Let's Move

What do you all think about Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity?  If you're unfamiliar with the campaign, here it is:  http://letsmove.gov/

I support most of her ideas (especially increasing physical activity among kids, making a variety of foods more available to less advanatged populations, etc.), but keep getting stuck on schools' initiative regarding cutting out sweets (e.g., cupcakes on birthdays) and taking variety away from the kids (e.g., in the vending machines), rather than promoting the idea of treats in moderation.  Eliminating certain food groups tends to backfire, resulting in overeating when there finally is access to these foods.  Thoughts?

Zumba!

The last six weeks have been filled with the requisite New Year's diet and fitness interviews, which should taper off soon.  But, before I'm through, I'd like to put in a special plug for Zumba Fitness.

I love Zumba.  Have you tried it?  For the uninformed, it's a Latin-inspired (but internationally flavored) dance party (that, by the way, takes place in a traditional aerobics room), replete with a funky blend of salsa, merengue, a little hip hop here and there, hip gyrations, shoulder shimmies, and, in a class I recently attended, the late 80s' snake (are you old enough to remember that move?) 

So many people are uninspired by the gym these days, stale in their workouts, looking for something new.  Sick of not getting anywhere on the elliptical?  Of running the same course outdoors?  Zumba may be the answer.  I'm a big proponent of finding exercise motivation through activities you like, and if you're into dance/music, Zumba may be for you.

What inspired me particularly to write this post was attending a class at my local gym a couple of weeks ago--a studio that was packed with 60 or so women (and one man--straight men, if you can shake it, this is a great way to meet the ladies!), a much more heterogeneous bunch than the typical group fitness crowd.  In a studio that's usually filled with women who look vaguely alike, this class stood out--there were Latina women, women of color, fat women, skinny women, conforming only in the chorus of their moves and the smiles on their faces.  The class was upbeat/playful/sexy, requiring more concentration on mirroring the instructor than staring in the mirror.  For this, I give Zumba a body-image A+, with a focus more on what your body can do, rather than how it looks.

Check out a class near you!

Melissa Broder--Poems on E.D.'s

Melissa Broder, author of the newly published, When You Say One Thing But Mean Your Mother, sent me a couple of her poems that relate to e.d.'s.  See below for the inspiration for her work.

Core vs. Flex
Madame Famine is hairless apart
from her lanugo, and when she sucks you into
her glory hole, a bald telephone, it’s

wrong. You’re supposed to be the one who’s lived
a thing or two, you’re supposed to be teaching her
to grow. There’s no room to live inside

her little Grey Gardens, so try and
let go. Stop lining up lacy aprons
with training bras and just have a damn happy

accident. You are frightened of going
over. You are not as fragile as you think.
Madame Famine should be left to rot in her

dream car with a frozen Jenny Craig
glazed salmon. Of course, she would rather
ride the bumper cars with your husband.


Prayer of the Teenage Waifs

We want security and we want out!
The groceries have cobwebs. French toast sticks
and sickie chicken sausages turn lettuce
for breakfast. Put dinner in a locket,
then sniff to get to clavicle heaven
where Mommy gets pinched and shock treatments
are ice capades, Sweet’N Low sensations

of Fatherland. Oh Fatherland! She’s been
a bad babysitter. Deliver us
from Burger King with People magazine.
Let the basement be our basement, the bones
and ringtones our only breath in mirrors;
let mammaries unbloom, let fumes be food
and we’ll massacre into cylinders.

Regarding the inspiration, Melissa writes:

In Core vs. Flex, the character of Madame Famine came to me in a dream. To me she’s restrictive eating-personified, though my publisher and editor, who are both male, think she is a well-groomed nether-region. The poem was actually longer in another incarnation, involving Oreos, but that piece didn’t make the cut.

