Hello blog land,

Just to share with you about myself before I dive into this piece and, really, this blog commitment.

I’m Rachael, a compulsive overeater, food addict, emotional eater, and binge eater. I love people, painting, giving, coaching people, teaching, entertaining, cooking, baking, watching movies, hiking, being active, shopping, reading, celebrating, playing games, and more. I find joy in most things these days.

I am a terrible writer. I can guarantee authentic writing from my heart. I can’t guarantee it will always be grammatically correct or that my spelling is always correct. I will do my best.

I started writing this blog to help me cope and deal with my eating disorder. I’ve self-diagnosed myself with a plethora of “not otherwise specified” ideas under this eating disorder. It is not typical of what you think an eating disorder usually is. When most people think of eating disorders, they think of bulimia and anorexia. People talk about them. People who have them are less likely to talk about them. We hear about them, read about them, and know more information about them. Though what is rarely talked about is why we have them.

I personally struggle with an eating disorder that isn’t talked about as often. Actually, people who are heavier are considered fat, lazy, and, well… I bet you can fill in the rest of your assumptions.

I have been heavier most of my life, and at this moment, at age 30, I have the strongest grasp over myself, my body, my food, and the life that I’ve had most of my life. I can share my weight with you later. Actually, I will let you continue to assume what I am, or you can just ask. Though, does it really matter how much I weigh? Not really.

I don’t want to say I suffer from; rather, I’m surviving food addiction, emotional eating, overeating, compulsive overeating, binge eating, and a few other things that I probably am even now unaware of. At this time, I do not want to get into it that deeply, as that is what my blog will uncover. What I can tell you is that these behaviors are learned and continue because of beliefs about myself. These beliefs include, but are not limited to, my self-worth, abilities, capabilities, self-love, and beauty. These learned behaviors affect my relationships (family, friendships, and romantic) and come out in a plethora of ways.

My intentions for this blog are to address the different things that come up with eating disorders, addiction, and my authentic self living through them. I want to include the why and my truth, in a very raw fashion.

With all of that said, I am going to keep my first entry short and sweet. I just wanted to give a brief entry as an intro to let you know who I am and what’s to come. I do have a history with an eating disorder and food addiction, though I do not have professional training from a school or a license in anything (other than my own driver’s license). I am making moves every day to help make this better, and what works for me may not always work for you.

I give this blog as an offering more from my journey’s perspective than solving your problem. What works for me may not work for someone else. ALSO, there has not been and will probably continue to not be only one contributing factor to my growing from this process. It is REAL, it is HARD, and I have committed to a journey.

Thank you for being a part of my journey. I am looking forward to growing with you!