Straight from the source: former patient recalls her struggle with an eating disorder

Katie Seal, a former McCallum Place patient, was recently featured in a St. Louis Post Dispatch article about her struggle with an eating disorder. We commend Katie for bravely discussing her road to recovery, and hope that her story inspires others to do the same.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

10 tips to enjoy a recovery-focused holiday

It’s that time of year again. Pitfalls to your eating disorder lurk around every corner, whether it's a plethora of holiday parties, cookies at the office, eggnog at the neighbors or grandma’s homemade fudge. Below are some tips to have a happy and healthy holiday season: 

1. Eat regularly throughout the day.  Avoid “saving” or “banking” your calories in order to indulge at holiday parties. Arriving famished to an event pretty much guarantees an evening of poor choices.
2. Practice mindful eating habits. Eat slowly and take breaks. Remember, it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know it’s full. 
3. Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep increases cravings for sugary “fixes”.  In addition, adequate rest enables you to manage holiday stressors and avoid emotional eating.    
4. Use portion control. Portioning your food can be a helpful strategy when faced with an abundance of foods.
5. Control your environment. You are more likely to overeat or feel overwhelmed if you are socializing near the appetizer and treats. Involve a supportive person to help you manage stress at holiday gatherings.
6. Allow yourself to say “no thank you”. It is perfectly reasonable to politely refuse food. Don’t let “food pushers” sabotage your efforts to make positive choices during the holiday season. 
7. Bring a dish you feel comfortable eating to your holiday parties. Your family and friends will likely welcome another option. 
8. Make an effort to maintain exercise routines. Regular exercise will help manage holiday stress and it may promote positive body image.
9. Limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol stimulates your appetite and decreases your ability to practice mindful eating habits.
10. Divert your attention. Focus on catching up with family and friends, rather than the food.  Holiday activities, games, and dancing are nice alternatives to focusing on food.      

This article was contributed by Kate Evett, RD, LD, lead dietitian at McCallum Place Eating Disorder Treatment Programs. Visit us online at www.McCallumPlace.com.

How “the talking cure” helped Diane Keaton overcome her struggle with bulimia

Legendary actress Diane Keaton has been getting a lot of press recently after she opened up about her struggle with bulimia in her 20’s. In her new memoir, Keaton admits that when she started out in show business her poor self-image drove her to bulimia. Her weight loss started a five-year battle with this serious eating disorder. 

Keaton sat down with Ellen Degeneres last week and opened up about her struggle with bulimia. After undergoing psychotherapy – what she called the 'talking cure' – Keaton said she one day realized that she did not want to binge any more. When asked to elaborate on how this therapy helped her, she explained, “Because I talked. I spoke it out. I said my thoughts and feelings. And I feel like, once you do that, you own it as opposed to, if you don`t talk about it, it becomes very abstract. To keep secrets doesn’t help you at all,” she said. “I think I'm a sister to all the rest of the women -- and I'm sure men as well -- who have had some kind of eating disorder, and I'm a part of the team.”

From a clinical perspective, the effectiveness of psychotherapy resides in its process - that of unveiling and making sense of motives, thoughts, behaviors, emotions, experiences and perceptions via talking with a psychotherapist.  This is what Keaton refers to as the ‘talking cure.’ The ‘cure’ comes in part through awareness but also through using newfound awareness to change old patterns and explore healthy ways of expressing oneself and getting one’s needs met.

At McCallumPace, a St. Louis eating disorder treatment center, psychotherapy is one of many tools used to effectively help those who struggle with emotional overeating, binge eating disorder, anorexia, and bulimia.  For those seeking help but do not feel they need an intensive treatment program, weekly psychotherapy sessions with one of Webster Wellness’s highly skilled psychotherapists is another option. Visit

www.websterwellnessprofessionals.com to schedule an appointment today.