Tag: MamaV

Korea in 54 Days!

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Fifty-four days from now (Feb 27), my husband and I will board a ginormous 747 jet non-stop from Chicago to Seoul, where we’ll spend a week with my brother in his temporarily-adopted city of Gunsan.

Though we’ve both traveled extensively in Europe and Latin America, neither of us have ever been to Asia — so we’re in for some culture shock, I’m sure!

That said, I couldn’t be more excited to see where my brother is living, teaching English, hanging out. It’ll be the trip of a lifetime and I feel fortunate to be able to do this now, while we’re still (relatively) young and don’t have children yet. Continue reading “Korea in 54 Days!” →

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I’m the Real Deal!!

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Check it out, ladies and gents! I’m officially a contributor now at WeAretheRealDeal.com. 🙂

You can see my bio across the top nav, why I contribute, and my first post is one from a few weeks ago that caused a bit of a stir here on my blog which I shared at WATRD titled Coming to Terms With My “Half-Way” Body. Continue reading “I’m the Real Deal!!” →

Teens & the Troubling Allure of Eating Disorder Books

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wintergirlsThere’s a new fiction book out about a teenage girl’s descent into anorexia called Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Apparently it’s causing quite the stir, even though it hasn’t become as popular as other “thinspiration” or “pro-ana” books might be; perhaps it’s too new?

All the same, the general concern in the eating disorder recovery field is that books like these could encourage certain teens to engage in disordered eating behavior, particularly those already predispositioned for perfectionist tendencies.

Some feel books like this — though raw and brutal and unpleasant — end up glorifying EDs for some teens, plunging them headfirst into a world of disordered eating to lose weight, or look better, etc.

Cathy pointed out a recent blog post in the New York Times about the book called “The Troubling Allure of Eating Disorder Books”.

Since it was really on-message for my blog, I thought I’d share the link with you today to get your feedback. Take a peek and let me know what you think. Continue reading “Teens & the Troubling Allure of Eating Disorder Books” →

BMI? “Whatever ….”

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One of my fave bloggers, MamaVision shared a link on her blog that I loved re: BMI. Click here, to check out Kate Harding’s a slideshow, the BMI Project, that proves just how ridiculous BMI standards really are.

As MamaV puts it, “BMI is a bunch of B.S.” (And I happen to agree).

Kate is a leading blogger in the “fat acceptance” movement and she has a new book out called Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere, Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body.

It sounds really interesting. I admit I don’t know much about the movement, but I can easily see the point in not hating yourself just because of the size of your thighs or hips. Definitely want to see if I can get my hands on a copy …

BlogHer 2009 Conference: Chicago

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bh09-150Dear readers, I have a favor to ask of you.

Chicago is hosting the 2009 BlogHer conference this summer, July 24-25.

MamaV (of MamaVision), Roni (of Roni’s Weigh), Steph (of Back in Skinny Jeans) and I have submitted for a panel titled, “Blogs & Body Image: What are we teaching our kids?”

You can read about our exciting panel here.

Here’s where you come in … we need mega votes! Please vote for us!! You need to be registered at BlogHer to do this so any members out there, or new members, please vote for us.

Every vote will count!!

Candy Hoarder/Sweet Tooth Fiend

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If this boy was a girl ... it'd be me, circa 1988.
If this boy was a girl ... it'd be me, circa 1988
From our earliest memories, every Halloween and Easter and Christmas (ok any holiday where candy was involved), my brother, sister and I would sit down in the living room, bags, pumpkins, stockings, baskets turned upside down and trade loot while our parents watched on in amazement at how disciplined we were in our execution of the mighty trade.

We never fought about the deals being made (even as we got older), and if my mom said, “You can eat just one piece now!” we listened to her.

My brother, 27 now, always let my sister (25 now) and I have the best candy — he’d trade us his chocolate or jelly beans for nasty Sweet-tarts or Bottle Caps or Mary Janes.

To this day, he is like that; an absolute giver. I’m ashamed to admit it, but the more I think about it, I’m a taker. Especially when it comes to candy. Continue reading “Candy Hoarder/Sweet Tooth Fiend” →

Book Update

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41hl2bqdn3yl__ss500_My inter-library loan was taking too darn long, so I hit up B&N Friday night after we’d gone out to dinner with friends and picked up Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters.

I literally had trouble putting it down, and found myself reading til about 2 a.m.! I’m about a third of the way through now, and could see myself finishing it by mid-week.

Courtney Martin’s style is so easy, and for someone who is only 25, she writes like a pro about the preoccupation young women today feel towards their bodies.

Instead of being “good girls” like our moms were maybe taught to be, our generation somehow got the notion we need to be “perfect girls,” a third wave of “feminism” where body-loathing is the norm, a now-essential part of being female. Continue reading “Book Update” →

Blurring the Lines: Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating

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photoshop-windy-colored-wavy-shear-windWhen I began blogging, I always considered being a disordered eater a separate entity from having an eating disorder.

After all, every woman seems to be a “disordered eater” in one way or another.

And since I never truly binged; never binged and purged (I cry when I throw up; last time was alcohol-induced, at a Dave Matthews Band concert back in 1999); and never starved myself, I was “in the clear,” so to speak … at least in my own little head.

I didn’t classify myself with the girls who threw up their lunches or worked out for four hours a day and lived on lettuce leaves.

I had a complex, thinking, “Well, I’d do anything but that …” as though that made me less culpable or something.

In my head, I wasn’t one of “them”. I just exercised a lot and watched every morsel that went into my mouth.

But I mean, really, who was I kidding? I still had a big, undeniable problem. What might sound admirable (being a militant exerciser and keeping a meticulous food journal) was hurting me –and those I love and who love me — in more ways than one. Continue reading “Blurring the Lines: Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating” →