Hi tyra,
My name is Michelle and this past year has been difficult for me because my best friend has been fighting aneroxia. It got so bad that her heart literally was stopping when she was seeping. Since me and her were extremely close since we have known one another for 12 years she pushed me away so i would not find out. She cut me out of her life completely and I was left there all alone. Anyways, here parents didn't know what to do because counseling and treatment at the childrens hostipal in Denver was not helping her she still didn't eat and became even more skinner. The last resort was sending her to a treatment clinic. Her parents sent her to remuda ranch down in Arizona. It was nice to be able to talk to her when she was there, and once she came home you could tell something has changed about her. she let me and her mom back in her life slowly but surely. She still struggles with the condidtion but is doing better. She has made several friends with the girls she spent a couple months with at the ranch and it is so so nice to know she has that support team still. Remuda Ranch saved her life and let her take the first step to recovery. It helped her mentally and physically gave her the strength and a reason to get better. Even though it was not her choice to go she gave it a chance. I watched your show today and it just brought me to tears thinking those girls are in the same postion as she was. I want to say thank you for having today's episode.

Hi tyra,
My name is Michelle and this past year has been difficult for me because my best friend has been fighting aneroxia. It got so bad that her heart literally was stopping when she was seeping. Since me and her were extremely close since we have known one another for 12 years she pushed me away so i would not find out. She cut me out of her life completely and I was left there all alone. Anyways, here parents didn't know what to do because counseling and treatment at the childrens hostipal in Denver was not helping her she still didn't eat and became even more skinner. The last resort was sending her to a treatment clinic. Her parents sent her to remuda ranch down in Arizona. It was nice to be able to talk to her when she was there, and once she came home you could tell something has changed about her. she let me and her mom back in her life slowly but surely. She still struggles with the condidtion but is doing better. She has made several friends with the girls she spent a couple months with at the ranch and it is so so nice to know she has that support team still. Remuda Ranch saved her life and let her take the first step to recovery. It helped her mentally and physically gave her the strength and a reason to get better. Even though it was not her choice to go she gave it a chance. I watched your show today and it just brought me to tears thinking those girls are in the same postion as she was. I want to say thank you for having today's episode.

I have been struggling off and on with an eating disorder for a little over a year. Although the pressure to be thin is undeniably everywhere, people often forget where these disorders mostly stem from; a lack of control in your own life. For me bulumia didnt begin until after i'd moved out of my parents house, gotten a full time job and suddenly realized that i was angry with everyone and was no longer in control of my own life. The stress level of my life, at only 20 years old, sometimes brings me to tears. The worst feeling is that of helplessness, and although i do realize i am blessed in many ways, i'm still coming to terms with the events in my life i have no control over. Eating disorders are a real and terrifying thing. I imagine how i feel, the emotions going through me, the anger and the sadness when i purge, and hate to think of what everyone else who is doing the same thing is thinking, and if i'm this sad, how sad they must be also, hiding it the way i am, grasping that one thing that they can control. It's a horrible thing to do, but unfortunately, even the most sensible of people, who can rationalize everything, cant seem to make sense of it, and to me, that's scariest part.

dear tyra,i am pretty sure i am your biggest fan!i watch your show an i love wat u are doing to help ppl.i had a eating dissorder,anorexia an it changed my life not 4 the better.i cant belive how happy i was an when my friend said "ur 85 pounds!!!!!!" i was so proud.it began to develop when i was 12 and a few months later i was sent to childres hosp in denver..i was also sexually assulted when i was only 4yrs old,thank god it was only assult an not rape an i think maybe it helped bring on the dissorder.not even my parents know the whole story but i'll never forget.but anyway u inspire me,thank u!i hope one day i can help ppl like you do.one day maybe i"ll actually talk to u or even meet u!!!!!i would probably faint cuz its my dream to meet u lol.im gonna stop wasting ur time now.hugs an love,brianna.age 14 riverton wyoming

Hey Tyra,
I just wanted to let you know of a treatment place that really helped me get on the path to Recovery.
It's called Remuda [the web pg is: remudaranch.com]
You should check it out. I think it's one of the best treatment places everr!
Love you and your show ;]!