Prayer of the Teenage Waifs arose experimentally. I used one of my favorite writing devices, which is to comprise a list of nouns from the lyrics of a particular rock band and then construct a poem using those nouns. This time it was The Ramones. If you look at their canon, you’ll find the nouns in this poem (from “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment” to “Hangin' out on 2nd Avenue/Eatin' chicken Vindaloo.”) Also, I was taking a prosody class and asked to write in iambic pentameter, so most of the poem is metered that way.
The title of the book is the punchline to a joke: “What’s a Freudian Slip?” I felt that it captured the tone of the book, which is playful, yet mild to moderately neurotic.

Family Consequnces of Eating Disorders

Here are the results from the first 100 respondents.  Note that numbers may exceed 100%, as it was possible to choose multiple responses. 


1. Gender:

Female: 98.0%

Male: 2.0%


2. I have been diagnosed with, or meet criteria for:

Anorexia Nervosa: 44.6%

Bulimia Nervosa:  35.6%

Binge Eating Disorder:  19.8%

Another Type of Eating Disorder:  32.7%


3. My parent or parents have experienced the following emotions as a result of my eating disorder:

Sadness:  54.5%

Anxiety:  56.4%

Anger:  38.6%

Guilt: 43.6%

Not sure: 19.8%

They didn't/don't know about it:  26.7%


4. My eating disorder has had the effect of:

Negatively impacting my parents' relationship:  17.8%

Positively impacting my parents' relationship:  7.9%

Causing them to separate:  1.0%

Not sure:  35.6%

Hasn't had an effect:  43.6%


5. My e.d. has had the effect of:

Positively impacting my relationship with a partner:  15.8%

Negatively impacting my relationship with a partner:  47.5%

Not sure:  14.9%

Not applicable:  29.7%


6. My e.d. has had the effect of:

Positively impacting my relationship with my child(ren): 1.0%

Negatively impacting my relationship with my child(ren):  6.9%

Not sure: 5.0%

Leading my child(ren) to have an e.d., too. 0.0%

Not applicable:  87.1%



7. For those who have a younger sibling(s) only: After I developed my e.d., my younger sibling:

Developed an e.d., too:  12.9%

Did not develop an e.d:  29.7%

Not sure:  14.9%

It's too early to tell:  6.9%

Not applicable:  35.6%



8. For those who have older siblings only: After I developed my e.d., my older sibling:

Developed an e.d., too. 0.0%

Did not develop an e.d.:  40.6%

Not sure:  20.8%

It's too early to tell:  3.0%

Not applicable: 35.6%



9. As a result of my e.d., family member(s) have:

Sought therapy and found it helpful for them to cope:  10.9%

Sought therapy and found it unhelpful:  5.0%

Have not sought therapy:  67.3%

Not sure:  18.8%


10. As a result of my e.d., family members:

Have sought out other resources (e.g., support groups) and found them helpful:  12.9%

Have sought out other resources and haven't found them helpful:  4.0%

Have not sought out other resources:  64.4%

Not sure:  20.8%
________________________________________
 
Thoughts?

Golden (Rounder?) Globes

Have you all seen this? 

That's Fit weighs in. . . .

Media Query

A producer from 20/20 contacted me about trends in eating disorders--they want to do a story about e.d.'s being "contagious" among friends, relatives.  Did you develop your e.d. after a friend or relative did?  Or, did someone follow you?  Here's the link, if you'd like to share your story on camera (please let them know how you found the link):

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/eating-disorder-thrives-friends/story?id=9553667

I'll have preliminary survey results soon!

Survey More

Don't you just love a short survey?  I've added more questions to flesh out the e.d./family issues survey I plan to present at an NYC conference in March. Please take the survey online (it's really quick) and forward to your contacts, if applicable. The survey link is:  E.D./Family Survey.

To give you a little bit of background, I commonly talk about how family members may (in part) influence the development of an eating disorder. We know that. But, not much research has examined what happens to a family as the result of an eating disorder. When I did a literature review using key words such as "family members" "coping," and "eating disorders" no articles came up! Clearly, more work needs to be done in this arena, but for now, there's my brief survey.  Did I mention how quick it is? Just 10 questions!

