I spent years unlearning an eating disorder – then I was told to diet for health reasons. This is what it taught me | Amelia Tait

First I had anorexia, then high cholesterol. It’s hard to maintain a healthy relationship to food in a society obsessed with weight lossWhen I was a teenager suffering from anorexia, I thought it was a life sentence. I genuinely believed slogans like “every woman has an eating disorder” and couldn’t imagine a future where calories didn’t make me sweat. With this in mind, you must understand that I’m boasting when I write this next sentence: in November 2024, I was diagnosed with “very high” cholesterol.After years of restriction, I spent my 20s unable to understand why every meal shouldn’t be the maximum amount of delicious. This means that last year, I was regularly melting a packet of white chocolate buttons on my morning porridge before heading out for a white chocolate matcha with cream, followed by a cheese and egg sandwich in a brioche bun, a slice of cake, fried chicken and chips, to say nothing of the bread and butter before dinner and dessert. In short, I was smashing through my recommended daily allowance of saturated fat and loving every second of it. “Treats”, to my mind, are not something that have to be earned.Amelia Tait is a freelance features writerIn the UK, Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677. In the US, help is available at nationaleatingdisorders.org or by calling ANAD’s eating disorders hotline at 800-375-7767. In Australia, the Butterfly Foundation is at 1800 33 4673. Other international helplines can be found at Eating Disorder HopeDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

Dailymail

The gross hypocrisy of Penny Wong is finally exposed on the world stage. Pauline Hanson knows the truth all too well: PETER VAN ONSELEN

about 4 hours ago

LA Times

Letters to the Editor: New law to keep rental units cool may prove to be counterproductive

about 9 hours ago

Dailymail

PETER VAN ONSELEN: How almost EVERY Australian with one type of mortgage was the victim of an outrageous scam last week. Here's how to tell how badly you were stitched up...

about 9 hours ago

The genius man haunted by the patients he couldn't save... CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Confessions Of A Brain Surgeon

Dailymail

QUENTIN LETTS: The encounter was electric with jeopardy... It was worse than watching a chess match when the pieces are live grenades

about 14 hours ago

Dailymail

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: From immigration and free speech to blasphemy laws... soon we won't have a country any more. So, why do Americans care more about Britain than Labour?

about 18 hours ago

Joe Biden threw open the border to rig the census — and elections for Democrats

Newyork Post

PETER VAN ONSELEN: The list of changes that could actually happen out of Jim Chalmers' economic talkfest... and the glaring omission that tells you everything you need to know

1 day ago

Charter schools offer hope AND deliver excellence in NYC’s toughest neighborhoods

Newyork Post

The beauty world can't stop talking about body care, so here are all the best products I've tried from the neck down: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

1 day ago

Even liberal Maureen Dowd of The Times admits DC is crime-ridden

Newyork Post

KEVIN O'LEARY: I've spotted a crushing indicator for the US housing market... take my advice if you want to survive the financial fallout

2 days ago

Blame Canada: How Trump can help us from being smoked out of our summer

Newyork Post

Why 'Albo the activist' has more in common with Liberal hero John Howard than he'd care to admit - and what it says about the future of Australia: PVO

3 days ago

Dailymail

I'm a middle-class woman slipping into sex addiction. After an 'unforgivable' act at my best friend's birthday, I've been kicked out the group chat: ASK JANA

3 days ago

Dailymail

DAN HODGES: Palestine Action IS a terror group. But its liberal, middle-class backers think it's their right to defy the law

3 days ago

Put pressure on Putin, Mr. President — it’s the only way to end this war

Newyork Post

BORIS JOHNSON: It's the most vomit-inducing episode in all the tawdry history of international diplomacy but it will have taught Trump this vital lesson…

3 days ago

Dailymail

What to do about a crusty white tongue: DR ELLIE reveals what it means about your health, how to get rid of it... and when you should be concerned about cancer

3 days ago

Dailymail

I love my dad so much I can't bear to think he'll die one day. I'm grieving him while he's still alive. I want to hug you, writes BEL MOONEY... here's the frank truth

3 days ago

Comments

Opinions

The gross hypocrisy of Penny Wong is finally exposed on the world stage. Pauline Hanson knows the truth all too well: PETER VAN ONSELEN

Letters to the Editor: New law to keep rental units cool may prove to be counterproductive

PETER VAN ONSELEN: How almost EVERY Australian with one type of mortgage was the victim of an outrageous scam last week. Here's how to tell how badly you were stitched up...

