Welcome

We are currently bombarded with messages suggesting that we should change our bodies in this new year. It’s a particularly noisy time for diet culture, but there are plenty of 2023 intentions that have absolutely nothing to do with a new diet fad or trendy exercise routine. These recovery-aligned goals can protect both your physical and mental well-being, as well as improve your relationship with food, your body, and yourself.

You may want to start meditating, treat yourself with more compassion, or find movement practices that bring you joy. On our podcast Peace Meal, host Dr. Jillian Lampert speaks with experts in the eating disorder field and people in recovery on a range of topics, including practical tips to support these types of recovery-related goals. Read on for five episodes that can help you achieve the intentions you may be pursuing in 2023.

Making quality eating disorder care more accessible is core to The Emily Program’s mission. Given the diversity of individual and family needs, we recognize that no one delivery approach is optimal for all clients. Our virtual programming addresses geographical and psychosocial treatment barriers, allowing those with an eating disorder to engage in treatment where it works best for them. With our online eating disorder treatment capabilities, our standard evidence-based care is both convenient and effective.

Tell us about yourself!

I’m Liza, the Behavioral Health Technician Manager at the Anna Westin House for Adults in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I’ve been with The Emily Program for three years now. I was originally hired as a Behavioral Health Technician (BHT).

For many, a brand new year means reflections and resolutions. Amid all this “new year, new me” chatter, we want to take a moment to emphasize the importance of taking care of ourselves exactly as we are today.

We have all heard about self-care; it’s become a major part of today’s culture. Increasingly, we see people posting and talking about self-care on social media, but do we fully understand what self-care is? 

In this blog, we’ll debunk some common myths about self-care and provide some suggestions on how we can intentionally care for our mental, emotional, and physical health in the year ahead. 

Lose weight. Exercise more. Eat “healthy.”

These resolutions seem as synonymous with the New Year as the midnight ball drop and fireworks display. Amid popping corks and clinking glasses, we hear the same tired promises each turn of the calendar year, as if they’re verses in “Auld Lang Syne” themselves.

As New Year’s marks the passage of time, so too it shows our sociocultural pressures and values. In the most popular resolutions, we see society’s expectations—the “goods” and goals worth pursuing in the name of personal betterment.

In a culture preoccupied with weight and food, it is no surprise that New Year’s resolutions frequently reflect these obsessions. Striving to lose weight—arguably the most popular resolution each year—is to affirm our cultural fixation on thinness and view of weight loss as a universal good. And while exercise and eating patterns can indeed influence health, many resolve to make these changes with the primary or sole goal of losing weight. Weight is mistaken as a proxy for health.

Eating disorders can make the holidays especially stressful. The increased focus on eating this time of year often comes with unwelcome comments about food, body, and weight. When in recovery from an eating disorder, you are already battling disordered thoughts, and oftentimes people’s comments on food and body can confirm your judgments of yourself—no matter how well-intentioned. Remarks on these subjects can even trigger eating disorder behaviors. 

Before attending a holiday event in eating disorder recovery, we encourage you to prepare for comments you may receive about food or your body. You may feel comfortable challenging the person asking or commenting something inappropriate or you may prefer to set the boundary that certain topics are off-limits around you. If you don’t have the energy for those options, it may be better for your recovery to simply change the subject or excuse yourself instead. Learn more below about how to navigate unwanted comments during the holidays.