Day #1 - I Write About Eating Disorders Because...

There is an eating disorders advocacy group, Hungry for Change - find them on Facebook here - that is starting a blogging challenge for the month of May.  The idea is to raise awareness on eating disorders by writing about an eating disorder recovery-themed topic that is chosen for each day of May.  I have decided to join the challenge because it seems really cool, really uplifting, and really positive.  Read more about the challenge here, if you want.  It's pretty cool.

I have seen several blogs today who have joined the challenge, and I thought that I'd love to be on board, too.  So, without further adieu, I give you day #1:

I write about eating disorders because...

I write about eating disorders because, quite simply, for a long time, my eating disorder was my life.  It consumed nearly every waking moment of my life - was I going to eat?  If so, what was I going to eat?  And how was I going to deal with that?  And was I going to get fat?  And and and?

In the beginning, I wrote about eating disorders, because eating disorders was all I knew.

That's not the case anymore.

I know a lot of things now, one being that recovery is damned near close to me and entirely possible.  I write about eating disorders because I hope that through sharing my story; all of my lows and losses, and conversely, all of my impossible triumphs and wins, I will help others see that they can achieve what I have, and what I hope to have, even more - a full and complete recovery; a life where yes, things are still hard, and there are ups and downs, but a life in which we choose to handle the tough stuff in life by loving ourselves through it, rather than punishing our bodies.   I've learned that life is SO MUCH MORE than an eating disorder.  I used to think the summation of my life was calories, fat, and weight.  How wrong I was!  Life for me is about being a mommy, and smiling with my girl and giggling with my boy, and about kissing my husband when he comes home from work, and snuggling with him in bed every night.  It's about eating and nourishing my body so I have strength and vitality to live a life that I now know that I want.

So, I blog about eating disorders because if I can even help just one person on their journey to recovery, then this will all be worth it.  I write about eating disorders because in doing so, it heals me, too.  And I write about eating disorders because I have kind of fallen in love with all of you - I have "met" so many amazing people while blogging about my journey through recovery, and the things I have learned from all of you have been invaluable, sometimes funny as hell, and in general really helpful.  :)

When I began my eating disorder blog in 2007, I had no idea it would turn into this - that my blog would morph into something that I hope helps other people, but more importantly, really, REALLY helps me.  I can look at previous posts and see how far I've come, and having this journal, this history written down, of all I've done and accomplished in my recovery, with the help of all of you and of course my team and my family...I'm in awe.  And I'm so grateful.

So, to put it simply:  I write about eating disorders because it has saved me.  And it saves me every day.  Again and again.  Always.