The genius man haunted by the patients he couldn't save... CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Confessions Of A Brain Surgeon

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: King Charles keeps distance from 'toxic' brother Andrew at Balmoral

Trump and Putin’s Alaska summit: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 19, 2025

Positive signs for peace — but pressure Putin if he doesn’t respond

MTA diverts billions to support Hochul’s re-election bid with new Second Avenue Subway work

Jeff Ross brings the funny to Broadway with ‘Take a Banana for the Ride’

Driver’s license given to deadly illegal migrant trucker shows how blue states undermine border security

Gavin Newsom’s desperate bid to claim the ‘new Trump’ mantle is falling flat

With EVERY photo of a ‘starving’ Gazan proving fake, how can you believe the famine claims?

Democrats demand a new Constitution — maybe America should take them up on it

Brooklyn pols call for act of war on the feds — a pathetic new low in NYC politics

Give up the green delusions, Albany — battery sites are too risky for New York

Mamdani is a national Dem nightmare, Egypt’s anti-Christian crusade and other commentary

QUENTIN LETTS: The encounter was electric with jeopardy... It was worse than watching a chess match when the pieces are live grenades

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: From immigration and free speech to blasphemy laws... soon we won't have a country any more. So, why do Americans care more about Britain than Labour?

Joe Biden threw open the border to rig the census — and elections for Democrats

Parents’ duties AND rights — the great divide facing New Jersey voters

Will my wife's inheritance affect our pension credit? STEVE WEBB replies

PETER VAN ONSELEN: The list of changes that could actually happen out of Jim Chalmers' economic talkfest... and the glaring omission that tells you everything you need to know

Charter schools offer hope AND deliver excellence in NYC’s toughest neighborhoods

Mayor Eric Adams deserves credit for his stunning housing wins

Donald Trump deserves praise for having the nerve to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face

ALEX BRUMMER: Buyout grocers crushed by debt anvil

The beauty world can't stop talking about body care, so here are all the best products I've tried from the neck down: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

Even liberal Maureen Dowd of The Times admits DC is crime-ridden

Russiagate prosecutions a must, DSA ties should disqualify and other commentary

DEAR JANE: My vacation was ruined by a sneaky photo from a friend... I wasn't supposed to see THAT!

Maximum pressure on Putin is the only way to win a fair deal in Ukraine

Trump is right about border and criminals, but he’s losing voters with mass deportations

Who’s REALLY ‘destroying democracy’ — after failing to win voters legitimately?

The rizz kid: How a campus Communist turned conservative kingmaker put the ‘social’ in ‘social movement’

NY Dems aim to de-mask ICE agents to scare them off their raids — NOT to protect the public

DC Dems safety delusions: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 18, 2025

The return-to-office trend is real — and it’s spectacular for NYC

‘Real feel’ temps are a real joke — don’t trust sensational heat-index claims

Letters to the Editor: The U.S. can't solve climate crisis alone, but that's no reason to do nothing

KEVIN O'LEARY: I've spotted a crushing indicator for the US housing market... take my advice if you want to survive the financial fallout

Blame Canada: How Trump can help us from being smoked out of our summer

Carriage horse woes and more: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 17, 2025

SARAH VINE: My grandfather bore the scars of war with Japan. I wish I'd listened to him more wisely

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S NOTEBOOK: Should I step in when the child in a nearby house won't stop crying?

FLOURISHING AFTER 50: My husband and I split up last year. I'm now broke and too ashamed to ask for help

TONY HETHERINGTON: I warned whisky firm would cause a hangover

Contributor: It's time to save the whales again

JB Pritzker’s school-screening law mandates more mental illness — and your state could be next, parents

Insane energy policies are set to burn Democrats in New Jersey, New York

Keep racial lunacy out of air traffic control before more planes crash

Why 'Albo the activist' has more in common with Liberal hero John Howard than he'd care to admit - and what it says about the future of Australia: PVO

I'm a middle-class woman slipping into sex addiction. After an 'unforgivable' act at my best friend's birthday, I've been kicked out the group chat: ASK JANA

DAN HODGES: Palestine Action IS a terror group. But its liberal, middle-class backers think it's their right to defy the law

Put pressure on Putin, Mr. President — it’s the only way to end this war

Trump’s inspired Kennedy Center Honors picks spotlight liberals’ own performance art

Staying Juvenile: ‘Raise the Age’ is killing New York kids

Letters to the Editor: Finally, the Democrats are done with being pushed around

BORIS JOHNSON: It's the most vomit-inducing episode in all the tawdry history of international diplomacy but it will have taught Trump this vital lesson…

What to do about a crusty white tongue: DR ELLIE reveals what it means about your health, how to get rid of it... and when you should be concerned about cancer

I love my dad so much I can't bear to think he'll die one day. I'm grieving him while he's still alive. I want to hug you, writes BEL MOONEY... here's the frank truth