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It only takes one moment, one second, one phrase to shatter a girl’s self-image, and take away her innocence forever. And, that defining moment can never ever be taken back as the damage has already been done. For me, that one moment was when I was told I needed to be more fit in order to perform at a higher level in my sport. I believed the only way to be more fit and faster was to lose weight. Before that moment, I never counted calories, looked at the nutrition facts panel, or “dieted.” In fact, none of those things ever even crossed my mind.Read More →

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While I have the utmost respect when someone creates their own stardom and successes, I can’t help but cringe when it can so negatively impact thousands and thousands of people.  1.1 million followers are lured to Arielle Charnas’s Instagram account. There is no question that her style blog, Something Navy, offers helpful information, direction, and advice when it comes to clothing and fashion. But, in a time where young girls are struggling emotionally and physically by constantly comparing themselves to others on social media, Charnas does no favors. In our world of social media, we validate our worth based on how many people follow us,Read More →

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To the girl I see at the gym everyday: Each day I walk up the steps to the cardio equipment at my gym, I hope that maybe you won’t be there. But, then again, I am relieved when I see you because I know you are still surviving. I see you. I see you wearing a sweatsuit to workout. Those baggy sweatpants that you have to tie at the waist to keep them in place. At some point in your past, they fit a completely different way. Your huge hooded sweatshirt drapes down your body as you go through the movements on the elliptical. IRead More →

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I took the short cut. The short cut that so many athletes take. The short cut that Allie Kieffer was referring to in her latest interview with Sports Illustrated. Not only did I see skinny as being fast from my own eyes and experiences, but this belief was conveyed loud and clear from the powerful voices of coaches, leaders, and  those surrounding me within my sport. I was a competitive and driven athlete who wanted to be the best I could be in soccer.  At 5’1”, I was without question the shortest player on the college soccer field. I didn’t look like the typical tall andRead More →

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Some believe they have Gaydar, and are able to sense if a person is gay or straight. Some believe they have Jewdar, and can detect if one is Jewish. Me? I have Anodar, and I have the ability to recognize when someone is struggling with an eating disorder. After I ordered my dinner last night at a fast-food style restaurant, I made my way to the cashier to pay. The girl who took my credit card made eye contact, and our eyes locked for a split second. In that second, I wished I could say to her, “I see you. I know what you’re thinking,Read More →

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As I refreshed my newsfeed on Facebook just last night, the first post that came up was a before picture and after picture of a friend who was sharing that she has lost weight. So far she has 132 comments, and each one sends the same message: “You look AMAZING!”  “Wow. So proud of you!” “Yayyyy!” “Beautiful!!!” When I first started my new diet and exercise regimen back in college, my goal was to lose weight and get more physically fit. I had gained weight my freshman year, and as a result of society’s standards of beauty and the thin ideal, I knew I hadRead More →

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The day I became a bat mitzvah at twelve years old, my parents enforced that I take on a new challenge and religious responsibility—to fast on Yom Kippur. This holiday was the most dreadful for me. Though I understood the significance of not eating or drinking on the Day of Atonement in Judaism, fasting was an unpleasant and gloomy day. That was until I developed an eating disorder. At the time of my eating disorder, I was restricting my calories to the extreme, and grasped onto any excuse as to why I couldn’t eat—I didn’t like the food, I wasn’t hungry, I had already eaten,Read More →

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My 6 year old son has been asking me for the last several months to run a race together. Though the idea of signing us up sounded wonderful, I couldn’t help but have uncontrollable and intrusive thoughts creep back in head from the time of my eating disorder. At the time of my eating disorder, I not only restricted calories to the extreme, but I worked out excessively. No matter how intense the exercise, the length of time I ran, or the amount of calories burned, it never seemed enough. But, in my mind was always a minimum that I wouldn’t allow myself to fallRead More →

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I will admit it. I love the show, The Bachelorette. My addiction to watching it started the first season in 2003 when the infamous Trista and Ryan found love on reality television. I felt somewhat personally connected to the show because at that time my academic advisor at Michigan State University for soccer (the office I spent the majority of my free time in just because I loved her company) was Trista’s first cousin. I have been hooked since. See, Trista and Ryan set the bar high. Since their season, post-show breakups have seemed to occur often, love has happened quickly, and faded even quicker,Read More →

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Growing up in Detroit, I was raised in what I considered one of the best sports towns in the country. During my childhood, it seemed as though winning championships came naturally. My love for Detroit sports started from the time I was a baby. To this day, when I tell someone from Michigan that I was born in 1984, their immediate response is, “The year the Tigers won the World Series!” Though the Tigers were a great team to root for, I quickly became an avid hockey fan. How could I not when the city was nicknamed “Hockeytown?” I was lucky enough to witness, arguably,Read More →