Dear Tyra,
i just wanted to say that im a HUGE fan! i decides to comment on this because i understand the presure people feel to be thin. i`m 13 & i constantly worry about my weight. Last summer, i felt it so much that i stopped eating & when i saw the pounds go down on the scale. i was so happy & i thought my method was working great. i also exercised 2-3 times a day! i worked myself so much & i didnt eat. i even did 800 sit ups one day! and alot more! so i felt dizzy all the time. but to me that didnt matter, what mattered to me was that all my old clothes started fitting me. i was soo happy! but i still wasnt satisfied. so i went on the cabbage soup diet. it was working GREAT! i lost 5 pounds in 2 days! but i was on day 4, & i went to a pool party, and i had 1 hotdog & one cookie. i felt so bad because i ate & i ruined my diet. but the next morning i was 8 pounds heavier! i went crazy! so i starved myself even more! i went 3 days without eating! & when i felt hungry, i felt HAPPY because i knew i was accomplishing something.

i know now that if you starve yourself, your body gets scard & the next time you eat something. no matter what it is, it holds it as fat, because it needs something to eat. that summer, i was anorexic. i lost 21 pounds! but when i went to back to school, i was getting all these comments on how great i looked! i was thrilled! but i started getting my normal habbits back. so i gained all that weight back. but i also grew 4 inches. so this summer, when im planning on losing weight. i wont starve myself. i will try to do it the healthy way. all im hoping is that my old habbits dont come back.

Hey Tyra!
First i want to say that i love your show. I try to watch it everyday here in Holland :D.
I've always had trouble with my weight. When i was young, my parents let me eat all the candy i wanted. I wasn't like that big, but a little chunky. Kids on school picked on me the whole time that i was fat. they called me names and kicked my ass. When i was eleven i went on my first diet, with permission from my parents. That was the onset. I struggled and have dieted for almost 13 years now (i am turning 24 this month). I did everything..but the most i did was almost not eating for 2 weeks, then start eating like a crazy woman...and then again. For 13 years..With all this yoyo-ing i have huge stretchmarks on my hips..Finally, at age 21 i lost 13 kilograms on a healthy way in 9 months. I am so happy that i can remain on a normal weight with a normal figure, but it is so hard not to try to control the weight. I always have the urge to lose more weight, because i then i am supposely more happy. My day goes from breakfast to lunch to 4 hour break to dinner. All the time i think of it to keep the structure in my day. It's really no fun. I also see myself much bigger in the mirror (i can literally see myself grow fat in the mirror), but on pictures i see it is nonsense. Maybe i wasn't clinically having an eating disorder, but food, eating and being fat and slim are so much of my time in my mind. But i have a wonderful life, i am studying on the university and i am so blessed with my boyfriend whom i love so much.
Thank you for your wonderful show(s!) and your fun & sweet personality that shines on tv!

Dear Tyra,
i am a huge fan of yours and i love how you are always willing to help people. I am 14 years old and at the beginning of the last school, i started to not eat. my mom was always saying i was chubby and she was getting married soon and i wanted to be pretty. i was 130 at the beginning of august and by november i was 100 pounds. everybody at school noticed and they started to say something but my mom never noticed.
my sister took notice and she decided that i was getting unhealthy. she started to make sure i ate food and would wait for me to finish my meal before we would leave. i have now gotton over not eating and i am trying to be healthy.
but every now and then i look in the mirror and think i look like a cow. i hope soon i can look in the mirror and love what i see but im working towards it.
i love you

Hi Tyra!
I write you because I'm a big fan of you . I live in Puerto Rico and you don't know how much I envy (good one) all of you who lives inside of United States. I tell you this because here is very difficult and expensive to get help for eating disorder .I start to be bullimic since my junior year of high school . At the begining my weight was 160 pounds but I learned this behavior from a movie that I was watching called "Little Miss Perfect" after this movie all my life changed . I was in love of a guy that all the times was saying to me names like fatty, cow , and a lot of more names. I at the beginning did all this because of him because I was in love of him . The time passed and back to senior I was weighting 112 pounds . Yes , the boy fell in love with me and I make him pay. After this I was worst and my Dad nourish it and I was very worry because he took out from the bathroom door the security hook , so like this if he hear something he can open the door. The time passes and my weight was high and low , but right now I'm not doing it anymore and I have been with this boyfriend since my 18 years of age . He hates fat people and he's always in the gym . So I've has been with him , 16 years . Right know my weight is 200 pounds because I promise to myself to quit and to not do that anymore , my Dad die in 2003 and I was in shape again but today is my nightmare . He (boyfriend) don't wants to be with me anymore because of my weight and because I affects the way the people looks him when I'm with him . I'ts terrible for me , I don't find a way to be in shape again , I had try all , I works in the night in a Restaurant and it's the worst . I know that all the people that writes you here need help , I understand that , but I saw you two times a day because here in P.R. in the am I see you and in the evening too . The evening program is from the new season and the other one from the last. I don't want to do this again , right now I'm 35 years old and struggling because of this disorder.
Your Big Fan in Puerto Rico, thaney

