Eating Disorder Talk

Popular blogger Lauren lives in Toronto and is often better known as Raymi the Minx. Since 2000, she’s been blogging several times a day with a raw and sarcastic wit that is hard to find in twenty-somethings. She also contributes articles on Rocketpack. In 2005, Raymi self-published Marketable Depression, chronicling her treatment and misadventures through bipolar disorder – a book widely reviewed (even I did!) in the blogsphere.

On her site, she often posts photos of “forbidden” food and talks of weight loss strategies. She is open about days when she feels depressed, angry and fat, to the point of brutal honesty sometimes – a fresh take from the piteous posts that you find on so many blogs that talk of depression. Here is Lauren’s response to Eating Disorder Talk’s questions:

Q. Why did you start blogging and why continue it?
A. Cos [sic] I loved writing and I loved attention. And I still do.

Q. Are you currently on a diet?
A. My own fucked up one, yes.

Q. To be as close to perfect as you think is attainable, how much weight would you need to lose? (how much have you lost already?)
A. I’ve lost twenty pounds, I think I need fifteen more off, then I’m good. But then a monkey in my brain will push it for five more; the skinnier you get, the crazier you are – so you have to be careful.

Q. Feel brave enough to give out your stats?
A. 5’8 and I am not revealing my weight until I am at my “target” so everyone’s mind will be blown. People think I am less than I am cos [sic] they forget to consider my height.

Q. Do you ever worry about being a trigger for girls who read your blog – your confidence, food descriptions and talk of losing weight?
A. I’ve received emails from nine year olds saying they want to be me and I kinda laugh it off to be in denial about how crazy that is. When the 13 yr olds write me, I post it and say this is scary. I have in the past written a post saying I don’t want your daughters to be like me, in terms of drinking or whatever. And to late 20-30 yr olds, like, “Haha look how fucking desperate and crazy I am?” They can get their warped body images from Shape and Maxim magazine anyway.

Q. Why do you put so many (often very rich) food pictures on your blog while also writing about dieting?
A. The rich foods that are taken at restaurants are usually what Fil orders and it’s to assuage my desire and yearning to eat it, it’s also blog content to drive people bananas. When I have a craving for hamburgers I search out 30 pictures on Google of the greasiest, cheesiest ones I can find cos [sic] I know I won’t go out and get one.

Q. What’s the difference between an extreme diet and an eating disorder?
A. Eating disorder is Tracey Gold from Growing Pains making the show end cos [sic] she was skeletor, and then she did that made for tv movie about a girl with anorexia. Extreme diet is people in Hollywood jogging in the heat? Or people who talk about their diets all the time.

Q. Do you now have, or have you ever had an eating disorder?
A. Well I guess so, I’m binge-eating I think, starve myself, then eat once a day and I constantly think about my body. At nite [sic] I think about being skinnier and posing in outfits; fuck world peace, I need to look like Kate Moss.

Q. What disorders (psychological) have you been diagnosed with?
A. Bipolar mood disorder, depression.

Q. How do you really feel about the usual spots that women hate on themselves?
A. I hate my upper arms the most and all my fat resides in my middle area. Women either have their fat sit above or below waist. Below, have cankles and big asses; like me, have skinnier legs but bigger middles. I think I’d be pretty depressed if I had cankles. I know I would be.

Q. Have you ever consciously wanted an eating disorder?
A. No, I think people who have severe ones are mentally ill. I have other shit in my life to focus on other than DYING or being sent away to one of those anorexic safe homes.

Q. Have you closely known anyone who has had one?
A. My friend. She barf[s] up her food but I have never seen her, so it’s like it doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, these days it’s kinda [sic] like, “whatevs [sic]. No one cares because skinny is SO in, like never before, so it’s almost encouraged?”

Q. If you knew someone close to you was in crisis with their eating disorder, what would you do?
A. Tell them if they don’t get help I am telling their mom and talk shit about them on my blog, and grab their wrists firmly and give their head a shake. I can be pretty aggressive. Oh, drunk crying works too: say a bunch of manipulative, sappy shit, then Fil steps in and gives his intelligent, makes sense Fil speech and off they go to help.

Q. If you could go on a strict vegan diet and drop weight faster than you could put it back on, would you?
A. Based on principal, no. Aside from that, I do not have the willpower, nor desire. I enjoy life too much. I mean, I like to enjoy my life while I’m living it, not suffer, eating twigs and leaves.

