I try my hardest to be thankful every day of my life, but this week especially, I hunker down and observe everything in my heart that blesses me each day!
Even when I am having a hard time with the fact that I am still recovering from surgery and can’t do those things I love, I try and turn the thoughts around by finding those things I am grateful for! I have started back to writing down 10 things I am grateful for, each night before I go to bed! It helps me to decompress from the day and lay out everything in my heart, allowing me to rest easy. It can be the smallest thing, such as my morning coffee, to an appreciation text from my husband, to cooking a delicious dinner, to the beautiful sky at sunset! All of these things take the focus off myself and into those things that light up my soul!
On this upcoming Thanksgiving, I know that the day can be filled with a lot of anxiety for those that suffer with an eating disorder, body image, or anxiety. I remember the first Thanksgiving I went to 3 weeks after getting out of treatment! It was terrifying! I spent the day engrossed in calorie counting in my brain, hiding away in a corner journaling, while the rest of my family was enjoying the time together, and finally storming off the second I could sneak out to go “walk off” everything I consumed! It was a terrible way to spend the holiday and when I truly decided that recovery was what I wanted, I vowed to myself I would not have another holiday like that one, again.
For all of us, but especially those suffering, try one small change tomorrow that can help you enjoy the holiday a little bit more than you thought. Find a positive mantra you can repeat to yourself (I am Enough is a good one), or practice deep meditative breathing, focusing on breathing in calm and breathing out peace. Finally, allow yourself the space to feel everything that comes up within you, breath through it, and then let it go. Tell yourself that today, even for 5 minutes, I will allow myself the freedom to enjoy all that Thanksgiving has to offer! Those 5 minutes will eventually turn into 10, then 30, then 60, then days, years and so on! Don’t give up and don’t beat yourself up!
I, for one, will be thinking of all of my friends and family and sending out grateful vibes to you all!
It has been a while since our last post. A lot of things have been happening in life, so my apologies.
I have been struggling, especially over the last few months. Struggling with constant physical pain, but also a lot of mental anguish, as well. I have had chronic back pain on and off, since I was 16 years old. I used to go years with no pain, or at least tolerable pain, but over the last few years, I have had more episodes than I care to deal with. For the last 16 months, I have been dealing with extreme pain in my back, as well as severe left leg pain down to my foot. I tried anything and everything to get the pain to go away on its own, to no avail. A few weeks ago, I had another MRI and it showed a large herniation in my L5/S1 disc. When meeting with my doctor, he also tested my nerve reflex and it showed, at this point, more than 1/2 my nerve was deadening from the herniation. I had hit a breaking point and told my husband that I couldn’t take much more. I had become quite depressed from the pain and not being able to live a more normal life. In the end, my husband and I decided the best decision for me was to have surgery to relieve the herniation.
I had surgery this past Friday, November 4th. It was successful in regard to removing the herniation and eliminating the majority of my leg pain right away. This is great news and brings me a ton of relief in regards to the physical pain. I am grateful to my doctor for his expertise and so grateful to my husband for his constant support during all of this.
Now comes the hard part, the mental pain. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for years. Adding in physical pain, only exacerbates the mental pain. It causes many things to occur, including feelings of sadness, worthlessness, fear, worry, low self-esteem and inadequacies. Trying to stay positive when you are in such a state of pain and frustration is so incredibly difficult, sometimes I succeed and sometimes I do not. This week has been a lot of the same. I am so grateful for the majority of the leg pain to be gone, but still dealing with now the pain of the surgery and the mental strain of figuring out where I go from here.
I was out taking a slow meditative walk a little while ago, taking in the fall colors, deep breathing, and trying to come to terms with all that I have been through. I know some will think, yeah, you had a surgery, get over it, but it’s more than that. It’s really taken my daily life away from my norm and has forced me to sideline myself from things I love, such as working out, being active and more importantly, just being able to move in my everyday life, without pain. As I was walking, and taking slow breaths, inhaling love and exhaling love, I started crying, out of nowhere. Crying for it all to be over, crying for my mind to calm itself, crying for the pain to hopefully be gone forever, crying for myself to learn to let go of what I can’t control and focus on what I can, crying in relief, crying in hopes that this is a turning point. A turning point for me to really listen to my body and learn what it needs. To focus on what feels good for me and not worry about what others are doing. You see, one of my many issues growing up and in my eating disorder and recovery, is the fear of rejection, judgement and comparison. It has been a constant in my life, something I am not proud of but it’s there. A dear friend of mine said something very profound to me right before surgery, when I was talking about the different workouts and things I hope to do after surgery. She said, “Meghan, this is a new start for you. A time to really re-evaluate what is right for Meghan. You might find you can do what you used to, but you might find that you can’t. You might need to rethink your workout plan and find what is right for your body at this time.” It hit home, in a good way and a hard way. I long to do what I used to, as so many of us probably do, but in actuality, I am not sure what my body will allow me to do. Only time will tell.
