PRESS RELEASE
September 22, 2011

For Immediate Release
Contact: Chevese Turner
Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA)

855.855.2332

BEDA Launches First Annual National Weight Stigma Awareness Week

Severna Park, MD (September 21, 2011) – The Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) announced today that it will launch its first annual National Weight Stigma Awareness Week, September 26-30, 2011. The objectives of this event are to build awareness of what weight stigma is, the harmful effects weight stigma can have on people of all ages in all environments, and what can be done to stop it.

“Whether it is children being teased and bullied in school because of their weight, adults being discriminated against in the work place, or patients being shamed in a physician’s office, weight stigma insidiously affects a variety of people.” says Chevese Turner, CEO of the Binge Eating Disorder Association. “We want to raise awareness around weight stigma and how a focus on weight rather than health and placing a higher value on “thin” can, in fact, have a negative effect on the physical and mental health of a person-of-size-especially those who have or are predisposed to eating disorders.”

As the “war on obesity” rages on and the $60 billion weight loss industry continues to grow, paradoxically, rates of obesity are not decreasing and eating disorders are rapidly increasing.

Afflicting more women than breast cancer, eating disorders have the highest rate of mortality of all mental illnesses. They are complex disorders triggered by environmental factors, and studies have shown weight stigma plays a significant role. Several studies conducted by The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University have found that more frequent exposure to stigma was related to more attempts to cope with maladaptive eating practices and higher BMI.

“Weight stigmatization is widespread in our society and affects individuals in multiple domains of life, often on a daily basis,” says Rebecca M. Puhl, Ph.D, Director of Research and Weight Stigma Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. “We know from decades of research that children and adults are targets of weight stigmatization in educational institutions, employment settings, health care facilities, the media, and even from family members and friends.This has a devastating effect on people’s quality of life, and leads to numerous consequences for emotional and physical health. Weight stigmatization is both a social injustice and a public health issue. We need to increase public awareness and societal efforts to address this problem. Otherwise, it will continue to create disparities, discrimination, and barriers to effective prevention and treatment for individuals affected by obesity.”

The call to action for BEDA’s first annual Weight Stigma Awareness Week is “Healing Myself First: Challenging Weight Stigma from the Inside Out.”

BEDA encourages individuals to participate in several activities BEDA proposes as part of Weight Stigma Awareness Week, beginning with looking within to assess personal weight biases and becoming an advocate.

Turner says, “Let’s begin by asking ourselves, ‘Did I make fun of other kids when I was a child because they were overweight?’ ‘Do I look down on myself or others because of size? Do I exclude people based on body size? Do I contribute to ‘fat talk,’ such as, ‘I need to lose 10 pounds,’ or, ‘You’re too fat to wear that,’ or, ‘You look great! Did you lose weight?’”

A recent Journal of Pediatrics study found that children are bullied 63% more if they are overweight than for any other reason. Yet statutes do not include any language around size bullying. Individuals can write letters to members of congress in support of protecting overweight children from bullying.

For more information about BEDA’s first annual Weight Stigma Awareness Week, visit www.bedaonline.com.

For more information about The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, visit http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/.

Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) is a national organization focusing on the need to increase prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for binge eating disorder. Through education, outreach and support, and resources, BEDA is committed to facilitating awareness, quality of care, and recovery for those who live and those who work with binge eating disorder. For more information, visit www.bedaonline.com.

I love synchronicity. Whether it is in a movie, a book, or a tale from a love one, it never fails to fill my heart with joy and appreciation.

Now I will share a synchronicity that involved me.  I have no eloquent words about what I was feeling in the spring 2009 when I wrote an email to Jennifer Voss.  I was scared to death about taking a step forward but I was even more afraid about sticking with the status quo. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this synchronicity changed the trajectory of my life.

Jennifer wrote a beautiful blog post about it, which you will also find below:

September 20, 2009

Chat With God

Have you ever been stumped?

One of my jobs as a coach is to help clients get unstuck.  In short, being a coach is like being a personal trainer for your mind and soul.  I am trained to help with the “heavy lifting” when a client’s brain is engaged in some serious mental shifting.  This includes creating new and better feeling thoughts to replace limiting beliefs that are holding them back.  We call these Turnarounds.

But what happens when the coach gets stumped?