Q. Name five celebrities you suspect.
A. That one Olsen twin, Angelina Jolie, Posh Spice, Nicole Richie, Hilary Duff.

Q. How long did it take you to write the “How I lost 20lbs” post?
A. I don’t keep track of time when I blog, I am like, in the zone. I think altogether an hour when you factor in editing and fine-tuning but I write pretty manically off the top of my head so…

From the late 1800s to 1990, the definition of the ideal female form has changed drastically. Using this article, I’ve summed up the various epitomes:

From the late 1800s through the 1920s, corsets provided extreme hourglass shaping. Some women had ribs removed to further enhance the effect of their small waist in relation to bulging bust and hips. The perfect woman was frail, pale-skinned and came with a large bustle. By the end of the 1920s a movement had begun - women appeared free and sexy. Women wore bobbed haircuts, bound their breasts and burned their corsets!

During the 1940s, due to World War II, women took up working in factories, stereotypically becoming “tougher” and strong. In the 50s, the babyboomer age, women’s forms became more ample since there was a large focus on fertility and nurturing. The 60s and 70s would bring about a bigger change - the stick-thin model, Twiggy, who quickly became a mass celebrity - famous for being extremely thin and boyish.

Then the 80s came. Much as in today’s society, the ideal changed frequently and unpredictably from one extreme to the other. A general focus on more healthy, athletic and “fit” ideals preoccupied most of the decade, with thin and boyish models remaining popular and voluptuous sexpots garnering attention (occasionally only to be catered to via pornography). Large breasts when accompanied by a toned, slim body, in particular, were coveted by women and men, alike.

In my own opinion, the past 25 years of the female form have been drastically oppositional. One moment, we’re aching for androgyny, the next, the hourglass figure. Sometimes, we idealize both.

Today, one of my mommy-friends said that I have a body that 95% of women would kill for. While I’m aware that she hasn’t taken an official poll by any means, I wonder: if I have a near-perfect body, what kind of perfect is it in the vicinity of and why do I keep wanting to change it because it’s too far from perfect, to me?

What’s your version of a flawless female form?

scarlett johansson, keira knightley, perfect body, corsets, Twiggy

If you’d like your story written about on Eating Disorder Talk, please email me, including information such as whether you’d prefer to remain anonymous to our readers. Please ensure that you’ve included a valid email address where I can respond to you, as well as your own web site, if applicable. Pictures are also welcome!

If you’re interested in participating in a survey on eating disorders - causes, media involvement and relationships, please email me to let me know an appropriate way to contact you.

Thin by Lauren Greenfield was the first book about eating disorders that I picked up in a long time. Truth be told, after my last commitment to “get better,” I left thirty-odd books at my father’s house, away from my prying hands and roving eyes. I was at Chapters when I saw the cover (marked with a 30% off sticker), buying things that struck my fancy in a manic hardcover jaunt. I realized that it was majorly a photographic book and the side of me that denies sought to buy it in the hopes of having something “taboo and artistic” in my house. I suppose I might have put it next to Generation S.L.U.T.

Honestly, I flipped through it’s pages, trying to be nonchalant. My boyfriend glanced at a few pages with me and gasped at the awkwardly thin senior, he piqued my competitive side when noticing one girl who was much thinner than he’d ever known me to be, and he made me proud when he asked why one girl was even in the book - I had been much thinner than her.

My friend saw it on my coffee table and mentioned seeing the documentary on Showcase. How intense and at some points disgusting and others scintillating it was. She said that from what she had seen, the patient on the cover had been very thin and unhealthy and nowhere near my size (then 5′6″ and about 105lbs.) - she was that thin. Now, this is one of my best friends, so I know that she did not intentionally mean to send me a message like that - but our continuing debate about it, where I may have even lied about the girl’s stats in order to deflate my own, lead me to a discovery.

It was beginning again and the book was a trigger for me. I returned it within the week.

There is an intro to the documentary, that I found on YouTube. You’re not me, so if you’re interested in picking it up, it’s available on many bookseller’s sites, such as Amazon.

youtube, thin, hbo, showcase, lauren greenfield, Renfrew Center, eating disorders, trigger, Generation S.L.U.T., relapse

Each week, I’ll provide my take on the top five websites, as rated by Alexa. No, I’m not playing favourites, we’re starting with Anorexia because it’s first in the alphabet; next Tuesday, I’ll cover the top five sites relating to Binge Eating Disorder.

