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 am soooooooooooooooo saddened that you have to EVEN deal with all this nastiness! I am dumbfounded! First off, I have written to you in the past with my support as to how healthy and pretty you are.
Second fat,or/and anorexic? I find both of those hilarious! You ARE what we SHOULD look like! Healthy, happy, and just right. So many are so overweight nowadays, that I guess in THEIR eyes you AREN’T either. Who are they to say such nasty things to you, when you are just being kind sharing such delicious and health recipes!? I don’t get it, except that they are pure jealous! You’ve taken the right attitude towards this all, and I COMMEND you. DON’T even waste your time or emotions on people like that!
I love you, your recipes, and what you STAND for, pure goodness! Keep up the good work, keep the recipes coming ( my husband and I dated from age 16-19, married at 19, and he became a type 1 diabetic at 24, and now wears an insulin pump). We love your recipes, and they keep hi going and healthy, so I THANK you! Keep your chin up, walk proudly, and thank you for keeping my husband alive and well because of wha you share! Have an awesome day and LIFE!
I’m so happy I came across this post, I love it! I was recently teased by another woman about being thin, among other things, she falsely accused me of being anorexic even though she was “just joking.” It’s easy not to take offense to this kind of behavior when it is so clearly a projection of the other person’s insecurity, but it is still very frustrating. Bravo on a strong, empowered post.
I’d just like to say that your website is a dessert blog. To say that your recipes promote anorexia because they are low calorie is ridiculous as you do not encourage people to eat dessert 3xday as their only meals. They are healthy treats to compliment a health conscious diet. No one is saying that the 100 calorie snack packages at the grocery store are promoting anorexia. What you eat day to day is none of my business, I am happy to make your delicious treats.
This post is really inspirational, although I found it horrible to hear about all the negativity directed towards you. Congrats for standing up for yourself! I have a similar issue. I do not suffer from an eating disorder but have been on a health kick but because I am thin already many people assume the reason I’m not eating that chocolate fudge ice cream is because I’m anorexic. I hope that none of these toxic people get to you because you are beautiful and healthy (they’re probably just jealous). Keep making your awesome recipes and keep being you!
As someone who only just recovered from anorexia herself (I was diagnosed at eleven years old; I’m fourteen now), I congratulate you for your mature approach to the subject. In my opinion, you don’t look anorexic; rather, you look strong, slim and healthy, and it’s totally not okay to tell someone they have a mental illness based on their physical appearance and nothing else (though it can often be a pointer). To anyone considering starving themselves and over-exercising as I did, please reconsider. If you want to lose weight (and keep in mind that this should not be done if you are within or below the healthy weight range), don’t starve yourself, as it has severe negative effects on your health (and can even cause you to gain weight). Please don’t go down the same path as I did and lose so much weight you end up in hospital (as I did on my twelfth birthday) with a feeding tube inserted down your nose. It’s not worth it. Exercise and eat well, but not obsessively. Remember that it’s okay to eat ‘unhealthy’ food sometimes; and that you’re beautiful, whatever size or shape you are.
Hi CCK! I’m a big fan of your blog — I started reading and enjoying your recipes back during my twenties, and your recipes inspired me to start learning about nutrition. Now I’m a thirtysomething mom of two little ones, and I love your recipes just as much. I make healthy recipes for my kids, and also mix up my own routine — as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to cut back on calories to maintain a healthy weight, and your recipes make healthy eating fun. I am so impressed at all the creativity and hard work I see on your blog. I think you must be pretty brilliant to manage it all. I didn’t know anything about the “CCK eating disorders” rumors until recently. I am shocked. I knew the internet could be crazy, but I didn’t realize to what extent. I wonder, would the people who make these comments say such things in real life? And what must their own body images be like? Do they worry that people are judging them behind their backs the way they judge others? What a cold, unfriendly world this must be for people who can say such things about others. I’m a writer, but not a blogger. I think you are not only awesomely talented for having created your blog, but completely brave as well for dealing with certain aspects of internet culture. I’m sure you know this better than most, but it’s always the mean folks who are the loudest. And I’ll bet you have many more fans than you even realize – people like me who have been enjoying your recipes and thinking of you fondly for years. Thank you so much for your awesome recipes, and for putting yourself out there so we can all enjoy your great writing and delicious food ideas. You have made me a happier and healthier person!
Hi Katie, I too have had accusations of being anorexic leveraged at me (particularly after HuffPo featured my weight loss story.) Also like you I had a running addiction that kept me very tiny. Now I’m still extremely active but have a great relationship with both food and exercise. I wrote a rebuttal to the anorexia accusations on my blog: http://themindfulmavens.com/2015/07/06/on-orthorexia-body-shaming-and-having-a-healthy-relationship-with-food/
Love the blog and addressing the comments that people make. I have struggled with a eating disorder for years and finally about 5 years ago got a handle on it. I actually saw a news segment once talking about 2 twins who had struggled for years with an eating disorder and they had gotten help etc… But the way the segment ended was the newsman commenting about how they obviously still had a problem because they were checking the nutritional information on everything. He was someone that I felt should never have been allowed to do a segment like that. I guess what I am trying to say is you are a very lovely and positive lady. I know that even though I have a handle on it, it does still rear it’s ugly head. However, websites like yours encourage people like me who want to be healthy, to be able to eat right and to be happy with themselves. The problem I have always said, about an eating disorder, is the fact that it is not like other addictions, you can’t just give up food.
Sorry for the longish thought. Thank you again. Jae
Hi Katie — I probably commented on this when I read it the first time last summer, but I just wanted to add that I hope the haters have subsided a bit and that you’ve been able to enjoy your feedback and know that all of us sane people out here 😉 see you for who you truly are! A lovely amazing young woman! Also, if you haven’t seen this video by Kathryn Budig (a well-known yoga instructor), it goes right along with what you’re saying here. She talks about the absurd comments she received online when she did a cover for Yoga Journal magazine. She’s pretty amazing! (If my post doesn’t show the link — it’s just her name and then dot com — the video shows up on the home page). Enjoy!
http://www.kathrynbudig.com
I am new to this site but I know how many people with eating disorders use it for recipes because no matter how much I try not to admit it I am one of those people. I have a eating disorder and came looking on your site for low calorie recipies after reading about it on an anorexic forum. However you and your site has proven to be an inspiration for me, and by that I mean an inspiration for the sensible me who wants to eat normally and have a wonderful figure like you. Far from causing further calorie restriction or dieting your posts have helped me eat more without feeling guilty or overweight and for that I just want to say thank you and I will carry on using your site to help me with that. You do so much more good than harm, for me and many others.