I think I was just compelled to write, more for therapy for myself, to express that change is scary, but is sometimes necessary. This is a time for me to try and shift my perspective in regards to myself, my body, my abilities, my mindset about myself, my fear of rejection, my fear of worthlessness and learn to really love myself for where I am at currently in life. I am ok. I am strong. I am worthy. I am bold. I am beautiful. I am more than my body. I am more than the number on the scale. I am more than my fears. I have an amazing husband, family and friends. I am here, breathing in love and breathing out love and all will be ok.
“Instead of focusing on what you lack, direct your attention on what you do have. Be grateful. Repeat: thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s a beautiful world we live in. Can’t you see it? It’s full of magic! If you focus only on what is not in front of you, you might miss it. So be present. Give thanks. Enjoy today. It’s beautiful!” – (Rachel Brathen, aka Yoga Girl)
Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking at a Family Day at a local Eating Disorder Treatment Center. The center hosts family day once a month, giving parents, siblings, spouses, etc., time to educate themselves on how they can help their loved one through their eating disorder and recovery. One important piece of this day is having them hear a recovery story!
I was so humbled to be asked and was excited, nervous, scared, but more importantly, hopeful, that my story could help those loved ones see that there is hope!
I spoke for almost 2 hours, telling my story and then answering a lot of questions from several of the attendees. I could see the fear and sadness in their eyes, but I could also see their strength and determination, to do anything and everything they could to help their daughters/sons/wives,etc beat this terrible disease.
Seeing these parents faces during my story, made me reflect back on what my parents were most likely experiencing during my illness. The pain and heartache of not understanding, not knowing how to help and not wanting to push too much for fear of driving me away. It was overwhelming for me to think about that, but made me feel so grateful for the love and support of my parents and family.
One common theme I kept reiterating, was the fact that they can’t give up on them. They have to continue pushing forward and expressing how much they love them, that they know it must be incredibly difficult what they are going through, but that they are so proud of them for fighting!
I spoke with a few of the parents after my talk and my heart broke for them, hearing about their daughters struggles and all they have been through. My story really resonated with one of the parents especially, as my story and her daughters were incredibly similar. My prayer is she walked away with a bit of hope in her heart that if I can recover, so can her daughter.
I pray for each of these families, that their daughters/sons/wives move a step forward each and everyday, towards recovery. That they see the strength they have in themselves and can beat this disease and live a beautiful, healthy, peaceful life on the other side of ED.
Lots of love and prayer to any and all suffering. If you are a family member of someone suffering, my advice to you is: Don’t give up on them! Stay strong! There is HOPE!
I recently took a trip to Greece with my husband! We had the time of our lives! It was exciting, adventurous and magical. But this trip was also very enlightening for me.
You see, 16 years ago around this same time, I was fortunate enough to travel with a group of my fellow high schoolers and teachers/chaperones, on an epic adventure to Egypt, Israel and Greece! I had just graduated from high school and was taking this grand adventure before heading off to college. Most would find this to be a pretty amazing opportunity; and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely did! This trip is what created the passion to travel in my soul. However, this trip was also during the beginning of my battle with anorexia!
2000; base of Acropolis
I was excited, yes, but I was terrified of what I was going to have to eat while there! I was scared of not being able to do my regimented exercise routine. I was worried I would put on weight. I was fearful of all of these unknowns, which in hindsight, I believe stole some of the joy away from me and this trip.
I remember packing and making up the excuse that I probably wouldn’t like the food, so I’m going to pack some snacks in my suitcase. When we arrived and I pulled out several cans of fruit cups, rolls of saltines (with the calorie count per cracker written on the bag) and a large bag of jolly ranchers (also with the calorie counts), my friend Beth got worried. She knew something was just not right! I mean really, who writes down the calories of a saltine? I did! I was so fearful and made every excuse up in the book to not eat certain things on the trip! For some unknown reason, I pretty much lived on banana chips the entire trip. Banana chips…laden with sugar…but for some reason, it was all I ate!
