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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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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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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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When I set out that summer of college to prepare for my sophomore season of soccer, I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that I’d be diagnosed with an eating disorder just months later. This is the exact reason I publicized my story and am doing everything I can to share my experiences. The more eating disorders are talked about and explained, the more likely we will recognize and label what we are experiencing. Naming the problem helps us identify it, and then leads way to treatment. And, early intervention is essential in helping to prevent serious psychological and health consequences. Elite athletes have aRead More →

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It was a cold day, and all I wanted was a coffee and muffin from Dunkin’ Donuts. So, I parked my car, walked in, and scoped out all of my options. There was only one muffin that was labeled reduced fat, which to me at the time would be the only possibility. But, I needed to know more. So, I asked the girl how bad the muffin really was for me. She took out a binder with the nutritional information, and handed it to me. The second I saw the number of calories that were in that “reduced fat” muffin, I gasped. “No thank you,”Read More →

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First and foremost, I would like to personally thank each and every one of you who attended my presentations at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia. The topics of my sessions were “Aiming for a Positive Body Image,” and, “Pressures of Athletics can Lead to Eating Disorders.” Immediately following my second presentation, a woman came up to the stage, and loudly stated, “I just wanted to let you know. I wasn’t planning on coming, but last minute, my friend encouraged me to join her. I must say, this was the best presentation I have seen thus far. And, my only goal for next yearRead More →

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As a young girl, my family often took a cruise vacation during Christmas week. We traveled from one Caribbean island to the next, enjoyed many excursions, applauded our way through entertainment shows, and gambled until a depressing amount of money was lost. But, above all, and most celebrated, was the food. My absolute favorite childhood food was steak. Maybe it was because I only had it for special occasions, which kept it a novelty. But, on the cruise we took when I was seventeen years old, I went crazy, and, let’s just say, truly took advantage of the all-you-can-eat aspect of a cruise. After sevenRead More →

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We are born and raised in a society where we all have the same vision of beauty and of the perfect body. We strive to conform to that picture, and when we are unsuccessful, we become extremely hard on ourselves and attempt many different strategies to reach it — exercise, diet, make-up, even surgery. It all began when my physique transformed from skin and bones to curves and muscles. Pants began fitting snugger, and my inner thigh gap gradually turned from existent to nonexistent. It seemed I became an expert at doing the “jean dance” to work the stiff denim up my legs. Shopping forRead More →