Ideally, I'd like over 100 responses to make the data meaningful. I'm going to hold off on posting until I meet that goal, so that this post stays on top. Yes, I do believe I'm holding my blog hostage.

Family Issue Polls

Hi--Happy New Year! Hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are ready to work for me! I'm giving a talk in a couple of months on family issues related to e.d.'s. at a day-long conference in NYC. Two of the questions I want to address are: What are the familial consequences of having an eating disorder? Did your parents argue more, split up? Did they experience their own mental health consequences (e.g., anxiety, depression)? Did they report feelings of guilt, sadness, anger? Did your e.d. in some way help the family? The other question has to do with e.d. comorbidity among siblings--if you had an e.d., did your sibling develop one, too? Did your e.d. follow a sibling struggling with one? Do you feel e.d.'s are "contagious" among siblings?

I've included two new polls on the side bar. Please vote and encourage your friends to, as well. I also would love to hear your comments about these topics and with your permission (of course, with identifying information removed), may share a couple of case studies in my talk. Thanks, in advance, for your help!

Holiday Read

If you have some time off during the holidays, I recommend reading Insatiable: A Young Mother's Struggle with Anorexia, a memoir by first-time author, Erica Rivera. As the subtitle notes, the young Rivera (in her early 20s) traces her eating disorder from dieting to restriction and over-exercise to binge eating, and then to recovery.

Rivera recalls a childhood memory:

I don't just have my mother's face; I have her body, too. We share the same padded hips, the rounded thighs, the kangaroo pouch of a belly. When I see the abrasive way she turns away from herself in the mirror, how can I think of my body as anything but flawed?

It's not long before Rivera develops eating-disordered behavior. After a consultation with a diet doctor ("Being this requires sacrifice"), Rivera takes the diet to an extreme, which morphs into anorexia. Not surprisingly, Rivera suffers the physiological and psychological consequences of countless days of restriction and eventually ends up overeating (developing a persona whom she refers to as "Binge Bitch").

Rivera relies on her family, treatment team, and her writing to guide her to health. One of her journal entries reveals: "In The Writer's Life, author Julia Cameron says going sane looks a lot like going insane." What a perfect description of recovery. . .

Note: I've added Insatiable to the EWHAED book list. While this book may be helpful to many, it may be triggering to some. As always, I recommend you be mindful of this as you read.

Hillstone-Houston's-Hillstone Restaurant

California-based Hillstone Restaurant Group recently demonstrated new and improved loopholes around New York City menu labeling laws. Again, NYC passed legislation in May, 2008, requiring all chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus.

Hillstone, which owns the popular chain Houston's, has now changed the name of its two NYC spots from Houston's to Hillstone. Sound confusing? It is.

Apparently, the two Houston's restaurants in NY were charged with noncompliance regarding menu labeling laws and instead of caving and revealing their calorie counts, they simply chose to rename the restaurant, add a menu item here or there, and voila, they've now circumvented the entire problem. That spinach-artichoke dip you know and love? Don't have to know the calories on that one. Pretty sneaky, sis. . .

As I've written before, I'm not in support of posting calorie counts (see previous posts for my reasoning). To me, this switcheroo provides yet another example of why the law won't work.

Guess What?

Can you guess the product/company advertised in the image above? A reader from Miami, Florida snapped the photo (I airbrushed out some hints). I'll post the answer after 20 guesses, or at the end of the week, whichever comes first. The winner(s) will receive from me NEDA's "Thank you for not talking about your diet" bumper sticker. Guess hard!

UPDATE:
Oops--din't realize the file name would appear!

Here's another one:

UPDATE:
Here's the answer:

Eating Disorder/Body Image Myths

Margarita Tartakovsky, over at Psychcentral--Weightless, recently asked me for some eating disorder myths and body image boosters to share with her blog audience. Below are links to the posts where she compiles these myths. Hope they're helpful to you. . . .

