Taylor Swift's eating disorder message

By Kelly Clark / Be Yourself

Comments
  • Taylor Swift’s eating disorder message will surprise you
  • After reading this post you’ll never see food the same way
  • Taylor’s exercise info is wrong – get the easy fix

Are you a Swifty?

Let’s find out…

Did you know Taylor Swift loves cats? (Ok, that’s an easy one. We’re just warming up…)

Her favorite number’s 13?

Tay-Tay grew up on a Christmas Tree farm?

What about her BF? Or as Taylor would say, her Lover. He’s Joe Alwyn!

Taylor Swift's eating disorder message

I knew these, and more obscure things too, because I’ve LOVED watching Taylor’s career. She’s handled fame so much better than most child stars.

And she keeps it classy! A word that makes me cringe… But it’s a novelty to see the reigning Queen of Pop lead with talent and a look that’s fresh… rather than pure flesh.

…It’s strange how you can think you kinda know someone. But in reality have no idea what keeps them up at night.

Four words I’d NEVER string together are:

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder…

In fact, I remember watching her sing a few years ago and thought:

Taylor Swift's never had to worry about her weight.
It just goes to show, you should never assume anything about anyone.

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder is documented in film

I haven’t seen the new Netflix documentary Miss Americana, but I’ve read tons of articles on it.

(I love this kind of research.)

Some reviews only refer to Taylor Swift’s eating disorder in a single a sentence.

Others make her revelation the main point of their piece.

What triggered Taylor Swift’s eating disorder?

After Taylor landed her first magazine cover, she came across this headline:

Taylor Swift pregnant at 18?

In response to all the click-bait comments, Taylor started to starve herself and began to think it was normal to feel like she would pass out at the end of a performance.

The diet industry’s good at conditioning us to think that “looking healthy” is achieved via unhealthy choices—like denying your body the energy and nutrients it needs to be strong and have stamina. For 10 years I thought weight loss was all about willpower, sacrifice and discipline. I was wrong.

Taylor said she restricted what she ate because she was seeking compliments.

And I’ll add “to feel safe.”

…Safe from the criticism that’s so easy to replay over and over again in your head… until you believe that those words describe how the whole world sees you.

Any time Taylor went for a fitting and someone said:

Wow… we don’t need to make any alterations to the garment that was used on the runway!

Taylor felt rewarded.

In her mind it confirmed she was doing everything right.

And these seemingly innocent “pats on the head” (as she called them) encouraged her to keep eating as little as possible.

Taylor's latest album - Lover

Taylor forgot food is fuel

And for 10 years I did too.

But now I know eating ROUGHLY balanced meals made MOSTLY of whole foods (like we’re taught in grade 2!) gives our bodies the vitamins and minerals necessary to function properly. And that includes keeping our hair shiny, mind sharp, heart pumping and the ability to reach and maintain a healthy weight WITHOUT feeling hungry.

Here’s the food groups and proportions that make up a balanced meal:

Eatwell Guide - the10principles

And here’s some examples of balanced lunches I eat, to give you a better idea of what a healthy lunch (that will help you reach a healthy weight naturally) actually looks like.

Remember… I was 30 pounds overweight for the 10 years I drank diet coke and ate rice cakes for lunch! Which always led to bingeing.

You can STOP yo yo dieting and break the vicious cycle of starving, bingeing and purging by eating balanced meals.

That’s how I lost weight and have kept it off for more than 20 years. You can too!

Swift said constant comments about her body — both criticism and compliments — led her to view food in relation to her body size rather than for fuel or health, which caused her eating disorder— Healthline

…But when I got caught up in counting calories and weighing myself (many times a day) I also forgot food is fuel.

I only thought about how many pounds I had to lose and what I could do to speed up the process.

Now I know reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is about building healthy habits.

Stop trying to look healthy and BE healthy!

A healthy body is the result of healthy habits

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder “share” starts a conversation

One that needs to happen more.

Sharing what you think helps break down misinformation.

Like Taylor said:

If anyone expressed concern [about my weight], I’d say, “‘What are you talking about? Of course I eat. …I exercise a lot.’ And I did exercise a lot. But I wasn’t eating.”
-Taylor Swift’s eating disorder misinformation

Taylor’s wrong. And for years I was too.

