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 
You are such an amazing person, Katie, and this post only solidifies my belief of that. You go, girl! And do please – get back to the food 🙂 I love your recipes SO MUCH; I think I have some of them memorized by now!!!
You look fabulous and wonderful!
It’s awesome that you take the high road and keep rocking!
Katie, I have been a reader of your blog for a little while now and I have to say I am shocked that people really said those things to you. I have read the more candid personal posts about your exercise issues and I always found your honesty refreshing. I myself struggle work losing weight, have all my life, so I understand the cruelty that’s out there. Internet trolls are everywhere and I picture them as really insecure people, kudos to you for not letting it get to you because your right, those people would never say it to your face. I think you’re beautiful and I truly appreciate you taking the time and effort to tweak these recipes so that we all can have some delicious things to go to on those occasions when we just need something (underline something) but don’t wanna have too much guilt involved, haha. Let the haters hate, we love you!
Katie, thank you for the awesome recipes, I love trying them out and hope that eating them and exercising in a healthy way can make me a better and stronger person. You are a rock star for rising past the nay-sayers. Keep on posting – lots of us out here really appreciate all you do and share. Thanks again!!
The internet can be such a sad, fake place to be — and insecure people love to use it to make themselves feel better without revealing who they actually are. Way to stand up and be vulnerable! I love that your blog is full of real food that tastes really good. 🙂
Ugh!! There always has to be a SLUG somewhere trying to ruin somebody else’s glory!! You are beautiful! You know you are. Pretty much everyone on this post is telling you that you are. It is such a shame that you actually had to address this…people can be pretty sick! Your blog is explicitly a happy + healthy place with great recipes that are good for both the body and soul, I’m so sorry that you had to deal with this; because for the majority of your readers, you are definitely somebody to look up to and inspire to be like! Thanks for being so honest. xxx
Katie,
I have been a fan for about 2 years now and have made many of your recipes. My (almost) 10 year old son has requested your cookie pie for his birthday cake three years in a row, and of course he can have three pieces in an afternoon! He is a beanpole and I often have to deal with cracks from other parents (“what do you feed him, cheerios and water?” Yes of course… [eye roll])
I want to thank you for being a positive inspiration to eat well and enjoy life (isn’t that a brand?). I wish I had known someone like you when I was younger and maybe I wouldn’t have the issues I do today.
When I was 12, I was fat. Fat, fat. I learned unhealthy habits from a woman whose daughter I babysat. She would have nothing but fat free and low fat stuff in her house and her pantry looked like half of GNC was in it. Because I was there every day, I started following her example, food wise. One day I asked if I could nose around the supplements she had and she basically told me, in no uncertain terms, to go nuts. I started combining this fat burner with that fat burner, taking 6 of one and 3 of another at the same time. I got skinny in no time, and I thought I looked great.
Fast forward 20 years (omg, has it really..?). I eat well, 6 meals a day, good carbs, white meat, fruits, veggies, no gluten. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week and lift heavy to failure. I love chest pressing 50lbs and seeing admiration in my boyfriend’s face. So what’s the problem? My body fat percentage. I am the epitome of skinny fat. Size 4, 30% BF (20% is normal for a woman; I am technically obese). I am an anomaly and no one can figure out what’s wrong with me. I am “healthy as a horse” as three doctors have told me. Mixing and overdosing on fat burners and pills as a kid has shot my metabolism. I eat and lift to stay where I am. No one knows if I will ever get below 30% BF; I’ve been here for years. I despise the way I look, I never wear shorts or a bathing suit, I can’t wear cute dresses. And no one can help me, unless I go the drastic plastic surgery route.
My point is, please continue the way you’re going and pay no mind to the haters. You are a very good, positive role model, one that I certainly look up to. Your website is pinned to my “most visited” bar right behind my email. I cite you to all my friends who want to have sweets without the guilt, and I have been thanked numerous times for your website. My son is certainly a fan, even though he doesn’t really know it. 😉
Yours in health,
A
Katie,
I have been reading you blog and using your recipes for years! I’ve been a fan as I was so glad there was someone out there that loves sweets as much as me and wanted to try to make them “healthy”. I had no idea that you had been under so much negativity. I’ve always thought of you as a beautiful person who has a great passion! Never let the negativity get you down. Some people need to put others down to feel better about themselves and I’m certain for every negative comment there are 20 people who think you are awesome, they just didn’t realize they needed to say it!
I (and many, many others with a brain and a heart) know exactly what you and your blog is about and appreciate it more than you may know. You give us healthy, delicious alternatives to all the junk out there. If a smaller calorie count comes along with the deal, all the better! Sorry you felt the need to defend yourself to the rude and the ignorant out there, but you are loved, appreciated and understood by many of us! Hugs!!!
I rarely ever comment on any blogs that I read, but it’s disgusting that people can write things about someone they don’t know and make false accusations to make themselves feel better. I love your blog and what you promote, which I believe is a very clear message for healthy alternatives to the food we love to eat.
Thank you for the blog and continuing to shrug off nasty haters.