Even though we were walking everywhere, I still felt the need to sneak in any kind of exercise I could. I went to the hotel gyms, I went on a long run through the streets of Athens, I did random stuff in my room, and all in the name of my eating disorder! It forced me! There was that ED voice saying “you must workout so you don’t gain all this weight!” “You must workout to get in shape for collegiate volleyball!” “You must, you must, you must!”
2000; 6 mile run to top of Lykavittos Hill
I look back, sadden at the fact I let such an amazing trip, food and drink be dimished by this awful disease I was dealing with! When we returned from the trip, my family was shocked at my appearance. I had dropped a significant amount of weight in a 2 week span. I clearly remember my sister asking me, “did they not have any food over there?!” But I didn’t care, I had already dove headfirst into the rabbit hole of my eating disorder!
When I came home from college (1 1/2mths after arriving), the week before entering treatment for anorexia, I went back to my former high school to visit. I stopped in and chatted with Mrs. Barrett, our teacher who took us on that once in a lifetime trip! I will never forget her telling me how worried she was about me on that trip! She could tell I was not eating and she told me this story that makes my mouth drop to this day. Our last day in Greece was spent island hopping on a cruise ship. We had a really nice lunch on the boat but I refused to eat most of it. Mrs. Barrett informed me that she knew it was something serious when I asked her how many calories were in the tomato slice on my plate! Sad, just sad!
2000; cruising around the Greek Islands
Fast forward to today! When my husband and I planned this trip, I had one thing in mind! I am going on this trip and will enjoy all the sights, all the sounds, the food, the drinks, etc! Everything, I was taking it all in, making up for lost time 16 years ago! And boy did we! It was quite surreal being back in the same location but such a different space personally for myself! I soaked it all up, reflecting on the last time I was there and all that has happened in between!
On the Acropolis, in front of the Parthenon
We tried to visit a lot of the same spots I went to 16 years ago, so I could reflect and experience it all over again! It was so wonderful experiencing it all with a different set of eyes! To see the beauty and mystery behind this historic country is something I will forever be grateful for.
The Cliffs of Cape Sounion 2000; Olympic Stadium 2016; Olympic Stadium
One thing I did learn while there though, is this ugly beast of an eating disorder still rears its ugly head to this day. I am at a much different place than 16 years ago, but I still to this day struggle with body image and it appeared while on the trip! However, this time, I did my best to not let it steal my joy! It’s a choice, every single day, to overpower this voice in my head. Some days I win, some days I don’t. But the biggest win is, I don’t let it take over my life. I’ve accepted the fact that it is there and will most likely, always be there, but it will not win!
I remember drinking a beer hat this bar in the Plaka in 2000 Enjoying dinner with a view!
So grateful Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion Fell in love with Santorini Meteor Cafe in Santorini
greek salad to die for! Best gryo…EVER Deliscious Rock Fish
You can’t go to Greece and NOT have Baklava
And if you were wondering, I packed no snacks from home! No way was I going down that road! I immersed myself in everything Greek! From the Greek salads (OMG they are so good), to the gyros, to the fresh fish, to the kabobs, to the olives, cheese, bread and baklava, I enjoyed it all! And I didn’t once feel guilty! No, not once, because, I deserve it! We all deserve it! Food is made to be enjoyed, not to be feared! Oh…and the wine! Lots of wine! And damn it was good!
To all struggling or in recovery, just know, there is a life outside ED! You to, can enjoy anything and everything you want! You can get there, I promise! Don’t give up!
Today, Kat and I participated in the St. Louis NEDA Walk! It was incredibly inspiring to be there and see all of the support and progress that has been made in Missouri and nationwide. This was the biggest walk yet in St. Louis. My hope is that it continues to grow and pull people in from all walks of life; those affected by eating disorders and those that are not, but want to do their part to learn more about this deadly disease.
We are excited to continue down this road of educating all who want to listen on the dangers of eating disorders, but also on the beauty of recovery!
Enjoy a few pictures from the walk today!
