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My mom has always been very aware of her weight, how many calories she consumes, how much she exercises each day, and the tiniest fluctuations in her clothing size. Even when she’s been injured and instructed not to exercise, she’s still snuck in power walks. When I was a child and we’d go on road trips, if we stopped the car just for ten minutes so everyone could grab a bite to eat and pee, we’d find my mom jogging around the parking lot. I do not believe my mom has an eating disorder, but I do believe that she is somewhat obsessive about her body and her physical appearance. We’ve certainly never bonded over ordering large pizzas and downing tubs of ice cream together. We bond during water aerobics classes and while chopping veggies for green juice. But I have had friends with mothers with eating disorders, and I understand some of their feelings. Here is what it’s like having a mother with an eating disorder.
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You feel like you can’t speak up
Your mom is still your mom—the authority, the elder, and the one with the wisdom. As such, you can’t really try to tell her what to do, or suggest she’s making mistakes. In fact, you feel rude doing that. You don’t want her to, on top of the body issues she’s dealing with, feel humiliated by her daughter.
