Download a transcript of this episode here
Featuring guest: Amy Kubal
Want some extra help? Have you been trying Paleo for a while but have questions or aren’t sure what the right exercise program is for you? Or maybe you just want a 30-day meal plan and shopping list to make things easier? We’ve created a getting started guide to help you through your first 30 days.
Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and 2X New York Times/Wall Street Journal Best-selling author of The Paleo Solution and Wired To Eat. Along with Diana Rodgers, he co-authored the book, Sacred Cow, which explains why well-raised meat is good for us and good for the planet. Robb has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world via his top-ranked iTunes podcast, books, and seminars. He also co-founded the 1st and 4th CrossFit affiliate gyms in the world, The Healthy Rebellion community platform, and is the co-founder of DrinkLMNT Electrolytes.
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As someone who has struggled with anorexia for over 20 years I thank you Amy for being so candid and open about your battle. I loved your honesty and willingness to share. But I wish you would have offered sources of “paleo help” for people who struggle. Eating disorder organizations along with the vast majority of dieticians are completely in bed with the ADA and their “my plate”/”all foods can fit” mentality. I’ve been subjected to far too many dieticians who extol the benefits of whole grains while sipping down big-gulp cups of (fat free!) pepsi. And don’t even get me started on all that Ensure crap I’ve had pumped down my nose!! It would be nice to find some real help.
Annie,
I understand your frustrations, but for those of us with severe eating and food issues sometimes the healthiest things for our minds and bodies aren’t Paleo. My recent recovery involved lots of non-paleo things and that’s exactly what I needed. I was forced to let go of control, and in our worlds, any sort of food restriction = control. I ate oatmeal for breakfast this morning and that’s okay – in fact, that’s exactly what I needed to do. I hope and pray that you realize that these ED organizations and dietitians are, in fact helpful. They are lifesavers.
Amy, you are the strongest woman I know. I’m glad you decided to head south despite the weather, but I may be biased.
Rachael, you are so sweet,and I’ll take some bias… 😉
I can’t begin to thank you enough for opening up this conversation, Amy. Really. Thank you.
You know, it’s crazy—I vividly remember being a preteen reading that damn girl book. I know exactly what page you referred to. I can still clearly imagine those pictures and the captions/descriptions.
I felt like I could relate to every statement you made from the first minute to the last minute of the podcast. Control, control, control! Identity! Coping! Fear!
I sure hope this helps others out there who can also relate. We need to tackle this.
Thank you!
Well, I never thought a health-based podcast would bring me to tears, but this one did! Bravo, Amy, for putting yourself out there. I’m sure that was not an easy thing to do so you should be so proud of yourself! Thanks to Robb for bringing you onto the podcast. Good job and best of luck in your journey!
I have been following this podcast for years and by far this was the my favorite one. Amy, your openness to discussing this was courageous and inspiring. It points out the importance of having people that care about you enough to really help. You are very blessed to have people like Robb to help. Keep up the good work and keep inspiring people.
Thank you, John! And yes, I am very, very blessed to have such wonderful, supportive and caring people in my life. I thank God for them every single day! 🙂
I don’t have what I’d call an eating disorder, but I can relate to some of what was said about weighed & measured Zone stuff. For several months while cleaning up my diet I carefully logged every mouthful of food using LoseIt. I didn’t intend to track calories, but instead to learn what makes me feel healthier and feel full faster. It was awesome while I was still losing weight, but after a few months good old homeostasis kicked in and the weight loss stalled. But I kept logging my food for months after that. Worked so hard sticking to the diet plan, put up with all the food logging… And nothing. Month after month of nothing. Just confirmation of earlier discoveries about how my satiety triggers work. And LoseIt harping every day about what a pig I was for eating so damn much.
A few years later I just can’t do it. Can’t go down that rabbit hole anymore. I can use nutrient trackers on a short term basis to develop recipes and meal plans, and I can use a digital scale to figure out what so-many grams of something look like visually. (Or to divide leftovers up evenly.) But then I have to set it all aside and enjoy my food in peace. Daily weighing, measuring, tracking, logging – it always feels like I’m slipping back into a very weird eating disorder.