One day, I had a client ask me this over e-mail:

“Where does Christ fit in this work?” and “Do you fit Christ into your coaching practice?”

I was, honestly, at a loss.

I know how God fits.  I’m a coach due to what I sense He is calling me to be.  I’m working with clients who want to gain peace and lose weight because that’s been my struggle and I sense He knows that teaching others is part of the path to wellness.  It also brings me great joy, which is a total clue that He and I are on the same page.

On the flip side, I consider myself more spiritual than religious.  I have participated in a handful of Bible studies, but do not quote scripture and will never claim to be a Biblical scholar.  I talk with clients from my heart and not a book.  Suddenly, I did not feel equipped to answer how the printed words of Christ came to play in my practice.

I looked at my Bible and admitted to needing some “heavy lifting” help at the moment and went for a walk to chat with God about it.

I often walk out the door with a question and return with a multiple choice list of answers.  Not this time.  God did not speak from the treetops.  So I went back inside and surrendered to doing the best I could without pretending to be something that I wasn’t.

This e-mail was waiting at the top of my inbox.

____________________________________________________________

Subject:  CHAT WITH GOD
To:  Jennifer Voss

I thank you for being you!

HANDY LITTLE CHART – GOD HAS A POSITIVE ANSWER:
YOU SAY  vs. GOD SAYS BIBLE VERSES

You say:  ’It’s impossible’
God says:   All things are possible.  (Luke 18:27)

You say:  ’I'm too tired’
God says:  I will give you rest.  (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say:  ’Nobody really loves me’
God says:  I love you.  (John 3:16 & John 3:34 )

You say:  ’I can’t go on’
God says:  My grace is sufficient.  (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say:  ’I can’t figure things out’
God says:  I will direct your steps.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say:  ’I can’t do it’
God says:  You can do all things.  (Philippians 4:13)

You say:  ’I'm not able’
God says:  I am able.  (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: ‘It’s not worth it’
God says:  It will be worth it.  (Romans 8:28)

You say:  ’I can’t forgive myself’
God says:  I Forgive you.  (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say:  ’I can’t manage’
God says:  I will supply all your needs.  (Philippians 4:19)

You say:  ’I'm afraid’
God says:  I have not given you a spirit of fear.  (II Timothy 1:7)

You say:  ’I'm always worried and frustrated’
God says:  Cast all your cares on ME .  (I Peter 5:7)

You say:  ’I'm not smart enough’
God says:  I give you wisdom.  (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say:  ’I feel all alone’
God says:  I will never leave you or forsake you.  (Hebrews 13:5)

PASS THIS ON.   YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MAY BE IN NEED.

____________________________________________________________

Freaky, huh?

Okay.  Yes.  It’s one of those chain-mail-pass-this-on-to-your-entire-inbox things.  But I was struck dumbfounded by the synchronicity of it.  I picture Him smiling down saying “How’s that for some heavy lifting?”

So… to answer my client’s questions:

“Where does Christ fit in this work?”
He’s the Grand Master Turnaround Artist for those who look to Him to find peace and freedom from their limiting beliefs.

“Do you fit Christ into your coaching practice?”
Yep.  I don’t quote scripture, but I do lean on Him for some heavy lifting.  He occasionally steps in to help formulate e-mail responses to this line of questioning.

It also sums up very nicely the heart of getting to the place of “un-stumped.”

• Move away from the stuck place so you can see the big picture.
• Surrender to doing your personal best and knowing that it’s enough.
• Never try and be something that you’re not.
• Most of your roadblocks are due to your thinking.  Thoughts can be changed.
• Ask for assistance with the heavy lifting.
• Sometimes a higher power will step in to help you.

I will not ask that you forward this to your closest friends and relatives in order to receive abundant wealth in 24 hours.  If you feel inclined to pass it along, though, please feel free to do so.  I would be honored and I’m sure He would be too.

Jennifer Voss is a Master Coach and Chief Truth and Wellness Officer of The Truth Experience.  She helps people find their Ground Truth where they can reshape pieces of their lives to be healthier, happier and whole. She also still loves to chat with God and watch the magic that unfolds from the dialog.

Bennie: “Shame memories…raking over…and leaving gashes.”
Sasha: “Not bad. They’re titles, right?”
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Elvis Presley was my uncle.