Eating Disorder Myths

Body Image Boosters

Turkey Makeover: Another Look at Food

I came across this press release for more humane and Earth-friendly consumption this Thanksgiving:

Tips from World Society for the Protection of Animals for A for a Healthy and Humane Thanksgiving Table

November 16, 2009 — On Thanksgiving Day when Americans give thanks for the abundance of food on their table, they should also appreciate the global impact of what they are eating. Making humane choices when shopping for a turkey and other holiday groceries is a simple yet powerful way to make a difference, reports the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

According to Sharanya Krishna Prasad, WSPA U.S. programs officer, “Understanding food labels, and in turn, making humane choices for your turkey, eggs and milk can have a substantial impact on animal welfare, the environment and your health. We want people to know that choosing certain foods can help save our planet. What better day to start than on Thanksgiving?”

Humane Turkey Talk from WSPA:

* When shopping for a turkey, look for these labels: “Pasture Raised,” “USDA Organic,” “American Humane Certified,” “Animal Welfare Approved” or “Certified Humane.” These labels indicate that animals were generally raised under more humane standards and were given access to sunlight, fresh air, and freedom of movement. They were also spared non-therapeutic antibiotics and growth-promoting hormones.
* Avoid misleading labels like “Natural” or “Naturally Raised.” While “Naturally Raised” ensures animals were not given antibiotics or hormones, this claim does not require that the animals have freedom, fresh air or sunlight. The term “Natural” has no relevance to animal welfare and merely indicates that the product was minimally processed and contains no dyes or preservatives.
* Avoid serving multiple meat entrées during Thanksgiving. Instead add a meatless entrée choice such as ratatouille, lasagna, vegetable chili or meatless shepherd's pie.
* Do not add meat (like sausage) to your stuffing. Instead use veggies, fruits or nuts.
* Use vegetable broth in place of turkey or chicken broth for gravies and sauces.
* Substitute soy milk, vegetable broth or water, for cow's milk in squash and corn soups.
* Use soy milk instead of cow's milk in mashed potatoes and in corn and green bean casseroles.
* Substitute “Egg Replacer” for chicken eggs in cornbread and other breads, cakes and desserts.
* Substitute soy milk for cow's milk in pie crusts and fillings.
* Try frozen non-dairy dessert on top of pies or cakes.

Prasad explains, “If every person in the U.S. cut meat out of their diet for just one day it would save over 200,000 tons of food and nearly two million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. That amount could feed an estimated two million people in need. By choosing humane labels, reducing meat in your diet and minimizing meat products in your side dishes, you can curb your carbon footprint and have something to truly be thankful for.”

For more information on food labels and humane eating visit EatHumane.org. WSPA has built the world’s largest alliance – over 1,000 animal welfare groups in 150 countries –dedicated to alleviating animal suffering. Through its pioneering programs and unique partnerships, WSPA addresses animal welfare concerns on a truly unprecedented global scale.

Enjoy your holiday. Enjoy your food.

Louboutin Legs

Newsflash: Barbie isn't perfect.

I know you thought she was, what with those improbable dimensions, the long, golden locks, her plastic-smooth skin, that Malibu Dream House.

But, she's not. That's what I learned last week, when I was invited to sit on a television panel to talk about Barbie's ankles. It seems French shoe designer Christian Louboutin told Women’s Wear Daily magazine that Barbie's ankles were too "fat" to wear his shoes.

Louboutin, who is designing three special edition Barbies, is reshaping her gams (slimming her ankles) in order to wear his shoes. Mattel, Barbie's maker, reports that the Louboutin controversy (known in the media as "Barbie Has Cankles!") is simply a misunderstanding: "My dear friend, Christian loves my ankles. It was my arch that he wanted to give a little lift to, so I can rock those high heels."

But, you see, one of the wonderful perks about being a shoe designer is that you actually design shoes! So, instead of molding her (fake) foot to fit the (fake) shoe, why not do it the other way around? You'd send the message that we don't have to contort our bodies to find fashion, and you'd keep this Louboutin lover around.

Holiday Weight-Loss

Drstaceyny would like to believe that she lives in a diet-free world. . . but she does not. A reporter recently contacted me and asked for trends in weight-loss that might be influenced by the economy, the holiday season, etc.

