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When we come into this world we know when we are hungry and when we are full. We come into this world in touch with our appetite. We are intuitive eaters by nature, but some lose that ability. The primary reasons we have problems with intuitive eating are:

It seems that everywhere we look nowadays we are being bombarded with fake images of beauty and new ways of “improving” ourselves! So many of us, regardless of our age or life status have become obsessed with weight, falling into a cynical pattern of self-hatred and low self esteem fueled by the bogus images of men and women in magazines or on TV. To mimic these images and trends, we are subjecting our bodies to rigid and self-destructing practices, becoming slaves to our emotions and developing anorexia, bulimia and other addictions.

When we are kids, every experience creates a thought pattern or pathway in our brain. These paths are paved by the emotional impact our experiences have on how we feel about our environment, our safety in it, our overall self-worth or body image. As we become adults and situations occur that trigger the memory of childhood experiences, our brain retraces those old familiar pathways and we relive the emotions of the experience all over again.

An estimated 23 million Americans abuse -- or are dependent upon -- either alcohol or illicit drugs. And more than 12 million Americans currently suffer from eating disorders.

Up to half of all people with eating disorders abuse substances and up to half of women who abuse substances suffer from eating disorders.

We may not all admit it or even be aware of it, but at one time or another, all of us have used food as means of coping with life.

Fashion trends come and go and many return again and again. In the last few years, we have seen the reentry of skinny jeans (aka “skinnies”). Slim fitting pants first made their appearance in the 1950’s, worn by popular media and music icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Sandra Dee, but they have been popular nearly every decade since.

Skinny jeans flatter the figure by hugging virtually every part of the body without constricting it. Most clothing lines and popular stores carry skinny-style jeans and they are marketed to both genders.

Sarah McLaughlan seems to be scoring my life thus far this year. Lyrics like “Hold on, hold on to yourself, this is going to hurt like hell,” or “Sweeeeeet surrender is all that I have,” and “Wipe away the tears, just close your eyes dear” have been entering my brain at the exact moment an overly dramatic script would call for a pull at the heart strings, the passing of a tissue or that moment when you feel like you’ve got not-one-thing left to give but somehow you manage to get a little boost, find your boot straps and take another step.

Jan. 15^th, already halfway into the first month of 2012. Are your resolutions still going strong? Did you make resolutions to feel good, to choose healthier habits, to eat mindfully, to have more energy, to achieve a particular goal or to forgive someone? Well, if you have already slipped or fallen off track or still haven’t decided what to make of this new year, we invite you to come along with us on a journey to wellness.

It is hard to explain to someone who has never had an eating disorder the freedom it is to be out of one. Everyone in recovery will tell you that it's not necessarily all the behaviors that accompany the eating disorders but it is the obsessive, continual chatter that is in your head about food, weight, diet, and body image. Even the person that is restricting, dieting or suffering from Anorexia, has the same.

Although I myself have never given birth, as midwife to my dearest friend, I witnessed the experience first hand. Thus, I know it can hurt like hell, produce a goopy mess and in all likelihood, at least one person is going to be screaming. Hello, 2012. I am my own New Year’s baby!