Founder’s Insight
For most of my life, I had no idea my relationship with food might be a form of disordered eating. Food was probably my first addiction. My mother ate her feelings, and I was often expected to eat more than I wanted. I was dancing five days a week, and by the age of 7, I was already overweight. That was the beginning of a struggle with food that would follow me for years.
Binge eating is what I know firsthand. I've also gone through periods of restricting and misusing laxatives, though I haven't experienced anorexia or bulimia. Over the years, there was about a 50-kilo difference between my highest and lowest weight. I went through periods of being really fit and limiting my intake, then grief and the stress of life would affect me, and I'd turn to food for comfort, and my weight would go back up.
I know how easily the pressure to look a certain way could pull me back into restricting, even when I knew I wasn't giving my body what it needed. Even now, when big feelings come up, I reach for food or sugar for comfort, knowing from experience how briefly that relief lasts.
I've accepted that food and weight will be things I have to manage for the rest of my life. I have to pay close attention to what I eat and how I nourish my body. Some days I barely have the capacity to think about any of that, and I'm learning to be okay with those days too. I do my best with what I've got that day. I still care about looking after my body, and part of that care is giving myself a break when I'm stretched thin.
Founder - The Mental Wealth Hub
