{via pinterest}

That’s a question that Amy Pershing gets asked a lot! Clearly, it’s a testament to the insidious impact of the weight-loss and diet industries. Below Amy offers an eloquent answer.

If you remember, I recently interviewed Amy about binge eating disorder. Check out what she had to say about binge eating myths and challenges of recovery and her own struggles and recovery.

Amy is the executive director at PershingTurner Centers and clinical director for The Center for Eating Disorders in Ann Arbor, MI. She’s also an advocate of Health At Every Size.

{image credit}

Today, I’m pleased to present a beautiful guest post by Beth Gager Green. Beth shares her story of pushing through obstacles and discovering her inner strength and ultimately finding herself and living life fully.

A bit more on Beth:

She lives and works in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her divorce in 2001 and several psychiatric hospitalizations changed the direction of her life in a profound way, from her life as a mother to her career path.  In 2010 Beth made a decision to let go of old ways that were holding her in the pain of the past and to really let herself live again. She got a new job and found her inner spark that had been shining all along. Now she lets people see it, including herself.

Today, I’m honored to present a guest post by Elizabeth P, an accomplished woman who’s recovered from anorexia. (See below for her bio.)

In this poignant post, Elizabeth discusses the difficulty of recovering in a weight- and appearance-centric society and the temptation she faces to get on the scale.

Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for your beautiful and honest post!

My Dilemma

Every time I go over to a friend’s apartment I am faced with a dilemma.

Inevitably, at some point in the evening, I have to excuse myself to use my friend’s restroom.  More often than not, upon opening the bathroom door, I find myself face to face with what for the recovering disordered eater constitutes nothing less than the barrel of a cocked gun: the bathroom scale.

{image credit}

Today, I’m thrilled to present a beautifully written guest post by Joy Choquette, who writes the awesome blog 156 Things, where she takes on about three things each week that take her out of her comfort zone. I love Joy’s writing, and I’m honored to share the below post with you.

Joy is a Vermont-based professional writer. As she says,  among her many interests are psychology geekery, people-watching and interpreting and everything relationship oriented: from marriages to childhood patterns to habits involving food, money and faith. She’s also very much interested in intuitive eating (please read this amazing post about it on her blog).

Without further ado, here’s Joy’s post about food in today’s world.

I am sitting in a café, warm coffee-scented air hanging heavy. I type away on my laptop. Today, this café is a retreat from my real life, a place to focus entirely on my writing and block out the distractions that plague me at home.

At least, I try to block out the distractions. More than once I’m pulled into a conversation at a nearby table, ears perking as I stare into space waiting for the right order of words to come.

{image credit}

Today, I’m pleased to present a guest post by freelance writer Maria Rainier, who offers valuable insight into raising healthy teenage girls.

In today’s society, with its pro-dieting and pro-thinness messages, parents definitely have their work cut out for them.

But there are many things parents can do to counteract these unhealthy messages and help their kids cultivate a positive body image and self-image.

Thanks so much, Maria, for your piece!

Today, I’m honored to present a guest post by author Nicole Johns. Below, she talks about the underlying issues that fueled her eating disorder, and how she recovered by addressing both.

I first learned about Nicole when I reviewed her book Purge: Rehab Diaries for Psych Central. (You can read my review here.) In short, I loved the book for its raw honesty, hopeful message, myth-busting and accurate information.

We’ve been in contact ever since, and I think she’s an incredible person and a great advocate for eating disorder awareness and recovery.

By the way, Nicole recently wrote about how lucky she is to be doing what she loves, such as speaking, teaching and writing. I know I can’t imagine how hard recovery is, but this post definitely speaks to why it’s so worth it!

{image credit}

In honor of NEDA Week this week, I’ve already posted about ED myths and recovery (here’s part 1, 2 and 3 of my interview with ED expert Susan Schulherr).

I’ve also discussed how parents can help on Psych Central’s main blog, World of Psychology.

Today, I’m honored to publish a guest post by Elizabeth Short. She’s already shared her story of recovery from a 16-year battle with eating disorders on Weightless (see part 1 and part 2).

She’s also written several beautiful posts for Weightless on recovery tools and healing from within.

Below is no exception. Elizabeth writes honestly and eloquently about the trials and triumphs of eating disorder recovery day to day.

While recovering from an eating disorder is hard, remember that every day is another day you can choose recovery.

{image credit}

I’m excited and so grateful to publish another guest post by Elizabeth Short, who recovered from an eating disorder after a 16-year battle.

She’s already shared her inspiring story on Weightless (see part 1 and part 2) and talked about the various tools that helped her recovery post inpatient treatment.

Recovering from an eating disorder goes beyond becoming physically healthy. Healing yourself from within is just as key.

Below, Elizabeth writes beautifully about becoming whole.

As readers of “Weightless,” I’m sure you know by now that eating disorders are not really about food and weight.   They are about many underlying issues that are manifested through food and weight.  We focus on what we eat and how much we weigh because that is something we can control – something we can change.

I’m thrilled to publish today’s guest post by Elizabeth Short. Just recently Elizabeth shared her story of recovery and resiliency here at Weightless (part 1 and part 2). Currently, she’s a Masters student in Counseling at The University of New Orleans, and writes the blog Finding Hope. Elizabeth is also in the process of  writing a memoir about her recovery. I love that Elizabeth is reaching out to others with her positive and hopeful message, and I love her guest post. It’s raw, insightful, brave and beautifully written. Plus, it offers really valuable advice. And I can’t say enough great things about it. I’m so grateful to her for sharing this with us.

Inpatient treatment for eating disorders:  Locked bathrooms.  Staff watching your every move, including time in the bathroom.  Meals and snacks are closely monitored.  No shoelaces, tweezers, coffee, gum or mouthwash.  6 a.m. weigh-ins.  Room searches.  Individual and/or group therapy all day long.

Sounds a little like prison to some, but for me, it was safety.  It meant I couldn’t restrict my intake or purge after eating.   I couldn’t use laxatives or diet pills.  I couldn’t weigh myself 50 times a day. I couldn’t stay isolated in my house for days at a time. It meant I didn’t have to wake up each morning afraid it might be my last — wondering if that might be the day my heart stopped beating.  It meant 24-hour support.  It meant being surrounded by people who understood what I was going through.  I didn’t have to explain why I was afraid to eat.  I didn’t have to tell them that every bite was painful.  They knew.  They got it.

Today, I’m thrilled to share with you a guest post by Kate Thieda that explores Geneen Roth’s book, Women, Food and God. You might remember Kate shared her story about recovering from an eating disorder (part 1 and part 2), and wrote a guest post about seeking treatment at 28 years old. She’s also written about her experiences as a student therapist for our World of Psychology blog (you can see all the posts here). I’m incredibly grateful for the below beautifully written post. I seriously got teary-eyed toward the end. I hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!

Geneen Roth’s latest book, Women, Food and God, was on the bestseller list the day it hit the shelves, and for good reason. It’s a rare woman in this country who doesn’t struggle with issues around food and eating, and her book connects those struggles to our beliefs about ourselves, the world around us, and aspects of existence that are bigger than us, namely our spirits and beliefs about God, whatever those may be.