For a good length of time in 1974, Elvis Presley was the best part of my family.  My depiction of my relationship to him knew no bounds.  My kindergarten teachers and aides were convinced, so passionate and detailed my telling of our relationship.  Now, since he had no siblings, I am not sure if they thought he was an honorary part of my family or an in-law, but when my mother went to the parent-teacher conference, all they wanted to talk about was Elvis and not my progress in finger painting.

The repercussions from my story are still hard to describe.  While the physical consequences of my actions dissipated eventually, I had brought shame onto my family by lying and I was reminded about this often over the subsequent weeks.  Now since the reality of my family life would probably have been harder to believe than Elvis being my uncle (it was 1974, not 2004 after all), I learned very quickly to be quiet.  You want to know about my family? Tell me about yours first.  You want to play at my house?  Your house is so much more fun.

To compound the shame, this story was shared with all the members of my extended family to much laughter and teasing.  I now realize that the mixture of the private messages of shame and the public message of ridicule confused five-year old Jenny.  The messages that I recorded were a) I was not safe in a group setting and b) the best way of handling that fear would be to blend in and not stand out.  If I was going to stand out, it would be extremely unsafe for me to do so.  I gave up many opportunities because it felt unsafe to be in front of a group, although I was not conscious of it at the time.

Because of a few choices I made recently, being in front of a group has been something I have been blessed to experience over the last six months.  Now, when assignments have come up that required me to be front and center either by the task itself or the feedback that the others are required to give, there have been times I railed against those decisions I’ve made.  “What the hell were you thinking?” was a common refrain.

However, much more visceral were the feelings I felt in my body.  The tightness in my chest and back was the indicators that I was in full fight or fight syndrome.  With mind-body tools learned from Abigail Steidley, I was able to isolate the feelings of tension and resistance in my body.

At the same time, by writing two pages a day in a stream of consciousness form, I was able to ascertain the thoughts that were creating many of those feelings in my body.  The themes of safety and being under attack were common themes.  By using various methods of thought inquiry, I was able to determine that the attacks were not coming from external sources but from me.

While all the above is going on, my Uncle Elvis memory started popping up frequently.  In A Visit from the Goon Squad, Bennie starts writing down different shame memories as he relays them in the story.  He writes them down in very short sentences and phrases on a back of the ticket.  When Sasha, his assistant, picks up the paper while they are driving back into the city, she doesn’t know the meanings that Bennie has attached to them.  “They’re titles, right?”

Because there are no accidents in the world, I believe that I was meant to read that book exactly while I was uncovering my thoughts and feelings about shame and others’ opinions of me.  I now have the capacity to provide safety for myself and the discernment to decide what fits for me and what doesn’t.  I can now receive people’s reactions to me as learning opportunities and not the shame-filled experiences of the past.

When you are triggered by present day experiences into your own shame memories, remember that you have the capacity to choose what you believe today.  Whether you feel tightness in your body or lightness, it is your body letting you know what meaning you are attaching to an experience.  If you continue to have the feeling in your body, it might be a message that there is some reconciliation with your past self that needs to be completed or that God is calling you in a different direction.

For this particular shame memory, I used a combination of Christina Merkley’s Orphan Rescue and Abigail Steidley’s mind/body tools to reconcile with five-year old Jenny.  She is with me now, in the comfort of my soul, and I love her dearly.  She is the best gift I’ve given to myself recently.

Uncle Elvis gives us the giggles now.

What are you dwelling on?

Merriam Dictionary defines dwell as “to keep the attention directed.”

Where is your attention? Is it on the scale or your life? Moreover, is it on the pounds lost or the joys gained?

Is it on consuming everything or just enough?

Are you dwelling in wellness or perfection?

I dwell in Possibility–
A fairer House than Prose–
More numerous of Windows–
Superior–for Doors–

Of Chambers as the Cedars–
Impregnable of Eye–
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky–

Of Visitors–the fairest–
For Occupation–This–
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise–

~Emily Dickinson

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new.  Right now. “ – Author Unknown

I have been blessed with many things, of which one is a very good memory.  Like many blessings, it has served me well professionally and personally.  However, in some sense, it has kept me a prisoner of the past.  At times, the past takes on a softness, making it seem other-worldly and definitely of another time.  However, in December, my daily partners were feelings of fear and dread and the ever constant pit in my stomach, along with the not so pleasant movies of my childhood.  These vivid pictures and feelings tend to visit me when I am feeling vulnerable, as I have been in the recent past.  As my coaching practice moves steadily forward, I am also dealing with personal and professional transition.  Many changes and much growth – the stuff of which coaching is made. While not running from the past, I have instituted a practice to bring myself back into the present moment.  I asked myself the following questions on a daily basis:

What am I feeling?

