New Blogs in a New Location

Hello, thanks for visiting the Donate Your Weight blog. Beginning May 3, 2008 all new blog posts will be posted at my new blog: http://sherizampelli.com/blog

This new blog combines weight loss and body image posts with posts about roller derby, spirituality, music and more. It is my unique on-line magazine for women who are ready to expand their vision of themselves and become all that they are meant to be.

If you're already subscribed to e-mail updates of the blog, you don't have to do anything you will get new posts automatically. If you are visiting this page on-line, go to the new blog at http://sherizampelli.com/blog.

The new blog is titled Get Gal VanIZed. To find out why, read my opening post.

All the best,
Sheri O. Zampelli, M.S., CCH

Virtual Booksigning and Fundraiser for CARE

The booksigning and discussion at Shore Books went so well, we decided to try something new this month: a virtual booksigning/fundraiser.

I know, I know, it sounds unconventional but actually, it's doable. All you have to do is call in on the phone from your home or office. You don't have to drive to the bookstore, get a babysitter or find a parking space. 

We will start with a book discussion by the author, yours truly. Then, we will open it up for questions and answers. 

If you purchase a copy of Donate Your Weight from us within an hour of the book signing, we will send you a signed copy of the book. You can even tell me what you want me to write in your book and you can buy copies for your friends.

Here's the good part. 5% of the net proceeds from book sales that night will go to CARE. CARE supports women and children and is helping to end poverty and starvation around the world.

Donate Your Weight chose CARE in part after watching this video:

When: This event takes place May 7, 2008, 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 EST.
Where: Your phone, your city, your choice.

Sign up today to get the call in number and access code and you'll instantly receive free bonus audios.

What Are You Telling Your Body?

I've just posted a new podcast about how little things make a big difference part two. Learn how your posture and body language impact your feelings and results. Make sure you're sending your body the right messages so you get the results you desire.

You can listen on-line here or subscribe to the show by going to www.donateyourweight.com/podcast.

If you have a story about how you changed your body language and changed your body or even if you just have a question or comment, post it here.

Clutter, Stress and Emotional Eating

This week's podcast kicks off a series of shows about how little things make a big difference. Stop right now and take a look around you. Are you surrounded by clutter or piles of paper that stress you out? If you're in a stress-provoking environment on a daily basis, it could be fueling your emotional eating which could be contributing to your struggles with weight and eating.

During the show I mention the book "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?". I'll admit, I haven't read the book but I did see the author, Peter Walsh on Oprah and he made some excellent comments and recommendations I'm sure you'll find helpful.

If you have a story about how clutter has impacted your weight and eating or if you have a question, please post it here.

Enjoy the show. If you haven't subsribed to the podcast yet, you can do so at www.donateyourweight.com/podcast.

Donate Your Weight at Shore Books in Long Beach

I had a wonderful time this Saturday signing my new book, Donate Your Weight at Shore Books in Long Beach. My friend Tina Tessina was also there signing her book, Money, Sex and Kids. We had a phenomenal turnout. We started the evening with a breif discussion and wrapped it up with a Q&A. I was very pleased to see that people remained seated and attentive as they added their thoughts and support about the Donate Your Weight program.

The room was overfull and some of the attendees sat in an auxilliary room as they listened to the discussion on a P.A. Good thing the owner had a sound system available. You can see more pictures at my Facebook page.
Photos by rinkrat.

Donate Your Weight Reviewed by Dr. Romance

Tina Tessina, PhD (aka Dr. Romance) reviewed Donate Your Weight on her blog today. She gave it a very favorable appraisal. She also said, "Sheri's book really helped me shed my anxiety about food, conquer my food rules, and get past my anger."Check it out >>>

Redefining Recovery: Getting beyond the behaviors of an eating disorder by Jenni Schaefer

"How would you define recovery in one word?” Kelly asked.

“Free,” I answered.

Kelly is a young woman struggling with an eating disorder. She was talking with me, because I am recovered from anorexia and bulimia. I have been there.

“Free” means a lot more than simply freedom from destructive behaviors with food. It means much more than just a life without bingeing, purging, and starving. That kind of a life is really not free at all.

“Free” also means independence from the unrelenting obsessions related to food and body image. It is a release from fear’s daily control. It means freedom to live life to its fullest.

Recovery encompasses every facet of life. When someone truly recovers from an eating disorder or any addiction, they get much more that just “not bingeing,” “not drinking,” or “not using.”

When I first began therapy for my eating disorder, I thought that my ultimate goal was to stop acting out with the negative behaviors surrounding food. I believed that my life would be magically transformed into something wonderful if I could just eat right. After years of hard work in recovery --- and lots of stumbling --- I did finally begin to “eat right.” I could not have been more wrong about eating right.

I should say that we could not have been more wrong. Other people in my life thought that I was better when I began eating better. They said that I looked “healthy,” and they were proud of me. I received lots of pats on the back, and ironically, I felt more destructive than ever. I looked healthy on the outside, but I was dying on the inside.

I had stopped using food, but not much else had changed in my life. In fact, without my eating disorder as a coping mechanism, I felt more lost and crazier than ever. I even started thinking about engaging in other addictive behaviors --- ones that had never crossed my mind before.

I asked myself, “If I can’t turn to food anymore, then what can I turn to?”

Switching addictions is not better. I almost switched. Thinking about food all of the time is not better. I thought about food twenty-four hours a day. Feeling constant despair, anger, and anxiety is not better. I felt all of these things. I was not better.

I could have easily been compared to a dry drunk. I had heard in Twelve Step meetings that a dry drunk is someone who has stopped drinking, but who still demonstrates the same alcoholic behaviors and attitudes. I was still engaging in the same thought processes of my eating disorder. Similar to the dry drunk state, these thought patterns eventually led to relapses back into eating disordered behaviors --- even more intensive and harmful. Although these behaviors seemed worse than ever, they no longer produced the same soothing, calming effect as previously.

I began to think, “Why did I fight so hard for this?”

Then I realized that I needed to keep fighting. My journey was not over. I had worked hard and learned a lot, but I needed to keep working. I needed to wrestle with my inner demons. I needed to connect with my higher power. Because recovery is not only physical, but it is also emotional, mental, and spiritual. It is about functioning in society and quality of life.

So I dove headfirst into therapy. I explored my spirituality. And I learned coping skills that helped me deal with life on life’s terms in healthy ways. I practiced experiencing my emotions (instead of stuffing or starving them) and realized that feelings do pass in time. I combined self-compassion with genuine self-care to discover self-acceptance. I fell down lots on my journey to this acceptance, but I trusted my support team of friends, family members, and professionals to help me get back up each time. I trusted myself.

Recovery is about uncovering passions and learning to have fun. It is being able to sit still and live in one’s body. Recovery is about seeking balance, having a voice, and letting go of perfection. It is letting go of the fear of judgment from others. And it is much more.

Recovery is more than a standardized textbook definition or some insurance company’s criteria. It encompasses all areas of life and is personal to each individual.

Kelly asked me how I would define recovery in one word.

“Free,” I answered.

I am free.

Jenni Schaefer is a singer/songwriter, speaker, and the author of Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too (McGraw-Hill). She is a consultant and spokesperson with Center for Change in Orem, Utah. For more information, visit http://www.jennischaefer.com/ or email jenni@jennischaefer.com.