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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 →

Jewish and an Athlete - How it led to my downfall

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My last post about being an athlete and being Jewish may not have discussed body image or eating issues directly, but the challenges I faced related to being different from my peers were added stresses in my younger years. Eating disorders can develop as a result of many different causes, whether psychological, environmental, or biological factors. In my case, my eating disorder began when the pressures in my life became so overwhelming, and unbearable, that I clearly wasn’t able to cope, other than turning to food and exercise. As I reflect on specific scenarios in my childhood, I am able to identify experiences that caused immenseRead More →

Jewish Athlete Hall of Fame

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We say athletes come in all shapes and sizes; so, wouldn’t it make sense that culture and religion among athletes is equally as diverse? From my personal experiences, I always felt like the only Jewish kid in school who played competitive sports, outside of school and community leagues, and the only player on my travel and competitive soccer teams who was Jewish. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, similar to that of any other city’s area where a large population of Jews migrated and settled. It almost seemed like any other religion outside of Judaism was a complete minority. Clearly, these types ofRead More →

Fasting to Diet

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I awoke this morning to head out for an early morning jog. In anticipation of household chaos upon my return, I chose to get a head start to the day. As I walked out of the garage, it felt like the weather had changed overnight. I swear that just yesterday I was awoken by the sun peeking through our bedroom windows. That we went for a long walk after dinner, and it was still light out long after we returned home. But, today was different. I stepped outside at 6:45 a.m., felt a sudden gust of crisp, fall air that had quickly made its grand entrance, and smelled the morning dew thatRead More →