Hi Tyra!
I write you because I'm a big fan of you . I live in Puerto Rico and you don't know how much I envy (good one) all of you who lives inside of United States. I tell you this because here is very difficult and expensive to get help for eating disorder .I start to be bullimic since my junior year of high school . At the begining my weight was 160 pounds but I learned this behavior from a movie that I was watching called "Little Miss Perfect" after this movie all my life changed . I was in love of a guy that all the times was saying to me names like fatty, cow , and a lot of more names. I at the beginning did all this because of him because I was in love of him . The time passed and back to senior I was weighting 112 pounds . Yes , the boy fell in love with me and I make him pay. After this I was worst and my Dad nourish it and I was very worry because he took out from the bathroom door the security hook , so like this if he hear something he can open the door. The time passes and my weight was high and low , but right now I'm not doing it anymore and I have been with this boyfriend since my 18 years of age . He hates fat people and he's always in the gym . So I've has been with him , 16 years . Right know my weight is 200 pounds because I promise to myself to quit and to not do that anymore , my Dad die in 2003 and I was in shape again but today is my nightmare . He (boyfriend) don't wants to be with me anymore because of my weight and because I affects the way the people looks him when I'm with him . I'ts terrible for me , I don't find a way to be in shape again , I had try all , I works in the night in a Restaurant and it's the worst . I know that all the people that writes you here need help , I understand that , but I saw you two times a day because here in P.R. in the am I see you and in the evening too . The evening program is from the new season and the other one from the last. I don't want to do this again , right now I'm 35 years old and struggling because of this disorder.
Your Big Fan in Puerto Rico, thaney

Tyra,
I always love on your show when you take a typical talk show topic and throw in a differant perspective or way of addressing it. I am a male that fought with anorexia. I feel I am recovered - it's never fully gone but I am at a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I find myself now dealing with body dysmorphia. I've been healthy for a couple years now but I still find myself with the same psycology when I look in the mirror and because I was unhealthy I have some unattractive traits, such as excess skin. I know that I am normal and that a lot of people see nothing but problems when they look in the mirror. I think it would be really sweet if you address this on an episode. We've seen the eating disorders. You've showed us people recovering. But, I know I would like to see how to deal with dysmorphia. I think it would be nice to to emphasize male eating disorders, too. Wheather it is a straight male who is obsessed with protein and is at the gym for seven hours a day or a gay boy who stops eating because he feels he needs to be thin to fit in. I don't think it is talked about enough and is a problem. Just a thought and you seemed like the perfect role model, not only for the girl but the boys as well, to pop the idea to. Hope all is well and keeping you in my happy thoughts.

I am 22 and have been struggling with an eating disorder off and on for 8 years now. I am currently trying to get help at Mercy Ministries (a non profit christian org. that take in girls with eating disorders/depression/cutting/pregnancies etc..) I just want you to know, for what its worth, that you are a roll model to me. You are so beautiful and confident. I pray that one day i will have the confidence that gleens within you! you are AMAZING Tyra! (oh and if you want to check out Mercy Ministries the website is.... WWW. Mercyministies.org) Love ya girl!

Hey Tyra,
I am 14 going on 15. I've had an eating disorder for a little over five years. I developed it when i was ten years old.
It has been a long roade.
I almost died many times.
I had to go away for 128 days away from my family and if it wasn't for that I probably would be dead right now.
Recovery is hard and I want to give in so much. I'm not happy with my body or who I am. I really want to go back to being 100 pounds but my body is so screwed up from having an eating disorder for this long my body will not alow me to lose weight any more. If I restrict I gain, If I purge I gain, If I binge I gain.
So either way I'm screwed.