1. Anorexic Web: This site is owned by a wiccan who suffered from an eating disorder for seven years. Very graphically based, it’s apparently been operating since 1999. It’s simplistic, artistic and leaden with poetry. Regardless, it is full of positive messages (both wiccan and not), pictures, warnings and disclaimers. A little too blessed (be) for my taste.

2. Mental Health: Contains description links such as to facetheissue’s movie, American and European diagnostics, the US Surgeon General’s report, and eMedicine. Also includes diagnosis, treatment, research and literature. Very bare-bones and does not seem to have been updated for some time.

3. Family Doctor: Vague, stereotypical and oversimplified - this site reminds me of something I might have read at the early stages of the disease, before I realized how all-consuming and complex eating disorders really are.

4. Revolution Health: Another (at first glance) introductory lesson on what anorexia is and it’s treatment. Upon further perusal, this site is very easy to navigate, leads to a lot of clicking on individual links and contains resources for treatment and coping.

5. Ana Death: First impression: a site written for those seeking recovery, by someone recently recovered. You can read her story, which reads more like a journal entry than a timeline. But other than that, I ran out of patience when trying to navigate away from the homepage. Why? Most of the links no longer exist. Does this mean that recovery is over? I’ll never know, it seems.

Eating Disorder Talk is my foray into communicating both the marketing and scenarios of eating disorders; it’s also the opportunity to share my own story in the hopes that someone out there thinks, “I’m not alone.” So in that effort, here begins the first part of my epic - how I came to have 20 years of experience coping with, fighting against and living for eating disorders.

I was raised as an only child in a single parent family. What’s a little different about this is that during the early 80s it was virtually unheard of in Greater Vancouver for a father to be the single parent. My dad was a multitude of things, the foremost being a disciplinarian. He learned a lot of life lessons at early ages and was constantly caught between wanting to stop me from making his mistakes and letting me learn from my own. He was my first best friend, exalted and feared. If he had been a different person, I surely would have been as well, but thankfully, I am not ashamed of the person I have become, in spite of and in owing to him.

In my early primary years, I went for a general check-up at my family doctor. The afterword my dad and doctor shared was behind closed doors, but for some reason, I heard the one sentence that would become my defining mantra for the next two decades, “she’s a little overweight.” I had already gained the awareness of how cruel children on the playground can be - had been called such pet names as butterball and fatso - so this was not news to me, it was proof.

So began the then-subtle relationship with food and my own image in the mirror. I began systematically borrowing books and magazines from the library in relation to dieting and eating disorders. Until I had read everything that they had to offer. I ravaged these articles and texts - pouring through multiple authors in a day. I took notes and tips down in my many journals and notebooks.

I was a bipolar writer even at that point. I started numerous times, writing my own novels - I would be a published writer by ten, I assumed - and all of these beginnings had the common theme of a tween going through the motions of anorexia. There were likely about four or five attempts, where I’d hunch over a notebook for hours, pouring out 40 or more hand printed pages. I’d only re-read them after the well had gone dry or some other interruption had come up, then I’d decide that it was all wrong and never touch it again. It wasn’t good enough, so I had to give up trying.

I became a made-for-tv movie junkie and it wasn’t until the sixth one that my father noticed the trend they shared - teenager goes on diet and becomes obsessed, is diagnosed, her caring family rallies to her rescue and then the final moments of the film show her life back on track, at a respectable weight and doing normal teenager things. In hindsight, these movies gave me a goal: to get to the point where my family would save me after I had become impossibly ill. Then I could lead a normal life populated with loving parents, friends and social activities, in a body still thin enough for tv. Reality would set in later.

It began with research and I’m still researching.

Today, during my daughter’s (too short) nap - the time I usually use to clean my house, relax, write, read, shower - I got a phone call, interrupting my super-speedy dish washing from the Toronto-based National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC). A very soft spoken, polite woman confirmed my identity and let me know that the director of the centre had seen this site and they could not support it because it was a bad influence.

When asked for clarification, she went over his highlighted notes (she was very open) and agreed with me that some of the pictures I’ve posted have been triggering. But the main problem was that in my post a few days ago about diabulimia, I had said

my favourite effect of diabulimia
…
shakiness and dysphoria.

