This September I spoke at an event called Failure Lab. Seven speakers talked about a time they’ve failed to “pave the way for change by crushing the isolation and stigma around failure.” We had to share our stories of failure, and leave it at that—no lesson learned, and we could not talk about how we […]
Nearly six years ago I shared my journey as I began eating disorder recovery. And if you read back through the blog posts, you’ll find that there was no distinct day or time that I felt fully recovered. The process was gradual. Over time I was able to look back and see that all the […]
Reading through old journal entries reminds me of how far I’ve come in five years. It also reminds me of how confused, lonely, and scared I felt back then. The following journal entries may be triggering, but I do not reveal numbers. I thought it would be important to share how devastating and confusing binge […]
Because a large topic of the next book I’m working on is about breaking away/transitioning from sport (in my case, running), I’ve been looking forward to having Rebecca McConville (MS RD LD CSSD) share her thoughts on this subject here! Becca invited me onto the PHIT for a Queen Podcast and has been supportive of […]
A year ago I attended the Victory Program Eating Disorders in Sport Conference in Missouri knowing no one. I remember feeling nervous and unsure. But I was also eager to gain more knowledge, meet the professionals, and see what I could do to keep raising awareness as a coach and athlete. This year the conference moved to […]
To the athletes with a restrictive eating past who are now bingeing: I know this hurts. It hurts like hell. You probably feel broken physically and mentally. You want someone to understand. You want it to stop. You just want to be back to where you were before. I know, because I’ve been there, too. […]
This is part of a Q&A series with leading expert in eating disorders and sports, Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here. Q: I’m a high school coach. I have an elite runner who needs to gain weight/body fat. She is not intentionally losing weight but is very active with either running or other workouts […]
Post updated April 12, 2021, to improve clarity. When we think of eating disorders in athletics, we often point to overbearing coaches in large, competitive sports programs. We bring up an athlete’s desire to please a demanding coach or mention the comments tossed around about restricting food and losing weight. This often leaves people to […]
I recently returned from the empowering Strong Runner Chicks (SRC) retreat in the wake of an NCAA coach allegedly body-shaming his athletes—something that is not the sole “cause” of eating disorders, but it sure can trigger them. I went to the SRC retreat knowing that many of us runners had very similar stories with eating […]
I wish I could be the shining example of what it means to recover and run faster. I wish I ran faster at a higher weight. And maybe I could have if my training had been consistent enough without the eating disorder invading everything. I’m no longer running. I didn’t have a magnificent comeback race […]