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 
Katie,
Loved this article. Thank you for your sincerity.
I have a queries you that is really out of the topic, have you thought about doing a YouTube channel? I’d love to see your recipes in a video
Cheers!
I’m new to your site and followed a link here from Pinterest. Yay! Go Pinterest! I’m a very plus-sized woman who doesn’t care about getting slim. I just want to be healthy which is why I’m on your blog. Like most women do with other women, I noticed your size but you never once looked unhealthy or anorexic to me. This coming from the woman who wants to have a little weight on her to keep my curves. I’m the opposite of you. I’ve always been heavy and when I was younger, I had amazing curves. I’m saying this to let you know that the ones who say these mean things are just being petty and jealous. You’re beautiful. The first thing I noticed was your gorgeous eyes, not your figure.
Thanks for having a great blog here on the web. I’ve bookmarked it and look forward to viewing it more often!
I love that so many people are commenting who are celebrating being all different shapes and sizes. It’s not about a number or a certain “perfect” body. It’s about being healthy and feeling good in your own skin!
I agree, I think many women fall into the trap of wanting to have the ‘perfect’ body (I definitely did when I was younger). The problem with that is that there IS no perfect body, and there will always be things you don’t like… It is so much better to focus on being healthy and happy!
So, I’m obviously pretty late in reading and responding to this blog post! I really enjoy your blog. It is one of my go-to’s for desert recipes because I know the ingredients will be good and full of healthy fats and variety. I also know the ingredients will not contain harmful, restrictive,or fake things. I love how you use good fat; good, healthy ingredients; and creative alternatives to make your deserts. I just made a version of your banana bread today! Anyhow, I also wanted to say THANK YOU so much for not giving in to money and promoting harmful and longstanding erroneous information pertaining to food and diet on your site. Thank you for turning down offers to promote calorie restriction, crash diets, and miracle foods. Thank you. Coming from someone in the nutrition/health field, I really appreciate that. <3
Thank you for sharing! I have recommended your blog to several of my friends. I love that the ingredients are fresh, there are alternatives for those who need to be diet specific (gluten free, sugar free) and that everything I’ve made tastes so yummy and delicious! Any time I’m looking for a sweet treat, your recipes are the first I search.
Of all the topics you selected to respond to, I’m so glad you selected defending your blog. I agree completely with what you said…you advocate healthy eating and healthy choices…not crazy or fast-fixing diets.
There will always be those who are jealous of the body God gave you. Pray for them…Pray that one day they will realize how beautiful and unique they are! Keep on cooking, blogging, and give us all sweet inspirations in the kitchen (and in our hearts, too)!
You’re beautiful and healthy just the way you are- don’t let anyone or any comment tell you otherwise. I admire your honesty with posts like this and especially your bravery to confront false accusations. While I type, I may as well say that your post about why you stopped running has completely changed my life. I was diagnosed with an eating disorder too and it had taken everything from me. My enjoyment for eating, leading me to isolate myself from the world around me and when my weight continued to drop, I was devastated that I was unable to walk to the bus, to walk my dog or even to walk from the carest park and to my house. It stole my life. So I turned to over-exercise.
I developed an obsession, like a ritual that I’d perform 3 times a day without fail. It drained me entirely until I was just running on will power. At first I thought that it was a coping mechanism for my weight gain, but later I discovered how strongly I felt about exercising and how even if I tried, I couldn’t stop. I exercised on holiday when I went to crete. I missed out on my favourite programmes on TV, and that’s when I found you and your blog.
I was amazed at your baking, your cooking and your bravery. I fell in love with your fantastic personality and it became one of my dreams to become like you, let alone attempt to meet you one day. When I found your exercising post, I realised what I was doing to my body- so I stopped. And now, I feel so much more energised. I feel happy- an emotion that I haven’t felt for some time. You became my role model, my inspiration and also a friend that I could relate to all at once. You’re unique and a true character and I, as a huge fan of your work, have to say that you’ve saved my life because otherwise, you would never know how much you mean to me.
I don’t know of you’ll see this post- let alone read it, but even if you don’t, I feel some sense of accomplishment by just trying. Thank you Katie, and please, continue being you xx
I recently came across your site. And its a surprise that ppl actually think (or used to) that u r anorexic. I cud easily laugh at it… U r cute and chocoholic and i love that!
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes. I am in my 60’s now and needed to change my eating due to high cholesterol as I refuse to take the medication for this. I have not converted to a Vegan but I have cut a lot of meat out of my diet and it has helped a lot. Also, thanks to your recipes and my change of eating, I lost 28 lbs. and feel so much better. Tonight I am making the crispy lemon cauliflower. Looks amazing!
It is really sad that people have to resort to call people things they are not. You look marvelous!
Wish my fat slug body looked like that!!! No chance! I like French fries too much
Happy New Year, Katie! Your site is fabulous and full of wonderful recipes, which the comments should be about, anyway. Thanks for sharing your story and just keep what you’re doing!
Wow. Well written. I have to admit, I loved your recipes first, so when I saw an actual picture of you I was like, “What? How?” I couldn’t help but wonder how you could stay so slim as a foodie. I’m curious though, do you still work out? If so, how much, and what do you do a week? Do you think you are able to stay so slim and healthy because of the vegan diet? I ate vegan when I was in college for about 6 months but had such a hard time with it. But anyways, my favorite recipe of yours is the black bean brownies. They are so amazing. I would be really interested though in any tips you may have on weight loss, maintaining a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, and transitioning into that.