Daily Struggle Through Thick and Thin

It’s summer when you want to look your best if you’re heading to the pool or the beaches.  Those few pounds you packed on during the holidays and the winter are harder to lose than to gain.

It’s even more of a challenge when you’re a recovering food addict.

Over the years, I’ve written several times about eating disorders from Karen Carpenter’s anorexia nervosa to my own battle with bulimia.

I wrote, “In early 1995, I was down to 116 pounds and I thought I was fat… I’m still obsessed with weight gains and losses, eating too much, and fighting the urge to binge and purge.”

Another time I shared, “… I fight the food demon of overeating every day.  A few pounds to the average person is a huge burden, a catalyst for insecurity, and a path for destruction to a food addict.”

While I was a practicing bulimic for nine years from 1986-1995, I got my act together for more than two decades.

Sadly, I fell off the wagon this past winter.  Abrupt changes in my life were just too much to handle and I found solace in binging and purging.  After months of relentless walking on the treadmill and purging all that I’d eat, I lost 20 pounds the wrong way.

I’m happy to say that I’m back on the wagon again — almost three months now!  I’m eating healthy, exercising, and gaining a few months and I’m okay with it.

Ironically, I got back on the wagon on the day I packed my truck to move to Panama City, Florida.  My celebratory meal for the renewed fight was Osaka Buffet in Moline!

So, what prompted me to share this failure and my renewed effort to start the next two decades of a healthy eating lifestyle?  A new Netflix movie and “Rolling Stone” magazine.

I watched “To The Bone” about a 20-year-old woman’s struggle with anorexia that was not only threatening to kill her, but it was also tearing her family apart.

The movie was honest and it accurately covered the “tricks” that people struggling with eating disorders perfect on a daily basis.

And, it earned points with me for featuring a young man dealing with anorexia since most people associate the disorder with girls and women.

It’s estimated that boys and men now make up about 25% of those with eating disorders.

Also, I was reading an old issue of “Rolling Stone” and the feature was on actress Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”, “Spy” and “Mike & Molly”).

She told the magazine that she often wished she was taller, prettier, and thinner.

One night she was looking at the IMDB message board and saw an anonymous message from Ohio at 3:43 a.m. calling her a “fat pig” and hoping “she drops dead of a heart attack in front of her children.”

McCarthy told the magazine, “all the air left my lungs.  Like, wait a minute.  My kids?  Like who –?  What kind of ass?  I kind of wanted to go to Ohio and just be like, ‘Hey, I have two girls, I do by best, and you hope I die in front of them?  Like, what the f*ck?  I mean, you can hate my movies, find me boring or over-the-top, whatever it is.  But when you move into that realm of the world…”

Melissa, you’re a beautiful, funny woman!  If you lose weight, I’m thrilled for you.  If you don’t, I know you’ll be happy with your life and your wonderful family.

Through thick and thin, when we see someone that may look too skinny or overweight, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge them on their appearance.  We really don’t know the struggles that they may be going through in their lives.

If you or someone you know is fighting anorexia and/or bulimia, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association at 1-800-931-2237 or check out their website, http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

Anthony