Think of every meal or snack as a new opportunity for a food choice.

Eating more food is always possible. I can always pause, reflect and return to eating at any time.

Somewhat paradoxically, it is by giving myself permssion to have more, and not less, that I can begin to let go and allow myself to pull back knowing there will be a next bite, a next snack, a next meal whenever I choose....

That is, whenever my body knows that it is ready.

...

Think of every meal or snack as a new opportunity for a food choice.

Eating more food is always possible. I can always pause, reflect and return to eating at any time.

Somewhat paradoxically, it is by giving myself permssion to have more, and not less, that I can begin to let go and allow myself to pull back knowing there will be a next bite, a next snack, a next meal whenever I choose....

That is, whenever my body knows that it is ready.

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I HAVE A DREAM OF A WORLD FREE FROM EATING DISORDERS

Martin Luther King, Jr., had a dream so powerful it survived him.
Today, his dream continues to change lives around the world.

"I, too, have a dream. I have a dream that (I believe) is explosive in its potential to change, and save, lives. I have a dream that (I hope) will survive long after I am gone. I have a dream that should and MUST survive for the sake of all those who have already passed on for the lack of it.

I have a dream of healing that edges out nightmares left over from half a lifetime spent battling anorexia and bulimia. I have a recurring dream of hope that haunts me in the best possible way. Every time I look in a mirror, I have flashback dreams to a time far past, and still yet to come, of catching sight of my own image and LIKING what I see.

I have a dream of a day when little girls will walk down the grocery store aisles with their moms, choosing healthy, delicious foods without looking at the fat and calorie content on the labels.

I have a dream of a day when the bodies of athletes, dancers, actors and models will actually look as diverse as those of their audiences, and we can see and celebrate ourselves in each other – comfortable, healthy, curvaceous, empowered, REAL.

I have a dream of a day when all eating disorder treatment facilities will be turned into restaurants – such is the demand for wholesome, nutritious food that is generated by those who have graduated from within their walls.

I have a dream of a day when the sixty billion dollar-a-year weight management industry goes out of business, and all monies formerly spent supporting it will instead go to FIGHT the damage it has done to our bodies, minds and spirits.

I have a dream of a day ahead when ‘Eating Disorders Awareness Week’ is no longer needed, and ‘Love Your Body Day’ happens not just once per year, but EVERY day of our lives. I dream of a day when ‘size-blindness’ goes global, and we can finally access the tremendous beauty available to us in ALL of its many forms!

I have a dream of holidays yet to come when family, fun, friendship, fellowship, gratitude and generosity push food back into its rightful and proper place...no less, and no more.

I have a dream of a day when I can sit down to brunch with my girl (or guy) friends, and look around the table to realize that NONE of us has suffered from an eating disorder!

I have a dream of a day when a comedian makes a joke about ‘skinny jeans’, and no one in the audience knows what s/he is talking about.

I have a dream of a day when I will not be afraid to reproduce, and thus risk passing the genes for my eating disorder, which were passed to me, along to my daughter or son.

I have a dream of a day when I will wake up in the morning and smile radiantly at myself in the mirror, absolutely confident that who I am, and what I have to offer, is exactly perfect - just as I am.

And I have a dream of a day when everyone - and I do mean EVERYONE - who suffers from any shape or size of eating disorder IMMEDIATELY receives the comprehensive, ongoing treatment they NEED and DESERVE.

Yes, I have a dream. And I know I do not dream this dream alone. I know that I dream it alongside husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, sisters, brothers. I know that even the seemingly most self-assured amongst us secretly dream it alongside those who openly battle for their lives.

I know that we each, and all together, deserve the fulfillment of this dream….…. but I also know that, as of yet, it remains unclaimed."

~~ written by Shannon Cutts

Read More About ARKPLE (Updated January 27)