From Someone Who Struggled: How Athletic Staff and Health Care Professionals Can Help (Guest Post by Anonymous)
This following piece is written by an anonymous athlete who chose to share their story in hopes of shedding light on the realities of eating disorders, and what the athletic community can do to better support athletes who are struggling. I believe that the only way to truly advance the understanding of eating disorders […]
Breaking My Silence: Reflections of a Division I Athlete Overcoming Anorexia
This following piece is written by an anonymous athlete who chose to share their story in hopes of shedding light on the realities of eating disorders. Note: eating disorder behaviors are mentioned. Part II will be published in the near future. To anyone running in silence: I was once there too. I was afraid […]
The Summer I Ate Burgers and Chips
The first summer of nearly full eating disorder recovery, I ate burgers and chips. It was a summer of eating food I hadn’t consumed in years. And with it, I discovered freedom. A New Way of Living No longer did I have to worry about having “healthier” food to eat when going out with friends. […]
On Full Recovery: Guest Post by Emma Zimmerman
Emma is a writer and activist currently based outside of Chicago. Through her writing, Emma explores topics of women in endurance sports and environmental justice. She is passionate about creating a healthier culture for female distance runners, a topic which she continues to write and speak about. Her work has been featured in Women’s Running, the Sacramento Press, and Girl […]
Little Things With BIG Impacts: Guest Blog Post by Hannah Wolfe (Part II)
Hannah Wolfe reached out to me about supporting the Running in Silence nonprofit, and I wanted to give her the opportunity to share her own story here, part 2! You can read part 1 here. Events and conversations have been recreated from her memories of them. Eating disorder behaviors are mentioned. A sneak peak of […]
Core Happiness in Eating Disorder Recovery
“Hey Smiley!” “So many pictures of you smiling on Facebook!” “You seem so happy.” I remember hearing these comments in the spring of 2015. They were different from the comments I heard in the spring of 2012 about my physical weight gain (comments made with the right intentions, but not helpful in eating disorder recovery). […]
How Should Eating Disorder Recovery Stories Be Shared? Q&A with Dr. Quatromoni
If a school or organization is afraid to include the topic of eating disorders on its agenda because they believe it will cause eating disorders, or because they do not have in-house expertise to know how to approach this topic, they would be well-served to connect with an eating disorder professional to better understand how to move forward. By choosing not to address it, they are choosing to perpetuate the silence, keep the topic taboo, and keep the students uninformed. However, students will never be unexposed to eating disorder triggers. And some students are vulnerable and predisposed. A choice not to educate only heightens the risk for eating disorders in an already high-risk population without raising conscious awareness of the risk factors, identifying any solutions, or connecting students to helpers in their community.
My Eating Disorder Dietitian Saved My Life
Anyone who has read Running in Silence knows that I was convinced to take on “macronutrient” or “lifestyle” diets. I wasn’t sure how to decipher correct nutrition information when there were published books about the wonders of these diets, and when the leaders of such diets were boasting about the benefits. And if a certain […]
An Ode To Carbs: The Macronutrient That Jumpstarted My Eating Disorder Recovery
As I attempted various “lifestyle” diets throughout my eating disorder, I often read that eating sugary food or carbs would make me crave more carbs. I was quick to agree with this because any time I did eat carbs, my body screamed for more. What I failed to realize was that my body was not […]
The Reality of Eating Disorder Recovery: It’s Tougher (But Better) Than You May Think
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 […]