No one ever said parenting would be a walk in the park, and I knew that parenting in eating disorder recovery would be challenging, but I was not prepared for how challenging it would be. I am the mother of four children under 10 years of age. I have two boys and two girls. Every day, especially as my kids get older, I am aware of how the things I say--and don't say--can affect their feelings about their bodies and their relationship with food. 

In this video blog post, I am going to share with you my favorite eating disorder recovery tool. Meditation, yoga, and walking are great ways to relax but they've never worked for me. The reasons they've never worked for me are largely personal, but they boil down to the fact that they lack what I perceive as incentives.

As far as years go, 2020 has been difficult in a great many ways, but it's also taught me a lot about my eating disorder recovery. I expected a year like this one to break me; I was almost waiting for it. I'm not going to lie: there were some close calls.

I know firsthand just how much of a challenge it can be to prioritize eating disorder recovery this time of year—or even in general, for that matter. So if your commitment to healing is wavering at the moment, I want to share with you five reasons why I believe that eating disorder recovery is worth it. This is not to minimize the pain or turmoil you might feel, but I do hope the list below inspires and encourages you to continue on the path to reclaiming a healthy, empowered life. Eating disorder recovery is no simple feat, but I can tell you from experience, the outcome is so worth it.

Relationships are challenging at the best of times, but when you're dating someone in eating disorder recovery, they can be even more so. After all, eating disorder recovery is a time when people should be focused on building a healthy relationship with themselves. Throwing another person into the mix complicates an already complicated situation.

Learning to eat healthily is an important part of eating disorder recovery; however, when it comes to celebrating special occasions, like Christmas, I steer clear of healthy holiday baking. The reason is simple: learning to have a good relationship with food means not vilifying it, even if it has little nutritional value.

I have used many coping mechanisms to help with eating disorder recovery, but one that I find particularly essential is a self-care toolkit for the holidays. I co-opted this idea back in high school from a teacher I was close to, and 10 years later, I still consider it beneficial. No matter where you are in eating disorder recovery, this season is often a mental and emotional battleground, so the importance of reliable coping mechanisms cannot be over-emphasized. Therefore, I want to discuss why I think a self-care toolkit is essential for the holidays—and how to create one yourself.

I'll state the obvious: dating someone in eating disorder (ED) recovery can be difficult. Since my husband and I are coming up on our 11th wedding anniversary, I'd thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about the challenges of forming healthy relationships when one party is struggling with an ED.

Last week in a counseling session, my therapist issued me an assignment: Write a "dear body" letter to myself. In the past, I have done similar exercises, like the goodbye letter I wrote to my eating disorder in 2018. But this undertaking feels much different.

Whether you're looking for the best diet for eating disorder recovery or the best diet, period, there is only one answer—and that answer surprises a lot of people. The reason it surprises so many people is that the answer is so simple.