Anne’s Blog
Food Is Not The Enemy
“I work with women trapped in a cycle of obsessing about food and weight. I help them make friends with food and peace with their body.”
I know you are working toward full healing from disordered eating and body image and I’m very proud of you for that! It takes courage to change. It also takes courage to acknowledge and feel those emotions you may have been pushing away for a very long time!
For me, last week, courage came in the form of expressing myself despite the possible criticism that would come. I have been doing that more the past week, and I’m very proud of myself for that!
I hope you, also, found courage within yourself to move toward your goals… whatever they may be. My message to you is that… your emotions matter a lot! Let yourself acknowledge them and give them the voice and expression they need.
Food For Thought
“The Negative Voice of Your Clothes”
Is your closet full of clothes you don’t like, that don’t fit, that just bore you?
Get rid of them!
I know, easier said than done. If you are keeping clothes that don’t fit, you may be afraid of weight gain or loss and don’t want to go naked due to lack of cover. I understand.
Yet keeping these clothes in your closet is like telling yourself every time you go closet diving that your body isn’t okay as it is. It’s like a closet full of criticism and low self-worth.
When you let go of clothes that don’t fit or you don’t love, you learn to accept yourself just as you are. You get to remember that you are worth looking and feeling great… even if you have to fake-it-till-you-make-it a bit!
“Food For Thought”
Expert advice and in-depth talks on how food really is not the enemy!
Why Weight Loss Solves Nothing
"I'm thin, but I'm not happy," said a client to me. Despite the promise of thin = happy in our culture, so many women find this isn't
The #1 Secret to Ending Eating Disorder Behaviors
Being caught in this binge purge cycle to any degree will not help you have a good relationship with food. When you purge, the binge will always
Have a Different Kind of New Year
Last year, right around this time, my friend Tina suggested we spend the year focusing on learning about a topic to which we were unfamiliar or just
There are Steps to Take Toward Recovery
Recovery from an eating disorder (or disordered eating, if you prefer) is no simple task. You have been dealing with or even better, using it as a
A Free Body Image Workshop
Discover how to find joy and acceptance in your body You find yourself looking in the mirror, picking apart each section of the body that you wish
The Hunger Scale
Food is fuel for your body. It gives you the energy you need to go through your day, to work, to play, to study, to parent, to
More love in 2014
Last week I sent you an article talking about the lack of love in my life and how I needed to find it for myself. I talked
Put Your Hunger on the Scale
Take a moment to contemplate the follow: Do you eat before you get hungry? Do you eat way after you're past being too hungry? Both are about
Food for Thought – Is it Hunger or Emotions
If you notice you’re afraid to be hungry, notice that this is really about fear of feeling the emptiness inside. A once-in-a-while
Tips for eating Thanksgiving Dinner, not your feelings
For this month’s newsletter, I am borrowing from my last year’s newsletter, “Thanksgiving, i.e. National Overeater’s Day”. It seems appropriate to talk once again about this day
The #1 Secret to Ending Eating Disorder Behaviors
Being caught in this binge purge cycle to any degree will not help you have a good relationship with food. When you purge, the binge will always
Revolutions Not Resolutions
The turn of the calendar into a New Year occurs again. I admit it; January is my favorite month of the year. Not because it’s a time
Diets Don’t Work and Never Will
Ever wonder why you binge? Maybe you just think it's because you can't control yourself. You probably think you're a bad person because you overate, yet again.
Do You Just Want to Be Happy?
“I just want to be happy!” Does this sound familiar? I hear these words all the time from my clients and from, well, everyone. You just want
Information on Eating Disorders
Do you struggle with your weight? A large percent of modern America suffer from issues regarding weight. Now, while a number of
Food for Thought – Personal Growth
Personal growth can be scary. True. Yet, how scary is it to not grow and change? Imagine it…. You're the same person
Eating Disorders and the Narcissist
Eating Disorders and the Narcissist Patients suffering from eating disorders binge on food and sometimes are both anorectic and bulimic. This is an impulsive behaviour as defined by the DSM
Mind versus Body
Healing from a disordered relationship with food comes in two parts, the behavioral and the emotional. Working on your behaviors around food is important for learning to
Understanding Your Family
As the holidays approach, you may feel excited and/or anxious about seeing your family. Or, perhaps you avoid your family and feel relief at not spending time
Food for Thought – It’s all about protection
What does disordered eating and body image protect you from? Do the constant thoughts distract you from thinking about or feeling about
Lose Weight: Problem Solved?
There is a promise in our society that if you lose weight, you will be happy. A client said to me once, "I'm thin, but I'm not
How to Use Your Journey to Help Others on the Way
Overcoming food addiction and keeping emotional eating in check can be a lifelong struggle, one which many women struggle to get under control. But, if you’ve realized
Food for Thought – Dieting = Another Word for Distrust
“Feeling your feelings makes you feel alive” – Food is not the enemy client Emotions are one of the most natural states
Food for Thought – One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
One step forward, two steps back may appear to be true. Yet that’s a black or white view. Success (or failure) is
Food for Thought – What’s in a Number… Nothing!
Food for Thought – Body image is a Tough One
Food for Thought – Is it Hunger or Emotions?
Eating Disorders Newsletter with Anne Cuthber MA, LPC, LMHC
Eat Well. Live Well.
Life is not only about exercise, it’s about an entire lifestyle change.
It is about emotions! Your emotions, my emotions. Because the emotions of our parents/children/neighbors/partner/friends and YOURS are all important! Being able to listen to those you care about… to really listen… is based in your ability to hear their emotions… the feelings that go with what that person is stating in words.
As well, your ability to cope with life’s challenges and with all your relationships has to do with how well you deal with your own emotions!
That’s what recovery from an eating disorder is all about… being able to tolerate your emotions, and the emotions of others!
One of the most important elements of that is to forgive yourself for not doing it perfectly! After all, perfection may be a big part of why you have disordered eating! Thus, giving you permission to eat to cope was my way of saying… it’s not about perfection but about working toward.