Tyra, I'm 17 years old and I have been struggling with a eating disorder for 8 years now. it started off simple then it got out of control I need help tyra but I als feel like I don't diserve the help. Every since i was young I alway's hated myself I see a worthless girl when i look in the mirror. I'm Bulimic going into anarexic which I know I can't live like this anymore but I don't know how to stop.......please tyra i'm begging for help. I live in taos New mexico. My friends think I have the perfect life but they don't have any idea what I go through every day. I purge up to 10 times a day and I fell I might die this way if I don't get help. I have been a fan of yours for years so I thought maybe my idol can help me through my evil disease? Thanks for reading my letter. please reply back.
Beverly

Dear Tyra,
I am a 20 year old male college student, 6'2" and weigh in at 131 lbs. I do NOT have an eating disorder and all medical problems have been checked and ruled out. I am extremely skinny. I eat 2500 calories per day and lose weight. I am not extremely active but I do lift weights 1-3 times per week. On weeks that I increase my workout frequency or activity level, I increase my calorie intake to compensate. I eat protein rich foods and take a whey protein supplement. According to my logic, I should definitely be gaining some kind of weight even if my metabolism is high. I understand that a person's frame may limit them to a particular size but I do believe that I have not reached my potential as far as my mass. I desparately need some help. I have stressed over this issue though I've not vocalized it until now. Can you help me?

Thank you,
David

Hi Tyra, My name is Katie i am 11 years old and from burbank CA I im about 80 pounds and i am bulimic i think.. i havent told anyone i feel guilty i have been making myself sick everyday about x3 times a day for about 4 months now what should i do? please reply back katie

Hi Tyra, My name is Katie i am 11 years old and from burbank CA I im about 80 pounds and i am bulimic i think.. i havent told anyone i feel guilty i have been making myself sick everyday about x3 times a day for about 4 months now what should i do? please reply back katie

hello I my name is jessica and I am 21 years old and i have always had problems with the way i have looked and i have never really been over weight, but my problem just recently got worst. I was just recently pregnant and at the end of my pregnancy i enterted in to a eating disoder. I counted my calories and i was trying not too get over 1200 calories a day. Every time i went too the doctor they kept saying i was losing weight and i was so scared, but i still couldnt control my self. I couldn't allow my self too eat anymore and now that i am not pregnant i am so much worst.I usually only take in about 800 calories a day. I really need help so please listen. I know that i am way under weight. I am 5'6 and I weight about 100 pounds. I always deny it too people and tell them that i know i need too gain weight and that i am trying, but really i do know i need to gain weight, but i am afraid i am terified to gain weight. everytime i try gain weight i get scared.If i eat something to fatting or too many calories i feel so quilty the next day and i don't eat anything at all that day. I just really know i need help and i don't want too kill myself over my weight i want to be a healty weight that's all i want. I want to be able to go through a day a not worry about food all day and not plan out my meals. Thinking in my mind how many calories does this have. I want to be happy i want to say i am beautiful.I just want my problem too go away because i know i have a problem and i am ready to get help i just need it.

hi tyra im 14 and almost 15 on the 25 of june and i had a eating disorder but now i dont.i had it for about 6 months and loved the results of what i was getting but behind that i was feeling really ill and it seemed like everytime i would lose a pound the more i thought i was FAT but now im free because of your show and i need just help on one more ting which is how to keep your weight down when you dont have a eating disorder anymore.i cant stop gaining the weight and the more i gain the more i want to get close to the bathroom but..... i know that i have to get better so i dont but it would be really nice if you had a show on it PLEASE if you can.

thanks :)

hi tyra im 14 and almost 15 on the 25 of june and i had a eating disorder but now i dont.i had it for about 6 months and loved the results of what i was getting but behind that i was feeling really ill and it seemed like everytime i would lose a pound the more i thought i was FAT but now im free because of your show and i need just help on one more ting which is how to keep your weight down when you dont have a eating disorder anymore.i cant stop gaining the weight and the more i gain the more i want to get close to the bathroom but..... i know that i have to get better so i dont but it would be really nice if you had a show on it PLEASE if you can.

thanks :)

Tyra.
My name Is Chanel, and I am fourteen years old.
I feel like I eat alot I'm not exactly fat, but my parent's say im chubby but not really and It offends me I don't think I am..but I don't know what to do.
My mom wont even let me get a regular bathing suit because she feel's as if I am to "Chubby" to wear onee.
I don't know why but I just eat alot.
People say im skinny but I doubt it.
I don't know what to do and im kinda confused.
I wish their was a way for me too look better or a way to feel stronger but I eat alot and I can't control it..

