Paying It Forward

The Spring Lobby Day with the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is coming up, and it’s got me reflecting on how I got involved as an activist, writer, and advocate. In 2007, a friend was trying to organize an event for Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and she was trying to get guest speakers to come and [...]

What the Heck is Gender Inclusivity?

A December 2012 search on Amazon.com for “eating disorders” revealed the following: out of thirty books, only five were authored or co-authored by men. Take away the more academic writings such as clinical handbooks or guides tailored to professionals and only include books written for a general consumer audience (such as parental guides, self-help books, [...]

Meet Matt Wetsel, the Newest WATRD Contributor

Hello, Real Deal readers! My name is Matt Wetsel and I wanted to introduce myself as one of the newest contributors to ‘We Are the Real Deal.’ I’m excited by the premises and guidelines of the Real Deal pledge, and I’m looking forward to adding my own experience and voice to the already excellent body [...]

Welcome your humanity

  “Some things you must always be unable to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. Not for kudos and not for cash — Just refuse to bear them.” William Faulkner. Blog this!Bookmark on DeliciousDigg this postRecommend on FacebookShare on LinkedinShare on Posterousshare via RedditShare with StumblersShare on technoratiTumblr itTweet about itSubscribe to the [...]

Tools for your Tool Box- In Need of Repair: Perfectionist Thinking and Doing

Tools for your Tool Box – In Need of Repair: Perfectionist Thinking and Doing Not feeling good about yourself often leads to the quest for perfection.  The need for perfection is to establish value or disguise feelings of worthlessness and often woven into the cloth of most eating disorders.  This quest has many pitfalls in [...]

Mood Swings and Eating Disorders

  Why am I so moody? “Everyone in my family says I’m too moody.”   I hear this all the time from many of my clients with eating disorders.  Mood swings are completely normal for everyone but excessive dieting can increase moodiness in all of us. Fact #1: Guess what?  Restrictive dieting makes us moody [...]

fitness professionals can help those struggling with eating disorders

Eating disorders have always been my passion. They have been my specialty since I began my LCSW private practice more than a decade ago. Over the years, I’ve directed a program for eating disorders, currently teach a curriculum I created on eating disorders at NYU’s Graduate School of Social Work, and have done a few [...]

Do We Have Secret Fat Envy?

This guest post graciously submitted by Virginia Sole-Smith Rebecca DiLiberto (producer/executive editor of The Ricki Lake Show, which my inner ’90s child is randomly a bit excited about although I usually consider myself strictly an Ellen girl) has a post up over on Huffington Post called Why You Can Have Everything You Want (Even Though You’re Fat).  [...]

How Can You Get Through the Holidays (and Not Go Totally Insane) This Year ?

The holidays are not relaxing and fun for everyone especially those with an eating disorder (E/D).  You may dread the day when the table is completely filled and over-flowing with deliciously home cooked or catered food including the sounds of relatives and loved ones laughing and enjoying themselves.  You are already obsessing about numbers, calories, [...]

Katie Couric’s bulimia announcement

Hollywood’s obsession with fad diets, weight loss and health foods can be seen across all mediums of pop culture, from TV shows to the cinema box office to teen magazines. However, Katie Couric’s bulimia announcement during her college years this past week shows that this problem often begins much before the rise to fame or stardom. Through [...]

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