Apparently, a lot of the people they help are “easily influenced” and my obvious sarcasm could be misconstrued. As saying hypoglycemia is awesome. That shakiness verging on passing out? The best fun you could ever have. Better than sex and new socks and guilt-free chocolate and R & R and sleeping in and designer clothing on sale. Combined. (I may be exaggerating, a tiny bit.)

Okay, I get that this is a site that does not parallel, directly, their opinion that anyone not in recovery who has an eating disorder should be. I can sympathize, even, with the thought that I am someone pushing people further from treatment - those easily influenced people, that is. What I cannot handle is the thought that this (what I can only imagine) fair-skinned, fine blonde haired, 5′1″, 100 pounds, 22 year old, fresh out of college girl thinks that I want that responsibility of triggering someone…

I have a hard enough time eating in front of my 11-month old daughter - something I make an effort to do at every meal and snack time, so that it’s not obvious that mummy is struggling and losing this relapsing battle, again - and she’s doesn’t even know what’s really going on, yet. I could cheat and she wouldn’t even notice or care. It means the world to me that she doesn’t see me fighting to take in a couple hundred calories, but she likely will. So sorry if this is a little impersonal - but why the hell would I want to put that effort up for the internet?

rants, NEDIC, triggers, recovery

Pro Ana and Mia (anorexic and bulimic) websites have been around for quite a while. In fact, I’ve met some of my closest friends on one site that I used to frequent, which has since been shut down. The question I’m putting out there today is if these websites are as detrimental as they are being portrayed to be.

Yes, these are places where people with active eating disorders can congregate. Tips are often shared, though sometimes only via personal messaging or email, so as not to influence others. “Thinspiration” pictures and stories, triggers for many, are posted to peruse and comment upon. Competitions, though informal and usually unsupported by the site’s owners, are announced amoungst members. Members often post their “stats” - measurements; current, high and goal weights - and a quote along the lines of “hunger hurts but starving works” as their signature, providing others with fodder for their own internal demons. Pro-ED sites are not positive in any of these aspects…

But if you’ve ever been a member of or happened upon one of these sites and taken longer than two minutes to form an opinion, you can observe an amazing vessel of support. Not just for the eating disorders themselves, but for people active in their illness, depressed, suicidal and even seeking treatment. In my opinion, this is not a negative thing. This is extremely positive in a society wherein it’s thought that eating disorders are any and all of the following: selfish, immature, attention-seeking behaviour, something spoiled little girls do and a symptom of extreme mental disfunction.

I would prefer to have a million people screaming their weights rally around me in a time of need, than to have one person telling me I’m not fat and need to accept it as my mantra. Sometimes, that’s what these sites are designed and joined for - to see that we’re not alone and others care and understand that it’s not just as easy as getting over it.

Unfortunately, most documentation arguing against the sites give mention of studies showing a relationship between sickness duration and the use of the sites, “promoting” eating disorders and glorifying them as a lifestyle choice. Some of the best support sites I’ve come across open with the disclaimer such as the following one, from Pro-Ana Nation:

Anorexia is not only about food. It becomes a mechanism to cope with serious, emotional problems. My wounds will never heal. I have not been able to recover. Anorexia kills, but as controversial as it may be, it keeps me alive.

Eating disorders will not make you feel thin, proud and beautiful. Every day is a constant struggle of self-hatred and obsessing about food, calories, fat grams and weight. Do not contact me if you want to ‘learn’ how to develop anorexia and bulimia, or because you want to know how to hide your disorder from friends, family and doctors.

I sometimes refer to anorexia and bulimia as “ana” and “mia.” That does not mean I try to trivialise serious, mental disorders. They are not friendly little pet names, but diseases.

Recovery is not a choice, because eating disorders are self-destructive. It is a healing process you have to go through in an attempt to rid yourself from anorexia and bulimia. This site is intended for disordered minds that have not been able to recover.

Now, personally, I don’t see a community selling eating disorders as a wonderful way of life or magical diet. I see someone opening up their minds so that others in a similar place can feel less trapped within their own mental confines. So what’s so bad about that?

I was tagged by Bryan, so here’s where I start to open up…and since this is Eating Disorder Talk, I’ll let you know seven odd things about me, in appropriate reference.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) affects about 4 million people in the United States; men account for 1.6 million of sufferers according to reports of the McLean Hospital-conducted first national study of eating disorders. Characteristics of the disease include:

The disease can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, multiple organ failures and/or diseases, further mental anguish in the form of depression or suicide and female reproductive complications. People suffering are urged to seek help as soon as possible as they may be in need of intensive therapy prior to losing any weight they may have picked up during binging periods.