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Dear Tyra,
Well I am not sure where to start, only becauses i have never confessed to anyone about what i am about to say. I know that you have done many shows on weight gain/loss, and eating disorders. I have a confession.... When i first saw a show about it, it didnt make me even blink my eyes and think about it. The more shows you did the more it sinks in to the young minds out there, or even the older minds. I will be 21 this June and have been suffering from bulemia for the last almost 9 years of my life. It really just kicked into my mind today about how serious it can be. I had to goto the dentist for some fillings and to get an extraction, and the dentist asked me if i threw up or why there would be no enamal (the protection of the tooth) on my teeth. Thats when the tears started to roll down my face and I became scared. I have been in denial for so long of my life and i am so scared to face consequences of actually trying to quit. I have had 2 pregnancy's (which was a result in 3 beatiful girls) which i quit the vomitting for both times. So it makes me wonder if i was able to quit on my own for that long of a time to do it for something inside of me that i know needs nutrition and good health, why cant i do it for myself. I was pregnant with identical twin girls that streched out my skin beyond belief. I can no longer wear short shirts or even a swimsuit because of the marks, which really sucks because just like any other 20 year old out there, I want to look cute as well. I hate that this world these days has had so much of an effect on not just young people but the whole society, that people are almost dying to be perfect or they will die and never become perfect. I cant believe that i am actually semi being open about my disease... Wow thats even just crazy to say. Who would ever think something like this could be a disease or even a addiction. People would always ask me why my hands or feet were always cold, I would just tell them bad cirrculation... HaHa If only they knew and i could got help then. Or why do i bruise so easy. I am anemic (not sure if the spelling is correct). Then there is the one why dont you get your period. I tried to come up with alot for that one. So finally i said it was from having my twins and they screwed up my rotation or schedule. You have no idea how hard it is for a girl that has an addiction that wants to stop so bad but fears she will never be able to. My girls have seen me throw up before, and that is something that i never want them to do to try and impress a boy or look good for someone. I want every young women to think about diet and excercise in order to accomplish things. In my mind bulemia was easy... its lazy!!!! I actually am sitting here now afraid to eat, only because of that thought of food sitting in my stomach and digesting. I have never expierenced such a jump, leap, strech in my life. What i mean by that is i have never tried to take any action to anyone only because i was afraid of what people may think of me. Knowing that after we went to dinner i would go in the bathroom. Its gross and wrong to most every girl out there. You are a major role model to most young and older girls out there. I give you so much encouragment, you have so many girls watching you and the things you do and i bet that is extrmly hard. You said you have always been extremly close with your mom, as well as I have been . She always guessed throughout my life about my disorder and i lied. I just barely told her and she started crying. Now all i can do i cry when i think about how much i have hurt her and myself. I am truly so scared to go into something by myself. I am seeking help..... Sincerly Holly.

Hi Tyra~
I am 20 years old and currently struggling with an eating disorder. I have good days and bad, but for the most part I hate eating. I freak out as soon as I feel that I gained any weight at all. I see the doctor every 4 weeks, and have been seeing a dietician as well. Therapy is in the works. I was wondering at what point do you think it is necessary to go to a treatment center? I abused laxatives for about 4 months and am currently eating very little. I've been diagnosed with both anorexia and bulimia. Please let me know at what point do you feel its necessary to go to a treatment center. Thanks for all you do for girls like me!

