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 
First of all: Hi Katie! And omg I am shocked that there has been any speculation on you like this, you are clearly so lovely and even though you do have in my opinion an amazing body, it just shouldn’t matter to anyone, what business is it of theirs ?They obviously have nothing in their lives worth being positive about so they attack others…It is awesome that you are so frank about it all, and lucky too.Thanks for your amazing website it has made such a wonderful difference to my life(recipes) and well done for doing such a fabulous job. 🙂
It’s really too bad that you even had to write a post like this and it’s very sad that there are so many haters in this world. Why can’t people just mind their own business and what business is it of theirs if you are skinny, fat, pregnant or anything else under the sun. I think that haters are so dissatisfied with their own lives that they look to tear down anyone they can to make themselves feel better. Stay strong and be happy that you came to a decision in your lifestyle that makes you happy (dropping the over exercising). I hope that this will shut up some of the haters. Good luck.
Katie, may I say you are wonderful, 3 years ago I found out that I had brain tumor, so one it was removed, I went to weight watchers and heard about a recipe for cookie dough dip with beans. I Googled it and I found you’re site. And have been an fan ever since, I went from 237lbs to 200lbs over the last three years( slow and steady wins the race) Changed my mind set about food with Faith, hope, love and God. But lemme tell you girl you are one of my INspirations not THINsprirations. Because it wasn’t about getting thin it was about getting healthy, learning to love myself, learning to love food. I may be considered chubby, but with you are my one my heroes. And your struggles only make you more real and personable to us(your fans) we adore you, we think you are beautiful and keep on keeping on girl, we will be behind you!! SMOOTHIES UP, 3 CHEERS FOR CCK!!! HIP-HIP HOORAY!!! HIP-HIP HOORAY!!! HIP-HIP HOORAY!!!!! IT WOULD BE A BORING WORLD IF WE ALL LOOKED THE SAME!! LOVE YOU KATE!
Thank you so much for sharing. Your comment really made me smile 🙂
It is a sad state when someone is doing much positive work has to defend themselves. I came to your site more recently to find recipes so that I could transition from vegetarian to vegan.
My dishes are often the sides for the omnivores (everyone else) in my home. They love the dishes as much as I do.
Keep doing the good work!
I don’t really follow your blog, I only occasionally pin recipes originating from your site. That said, my first and only impression of you is that you are a health conscious woman who enjoys delicious treats made out of whole foods. Sadly, a pin mentioning “anorexia” immediately grabbed my attention. Thank you for the reminder that the only way to stop perpetuating these rumors is to not allow them our time or to gain undeserved “clicks”.
Katie – I hope that for every negative comment you have received at least a dozen positive ones! I agree that one of the worst things about the internet is the anonymity with which people can share their opinions – things they never would have said in person.
Thank you so much for the WONDERFUL recipes you post – you come up with the foods I would have if I had the time to experiment 🙂 – my family and I love so many of the recipes we’ve tried (even the non-dessert-y ones). Thank you for the gluten free options, since I am often baking for a mother and mother-in-law who need it.
And thank you for being so gracious – you are wise beyond your apparent years. You are a beautiful person, inside and out, and I happen to think you look even more beautiful with curves!
Thanks for posting Katie and being honest. It is no one else’s business how you choose to live your life and I hope this post silences the critics. I have yet to make one of your recipes but I love the care and attention you put into producing healthy nutritious recipes. Sometimes it is enough just to look at the pictures :o). Keep doing what you do. It is appreciated by many of us. If you are a fat slug. Im a heffalump lol.
Welcome to the creatures club 😉
I think you are beautiful insided and out. Keep up the good work! I love your blog!
I didn’t get a chance to write on Monday but I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget. I think that was wonderful of you to speak so personally to us all, and while I have never seen any of those comments I can imagine it if was me I would feel the exact same way. There are many out there struggling now or that have struggled with an eating disorder and many don’t even want to admit it to themselves let alone the world. The fact of the matter is that we are all human and all go through highs and lows in our lives, but it’s facing them that lets us overcome them and come out stronger. Thank you for sharing, you clearly have overcome and are an incredibly strong confident woman inside and out! And I love all your recipes 😉
Katie,
I love your recipes. When my family had to make nutritional changes, you were always my go to for healthy and delicious treats. I know it’s hard to ignore when others are speaking badly of you. It’s even harder to ignore when they make assumptions without knowing you or anything about your personal life. Unfortunately, there will ALWAYS be people out there making judgements. In my opinion, that is THEIR problem. You do not owe anyone an explanation. Your site is awesome and you are a beautiful and generous person for sharing what you know. The judgements of others come from inside themselves and often have nothing to do with you. Keep doing what you do and thank you for being so brave as to put yourself out there. Just try to ignore the critics. It’s really none of your business what they think. Right? Warmest Regards!