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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a well-renowned, board certified obstetrician-gynecologist, Julie M. Jacobstein, M.D., about her personal and professional experiences with eating disorders, athletes, and body image. It is extremely important to hear the perspective of qualified, successful members of society in hopes to continue raising awareness, educating others, and openly discussing these prevalent issues. In this case, Dr. Jacobstein is a physician who works with women and girls everyday, has kids of her own, and personally experienced pressures surrounding body type throughout her own life. I feel so fortunate to know such an amazing woman, a role model to myself and many, andRead More →

How To Be A Friend To Someone Battling An Eating Disorder

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She lives in Detroit. I live in Baltimore. She is a physician. I am home with my kids. She has two girls. I have two boys. Her kids are mild-mannered. Mine are not so much. She is Catholic. I am Jewish. She is calm and laid back. I am hyper and impulsive. The saying holds true… Opposites do attract. There has not been a time I have come to Detroit to visit my family that I have not seen her. She has made the trip to Baltimore to spend time with us, and to see my new life there. She was a matron of honorRead More →

Pregnant and Told Not to Exercise

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Let me preface this piece with a story that I will never forget. In fact, it’s the reason I struggle to write about pregnancy, knowing the issues many encounter throughout the entire experience. I was only dying to conceive; to test positive when taking a pregnancy test; to have a third child. And, though it’s an extremely personal part of our lives, it finally happened. And, then, it failed. I miscarried. To try to take my mind off of it for even a minute, I scheduled a manicure for the following day. As I sat in the chair struggling to catch my breath from sadness,Read More →

Erin Konheim Mandras - Kick the Scale Blog

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Cross-posted to Kveller.com My husband and I took a trip away this past weekend, just the two of us, without the kids. This, in itself, is a rarity, and something we needed, enjoyed, and did not take for granted. I love my children, but even I needed a break from hearing the morning screams of, “Mommy!!!”, the temper tantrums, and hearing brothers fight over a stupid toy that, I swear, neither of them really wants to play with anyway. Our lives as a couple picked up right back to the days before kids. We roamed the streets of Boston for hours and scoped out someRead More →

Cross Fit Trainer Pregnant

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My friend shared an article with me the other night from Fox News. Just from the title of the article that was published in Self, I felt fired up, empathetic, and extremely emotional. “CrossFit trainer receiving backlash for lifting more than 90 pounds while pregnant.” The article reads, “Though Breeze has assured her followers that she’s been listening to her doctor’s advice as far as fitness is concerned, many have said they’re worried she’s jeopardizing the health of her pregnancy by maintaining such an active life in the gym.” I have two kids, which means I have experienced the lengthy, physically and emotionally challenging moments of pregnancy…twice. And,Read More →

Erin Konheim Mandras - Kick the Scale blog

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I was twenty weeks pregnant with my first child. At 26 years old, on top of the stressful, anxiety-ridden experience of pregnancy, I decided to apply for a new position: the head coaching job at University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC). It was clear that after six years of assistant coaching, I was prepared and ready to take on the new roll of head coach. In addition, being a head coach for a Division I university was, once, my dream. My husband and family encouraged me to apply, go through the process, and do everything possible to get the offer. However, at the same time, I wasRead More →

amy-schumer-plus-size-glamour-body-image

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I remember the day when I was categorized as obese so I totally get what’s going through Amy Schumer’s mind after being included in a Plus-Size issue of Glamour Magazine. I remember that day as if were yesterday. I went to the doctor for a physical, as a child, with my mom, and I did the usual. I stepped on the scale to be weighed, and then backed up against the wall to have my height measured. I was 5-feet-and-one-inch tall, which is still my current height today. I weighed 126 pounds, which is the weight I have attempted to maintain for the last several years.Read More →

wentworth-miller-depression

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In a world of full of people, I never felt so alone. Eating disorders are complex. They often coexist with other physical and psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, obsessive behavior, or substance abuse problems. At the time I developed an eating disorder, I was, also, diagnosed with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. I had not only lost a significant amount of weight, but I developed compulsive rituals connected to food, and was obsessed with calorie restriction and weighing myself. Depression plagued me. I was not consuming enough food to maintain a healthy body weight, and I was shameful of how sickly thin I appeared.Read More →

Jewish and an Athlete - How it led to my downfall

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My last post about being an athlete and being Jewish may not have discussed body image or eating issues directly, but the challenges I faced related to being different from my peers were added stresses in my younger years. Eating disorders can develop as a result of many different causes, whether psychological, environmental, or biological factors. In my case, my eating disorder began when the pressures in my life became so overwhelming, and unbearable, that I clearly wasn’t able to cope, other than turning to food and exercise. As I reflect on specific scenarios in my childhood, I am able to identify experiences that caused immenseRead More →

Jewish Athlete Hall of Fame

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We say athletes come in all shapes and sizes; so, wouldn’t it make sense that culture and religion among athletes is equally as diverse? From my personal experiences, I always felt like the only Jewish kid in school who played competitive sports, outside of school and community leagues, and the only player on my travel and competitive soccer teams who was Jewish. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, similar to that of any other city’s area where a large population of Jews migrated and settled. It almost seemed like any other religion outside of Judaism was a complete minority. Clearly, these types ofRead More →