Where is the emotion stored in my body?

What is the color of this moment?

What is the shape of this moment?

What does this moment sound like?

What is the taste of this moment?

What is the lesson at this moment?

These questions have a way of gently bringing me back to now.  There is no judgment of where I have been. There is no wondering of where I am going at the moment.

Right here, right now.

And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves.-Queen

December:  Newsletter production, being so close to releasing 50 pounds but not reaching it, Nicolas taking longer than usual to pass his 14s (he’s in first grade), planning a Rose Parade party for 300+, everyone wanting a piece of me, what program was I going to launch?!  I felt like I was under a pressure cooker and it wasn’t love.

Who had the finger on the timer? Your truly.

January:  Nicolas passed his 14s when he was ready, the work party went off without a hitch (and I savored every moment of New Year’s Day), and my business grew without a newsletter or program launch.  Me?  Acute bronchitis, two rounds of antibiotics, many doctor visits, being sent home from work (it wasn’t all bad).

How did I start loving myself?  I took my finger off the timer and I dared to change the way I was caring for myself.

I am loving myself by letting go of other people’s timetables for their businesses.  I am loving myself by letting go of the idea that I had to do it all myself because I am somewhat technical and a quick study; I hired an awesome online business manager.  I am loving myself by resting…a lot for me. I am loving myself for being 47 pounds lighter than I was in January 2009.  I am loving myself by focusing on ease and harmony in all areas of my life.  It’s interesting.  As I focus on the feeling states of ease and harmony, it is being delivered real-time.  It’s coming in ways I never would have imagined in December and there’s not a timer to be found.

Thriver practice leads to wellness personified.

Survival practice led to victim mentality.

It feels like the first time, it feels like the very first time…Foreigner

Weight Watchers has a new point system. It starts online today, November 29th.  New science, new points, or so they say. I feel pretty confident it is a great plan. You read that right.  A weight loss coach who focuses on what is eating her clients and hates, I mean hates, to focus on food, is letting you know about a new offering from Weight Watchers.  Moreover, I want to remind you about Jenny Craig, South Beach, the Anti-Cancer Diet, and Clean Eating – all choices that have a history of weight loss and improved health markers when the plans are followed.  Do I believe they work when followed? Absolutely!

Here’s the problem.  These food plans are like the plethora of chick lit books and movies about relationships, which I have also enjoyed immensely over the years.  It is all about the hunt and the getting.  What about the having and thereafter?

Mindful eating and weight loss coaching, at least the way I practice it, is involves peace, joy, and appreciation, especially when you have eaten half of the pecan pie.  It is about the moment by moment decisions that align you to the person you are becoming.  When the pressure is released about the losing or the getting, the becoming happens.

It was July. It was a Saturday, high 70’s. I left my house to go to the gym; nothing really out of the ordinary (a story for another time!). A bubble of happiness, a moment of contentment while feeling the potential of possibility, converged through my body at one time. What was this unknown sense of completeness?  Something (what I would now call my Essential Self or Higher Self) told me, “This is joy.  You have been surprised by joy.”

When emotions are not processed (felt from start to finish), they are stored in the body.   Over time, as the emotions accumulate and tensions escalate within a body, you might have learned to turn to another substance or activity (or several) to alter the numbness for a moment while simultaneously ensuring that it would continue:  drugs, alcohol, food, work, sex, shopping, reading, etc.

You might have noticed that I didn’t mention any emotion in particular.  It is not just fear, anger, and sadness that are buried, but appreciation, hope, and joy as well.  When you first start feeling your emotions, I am not going to kid you:  it feels shitty.  Once your mind realizes you are not going back to numbness and anxiousness, however, something strange and foreign emerges from the feeling fertilizer:  a little hope, a moment of appreciation and. finally, a whisper of joy.