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 
Hello, thank you for this post. I have never heard any rumors about you. I’m sorry strangers feel that it’s ok to judge you and be rude to you. It’s an unfortunate side effect of the internet- people are jackasses online.
I am glad to hear that you have a healthy relationship to food, exercise, and weight. It is very hard to balance these factors, especially for women in our culture. We should be propping each other up. If someone is concerned about someone else’s health they have 2 options- mind their own business or try to help. I decide depending on how well I know someone. …And we don’t know you at all.
Thanks for the recipes. You help me fight my sweet tooth. I eat too much sugar (candy at least twice a day) and it’s not good for my health. I love yummy noms that are healthy too!
I love your website! I love that I can eat chocolate in healthful ways with your recipes. I also love that you provide options in your recipes as I can’t find some of the more obscure ingredients in the country I live in. I wish people (particularly in North America) would stop pressuring themselves and shaming others into adopting these crazy diets. One of the things I love about your blog is that it promotes a more holistic view of nutrition and eating, not cutting everything out, but consuming good ingredients, in moderation. Thanks!
Hi Katie,
I find this post really well written and smart. It’s beautiful to see someone answering to the negativity online with such maturity and grace. I’m a follower of your Pinterest board and a big fan of the healthy sweets you create, as I have a sweet tooth myself.
Lots of love from Finland <3
I found your site a while back because a friend suggested I try your recipes as I’m lactose intolerant and can’t have eggs. Your recipes are healthy and really good. I don’t care what you look like and I think that anyone who is gossip mongering about you had some serious issues of their own. Thanks for giving me a healthy choice for all my allergies! I love when there are new ones to try!! Keep up the great work!
Well…everyone’s always got an opinion 🙂 take it with a grain of salt. I love all of your creative recipes and I am always checking out your blog/website. Keep up the great work girl! I think you’re awesome at any weight 🙂
Katie,
Your blog is truly inspirational and if mean (or even fat) people cannot stand the idea that someone can be skinny, can eat healthy sweets and not have an eating disorder it really is nothing you should be worried about.
Please know you help many people to live a healthier life. Thank you so much :))
Best (from Brazil),
Nathalie
Katie, you are exquisite! Never dull your shine to suit others! You’re an inspiration and so brave to put yourself out there and share your passion! I applaud you! What people say, says more about them than it does about you! Keep shining!
Thanks so much for your wonderful healthy and tasty recipes. I commend you for forging ahead and continuing to be your honest self. I’m guessing the cruel comments you’ve received come from unhappy girls who haven’t learned to be comfortable in their own skin. Maybe someday… Anyway, I love how your sense of humor comes through in your writing. All the best to you. Melissa
I love your sense of clam, and how you obviously don’t care. That’s an inspiration. You’re obviously not anorexic. Maybe people are only saying that because they are so engrossed in their wonder crash diets that they can’t understand how real foods could ever be part of a healthy diet.
Awww you are so cute…I wish my 2 sons could meet you…I want to say that all those comments about you are people who are just jealous…they don’t know what to do with their hurts…I always say hurt people hurt people. So good on you for ignoring all those comments and press on 😀
ps I looooove chocolate too so I am glad to find your website…I already copied a bunch of your recipes. Thanks for all your hard work.
I find you absolutely lovely… inside and out. Wonderful positive body image message!!!!
#fatslug bahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I was honestly reading your intro about eating cake for breakfast and yeah I saw your photo and wondered myself. But, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you are happy and healthy. In my opinion you look beautiful. I love your recipes too I am a new vegan who has struggled with an eating disorder myself and Im inspired to cook more of the right things. Keep being awesome ☺
I have been thin all my life and have always eaten whatever I wanted. Many more curvaceous women have always asked “don’t you eat anything?” assuming I couldn’t be thin without starving myself. It was just how I was born and I didn’t take it for granted, nor did I flaunt it. It was just how it was. Fast forward several years, being thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy. I recently adopted a whole-food, low-fat, low-sugar diet in lieu of taking medication. Needless to say, I dropped 13 lbs in 2 weeks, while eating as much as I want. Not what I wanted to do, but I am certain any woman, thin, curvaceous, whatever they may be would get the same results. My 2 cents!! Anyway, I love your recipes!! I can’t wait to try ALL of them.
Happy to hear about your journey, Katie. I’ve been following your blog casually for about two and a half years now (since I started college) and your recipes gave me hope that the road to weight loss would not be paved with deprivation.
Unfortunately, although I appreciate and support all you’ve done, and I will always come here first when I need a potluck recipe, I have to admit that two years of studying nutrition and dietetics, exercising regularly and eating holistically and moderately didn’t help me lose weight. My experience with assault, depression, and a subsequent eating disorder helped me lose weight. The reality is some people just aren’t born with what are considered to be natural and healthy “good looks”. I “look good” now because I have suffered, and it has utterly changed my perception of dieting fads and the beautiful women on Women’s Health Mag telling me that I don’t have to starve and I don’t have to run myself into the ground. I did. Some of us do. It is unfair and disheartening but no one ever said the world wasn’t any of these things.
Katie, you are always my go to for great desserts, I didn’t know about the rumours until I went to Google your chocolate chip pb balls last night and it auto filled a few things… I just wanted to tell you that you are beautiful and I absolutely love your site. Xo
you are the cutest fat slug ive ever seen. keep sliming and smiling, slugger