One person who’s come forward in an effort to engage and educate is former model Ron Saxen. He’s recently released a book, The Good Eater, about his voyage from modelling to a 70 pound, six month weight gain. And back.

Saxen was recently interviewed by Joseph Planta, and - not to be feminist - he’s got perspective that I’ve rarely heard from a man regarding eating disorders. Chapter one of the book opens with his initial appointment and subsequent signing with his first modelling agency. You can find an excerp here. It strikes me as…odd, honestly, to read a man’s thoughts that have exactly matched mine in reference to whether he is too fat to be spoken to. And to see the mental tally of over-done and under nourished exercise.

I’ve never much used binging in my own history. It seemed too risky, when my goal was to become invisible. I suppose, mentally, suffering with BED would be just as effective at erasing yourself, as losing as much weight as is possible.

Today, CNN highlighted a supposedly new eating disorder, diabulimia. Apparently, 34 year old Lee Ann Thill was at a diabetic camp for teenage girls when she overheard counsellors reprimanding another camper for not taking her insulin so that she could lose weight. That lead to 17 years of taking “just enough insulin to function.”

The practice has seemingly been around for a long time, especially amongst young girls with uncontrolled type I (juvenile) diabetes. But it’s becoming more prevalent recently, in part due to the tips exchanged on diabetes and eating disorder internet bulletin boards. One expert suggests that 450,000 US type I girls - about one third of current diagnosed cases - have at some point practiced diabulimia. It does makes sense that juvenile diabetes would predispose people for disordered eating - to control it well, it means occupying your thoughts with carb counting and adhering to a specific diet. At most, if not all, times.

From the CNN article:

Jacq Allan, 26, of London, is a diabulimic.

“I’m constantly worried that my eyes are going to go, but they seem relatively OK for the moment,” she said. “I always wonder if this will be the day that some major organ fails. I kind of want something to happen because then maybe I’ll stop.”

The risks? Namely, early onset of diabetic complications, especially those related to eyesight and kidney function. Missing or lowering insulin doses can lead to hyperglycemia, which then leads to excessive urination and weight loss. My favourite effect of diabulimia is hypoglycemia. This leads to all kinds of horrible complications, such as shakiness and dysphoria.

As a side effect of my long-term eating disorder, I was diagnosed as hypoglycemic about eight years ago. I was also warned that if I did not get control over my disordered eating habits, I would likely become diabetic. I’m thinking, maybe that in light of diabulimia’s existence, that wasn’t such an unnerving threat.

bulimia, juvenile diabetes, diabetes type 1, diabulimia, insulin, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, dysphoria, organ failure, pro-ana websites

A new over the counter (OTC) weight loss product has hit the shelves in the US. alli is a fat-blocker reputed to block absorption of about 25% of the fat you take in. The major drawback, besides the embarassing and uncomfortable side effects, is that alli will be most effective and least invasive when used with the low-calorie, low-fat diet plan and exercise regime marketed with the product’s starter pack.

Side effects of not following the low-fat plan include diarrhea, unplanned bowel movements and gas with an oily discharge. The product’s website actually suggests wearing dark pants and carrying an extra pair around, in case of accidents. This hasn’t stopped consumers from purchasing the product, as reported here. Sales of the moderately stocked but massively hyped product have surprised vendors, who are being questioned about whether the drug works, not how or at what physical cost.

The problem as I see it, is that while marketing of the drug states that it is most effective when used in conjuction with lifestyle changes, such as fitness and following a low-fat, low-calorie diet, perusal of the alli message board left question marks as whether this prescribed diet is realistic for a typical user. And whether the lifestyle changes will indeed be heathier. In one location of the product’s webpage, “treatment effects” can be minimized by eating meals with less than 15 grams of fat - more and you risk the leakage and painful digestion issues. But on the message board, consumers of the product are concerned as to whether they should eat less than the recommended 19 grams of fat per meal or risk the drug not working to help them lose weight…this specific number of fat grams was based on their own “alli diet plan”.

