Moving On

These past few months have been some of the most emotional, challenging and-- ultimately-- transformative of my life.

I have experienced extreme lows associated with eating disorders; however, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by support of professionals, family and friends. I have learned so much about myself through this process.

Although I would never wish an eating disorder upon anyone else, at the end of the day I am grateful for what I have learned along the way.

An eating disorder has been a chapter of my life. But it certainly is not the whole story.

I'll admit, it is difficult to shut an eating disorder... but I have come to stop it from controlling me. I am moving forward, with confidence.

I can never ignore the role that eating issues play in my life, but I can work on putting food back where it used to be: as something enjoyable, fun and exciting.

I am just as committed to health, but now I've learned that there is a point where health ends and obsession begins.

I am more inspired than ever to make food, exercise and health-related writing my career. If I can help others not suffer in the ways I did, then maybe there is a reason for what I've experienced.

Please check out my new blog at: http://pursuitofhealthfulness.wordpress.com/

Pursue healthfulness, but don't allow it to pursue you.

When pursuing healthfulness gets in the way of health...

I could explain my lack of posts by saying I've been enjoying winter break, or haven't made anything good to eat, or any other fill-in-the-blank excuse...

But, no, this is my truthful explanation for why I haven't been writing.

Essentially, I don't feel as though I am in any position to offer advice, serve as an example, or even comment on the best food choices. In fact, for the past few weeks I've been forced to face, in a difficult and personal way, the downfalls of pursing too much healthfulness.

What I mean by this, is that in my journey to inform myself of the best nutritional tips, advice, and statistics, I became too consumed with specifics. I picked and chose key parts of individual tips; and, while good in their whole form, the small rules I found myself clinging too were ultimately more destructive than healthy.

The most difficult part about it all? I found myself so quickly and so deeply snowballing past "health" that it is a true challenge for me to dig myself out. I've heard it said that, unlike an alcoholic who never has to drink again or a crack addict who never needs to see another pipe, for someone with disordered eating the challenge is always there: I will always have to eat three meals a day.

Currently, I am working with a nutritionist to get my eating habits back on track. She is great at offering advice and shedding light on what is really important about food: nurturing both the body and soul.

So then, I may not be writing for a while as I work on getting back to healthfulness. Thanks for all the support throughout my blogging... I look forward to getting back to it in the future.

By the way, I am open to any questions or comments about the struggles I am facing.