Don’t get me started about the USDA SuperTracker’s obsession with shaming users for the “empty calories” in their boiled eggs… Yep, gotta be careful lest we do more harm than good.
Question: What should we do if we suspect a friend might have an eating disorder? Let’s say a young lady shows hints of anorexia or bulimia but no convincing evidence yet. What signs should we watch for, and what’s the best way to proceed if it does turn out to be the case?
Amy, I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to hear your story on the podcast. I’ve been struggling with an eating disorder for most of my life, and unwilling to face the reality of my situation. Thank you so very much for speaking on such a delicate subject. Hearing your story has *finally* given me the push I needed to move forward with treatment. I wish you well!
Thank you for sharing your story. There is such stigma surrounding eating disorders that it is nice to hear a candid view of it. I also struggled with an ED, but late into adulthood (though my brain has never been “right” with food). Your story is my story and everyone else’s who has struggled. You gave wonderful insights to those who have never struggled. I also often compare myself to an alcoholic when it comes to food. I appreciated you offering that comparison while you were recovering as well. Thank you for putting yourself out there!
Thanks Amy,
I’ve been sober for 5 years (alcohol). Although my life has radically changed from where I was, it’s always a great boost to hear someone speak with candor about their struggles. I consider eating disorders and drug addiction to be pretty similar from talking with people who have experienced them. I sometimes tell people who are/were anorexic that I had a drinking disorder and it seems to lighten the mood. I hope you are well. Thanks for this podcast. Made my day!
Thank you for your sharing Amy. That took a lot of courage and strength. I hope to have that kind of courage to tell my story some day. Although, my food issues aren’t quite the same as yours, there is a lot I can relate to. I really did use sugar as a drug for most of my life, I was no different than the alcoholic or cocaine addict. It was how I tried to cover up my fear, anxiety, depression, boredom, stress, etc. I even had the sugar hangovers a lot. I would go in cycles of gaining 12 pounds in a month with ice cream and then recovering for two months to get the weight down. But by the end of the two months, I was a basket case and I would be right back into the sugar. I have now been away from sugar for 19 months, I did a lot of work dealing with past hurts, hang ups and habits. And I found support with that journey. It’s not an easy journey, there were days I just wanted to die but it’s worth it. I’m just starting to truly enjoying healthy food for probably the first time in my life. I’m really not sure I was tasting all that much when I was on a binge. I also now have a number of food allergies, that will be a recovery process in it’s self but I’m eating the autoimmune paleo diet with guidance from a naturopath. I feel healthier now then I have for years. And the best is yet to come, it just takes time.
Robb, you might as well quit now because you will never have a better podcast than this one. This was just fantastic, I don’t think I have ever learned as much in such a short period of time.
Amy, thank you. Your struggle to understand the mechanism of what happened to you will help countless people because you are so good at explaining it.
Lloyd,
This comment has solidified 2014 as the best year of my life. Thank you! 🙂
Good interview though Amy wishing for cancer is misguided. She said that she had wished that she had cancer so that people would want to be her friend instead of just thinking she was a freak. Though I understand what she was trying to say it is not that simple and a bit ignorant. When I had stage IV testicular cancer at 16 almost all of my friends became afraid of me. They were afraid to talk to me or engage me. Most of them avoided me. I realize having a more recognizable disease seems more romantic, but trust me, it isn’t.
Thank you to both Robb and Amy for this podcast. I both laughed (“do you have a tapeworm?”) and cried while completely identifying with everything that was discussed. Exercise bulimia and disordered eating is a topic that is far too often overlooked and even encouraged at times by “fitness” professionals. The real-life discussion during this podcast will hopefully help a lot of people realize that there is a lot more to life than counting every calorie or macronutrient. It certainly helped me.
One of your best podcasts, and I’d count myself among the original six listeners. Just hearing the spiritual/emotional growth you both have been throught was sweet. Thank you bith for being so raw.