How do other people recover into a world that hasn't recovered from its own eating disorder? How do others binge less and love their body more in this thin obsessed world? Listen to this Love Food episode featuring words from a previous letter writer who wants to share the steps they've taken. Subscribe and leave a review here in just seconds. This episode is brought to you by my courses: PCOS and Food Peaceand Dietitians PCOS and Food Peace. You CAN make peace with food even with PCOS and I want to show you how.  thirdwheelEDis a social media advocacy platform that raises awareness of eating disorders in LGBTQ+ communities. Started by a queer couple whose writing addresses the intersectionality of eating disorders and body image, including gender dysphoria; a queer identity; trauma; and gender identity and expression, CJ and OJ provide a dual perspective of eating disorder recovery through the lens of a nonbinary person in recovery and of a nontraditional family carer, who just happens to also be a registered dietitian! CJ and OJ would love to work with eating disorder professionals on cultivating inclusive treatment for eating disorders in LGBTQ+ communities and are available to discuss training, webinars, and speaking engagements. You can follow them on instagram, facebook, and twitter @thirdwheeled or email them at info@thirdwheeled.com. This episode's Dear Food letter: Dear Food, I wrote you back in episode #64, and so much in our relationship has changed since then that I wanted to write you again. I was so terrified when I wrote that letter, so scared of what lay ahead and unsure of whether I could do what needed to be done to recover from a lifetime of disordered eating that had left me at rock bottom. But I write you today saying that I am on the other side of that mountain, and sometimes I still can’t believe it. It’s not perfect, and never will be. But that is the beauty of life, we will always struggle, and there is beauty and meaning and so much learning in that struggle. So I wrote you, and Julie and Judith Matz discussed the contents of my letter with such care, kindness and compassion. It meant so much to me, and I felt more validated that my struggle was real, and that I needed help. I ended up finding a wonderful eating disorder therapist in my hometown. She was a huge support during the really hard parts of my recovery, and helped me to challenge my beliefs and made me realize - or at least begin to digest the fact - that my worth as a woman and a person in this world does not depend on the size of my body. I have to say that when I wrote that first letter, I never thought I’d be able to internalize that as truth. I wanted to share the three pivotal parts of my journey. And my intention here is to try to speak to those who feel as I did back then: that there was no way I could ever stop dieting, and there was no chance that I could accept my body if it was not thin. For those who feel as scared as I did, I want to let them know that it is possible, and there truly is freedom on the other side. It involves taking some big risks, lots of trust in the process, as well as grit, patience and commitment. The first part of my journey involved letting go of all rules around food - which was terrifying - literally like jumping off a cliff and hoping that I'd be okay on the other side. I would say for me, this took a few years, and the beginning was so rough. It felt out of control and so awful at first, and I just had to keep going and trust that I would be okay. Over time, things slowly started to shift, to the point where today, I literally eat whatever I want. I no longer question my food choices, and rarely feel regret over what I’ve eaten. I crave healthy food a lot more than I ever thought I would, and when I want treats, I don’t think twice. I have ice cream and chocolate and cookies in my house all the time, and often don’t even think about them. My hunger and fullness signals are so much stronger than