Addressing the elephant in the room.
It’s not something I ever wanted to address; the subject of eating disorders has nothing to do with my website nor what I stand for, which is why I’ve let the rumors go unchallenged for so long.
But readers have recently been leaving an even higher number of weight-related comments than usual, now calling me both too thin and too fat. (I’ve even been called pregnant and anorexic in the same post.)
As I know girls are using photos of me for “thinspiration” and citing my blog as a reason it’s okay to eat 100 calories a day and starve down to 70 pounds…
I feel addressing it at this point is the right thing to do.
If you’ve ever googled “chocolate covered katie,” you’ve probably seen the search engine’s lovely (I say this facetiously) list of related searches, which includes “chocolate covered katie anorexic” and “chocolate covered katie eating disorder.”
It’s self-perpetuating: curiosity will cause people to click on the terms, and therefore the suggested searches will most likely never disappear.
Although I don’t have an eating disorder and have always eaten well, I did have an unhealthy relationship with exercise in the past that took a toll on both my appearance and mental health.
While I’d thought I was happy during those years and was technically healthy—with normal lab work and a good relationship with food—the over-exercising was sabotaging my efforts to gain the curves I desired. I wouldn’t allow myself to entertain the possibility my running routine could be partially responsible for my inability to gain weight.
When I finally did make the choice to give up running (that story is linked above), I gained about 10-15 pounds quickly, easily, and happily. Imagine discovering, almost overnight, that you suddenly have the body you’d always wanted.
Looking back, I wonder why I didn’t realize sooner the extreme exercise was not the healthiest thing for me: it had become a source of stress in my life and was draining me of energy, which was manifest in my appearance.
I am a million and a half times happier now, and it shows.
It’s difficult to make guesses about a person’s life simply by looking at a photograph or by judging his or her online persona.
No, my life is not all about food; and yes, I occasionally do indulge in “unhealthy” meals and desserts. I just don’t post about these occasions because it isn’t relevant to the theme of my website.
Hateful things are written on the internet under a cloak of anonymity, and it’s unfortunately women putting down other women all too often, writing words they would never feel comfortable saying in real life.
In my years of blogging, I’ve been called everything from “skeleton” to “fat slug” to “anorexic with a boob job” (neither of which is true; but even if they were, would it mean someone had any less worth as a human being?). The comments eventually forced me to realize my self worth needs to come from something other than the opinion of a stranger on the internet.
The routineness with which I receive these acrimonious messages has at least given me the ability to shrug them off.
Although… when I saw the “fat slug” comment, I could not stop laughing.
I completely stopped reading the internet rumors and conspiracy theories about myself a long time ago, even if that means letting some false claims about my life go unchallenged. While I could defend myself against the rumors, doing so would become a full-time job, and I’d rather focus my time elsewhere.
The people who know me in real life are easily able to tell the truth, which is all that matters.
However, the one thing I feel I do need to clear up is that anyone who tells you my blog promotes eating disorders is grossly mistaken. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Chocolate Covered Recipes have healthy fats, whole grains, and real-food (non-artificial) ingredients, and you’ll never find me promoting dangerous cleanses, calorie restriction, or touting any one food as a “miracle” cure.
I’ve turned down so many high-paying offers from companies to promote such things on the blog.
In consideration of the readers with a medical need, lower-calorie and sugar-free options are included in my posts when available. But the recipes are not specifically “diet” choices; just healthier choices, and you can choose the ingredient options that suit your own personal needs.
I go further into detail on this topic in my Chocolate Covered Katie FAQ Page.
Please, the next time you read any kind of gossip online, take a moment to consider the source before believing it as fact. And if you ever come across something written about me that you don’t understand, please always feel free to ask.
I’m one of the most candid and open people you could ever meet, and I don’t get embarrassed easily. If a stranger really wanted to know everything about my life, I’d have no problem leaving in every detail.
At the risk of sounding clichéd… all of the stupid mistakes I’ve made in my life have made me who I am today, and I’m not embarrassed about a single one.
If you want to use me as thinspiration, keep in mind that the thinspiration you are using is a healthy woman who eats a balanced diet heavy in calories, healthy fats, and carbs.
I’d hope that what people can get out of my blog is the message it’s important to treat your body kindly; to nourish it with real-food ingredients; to truly enjoy the foods you are eating; and to take in enough calories for the strength and energy to live your best life possible.
No crash dieting. No cutting out food groups. No starving. Please take good care of yourselves. ♥
I also wanted to write this post because I know there are many other girls out there (and guys too) who receive similar online comments. To anyone who might need to hear it, please do not take any of the messages you receive to heart.
Most often, people just like to write things online because they can (especially if it’s anonymous), and it has nothing to do with your worth, no matter whether you are underweight, overweight, or have anything else about your physical appearance that makes you feel insecure or less than.