Former MO House of Representative Rick StreamKat with her hubby David and dog, Lucy My super supportive husband and mePotter is supporting NEDA as well
I am so overjoyed by all of the love and support I have received so far from my blog post about my eating disorder and recovery story! It’s overwhelming, humbling, and incredibly encouraging to know that my story is helping others! Kat and I have chosen to speak our truth and be vulnerable with all of you, to show everyone that there is HOPE! To remind everyone that you ARE ENOUGH! To show everyone, if you let the walls down, freedom will come! This response makes both of us incredibly excited for the future of this blog and visions of where we want to take it!
I am so thrilled to also see that we have reached international viewers. How cool is that?!
So thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts! Your support is amazing and has given us such a push to keep making a difference!
My name is Meghan. I am here to tell you about my story and what has shaped me into a body positive and eating disorder activist. My story begins as a young girl in a large family. I am the youngest of 6; 3 older sisters, 2 of which have cystic fibrosis, and 2 older brothers. I consider my parents saints for dealing with 6 children under the age of 13! They are the epitome of love and selflessness and I hope to one day be as great of parents as they have been to me.
My earliest memory regarding my body goes back to 1st grade. The cute boy in my class asked me to go to the school picnic. It was a big deal to be asked and I was elated that he chose me! We had a great day of riding rides together and hanging out with all of our friends. Towards the end of the day, several of us were sitting on the front steps of school. He turned to me to say something, and being a smitten 1st grader, I thought he was going to tell me he liked me. Instead, he turned and said, “you’re fat!” And then got up and walked away. I sat there in shock, trying to understand what just happened and by the tone of his voice, realizing that “being fat” was a bad thing. My heart was broken. That day, my mind processed one of the very first encounters of negative body image.
Reflecting back on this, I am pretty sure I buried it away for many years. As I got a little older however, I started paying attention to my mom and her focus on her own body and food issues. From a very early age, I can remember my mom always on a diet. Weekly we had Nutri System delivered to our door or my mom would attend meetings at Weight Watchers. I remember many times her coming home from those meetings either elated because she had lost weight, or she would feel very discouraged, almost defeated because she had gained or just maintained. As a young girl, I was slowly putting together that happiness and joy came only if your weight was the right number on the scale.
It breaks my heart to remember back to the constant negative messages she would give herself, such as, “I’m fat”, “If I lose weight I can__”, “Ugh, I gained this week”, “I lost this week”, etc. I do want to say that my mom never made comments to me regarding my body; it was only about hers. As a young impressionable girl, who adores her mom, I was so confused as to how she could say so many negative things about herself.
During all of this time, I was an athlete. Growing up I played soccer, basketball, softball, but my love was volleyball. I started playing in the 3rd grade and joined a club team in the 5th grade. It became my life. I played year round and became a really good player and team leader. We traveled all the time for our club team, so I was exposed at an early age, to lots of different girls. I started down the road of comparing myself to others at that time, wishing I were taller, thinner, faster, etc. My self-esteem took a big hit and only continued.
Like I said earlier, my parents never really made comments about my body, however, there were other adult figures in my life that did. It was heart breaking to have adults, those people that you look up to, call you things such as a trash-compactor, or pudge and poke your belly. I was humiliated every time it happened and felt so ashamed.
My body image and lack of self-esteem kicked into high gear when I entered high school. Entering high school was scary and overwhelming. I felt like a little fish in a huge ocean. I struggled to fit in and find friends. I played volleyball, which helped, but still felt very alone. I remember my freshman year, calling my older sister at college, and crying to her on a Friday night; telling her that no one liked me, I didn’t have any friends, and I never was asked to go out. It was an incredibly lonely time and when my depression, negative body image and lack of self-esteem started.
By my Junior year of high school, I had found a group of friends I felt comfortable with, but still struggled with not feeling good enough. I struggled with depression and began working out more. By my senior year, I committed to playing volleyball in college. In my mind, I equated success on the volleyball court, with weight loss and eating less. I began over-exercising and by high school graduation and into that summer, I significantly cut my calorie intake and was heading down a dark road. My goal, at the time, was to get into the best shape of my life for college volleyball. But the issues of negative body image had been planted years before and were now coming out full force.
End of senior year of high school – 2000
I entered college pre-season volleyball, NOT in the best shape of my life. Instead, I entered at a low weight, extremely low body fat %, no menstrual cycle, little energy and only the drive and determination to control everything I put into my body.