Here’s what you need to know:

If you’re trying to reach a healthy weight “a lot of exercise” makes it harder.

(If you’ve signed up for my freebie, found at the end of this post, this short explanation is in one of the first emails I send you.)

Over-exercising is similar to under-eating

Too much exercise slows down your metabolism (so your body can conserve energy and keep you alive) which makes it hard to lose weight and super-easy to gain it.

And the same thing happens when you exercise to (try to) make up for over-eating.

Random and extreme exercise is basically purging. And any kind of purging jerks your body around and again… slows down your metabolism.

Our bodies LOVE routine.

Cats love routine too.

But that’s not what this blog post is about.

(These are my cats BTW… Coco and Gunther. They love crinkly paper. And each other. This photo was taken, like 2 weeks after they met!)

Gunther and Kurt

What Taylor Swift’s eating disorder teaches us

Getting back to what I was saying…

Not only does sharing what you think help break down misinformation, it also helps educate the people around us who want to support our journey back to health.

I once had a lot of people around me who constantly criticized other people’s bodies.

This negative banter became my normal.

I thought that was how everyone thinks.

So I looked at my body through the same critical lens.

It was only a few years ago I realized that a lot of people don’t think that way.

They don’t size up your body at all.

That’s why I NEVER even tell people they look great if they’ve lost weight.

I’d rather admire their healthy habits. Or let them know I value them for their actions and interests.

These are the kinds of compliments that help people get laser-sharp focus on what they love to do and how they want to live.

Value people for their habits, actions and interests

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder solution

If you’re a parent, teacher, uncle driving kids to the rink… or even if you’re the younger sibling, you have the power to make change.

Use your voice.

When others discuss even the way a cartoon character looks on tv, it’s a teachable moment.

A chance to stop people in their tracks and help rewire their thinking so superficial commentary doesn’t dominate conversation.

Judge-y-body-shaming comments won’t hurt the cartoon character. But they damage everyone in earshot… including the person who gets away with casually dropping loaded statements. Often they come from a place of insecurity. So when that behavior is rewarded with a laugh, everyone loses.

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder message

Between traditional media like magazines and all the show-downs on social media, Taylor’s body will always be under the microscope and she’ll keep hearing everything from the pregnancy rumors to: She’s too skinny!

I think the big message Taylor learned is that the ONLY way to “win” in this world is to be happy with the choices you make.

Whether you decide to only wear second hand clothes to help the environment, reduce your income by half so you can dedicate yourself to a cause you care deeply about or date someone who doesn’t fit your family’s description of successful… you must be true to yourself.

And however the world reacts?

Just Shake it off!

Always be true to yourself

When you make decisions you feel good about you’ll attract the right people and projects into your life, and give it purpose… that feeling that makes you POP out of bed because you can’t wait to start the day.

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder message helps us make choices

Our decisions are the only things we can control. And we’re the only ones who have to live with them.

So take some time to understand what healthy eating and exercise ACTUALLY look like and how to turn your present choices into healthy habits.

Making these healthy lifestyle choices will allow you to naturally reach and maintain your healthy weight.

Feel good about your choices and embrace who you are.

Then keep moving forward, get on with your life and love every minute of it!

Make Today Count

make today count - the10principlesThink of the eating and exercise choices you make each day.

Pick one you can slightly improve sometime today. Like adding fruit to your breakfast. Or getting your body moving by going for a short walk after dinner.

Small tweaks give your body a chance to get used to the change so it lasts.

Build healthy eating and exercise habits. A healthy weight will follow.

Taylor Swift's eating disorder message - summary

Next Steps

Here’s how to break unhealthy habits.

Taylor Swift’s eating disorder message is yet another reason to LOVE her!

Here’s what to do if you have disordered eating.

The time to ask for help is NOW. A stitch in time saves 9.

Kelly Clark

 

 

  Work with me - 1:1 Coaching Buy Now - It took me 10 years to lose 10 pounds What the F do I eat?

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Sharing what I learned makes the 10 years I STRUGGLED worth it

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