FAQ

Here are some questions I’ve been asked repeatedly over the years!

Q: Are you diet-obsessed?

A: I’d like to think I’m not. I don’t go on fad diets (although I have in the past) and I don’t think about calories or weight all the time. I do think about my weight more than the average person, but it’s because I still have around 30 pounds to lose to get to my goal. Over the years I’ve gone from one ‘plan’ to another to another, and still to this day I haven’t found an eating plan that I stick with for long. I do believe that one day I’ll find something to stick with indefinitely.

Q: Are you pro-ana?

A: I’m not personally pro-ana. However, I don’t look down on people who are. I try and keep my websites free of pro-ana comments and material because I know it can be triggering and damaging for people looking at it, plus overall I’d like to promote health and well-being! But I believe in ‘live and let live’. People who want to get anorexia are mentally (or emotionally) ill in some way. I’m not going to look down on that since I myself am in therapy! I do believe that anorexia itself (the true disease) has nothing to do with weight. It’s all psychological issues of control. I’ve done a TON of studying into eating disorders since starting my websites and feel I understand them quite well.

Q: Are you eating disordered?

A: Sometimes. And I don’t know anyone who isn’t in some way on occasion at least. Almost everyone over eats or under eats or makes bad food choices (all which I considered ‘eating disordered’, not ‘having an ED’). I do not have an official ED. Never been diagnosed with one. I’ve flirted with behaviors over the years. Who hasn’t? I’ve never binge-ate though (stuffed myself with thousands of calories). I’ve had digestive problems since I was born and cannot eat a huge amount in one sitting. However, I have overeaten on many occasions. Pigged out, one could say. I have never made myself throw up except in two rare cases where I’d had way too much to drink.

Q: Why did you start theskinnywebsite.com?

A: I honestly started it as a hobby back in late 2005. I had run a chick lit book website for a few years on and off and decided I needed a new challenge. I’d always been interested in weight in general (I was a yoyo dieter throughout my 20’s but only on a scale of around 15 pounds or so). I was only interested in celeb gossip for the weight stories – who was gaining, losing or scary skinny. So one day I was joking around with colleagues in the grocery store on our lunch break. I was buying a tabloid with a photo of Janet Jackson on the cover – when she had gained a lot of weight in 2005. I joked with a friend: “Hey, I should start a site that only talks about celebrity weight!” We all laughed, but the seed was planted. I went home that night and began working on the idea. I knew exactly where to post links to the new site, too: in girls’ dieting journals on xanga.com, even the pro-ana ones. (I’m not going to lie, I sometimes to this day read pro-ana and anorexic journals!) And from there it took off by word of mouth like wildfire. Like with my chick lit book site, my site was the first of its kind, but later many people began starting copy sites. Yes, I am proud of myself for coming up with two great ideas for websites that people later copied).

Q: Are you for or against the fat-acceptance movement? How about the ’skinny but healthy’ movement?

A: I don’t care all that much what people do. However, and I’m going to be honest here, I don’t think overweight is healthy. Even when people’s stats are OK. Having extra weight on us puts more strain on the bones and organs. We won’t see the consequences of this until later in life. So in a way I think it’s dangerous to promote the ‘fat acceptance’ movement, except that it teaches people to be happy with themselves no matter what their weight. THAT is extremely important and a huge benefit of the movement. As a matter of fact, I believe people really won’t lose weight and keep it off until they learn to love themselves no matter what. (At least this is true in my case).

As for the ’skinny but healthy’ movement, I’m all for it. I believe people can be skinny/thin and healthy, so long as their stats and vitals are OK and they have no other health issues. Being thin puts less pressure on organs and bones. I myself am aiming to be thin and very fit and toned. PLEASE deep in mind that I am no authority on this subject and this is only my personal opinion!

Q: Do you consider yourself a dieting role model?

A: Hell no!!! I really hope people don’t think I am or try to be like me. I’ve obsessed about weight over the years, yoyo dieted, fad dieted, lost, gained, comfort ate, went back and forth on food beliefs. To this day I have no idea what I’m doing although I’ve probably read every diet and nutrition book on the market. However, I like to think I’m human and mostly pretty honest in this blog. People seem to enjoy that I’m human and make mistakes. I try to promote positivity (these days) and loving yourself no matter what your flaws. I also have promoted vegetarianism, veganism, fruitarianism and raw foodism even if at the moment that I’m typing this I’m none of these.

(More coming soon).