I had been at school for less than a month, when my coach forced me to go to a dietician and counselor. I hated it; I was fine; I had it under control. At least that is what I thought. I fought him about it each time he made me go. One of my visits to the dietician revealed I had dropped more weight. My coach gave me an ultimatum; at my next appointment, if I lose any more weight, he was sending me home. I didn’t believe him, but I also didn’t care anymore. I was tired; tired of fighting, tired of controlling, tired of not controlling, just tired of life.
While in treatment – 2000
The inevitable happened on my next appointment and coach stuck to his word. I was going home. I left school less than 2 months after arriving. I entered a treatment center on October 11, 2000 for Anorexia Nervosa. My life felt like it was over.
I lived in-patient at the treatment center for a month. I celebrated my 19th birthday there. Within that month, I was submersed into a world of morning weigh-ins, chaperoned meals, chaperoned bathroom visits, individual therapy, group therapy, journaling, crying and wanting it all to end.
A big part of my “ED” brain did not feel like I was “sick enough” to be in treatment since the other girls were a lot thinner than me and some were on feeding tubes. My “ED” brain kept telling me I needed to get thinner, no one cares about you, unless you are thinner. I hated every inch of my skin. I was completely distorted in my mind of how my body looked. Everyone would tell me I looked too thin, but I could NOT see it.
I spent that month really just trying to digest what in the world was happening to me. How did I get to this point in my life? Unfortunately, my insurance ran out and I was discharged from in-patient treatment, 1 month after I arrived. The scary part was, I had not even hit rock bottom yet. I wanted to run from it all. I was tired of dealing with it and actually at one point told my family that I was done fighting, I’m going to live my life the way I want, even if that meant dying.
My rock bottom came 1 month after being discharged from treatment. I was struggling, still working out, mostly in secret, and I started abusing laxatives. One night, I was ashamed for eating what I thought was too much food, and ended up taking too many laxatives. My brother came up to get me the next morning and realized something was seriously wrong. My color was gone and my stomach was not well. I told him what I did and he took me straight to the ER. They gave me 2 bags of saline because my fluids & electrolytes were so out of whack. My rock bottom came that day. I was admitted to the psychiatric ward, as they thought I was a threat to myself. After 10 days of being there, I knew, no matter how hard it was going to be, that I did NOT want to live like this anymore!
A few months in to recovery – 2001
I’m not going to say it was all up hill after getting out of the hospital. There was still a lot of struggle and battles, but it seemed my mind had shifted a bit and I was willing to TRY and get better. I continued with a lot of intensive therapy and to relearn how to love myself. The first few years after treatment were anything but easy. I returned to college the following year and continued my collegiate volleyball career. I struggled on and off with body image issues for years.
I am entering my 15th year in recovery and can definitely say my mindset is completely different. Do I still struggle with body image issues? Absolutely! But I have learned throughout my recovery and therapy, how to redirect my thoughts. I have learned to appreciate my body for what it can do for me on a daily basis. I try my hardest not to focus on physical parts of myself, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t happen. Some days are better than others.
I would not be were I am today without my amazingly supportive, friends and family. Beth, you made a tough decision to inform my family that I had a problem, even though you knew I would be mad at you. Without your intervention, I would not be were I am today! THANK YOU! I love you! To my mom, dad, sisters and brothers, thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for the countless hours of support. Thank you for working tirelessly to put me in treatment, therapy, etc. It would take a 100 lifetimes to express my gratitude. To crazy cousin Pat, I hope you are smiling up in heaven while reading this blog. Because of you, I am still here! To my amazing therapist and friend, Christine! I can’t even begin to express to you, how much you have done for me, in our 15 years together! You know me probably better than I know myself. Your constant support, gentle nudging towards those things I feared, and to your friendship…I am indebted! To all of my high school and college girls that continue to support me to this day, I love you all! Finally, to my loving husband, Steve, you have been there since day 1 of college! I know it can’t be easy living with a recovered anorexic. There are still tough days and you are always there to support me! Your unwavering love and constant support mean more to me than I can ever express in writing. I love you more than words! Thank you!
To all of those out there struggling, my words of advice are this: DON’T GIVE UP! I know it seems like your life is spiraling out of control. Ask for help! Make the choice to want to get better! It will not be easy! But you can do it. Have faith in yourself. Life is so much better on the other side of ED!
To those family members of someone struggling, my words of advice are this: DO NOT GIVE UP! Keep on your family member! Let them know you are there for them NO MATTER WHAT! Don’t let the fear of hurting their feelings scare you; do what you think is best for that person, they will thank you in the end. Stay strong and keep the faith!
