eating disorders – and so she thinks

How to Feel the Fear and Eat It Anyway by Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison

admin — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 15:05:34 +0000

We’re obsessed with eating. What we eat, how much of it, when we do it, how we do it, and what it looks like. But this enthrallment with what’s on the plate (or artisan slate board) and in our bodies is making us miserable. With eating disorders at endemic proportions, disordered eating the new norm, and a nationwide ‘war’ on obesity, as a nation we’re confused about food, worried about health, and ultimately, feeling wretched about it all.

Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison set up Not Plant Based to help debunk some of the myths around healthy eating. Both of them have had eating disorders in the past, and they saw the danger of some of the misleading messages that the wellness brigade and healthy eating police were putting out there. Not Plant Based’s mission to help you love food again. The principle is very simple: eat what you like and don’t worry about it.

And that’s also the premise behind their new book How to Feel the Fear and Eat It Anyway. Each chapter focuses on an area of food and health where myths prevail and common sense needs to be brought to the fore, such as sugar, exercise, and fat. Alongside the no nonsense presentation of the evidence and personal stories are recipes thrown from the likes of Ruby Tandoh, The Angry Chef, The Hairy Bikers, and Angela Hartnett.

It’s a joy to read, especially when we’re faced with so much sadness and shame around food. Taking as its standpoint the enjoyment of food, it offers a bright and radical (it shouldn’t be radical, but it feels it) approach to fuelling our bodies and feeling great about it. Letting go of the hangups around food won’t be easy, but if it lets you live life to the full, it’s totally worth it.

Published on 17 Jan 2019 by Mitchell Beazley.

The Empath – Exploring the link between high sensitivity and eating disorders

admin — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 16:53:49 +0000

Until I saw The Empath, I’d never heard of Highly Sensitive People. I had however met many. Sensitive to change, a complex tangle of emotions, highly conscientious, easily overwhelmed, feeling a need to withdraw, needing to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations, highly attuned to other people’s feelings, often emotional, shy and self critical. All of these are characteristics familiar to anyone with an eating disorder.

But is correlation or causation? As with a lot relating to the field of eating disorders, no one really has a clue. But it’s worth a thought. You can read more at The Empath.

Yoga for eating disorders

admin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 09:00:11 +0000

One of the most wonderful things about yoga, in all its forms, is that it can be all things to all men and women. Debates rage as to whether yoga is a science or an art, a physical, mental or spiritual practice, an exercise or meditation. For this very reason it can provide a nourishing tool for everyone – including those suffering from eating disorders.
http://www.trueyogacollective.com/#/yoga-for-eating-disorders/