Diet culture boggles my mind.

Over the months of her first year of life, I experienced some very negative comments and lies about my daughter's beautiful baby chub. She has a lovely, wise body, which stored away as much chub as it knew it needed to support her growth and development.

As a baby who was exclusively breastfed up to 6 months, and continued to be breastfed alongside solids beyond that point, I know my child's body has been given ample support to grow strong and healthy.

This isn't a criticism of people who feed their children differently, it's just a fact that you can trust your child is getting exactly the amount they need when they have been breastfed like mine - at least, that is what professionals have told me.

I find it very sad that I already find myself needing to defend a body's wisdom in a child who was not even a year old. We live in a culture fixated on controlling bodies in a way that is simply not healthy or good.

I know this is a complex and nuanced...

This journey of recovery is full of hills and valleys. It's one step forward and two steps back repeatedly. In this emotional roller coaster where we long to be free, it's so easy to lose sight of our progress. Last night was hard…the last couple of months were hard. Some days I wondered if I had fallen all the way back to the beginning of this journey. Reality is that I can’t go back to “square one”. I am a different person than the one who started this journey; I feel more, I give myself more grace, I listen to my body more, and I am equipped with the truth. Yet I still grow weary and that’s why it’s important to acknowledge the victories.

Today was one those victories. I was at Costco and my favorite yogurt-covered pretzels were on sale (mmm...sweet and salty together). These pretzels only come out once a year. Last year’s version of myself would see them and say "Resist. It is only one month. You can do it", or she would...

Welcome to the FINDINGbalance FREEdom Blog!

Today, we’re doing a “soft launch,” which means we’re putting it out there but not everything is final for this space. Currently, there will be two blog postings a month, each one alternating with our Old School Food Freedom podcast, and we hope to have more frequent releases as time goes on and as more bloggers join us.

We have writers from across the world, of all ages, ED experiences, recovery experiences, and life experiences! They’ll be writing from a place of hope, about enriching your relationship with God and encouraging you in your walk to FREEdom. As one of our prayer group leaders said, “May the Lord use each one to help others heal and strengthen their faith walk”, and that's why we're here.

If you, or someone you know, love to write and encourage others, please send them this link to our Blog Ministry Guidelines. This too is a work-in-progress as we...