Are people changing the way they lose weight? Are they foregoing formal diet programs (e.g., Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, WW) and tossing their diet books, trying to go at it alone?

Thoughts?

More on TBL

I may have said it before, but I'll say it again, I hate The Biggest Loser. While I'm all for encouraging healthy eating and exercise, this is not the goal of the show. Instead, contestants are put on low calorie diets and required to engage in extreme exercise, a combination that is simply unsustainable. A recent issue of Us magazine profiles three former contestants:

1) Hollie Self: Self is reported to eat 1,200 calories a day, run four times a week (up to 20 miles per run) and engage in strength training three times a week. Self completed the NYC marathon (5:08) and is training for a Half Ironman next year. For the uninitiated, that's a 1.2 mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run (yes, all in one day). But, on a 1,200 calorie/day diet?

2) Alexandra White: It's reported that White eats 1,300 calories a day and works out for four hours a day, six times a week. This type of overtraining is likely to lead her to burnout and injuries and again, isn't sustainable on 1,300 calories a day.

3) Nicole Brewer: Brewer reportedly eats 1,600 calories a day, as she trains for the Philadelphia Marathon and teaches spinning and strength training classes.

My concern about these lifestyles is that they're unrealistic--the general public is led to believe that it's possible a) to function long-term on low calorie diets b) and to do that while engaging in frequent, rigorous endurance exercise. For most people, it's a set-up, at best, for failure and low self-esteem (If they can do it, why can't I?), and at worst, for illness and malnutrition.

Model Eating

So, yes, it's come to this. At a Parisian runway show, Givenchy posted this sign backstage. A step in the right direction?

But what about Filippa? By now, you've heard of Filippa Hamilton, the former Ralph Lauren model, who was fired for being too big. Hamilton stands 5-foot-10-inches, weighs 120 pounds, and wears a Size 4 (and likely would be a smaller size if not for her height). According to the story, Filippa was axed because she wasn't able to fit into the designer's (industry's) standard sample sizes.

So, models, like the rest of us are hearing the message loud and clear: Eat some, but not too much; be skinny, but don't pass out.

What's a model to do?

Poetry Slam

Who Says?

Who says my hair must be straight
To land the best mate
My shape go in here
And still dart out there
Who says my hands should be small
And my feet even smaller
That I should be tall
But not that much taller
Who says my arms must be toned
My body small-boned
My lips full and red
My stomach unfed
Who says my legs should be lean
My fat never seen
My skin should be tan
My frame like a man
Who says my eyes should be wide
With not much inside
My mouth the same way
With not much to say
Who says my face should be sweet
I watch how I eat
My nose small and cute
My point of view moot
Who says I must be pristine
Avoid being mean
I always look right
By no means should fight
Who says?

Fat Talk Free Week

Fat Talk Free Week is a campaign designed "to challenge and begin to reverse the prevalent and damaging pursuit of the 'thin ideal” by women of all ages,' as described by the National Eating Disorder Association. The five-day campaign, scheduled to kick off October 19th, attempts to illuminate how "fat talk" negatively impacts our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.

Will you take the challenge? Can you remove "fat talk" from your lexicon that week? What would be the biggest challenges in doing so? How about starting this now?

Meet Precious

This week's issue of New York magazine introduces us to Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, the actress who plays Claireece "Precious" Jones in the new movie, Precious. Now, Sidibe, a NYC-born and raised, 26-year-old, African-American actress, happens to be fat. 350 pounds fat.

The film's director, Lee Daniels, speaks of Sidibe: "'She is unequivocally comfortable in her body, in a very bizarre way. Either she's in a state of denial or she's so elevated that she's on another level.'"

The magazine notes that when Sidibe was 11, her aunt offered to pay for a cruise if her niece lost 50 pounds. Similar pressures followed, but somewhere along the way, something clicked with Sidibe:

"I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don't like myself there's no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I'm fine with it. And if my body changes, I'll be fine with that."

Precious words for us all. . .