In this episode of Equipped to Recover, journalist and author Cole Kazdin shares her personal journey with an eating disorder and explores the challenges of recovery in a diet-culture society.

Listen in as Cole shares details from her book "What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety" and hear how researching and writing the book changed the trajectory of her recovery, and how it can change yours.

In this episode, you will be able to:

SHOW NOTES -  Navigating Recovery in a Diet-Obsessed Society

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Timestamped summary of this episode:

00:00:00 - Introduction, 
Kristina Saffran introduces the podcast episode and welcomes guest Cole Kazdin, a writer, and Emmy award-winning journalist. They discuss Cole's book, "What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety."

00:01:06 - Experience with an Eating Disorder, 
Cole shares her personal experience with an eating disorder, including her struggles with starvation, compulsive exercise, and bulimia. She talks about the realization that she had a problem and the journey to recovery.

00:04:54 - Defining Recovery, 
Cole talks about the individual nature of recovery and the absence of a standard definition. She emphasizes the importance of not engaging in disordered eating behaviors and finding new ways to disrupt the eating disorder mindset. She also highlights the need to accept and embrace one's changing body.

00:08:05 - Active Recovery and Daily Challenges, 
Kristina and Cole discuss the concept of active recovery and the ongoing challenges of living in a society infused with diet culture. They talk about the importance of having a support system and being aware of potential triggers, especially when it comes to exercise. Cole shares her own strategies for managing her eating disorder mindset.

00:12:13 - Recognizing the Mind-Body Connection, 
Cole shares the importance of recognizing the mind-body connection in recovery. She discusses the role of eating in managing anxiety and how she has learned to listen to her body's cues and address her needs.

00:14:56 - The Importance of Regular Eating, 
The guest discusses how a professional recommended setting a timer to eat every 3 to 4 hours, which initially reminded her of her past eating disorder. However, she found that this helped to bring back hunger and ultimately improved her mental health.

00:16:23 - Food as Nourishment, 
The guest shares her experience of feeding her child multiple times a day and realizing that food is essential for keeping someone alive and healthy. This perspective helped her shift her mindset and view food as a means of sustenance rather than a source of anxiety.

00:18:52 - Writing the Book, 
The guest explains that she decided to write the book after realizing the lack of conversation and research around eating disorders. She dedicated the book to women because she believes that discussions about food and body image are often overlooked in feminist discourse.

00:21:34 - The Need for Change, 
The guest emphasizes the importance of empowering individuals with information to change the conversation around eating disorders. She believes that by addressing the societal normalization of eating disordered behaviors, people can achieve true and lasting recovery.

00:24:34 - Promising Treatments, 
The guest expresses excitement for community-based treatment, temperament-based therapy with support, and research on trauma and everyday racism. She also suggests the implementation of eating disorder screenings during doctor visits and exploring alternative definitions of recovery through harm reduction.

00:30:49 - Coexistence of Eating Disorder and Weight Loss Treatment, 
Cole discusses her personal experience of discovering that her former therapist was involved in weight loss treatment while also treating patients with eating disorders. She expresses her feelings of betrayal and the conflict between trusting her therapist and her own instincts during treatment.

00:33:06 - The Ubiquity of Coexistence, 
Cole explores the prevalence of the coexistence between eating disorder and weight loss treatment. She questions the logic behind this phenomenon and believes that the focus on obesity research hinders progress in eating disorder research.

00:35:33 - Changes Needed in the Eating Disorder Field, 
Cole highlights the need for a standard of care in eating disorder treatment and calls for increased federal funding for research. She also advocates for federal regulations to address weight discrimination and protect individuals from being fired based on their weight.

00:37:41 - Hope for the Future, 
Cole and the host discuss the importance of both systematic changes and personal storytelling in creating lasting change in the eating disorder field. They express hope for the future and the exciting work being done to improve treatment and support for those with eating disorders.

00:38:47 - Words of Wisdom for Those in Recovery, 
Cole offers advice for individuals battling eating disorders, emphasizing the importance of finding trustworthy help, acknowledging the challenges of the system, and reminding them that they are not alone. She also encourages loved ones to support and guide those in recovery.