I've gone- I think the last time I went I saw a very 'interesting' production at the Raleigh Memorial Theatre that featured a more modern interpretation and ballet style. Because I have such positive and warm memories surrounding the Nutcracker, it was even more sad to hear about what happened recently- that something so festive and beautiful could turn into an opportunity for criticism and ignorance. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, there was a pretty big controversy recently over some comments that dance critic Alistair Macaulay from the NY Times wrote about Jenifer Ringer, the ballerina playing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the New York City Ballet's production of the Nutcracker. His critical comments were focused on her weight, which is bad enough- but she has been open about her struggles with anorexia and disordered eating in the past, which seemed to make this critique even more upsetting, disappointing, and irresponsible. Ringer was interviewed on the Today Show by Ann Curry, and I was extremely moved by how strong, gracious, articulate and healthy she was in communicating about the whole thing! This clip below is the segment that was featured- it provides the backstory as to what actually happened, and also includes the interview with Ringer. In total it is about 7 minutes, and I would really encourage you to watch it. (I have watched it a few times!!) She does a fabulous job of articulating that being a dancer did not cause her eating disorder (she busted an ED myth!) and around the 6:40 mark she has some very encouraging words for us about our bodies. Check it out below.

On Giving Thanks...

I can't even believe it is this time of year again... Thanksgiving!! Time flies!! In light of Thanksgiving being very much a 'food' holiday (something that can be anxiety provoking for those who struggle with food), one thing that I think can be helpful is to go back to the basics of what Thanksgiving is truly about! Soo, I asked cha cha where Thanksgiving originated (just kidding!!). No but really, Thanksgiving marks a time when the pilgrims voyaged to America. After a tough year, in which more than a third of those who had come over on the Mayflower died, there had been a very plentiful harvest and so, they commemorated their blessings with a feast. I think along the way, Thanksgiving took on some cultural adaptations- you know, Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving:), but specifically the kinds of food that we consider to be traditional Thanksgiving food (the pilgrims ate more of a traditional English meal).

Anyways, the point is that the pilgrims were celebrating their blessings after a tough year. And while all of us have had different kinds of years- some good, some tough, some both- I think that no matter what our days, weeks, months and year have been like, it is good to set aside time to be thankful!! There is always something to be thankful for : ) This year has been a year of change for me with going out on my own in private practice. And I am so thankful for all that this change and this year have brought. I am thankful for health, family, a job that I love, and people in my life that I love. I am thankful that I woke up this morning, I am thankful that there is a roof over my head, I am thankful that my body functions as it was created to. I am thankful for Peace that surpasses all understanding, I am thankful for sunshine, I am thankful for the hope that I have in days to come. : )

What are you thankful for this year??

How Far Does the Thin Ideal Extend??

According to a recent study published, preschool aged girls- as young as 3!!- indicate a preference towards thinness. How is that even possible??! I was actually skeptical when I saw this headline! But as I read this study (here!), it all started sounding way too believable. I obviously get that media has an impact upon how we define beauty, and I also am all too familiar with the ways in which modeling can influence us. I'm not talking about supermodels walking the runway... but about behaviors and attitudes that we pick up on by observing those around us. Anyways, in this study, the researchers tried to determine the childrens attitudes about weight by watching them choose game pieces (for board games like Candyland- my favorite!) that they had specifically constructed- a thin girl, an average girl, and an overweight girl. They watched the girls choose the pieces and interact with them, and asked them about the pieces as well. While it is very difficult to study body issues and perceptions in 3 year olds, there were some pretty strong reactions among the children to the game pieces. Some of them were very reluctant to play the game using the overweight girl game piece, and the majority would have rather been the average girl if they could not be the thin girl. To read more of the findings regarding the study, follow the link above- or here!

So what can we do in the face of some discouraging news about innocent little girls picking up on the thin ideal at the age of 3 years old?! Well, I think that regardless of whether or not we have children, nieces/nephews, interact with children daily, etc.. there are things that we can do. First, emphasize health over weight. Helping children (and ourselves, really!) to place the focus on our bodies being strong and able to engage in activities that we enjoy takes the focus off of a number. Second, avoid fat talk! What is fat talk?? Anything that reinforces unhealthy beliefs and attitudes about our bodies. ("I look SO fat in this!" "Oh, wow, you look great, have you lost weight?" "I need to lose ten pounds" "She's too fat to be wearing that") I have written a lot about fat talk before- check out this link or this one for more info! Lastly, if you do have children or if you are ever around kids, encourage and affirm them for who they are- their personalities, their character traits, positive things that they have done, their interests- rather than how they look! This extends to us grown-ups as well:) I think that if we can start to redefine beauty (and the thin ideal) by focusing on beauty as more than just our looks (by focusing on our hearts, our minds, our faith), then we might begin to know our true worth and value.