One user went so far as to explain the diet plans available in the product’s diet plan book and this is where the red flags were raised. She describes having a choice between a 1200, 1500 and 1800 calorie plan, each with specific fat intake recommendations. But let’s examine this, based on the calorie recommendations, alone…

The average Canadian woman weighs 153 pounds and is 5 feet, 3.4 inches tall; American women are 10 pounds heavier, while being 0.4 pounds taller. This means, using this caloric calculator, an average 35 year old Canadian woman needs 2,063 calories daily and her American counterpart, 2,170. Using alli’s suggested 1,200 calorie per day diet plan means a deficit of over 900 calories for some women. Add three thirty-minute sessions of jogging per week, she could burn an extra 750 calories weekly, totalling a loss of 2 pounds per week.

So, without even introducing fat-blockers - non-digestion of a quarter of the fat you eat (not to mention what else you won’t be absorbing: fat-soluble vitamins, for one) - you can expect to lose 2 pounds a week if you’re an average woman living in the US, eating 1,200 calories a day and jogging for a total of an hour and a half a week. So, what’s the point of the fat blockers, again? Why deal with anal leakage? Sounds great, right? Sounds like a plan?!

It sounds fishy to me.

In my personal experience, the very devoted anorexics I’ve known adhere to a diet of between 100 and 1,200 calories daily. So, yes, I question how many women are setting themselves up for the fall, here - in an effort to lose 10 to 20 pounds. I know that it would send me into a spiral of starvation. Would it be worth it for you - the mess, the lack of food, the lack of control?

alli, anal leakage, calories, diet pills, low-fat

Want to be shocked and shaken? Here’s the findings of a study of 2,980 adults, conducted from 2001-2003.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (yes, that’s NIMH, as in the Secret of) published findings of the study, 0.9 and 0.3 percent of women and men had suffered from anorexia during their lifetime, while 1.5 and 0.5 percent of the female and male respondents admitted to suffering from bulimia. A surprise to some is that 3.5 and 2 percent of women and men admitted to having had a binge-eating disorder at some point.

The study also confirmed the largely-held theory that people with eating disorders, regardless of classification, type or severity, often have coexisting mood, anxiety, impulse-control, or substance use disorders.

Also in the results was a suggestion that anorexia is a less chronic illness that other disorders, with an average life of 1.7 years. Tell that to the last 20 years of my life!

NIMH, Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-eating, Mood disorders, Substance use

The Eating Disorder Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is starting a new outpatient treatment program after opening it’s office and receiving government funding in St. John’s. So they’re reaching out in an effort to educate and provide support to those suffering from eating disorders via a public meeting, to be held on June 20, 2007.

Leaders of the meeting include the Chairperson of the foundation’s Board of Directors, Vince Withers and it’s West Coast representative, Stephanie Kendall. Both Withers and Kendall have experience with the illness: Withers started the foundation shortly after the eating disorder-caused death of his daughter in 2005; Kendall is survivor.

From the Western Star:

“The biggest thing is to actually create awareness and increase support on the west coast because we are getting so much feedback (from here),” says Kendall.

“I’ve gotten calls from schools, from teachers, families, people who are inquiring ‘what can I do’, ‘are these signs and symptoms of eating disorders.”

…

She says it will be of benefit to anyone affected by an eating disorder and informational for health professions who may have questions at to where they can refer their patients.

Nicole Richie, a rumoured 83 pounds, was planning a party to celebrate Memorial Day. So she did what lots of us do in this busy world we live in - she emailed out invitations.

Unfortunately, her “joke” invites were leaked to the media. Unfortunate for her, I mean. It really does give the rest of us the proof we would have liked, to be able to point further fingers at her. Why? This party, well, there was going to be a weight restriction at the door.

I know this is old news, but I thought it merited a mention at Eating Disorder Talk, since it’s basically feeding into directly what I love - weight-conscious readers of the media striking out against skinny celebrities who refuse to admit eating disorders. For this one, Nicole should have it tattooed on her forehead, “BUSTED!”

From Monsters and Critics:

My fellow Americans its that time of year To celebrate our country by drinking massive amounts of beer Let’s stand together as one, live the American dream Take shots, pass out, & wake up with our pants ripped open at the seems Let’s glorify this day in your sluttiest tops and your tightest pair of tsubi jeans Even though we have no fucking clue what Memorial Day really means!!
…
There will be a scale at the front door. No girls over 100 pounds allowed in. Start starving yourself now.

Please, shake your heads with me at both the audacity and the need of a dictionary!

Nicole Richie, starving, Memorial Day, Tsubi jeans, spellcheck

image courtesy of ragrap.