body image Archives - Everyday Chocolate

June 19, 2024June 14, 2024 by Libby

Summer Reading List Ideas

We are well into June — how is your summer going so far??

It seems like every year summer seems to fly by. My life has felt all over the place lately, and I keep having these weird moments where I remember that we are already into June! My mind is still frozen in April mode.

SO — reminding myself it is time to enjoy all the summer produce, all the sunshine, and all the outdoor time with friends and family before I miss it all!

That would certainly be sad. We only get so many sunny days each year in Michigan!

Summer can ALSO be a great time to start reading a bit more! Whether it is at the beach, by the pool, in your backyard, or simply all comfy before bed (like I prefer!), reading can be such a nice way to get your mind off stressful things in life, dive into a topic you are interested in, or learn from the experiences and stories of others — whether real life (memoir, biography, etc) or through fiction.

Below I have 10 ideas for books to add to your (actual or hypothetical) summer reading list! Some of these I have read before, and others I am hoping to read in the coming months.

I’ve compiled a mix of books below — food/body image-related, emotional health-related, one fun fiction read, and a couple of memoirs! Maybe 1 or 2 of them will resonate with you as far as something to check out in the months ahead. 🙂

Note: While I do recommend the mental/emotional health-related books below, I don’t agree with 100% of the thoughts in said books! That is probably obvious, as rarely will we find a book that we wholeheartedly agree with 100%. Most things aren’t that black/white. That being said, I still find them to be useful and helpful in many ways and would read them again / recommend them to others. (With my mini caveats) :).

Summer Reading List Ideas:

(more…)

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023 by Libby

Navigating Food & Body Image at the Holidays

I can’t believe we are already well into December! As the end of the year draws near, I am looking forward to more time to rest, lots of walks outside, and getting to all the books I want to read that are piling up!

Since the holidays tend to be more challenging for most people when it comes to food and body image, I wanted to do a brief post on some tips and strategies for navigating food and body image this time of year.

First, I will provide some examples of what disordered eating could look like at the holidays. Then we will get to 5 strategies for experiencing a life-giving and truly healthy approach to food and your body during the holiday season.

(more…)

August 23, 2023August 22, 2023 by Libby

Improving Your Relationship with Food, Exercise & Body Image While in College

It’s hard to believe that over 10 years ago I headed off to Ann Arbor to begin my freshman year at the University of Michigan!

I’m sure like many people, reflecting back on it, college was for me a mix of fun/positive times and (many!) hard/stressful times.

Thankfully, I was mostly fully recovered from my eating disorder which had started/mostly been a thing in high school. I was doing well mentally and emotionally in regard to food, but was still working on some physical healing (hormones, GI, etc.).

I say “thankfully” because I know from my experience in college (via observing others, talking to friends, etc.) and from talking to clients/students still in college, how hard it can be to grow in having a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and body image during these pivotal years.

It seems to me that most people tend to experience more disorder and dysfunction on these fronts throughout college. There can be so much pressure to exercise a certain a way (queue the endless elliptical usage at the gym…), look a certain way, and eat certain foods and quantities deemed “healthy” or intended to lead to the “ideal body size.”

Given the pressures and challenges of the typical college environment, it can take some intentionality to grow positively in your relationship with food (and exercise + body image) during this time. Note: this intentionality is also true of “regular” life beyond or before college!!

As we (as a culture/society) enter the back-to-school season, I wanted to provide some thoughts and reflections on ways you might consider going about improving your relationship with food/exercise/body image during the school year in particular.

Hopefully you will find the following thoughts especially helpful/relevant if you are a college student, and, for everyone else, also helpful for everyday living in our diet/body size-obsessed culture!

Thoughts on Improving Your Relationship with Food, Exercise, & Body Image While in College (or beyond for that matter!):

(more…)