Fat Talk Free Week is Here!

Fat Talk Free Week is happening this week. What does this mean?? Well, if you scroll down, the last few posts that I have written have been geared towards Fat Talk Free Week! This is a week set aside each year by Delta Delta Delta to raise awareness and promote healthy body image. The idea is that by making an intentional focus throughout the week not to 'fat talk' we might encourage ourselves and each other to think more positively, have a better self image, and not put a negative focus on our bodies.

So, what exactly is 'fat talk'???

"My butt looks huge!"

"My jeans are too tight!"

"You look really good, have you lost weight?"

"I look so gross today."

"I need to work out double today since I ate that piece of cake yesterday."

"I wish I could wear a size (---)"

"I need to lose 10 lbs."

These are just a few examples-- I am sure you can think of others that you say or have heard others say. I think we are pretty desensitized to 'fat talk' and for that reason, I think just becoming more aware of its presence and trying to eliminate it could bring about a huge and positive change- not just for us but for those around us too. Consider how your words have an impact on others-- when we say these disparaging remarks about ourselves in the presence of others, we are not just shaming ourselves- we are shaming others! It is difficult not to influence others when we speak negatively about our bodies or choices with food or the size of our jeans- so even if it is just out of respect for others, be kind to yourself! Try it this week and see how it feels! : )

A History of Our Bodies and Beauty

One thing I have been thinking about lately is trends. They come and go, but while a trend is hot, a majority of people (not everyone, but a lot of people) follow whatever is popular- whether it be a clothing style, accessories (silly bandz anyone?), music, a book or author, electronics, etc. Just an FYI- I'm not knocking on following trends, because let's face it, I'm blogging :)

But as I have been thinking about trends, one thing that has really hit home is the way that 'beauty' and our bodies have been subjected to trends over time. For example, in the early 1900's, Victorian women wore corsets (pictured to the left) in order to make their waists appear smaller for the expressed purpose of accentuating their hips and butt, and to give them the illusion of being rounder and fuller. 20 years later, flapper girls were binding their breasts and working to achieve a boyish figure, thin and straight. 30 years later in the 1950's, Marilyn Monroe was THE icon of beauty. It surprises many people that she was a size 16. She had curves, and her body was the ideal.

It is important to note, as an aside, that throughout the shifts in trends with bodies and beauty, most of us women have tried hard to emulate them, no matter how radical the shift. Case in point, only 10 years later, Twiggy, the super skinny model (hence the name Twiggy) was all the rage and people wanted to look just like her! While thinness and weight loss have continued to be trends since that time, the 1980's were a time in which being fit and toned was considered ideal (Jane Fonda anyone?). When the 1990's rolled around, Baywatch Babe Pamela Anderson was a global icon- she was skinny with huge boobs, which became a major trend in the 90's. If you look around now, the majority of these 'looks' or 'ideals' seem to be outdated, meaning they are no longer in style. How do our bodies and beauty go out of style?

One thing that I have been thinking about is the sheer absurdity of our natural bodies (and how we define beauty) as being defined by trends. Surely, fashions change, and how we wear our makeup and clothes, etc, will change. But I think that we must learn to accept our bodies as they are, and celebrate them as they are because otherwise, we will have a relationship with our bodies that forces us to adapt and change with the trends, meaning we are never able to accept ourselves as we are. The only way for us to feel beautiful is to change ourselves. When the trends begin to change, we must change in order to accept and like ourselves and our bodies. That just seems backwards. It doesn't mean that we all don't ever play into the dynamic of trends, but I think that in considering the history of beauty and our bodies, we may see that beauty is something that goes way deeper, and cannot be defined by trends. If the ideal of beauty is changing every 10, 20, 30 years, maybe we should at least consider defining beauty in ways that don't change. It might help us be more confident, it might help us to accept ourselves and consequently, really love who we are! Think about it, and see what you come up with. Would love to hear your thoughts!

**(History/facts taken from thesite.org)

Staying Skinny Beats What??

