Are you seriously eating another cookie?
I looked down at the treat in my handa half-moon clearly bitten from the sidethen back at him.
I got up and left the room.
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I was just a year into recovery from aneating disorder.
In our culture, commentary on food and bodies is everywhere.
This doesnt affect just those of us diagnosed withmental-healthconditions like eating disorders.
Theholiday seasoncan be a particularly difficult time.
Worries about weight gain and hopes about diet or exercise resolutions seem to be swirling through most everyones heads.
If youve let some of these slip before, theres no shame in that; most of us have.
But cutting them out may help you create happier, healthier relationships with food and your body.
The implicit assumption is that reaching for another helping of mashed potatoes is worthy of judgment.
I wanted to let everyone around me know that I wouldntusuallydo this.
and executive director of theWomens Center for Emotional and Binge Eatingtells SELF.
Even as a thin, conventionally attractive woman, I often have an uncomfortable relationship with my body.
People commenting on how it appears to them never sits right with me.
The truth isanyonecan eat whatever they want (allergiesand other health issues notwithstanding).
Shes right: Weight hinges on many factors, likestress,sleep, and hormones.
Food and exercise are just two parts of the equation.
Plus, Bacon adds, this phrase positions going to the gym as penance.
Now exercise is about finding joy in movement, not obsessing over calorie calculations.
This punch in of thinking can also encouragebinge eatingin some people, Anderson says.
If we eat a salad for lunch instead of pasta, were good.
But if we order dessert at dinner, were bad.
If we restrict our calories or go to the gym today, we should be proud.
If we honor our cravings for ice cream, we should feel regret.
None of this is true.
Food does not have a moral value.
Lets not give food the power to make us good or bad people, Bacon says.
Now dinner with friends isnt a calorie overload in my mind; its a celebration of community.
Sure, you may become bloated when you overeat, but you dont suddenly becomefat.
Conversely, if youarefat, its not because of the meal you just ate.
Its because thats your body shape.
may help people realize the problematic message behind what theyre saying.
Melissa A. Fabello is a feminist writer and speaker who covers issues related to body politics and beauty culture.
Learn more about her work onher website, and follow her onTwitterandInstagram@fyeahmfabello.
