March Against ED and Eating Disorder Lobby Day 2015

In October I attended the second annual March Against ED (AKA “MOM March”), followed by Eating Disorder Lobby Day for the Anna Westin Act (H.R.2515/S. 1865) in Washington, DC. The Act is the first eating disorders-specific bill to receive bipartisan support at introduction, which is exciting. There is hope that the bill will be passed …

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Unintentional Weight Loss as a Trigger for Anorexia.

Contrary to popular belief, weight loss leading to anorexia nervosa (AN) does always start intentionally and may follow an illness. Some of the biggest misunderstandings about anorexia nervosa center around it being an intentional illness and related to vanity. Paper on Unintentional Onset of Anorexia A paper by Brandenburg and Andersen in 2007 entitled Unintentional …

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Is Your Young Adult with an Eating Disorder Ready for College?

Is My Young Adult With an Eating Disorder Ready for College?

College Readiness When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder How do you know whether your child with an eating disorder is ready for college? Sending a child to college usually raises anxiety for most parents. And you may have even more anxiety if your young adult has or has struggled with an eating disorder. Dr. …

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The Hidden Benefits of Full Fat Dairy

full fat dairy

by Katie Grubiak, RDN, eating disorder dietitian at Nutrition Illumination Read our new post about the importance of including dairy in eating disorder recovery. History of the Low-Fat Dairy Movement Since the 1980s, physicians, the federal government, the food industry, and popular media have championed the low-fat approach to dieting and weight control. The idea …

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Deliciousness! by Katie Grubiak, RD

Deliciousness! Yes, that is what this pup Moose is expressing in this photo.  It is deliciousness that we seek in food and in life, isn’t it? Well maybe we forgot one or both of these pursuits along the way. Consuming delicious food, selected by our taste buds in our weight-shaming thin-obsessed society is sometimes associated …

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Eating Disorders in the Orthodox Jewish Community

eating disorders in the Orthodox Jewish community

Having worked with several Orthodox clients and also having participated in a Chabad Orthodox congregation when my family lived in Shanghai, I was excited to join in on the Academy for Eating Disorders’ Tweetchat on Eating Disorders in the Orthodox Community last month. The chat was informative and the full transcript of the chat is …

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FBT Insights from the Neonatal Kitten Nursery

FBT Insights from the Kitten Nursery

I recently began volunteering at the Best Friends Neonatal Kitten Nursery. Best Friends Los Angeles opened its neonatal kitten nursery in February 2013.  The nursery is staffed with a dedicated coordinator and supported by volunteers who sign up for two hour feeding shifts 24 hours a day to help the kittens grow and thrive. If …

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Look before you leap: Binge Eating Disorder, Vyvanse, and Evidence-Based Psychotherapies

Vyvanse medication for Binge Eating Disorder in Los Angeles, CA [Image description: drawing of 2 pills outside of a prescription pill bottle, representing potential Vyvanse for a patient with Binge Eating Disorder in California]

Learn Why Therapy is Superior to Medication for The Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder by Elisha M. Carcieri, Ph.D., Psychologist, and staff therapist Binge eating disorder (BED) made headlines when the FDA approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) for the treatment of BED. So, what is BED, how is it treated, and what does this treatment option mean …

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Ten Facts About Weight Stigma – Guest post by Liliana Almeida, Ph.D.

Weight Stigm [Image description: larger black woman holding towel that says "wide load"]

  Weight stigma is a bias or discrimination relating directly to weight. Despite the fact that more than half of U.S. citizens are larger-bodied, our society holds a strong negative bias against fatness. The media reinforces weight stigma. The media, such as news media, displays persons in larger bodies in stigmatizing ways by depicting them …

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