A headline in August 12's USA Today caught my attention- Women: Staying Skinny Beats Sex. The first line of the article, written by Nanci Hellmich, reads, "For many women, weight control is more important than sex." The stats that back that up? Out of 1001 adults, 52% of women say they would prefer to go without sex for the summer than gain 10 pounds. Even more, according to this same research, more people would rather lose 10-20 pounds than receive a promotion at work!! That is crazy and sad but is a realistic indicator of what the majority of people in our culture value. [As a disclaimer, after hunting around to find out where these statistics came from, I found the answer to be a little self-serving--Nutrisystem!! For those of you who don't know, Nutrisystem is a diet company that is a contender in the billion dollar dieting industry in our country!]

Does anyone else see this drive for thinness as a problem? Why does being thin supercede other values in life, like career and love?! And why aren't we doing more to work on changing the unhealthy notions and beliefs about our weight and bodies? Why are magazines and media outlets making irresponsible comments and perpetuating eating disorder myths (check out one response to W Magazine here)? More education and awareness needs to be happening, and fast!! You can start today by educating yourself about eating disorders- the facts and the myths- by going to NEDA's website for more information! It is important to note that the media does not cause eating disorders. The media can pose a risk to someone who is genetically determined to develop an eating disorder, but it is not one thing that typically causes them. I would encourage you to think about what else can you do today to educate yourself (and others) and then raise awareness.. I would love to hear your ideas- you can post a comment or send me an email if you have any ideas!

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.

One Woman's Thoughts on Barbie...

I grew up playing with Barbies- cutting their hair, putting real make-up on them, and dressing them up in all kinds of crazy outfits. I actually used to force my brother to play Barbies with me sometimes when we were little and we would argue over who got to drive the Barbie corvette or the Barbie volvo- sorry Jonathan to out you like this. I was a bossy kid and I didn't like playing Barbies by myself! : ) Because of my history of playing with Barbies as a kid, I wouldn't say that I am a hater. But I would by no means say that I am a fan. The sort of global impact that Barbie has had on the self-esteems and body images of women everywhere is not to be overlooked. Let's just take a minute and look at the following facts about Barbie..

Barbie, the best selling fashion doll in the world, has unattainable and unhealthy body proportions. If she were alive, she would be unable to menstruate. Research has shown that very young girls (ages 5-7) who are exposed to Barbie have lower self esteem and want a thinner body than they have.(Dittmar, Halliwell, & Ive, 2006)

While statistics vary depending on which source you use, Barbie's dimensions (if she were alive) would be somewhere around the following- she would be 6 feet tall, 100 lbs., and wearing a size 4. Her measurements would be 39"/19"/33" and as a result would have to walk on all fours because her body's dimensions would not allow her to stand upright (Statistics taken from Eating Disorders Info and ANRED).

Does playing with Barbies cause eating disorders? No way. If that were the case, we'd all have developed eating disorders. But I believe that the way in which we view our bodies and beauty has probably been shaped by Barbie, a pop cultural icon, in some capacity. Interestingly enough, the story of how Barbie came to be might surprise you. It really surprised me. Dr. Susan Albers who has written some great books on mindful eating wrote a piece in the Huffington Post recently entitled "Why I Don't Hate Barbie Anymore." She shares about the life of Ruth Handler, the woman who created Barbie. Handler, the youngest of her 10 siblings, was raised by her eldest sister. She wanted to make something of herself and be successful in spite of the odds and circumstances stacked against her. Handler found worth, value and self-esteem in her work. She even went on to create prosthetics for breast cancer survivors who had lost their breasts to cancer- sadly, she was one of these women.

This article (as well as the book written about Handler's life) provides some very interesting context and thoughts on Barbie, her legacy and the woman behind the doll, as well as a GREAT message on self-esteem and where we each find our value. I would really encourage you to check it out (here!). Let me be clear- in the words of Dr. Albers- "Barbie's negative symbolism and impact on body image clearly overshadows the rest of this story." I can't do this piece justice in my description of it, so I would encourage you to read it for yourself (here). I know I am always encouraging you all to check out different articles, but if you read just one, read this one! What a great reminder that our value and worth as people come from more than our achievements and 'success.'

On 'Stigmatizing Health' and Orthorexia Nervosa

The Huffington Post is great at stirring up controversy with its opinion pieces. That's partly why I love it. It's a good (and fairly benign) forum for people to engage with different thoughts and think critically. What I don't love, though, is when people write things that are not accurate or informed. Case in point- the other day, someone wrote an article on orthorexia nervosa that was very misinformed. It's okay if people have differing opinions (based on empirical evidence) regarding how to effectively treat an eating disorder, or if people disagree on how we can improve and increase accessibility of treatment. What is tough though is when someone in a public forum, who has no psychological training, refutes the validity of a mental illness.