Now, can we put this subject to rest and get back to the food?
I’m going to hashtag this photo #fatslug 
Hi Katie. I’ve read your blog for a veeeery long time and used your recipe regularly. I love how you represent the content of your blog and your personality. I think I can figure out that you are a patient, loving young lady who loves cooking :p lol
All I want to say is, first, thank you to advocate your time to write such beautiful things in your blog for us your readers (and girl fans lol) and second, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP GIRL!!! Don’t worry about those rumors and rude comments. You know, there is a saying silence is gold and it is true that a dog must always bark louder to get an attention. In bottom line: IGNORE IT! I know full well from beginning you are a completely normal -healthy, happy girl who just mind your own business and keeping in touch with people around the world. I think the one who should be labelled as a “psycho” and has a “mental disorder” instead of “eating disorder” are people who uses you deliberately as a “thinspiration” figure and verbally abuse you. Those people should be ashamed and readjust their life a lot better. One thing that I can see is jealousy! I mean what else? You are pretty, funny, great cooks (Oh yes I can tell from your recipe and my results gurlll) and has a lovely smile. Just do what you love and move on. Trust me, I’ve experience the worst of all: both mentally and physically bullied. The more I reacted the more suffer from the perpetrator’s acts. I don’t know whether you will read this comment or not among many others. But if you do, I’d love to read your reply 🙂
Hope you have a great day! God Bless xx
P.S: I laugh so hard when people calling each other names and talking rubbish. It shows how silly they are. Great entertainment isn’t it? Also, it shows how low their education level is. (MUAHAHA I SOUND LIKE A CRUEL SARCASTIC GIRL NOW LOL)
Very well said, Katie. It is sad to know that there are so many out there who take so much time posting hate on blogs and people trying to do what they love, whether it be write about a weight loss journey, review beauty products, or cook amazing, healthy versions of delicious sweet treats. You handled this with such calm and grace, and it helps remind bloggers like myself how to handle situations like this should they ever come up. Thank you for being a beautiful woman, inside and out.
Thanks for this post Katie!
Although you really are not responsible for clarifying untruths that others spread, you did so eloquently and addressed the major issue of overexercising at the same time. Finding the healthy balance of enough exercise, but not excessive is important for many.
Thanks again for your truth and best always!
Renee
Katie you are absolutely beautiful and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise! What an amazing post. You truly inspire me. I love your blog!
LOVE this post and your blog. LOVE!
I know at least one of the hater forums you were talking about, and you should rest assured that any normal person who reads through their crap (as I did once out of curiosity) will just laugh at the stupidity!
I think they all have eating disorders or other issues, so they are finding parallels to their own experiences and mistaking that for evidence you are more like them than you actually are. They need to find something better to do with all that time they’re wasting! It’s pathetic!
What a perfectly written post (& response to the haters)! You are simply stunning & people are always going to have something nasty to say about everyone & everything. What I’ve realized is that with the internet as their weapon, people are so much more “brave” to say terrible things then they’d ever say in person. I’m SO GLAD you promote healthy fats, good food choices & being kind to your own body! I had a sister that struggled severely with eating disorders & it wrecked havoc on her body & mind. We should all be SUPPORTING each other & giving love instead of tearing one another down. Have a great day, Katie! xoxo
You handled this so well! I totally know how annoying and frustrating it is to get people making up stories about you online — I deal with it (and ignore it) all the time!!
I am very sorry people say mean things. As someone who was anorexic in high school, the thought that you may be anorexic never, ever crossed my mind. You look too good to be anorexic! LOL. I had horrible thin hair because it fell out, I couldn’t stand up because i was so weak and tired. I was sleeping all the time because I wasn’t getting all the nutrients I needed. For someone to say you anorexic means they have no clue what a real anorexic person looks like. You have shiny hair, clear skin, and I can tell it is from healthy eating, not from starving yourself. I had dark circles under my eyes a sunken face, grey skin. When others body shame, calling people anorexic when they are clearly not, it detracts from the real people who are dealing with a serious disorder and who need help and aren’t getting it. Anorexia isn’t being thin, it is slowly killing yourself. Clearly you are not doing that (I am don’t mean for this post to take a depressing turn, but for those who don’t recognize what anorexia is, it may help)
But anyway, I follow your blog for the great recipes and because I had a daughter allergic to nuts and eggs and she can enjoy treats that are better than her friends! I don’t know you, but you are really the ONLY blog I follow, mostly because you seem very down to earth. So keep going, and I am glad you don’t let those silly people get to you. It is sad that people want to bring others down (and honestly I will say I am one of those people who does at times get jealous, because I am human, but I keep it to myself – posting mean things to others just adds a whole level of desperation and sadness)
Keep posting your recipes please!
Aw thank you 🙂
Love this post, and your recipes. Thank you for sharing!