mentorconnect

In honor of a brand new year, this month we present Doris Smeltzer, speaker, activist, author, Andrea’s Voice Foundation founder/director (with her husband Tom), and most importantly, mother of Andrea Lynn Smeltzer, who passed away in 1999 from bulimia after only 13 months of struggling with the disease. Doris honors her daughter Andrea by continuing to spread life-saving information about eating disorders. In the process, and in this teleconference, Doris shares not just Andrea’s journey but her own path out of disordered eating and thinking and into an acceptance of the value of practicing intuitive eating and promoting health at every size (HAES) for balanced, holistic, and self-respectful wellness. NOTE:  MentorCONNECT regrets that due to a technical outage with our teleconference hosting provider, we were unable to record the question & answer portion of Doris’ talk. If you would have a question about the information in this teleconference or would like more information about Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating, and Andrea’s Voice Foundation, please visit Doris at www.andreasvoice.org

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This month we are thrilled to welcome back Thom Rutledge, internationally-recognized author, psychotherapist, teacher and speaker. In this unique and timely teleconference, Thom will be sharing his insights into one of  the most dangerous pitfalls of eating disorder recovery: the unrelenting and destructive drive to measure ourselves against a standard of perfection. The timing of this discussion is, of course, “perfect,” as we all prepare for a new year — and a new decade. For more information about Thom, visit www.nutshellwisdom.com

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When Jessica Setnick, MS, RD/LD, speaks, every word comes from both her many years of clinical experience and also straight from the heart of her personal experience. She has been there; she has worked her way out of the nightmare of an eating disorder and back to health again, and she understands exactly how hard recovery is and what it takes. But most of all, Jessica is living proof that recovery IS possible. She wants each person she meets to know that they are not alone, that help is available, and that all the hard work recovery requires IS worth it.

In this exciting and timely teleconference, Jessica shares priceless tips for navigating the sometimes tricky, often stressful, and always food-filled holiday season. It’s hard to believe she could pack so much great information and so many good ideas into such a short time span, but she does it. Listen and learn as Jessica discusses invaluable pro-recovery tips and tools that will help you to nourish your body, mind, and spirit throughout the holiday season and all the way through the New Year! To learn more about Jessica’s story and her work, visit her at www.understandingnutrition.com.

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Jenni Schaefer is literally living proof that full recovery is possible. As author and therapist Carolyn Costin says in her introduction to “Goodbye Ed, Hello Me”, “Jenni makes recovery and full living seem possible for everyone.” As Jenni herself says, “I want people who struggle with eating disorders to know it is possible to move from being ‘in recovery’ to being ‘fully recovered’. I want them to get into life and follow their dreams, not be stuck in or defined by an eating disorder. “She often says, “I like to tell people, ‘Never, never, never give up. The gifts of recovery are amazing.”

In this teleconference you have the opportunity to hear Jenni’s thoughts about creating and embracing life beyond eating disorders and learn how to apply them to your own life. After you hear Jenni’s inspiring words about life post-Ed you will find yourself to join her there one day – soon! For more information about Jenni, you can visit her online at www.jennischaefer.com.

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This month we were honored to welcome Dr. Carolyn Becker and Sarah Williamson from the Reflections: Body Image Program and Tri Delta. Fat Talk Free Week is a 5-day nationwide awareness and advocacy event that our MentorCONNECT community will be participating in annually. Dr. Becker and Sarah shared empowering and powerful insights into the origins of “fat talk” and immediate ways we can begin to take action to love our bodies and ourselves just the way we are.

Two of my personal favorites were signs that Fat Talk Free Week participants posted around college campuses - one was a sign on mirrors that stated, “You don’t have to look twice - you are beautiful just the way you are”, and the other was a sign that a runner posted for herself that said, “I (heart) my legs because they helped me run fast.” What beautiful ways to express our love and appreciation for the body that serves us so well - and without complaint!

You can reach Dr. Becker at cbecker@trinity.edu and Sarah Williamson at swilliamson@trideltaeo.org with your ideas, comments, thoughts, and questions about how to implement Fat Talk Free Week for your campus or organization. I also personally encourage you to share the videos and information found on their websites with your social media communities - you can re-tweet and facebook-post this information to encourage others to get involved.

www.bodyimageprogram.org is the official Fat Talk Free Week website that has information about the curriculum as well as the science behind it. Also be sure to bookmark www.endfattalk.org, a special micro-site that launches October 5, 2009, with statistics, daily challenges, plenty of ideas for how to bring Fat Talk Free Week to your organization or campus, and a countdown to October 19th that concludes with a special video presentation.

So now, listen to the powerful Fat Talk Free Week kick-off podcast, and get ready to jump in with both feet on October 19th when Fat Talk Free Week 2009 begins!

xo

Shannon for MentorCONNECT

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This month, Thom Rutledge returns again to give Ed the what-for with his compelling presentation about the question-to-end-all-questions…

What does it mean to say we are “in recovery” from an eating disorder?

Only Thom could tackle this topic not only fearlessly, but with his signature Nutshell-style sense of humor!

Enjoy!

xo Shannon MentorCONNECT Founder/Director

p.s. VIEW the Event Flyer

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This month we kick off the MentorCONNECT Teleconference Series with none other than Thom Rutledge, psychotherapist, trainer, speaker, and award-winning author.

Thom’s work is best known through his contributions to the best-selling eating disorders book “Life Without Ed” (co-written with Jenni Schaefer). He is also the author of two other groundbreaking books - “Embracing Fear: How to Turn What Scares You Into Your Greatest Gift” and “Simple Truth: Ideas & Experiences for Humans from Less-Than-Perfect Families”.

In this first podcast, Thom gives listeners a tangible experience of the power of “Talking Back to Ed”.

For more information about Thom’s work, visit him on the web at www.nutshellwisdom.com

For more information about becoming a MentorCONNECT member, visit us at www.key-to-life.com/mentorconnect

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