The article is HERE if you are interested in checking it out. Or, I can save you the four minutes and give you a brief synopsis. In all honesty, you might want to read it just to get a sense of her perspective, but Christina Pirello argues that orthorexia nervosa has been made up by psychologists and health professionals in order that the status quo is maintained, which essentially fuels an industry (pharmaceutical) created to profit from our unhealthy eating. She believes that healthy eaters should not be marginalized for choosing to eat healthily and that healthy eating does not equate with being mentally unstable. While I agree with her on that last part, I think the problem with her argument is that she really doesn't get that eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice, like healthy eating is. Eating disorders are a mental illness. Someone who suffers from an orthorexia is no more choosing to eat healthy than someone who suffers from bipolar disorder chooses to have a mood disorder.

Orthorexia nervosa is not just the desire to eat healthy. Orthorexia interferes with one's ability to live a normal, high functioning life due to the pursuit of eating only pure and healthy foods. This may mean avoiding work, family and social commitments or events to avoid having to eat anything that is not pure, raw or healthy. Orthorexia is also pathological in nature. This means that the disorder goes beyond someone's desire to adhere to healthy eating; there are negative consequences that result from the behavior. If someone is just eating healthily, that is not pathological! It is pathological though when this pursuit of healthy eating interferes with one's ability to lead a normal life. The preoccupation with healthy eating can become an interference in everyday activities, relationships and life. It also becomes pathological when one's health is compromised. Often, one who is orthorexic may avoid eating anything but fruits and veggies- the way that this can affect one's body can be detrimental. Your brain needs carbs to function properly (maybe Pirello needs some carbs!) and your body needs other essential nutrients that cannot be utilized from a handful of foods. While I can appreciate a perspective that is different than my own, my fear is that Pirello's perspective serves to further perpetuate myths about eating disorders. For more information on orthorexia nervosa, follow this link.

A Diet is a Diet is a Diet

Lately I've been ragging on celebrities- Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and now... Jessica Simpson. I've written about Jessica Simpson in the past (here and here) because she has been involved in many efforts to encourage women to examine what real beauty is, both through her show, Price of Beauty, and through her work with Operation Smile. She was also on Oprah a few months ago, sharing her thoughts about beauty, body image, and her renewed sense of self. At one point, she got teary-eyed and when Oprah asked her what she was feeling, she responded that she was frustrated by the pressure put on women by the media to be thin.

Well, this week, Simpson posted on twitter that she has started a strict vegan diet. While she later added that this diet has nothing to do with weight loss, and only has to do with being healthy, I was a little disappointed and surprised that after her campaign to focus on health, beauty and accepting her body, that she would publicly discuss her 'strict vegan diet' that she says 'shocked her system.' Because she has made body image and beauty her platform, it seems irresponsible of her to mention her latest fad restrictive vegan diet. Diets, as I have preached and preached about, are ineffective and BAD (why? find out here). If Simpson chooses to follow a vegan diet, that is her choice, but to announce that she has started a new diet puts the focus in the wrong place, whether this diet has to do with weight loss or not. Some may disagree with me, and that is ok! But I think that it would be better if she kept that information to herself, especially due to her history of engaging in fad and yo-yo diets and the ongoing scrutiny over her weight- as anyone hearing about her latest diet would naturally assume it has to do with weight loss (as all of her other diets have been in the past).

Our society is obsessed with dieting, who is eating what, losing weight fast, bodies, etc. It's tough to go onto facebook or twitter anymore without reading a status update or tweet about some kind of disordered behaviors/thoughts regarding food and exercise. I'm not calling anyone out here or thinking of certain people as I write this (well, maybe Jessica haha), but the more we call attention to these things, the more we are playing into the unhealthy dynamic created by the media. As much as Jessica Simpson has experienced criticism and pressure from the media, I would think that she would not want to perpetuate the focus and value on such things herself. I am afraid that by making a public point to share her latest diet plan, she is compromising the stance she has been trying to model with health and beauty. It's not that all of her progress and encouragement to women has been completely wasted and forgotten, but she is sending some pretty mixed messages. From here on out, it might be more helpful for her to refrain from promoting or discussing her current meal plan. And so should everyone else. We don't need a play by play via facebook or twitter about how many pounds you lost last week or how fat you feel or how intense your exercise routine is or how you can fit into your skinny jeans again. Food nourishes our bodies, it gives us energy and fuel to think well and be active. Let's keep the focus there and spend the rest of our energy, time and thoughts on things that matter more, like family, friends, our careers, and making the world a better place.

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.

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.