Happiest day of my life – 2007Our favorite summer pastime – DMB Concerts 2015Loving life @ our favorite place, Negril, Jamaica – 2015
These, of course, are my descriptions of my own eating disorder. Today we are going to provide you with the actual definitions of the disorders that are so common, yet so taboo to talk about. Our mission is to open up dialogue regarding eating disorders, and helping the world to see that this is a VERY important topic that needs to be discussed. Those suffering and families of those suffering NEED to know they are not alone! Education and understanding of the disease(s) is the first step in combatting these illnesses in our society.
According to NEDA (National Eating Disorder Association) the following are definitions of specific eating disorders:
Anorexia:
Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.
Symptoms
Inadequate food intake leading to a weight that is clearly too low.
Intense fear of weight gain, obsession with weight and persistent behavior to prevent weight gain.
Self-esteem overly related to body image.
Inability to appreciate the severity of the situation.
Binge-Eating/Purging Type involves binge eating and/or purging behaviors during the last three months.
Restricting Type does not involve binge eating or purging.
Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.
Symptoms
Frequent episodes of consuming very large amount of food followed by behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.
A feeling of being out of control during the binge-eating episodes.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards; and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating. Binge eating disorder is a severe, life-threatening and treatable eating disorder. Common aspects of BED include functional impairment, suicide risk and a high frequency of co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
Formerly described at Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) in the DSM-IV, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED), is a feeding or eating disorder that causes significant distress or impairment, but does not meet the criteria for another feeding or eating disorder.
Examples of OSFED Include:
Atypical anorexia nervosa (weight is not below normal)
Bulimia nervosa (with less frequent behaviors)
Binge-eating disorder (with less frequent occurrences)
Purging disorder (purging without binge eating)
Night eating syndrome (excessive nighttime food consumption)
The commonality in all of these conditions is the serious emotional and psychological suffering and/or serious problems in areas of work, school or relationships. If something does not seem right, but your experience does not fall into a clear category, you still deserve attention. If you are concerned about your eating and exercise habits and your thoughts and emotions concerning food, activity and body image, we urge you to consult an ED expert.
Bottom line is, eating disorders, and I mean ALL eating disorders, are dangerous and should be treated with professional help. The biggest misconception I have noticed throughout the years is most people believe eating disorders are just about the food. When in reality, the food is the symptom of something much bigger going on. Eating disorders are a mental health issue and should be treated as such.
If you, or someone you know is suffering with any of the above, seek treatment immediately. Contact the NEDA Helpline at: 1-800-931-2237, click to chat with a Helpline volunteer. The NEDA helpline volunteers will be there to offer support and guidance with compassion and understanding.
This year’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week theme is:
3 Minutes Can Save a Life: Get Screened. Get Help. Get Healthy.
As we stated in our first posts, our mission for this blog is to provide resources to those suffering, to family members of those suffering and to anyone else that may be in a parental or guardian role of women and/or men who may be suffering.
I am here because I am incredibly passionate about promoting positive body image, educating anyone who will listen on the dangers of eating disorders, teaching myself and others how to love themselves just the way they are, and letting go of the ideal that society has placed on women!
I was not always at this place in life.You see, 16 years ago, I was a lost soul; struggling with depression, low self-esteem, and over-exercising, that eventually led to my eating disorder.
My name is Meghan.I am 34 years old, married to my amazingly supportive husband, Steve and my awesome border collie/retriever, Potter!I’ve been working in the insurance industry for 7 years.I enjoy traveling with my husband, Jamaica, DMB concerts, relaxing at our farm property, meditating and hanging with family and friends.I am beyond blessed in this life!I am so grateful for all the experiences I have endured, including my eating disorder, as it has brought me to this place in life, where I feel I can make a change.I can be a voice of hope for those who feel lost or stuck in the vicious cycle of dieting, over-exercising, hating themselves because they think they are too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, etc.Kat and I’s goal is to show everyone that there is a way out.There is a beautiful life outside your eating disorder.
We are so excited to launch our blog, EatLiveLove, to provide a space for those struggling, families of those suffering and anyone who wants to learn about eating disorders, but more importantly, that RECOVERY is POSSIBLE!
Thank you for joining us on this journey to Eat.Live.and Love!
This year’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week theme is:
eatlivelove.org 