hiiiiiii tyra well if this is really tyra reading this because i dont think you have enough time to read everyones comments . well ill get to the point i've been struggling with my weight since the day i was born . i was born fat and still remain fat till this day and i really want to become skinny that every time i would have a meal i would go and throw up just because i really want to loose weight that bad . but i dont want to ask my familly for help coz im imbarressed about the matter my brother and sisters always use the fact that im fat against me when we get in fights in 14 yrs old and my mum has actually said to me that i am really ugly and theirs nothing pretty about me and that really hurt me so thats one of the reasons im soooo determend to loose all this fat i think if i had access to the harmfull pills you talked about i would use them all the time well i really appreatiate you or your members of staff taking the time to read this

xxxx p.s the next time i weite to you i assure you i will be skinny as a stick byeeeeeee xxxx and can you please send me a strict diet that i can stick to but please make sure that everything thats in the diet i will be able to find in africa because at the moment im in africa but i grew up in england (bristol)beacause im visiting some familly my original roots is african i think ive gone on for quite a while now ill shut up now byeeee

hiiiiiii tyra well if this is really tyra reading this because i dont think you have enough time to read everyones comments . well ill get to the point i've been struggling with my weight since the day i was born . i was born fat and still remain fat till this day and i really want to become skinny that every time i would have a meal i would go and throw up just because i really want to loose weight that bad . but i dont want to ask my familly for help coz im imbarressed about the matter my brother and sisters always use the fact that im fat against me when we get in fights in 14 yrs old and my mum has actually said to me that i am really ugly and theirs nothing pretty about me and that really hurt me so thats one of the reasons im soooo determend to loose all this fat i think if i had access to the harmfull pills you talked about i would use them all the time well i really appreatiate you or your members of staff taking the time to read this

xxxx p.s the next time i weite to you i assure you i will be skinny as a stick byeeeeeee xxxx and can you please send me a strict diet that i can stick to but please make sure that everything thats in the diet i will be able to find in africa because at the moment im in africa but i grew up in england (bristol)beacause im visiting some familly my original roots is african i think ive gone on for quite a while now ill shut up now byeeee

I am 30 years old and have been dealing with bulimia and anorexia for 14 years. I have been to treatment once for that and also for alchohol treatment. I also have a major issue with cutting and anxiety and ocd. I have been in couseling for 4 years and have been on different meds for 10 years. I have not had success with any of these. I have been hospitalized 4 times for these different things. I don't know what do to because I'm tired of all of it. If anyone has any advice for where I should turn, I would appreciate it. I have done research for years trying to find an answer and it just seems to get worse. I have 2 children and a husband who tries to be supportive but he doesn't understand what I'm going through or how much it affects me. Please Help!!

Hello Tyra I enjoy watching your show and Americas Next Top Model. I watch all the replays all the time. I am 28 yrs old and have struggeld with weight and low self-esteem for many years. I hope you can help me. I know that there are worse and much more difficult cases out there for you to help in but I hope you can help me.

Hello Tyra I enjoy watching your show My name is and I am 28 years old. I also enjoy watching Americas Next Top Model I only wish I couold be thin. Tyra throughout my life I have always been on the heavy side. I have struggle not only with weight problems but also with a Syndrome called PCO which means I have cyst in my ovaries. I have been marrier for 10 yrs I have been trying to conceive but because of my PCO it has made it very difficult. I have been through alot of treatments but as you probably know these are very costly. Tyra I have faith in God that one day I will become a mother. I also wish and hope that one day I can be thinner but it is very difficult. I wish you can help me. Beingn heavy makes it difficult to buy clothes and to have high self-esteem for me. With much Love

Dear Tyra,

I am a 24 year old female who is tired of people saying your so pretty but...you need to loose weight! or you cant suceed unless your thin. I wish I didnt have an eating disorder and solve my emotions with food. i want to be happy. Can you help Tyra?

Hey tyra!!
im 13 rigth now...and im struggling to be skinny..im what you migth call an anorexic..i dont know if i want help because i really wish that i was skinny..sometimes i even cry when i see food that my mom puts in my face the moment i come inside the door..for me over 120 is too much i mean u are a fat ass if u weigth over that.. im 5'3 from height and i weigth myself everyday..I wish that you will make more shows about eating disroders ..I also want eveybody to know that this is something that i cant change over time and it wasnt a choice because i know im hurting myself but i cant help it..at first i thougth it was a diet and thats how i still think of it ...I want to be like my older sis that is 16 and its 5'3 from heigth and has NEVER GONE OVER 100 she never even made it there..and she eats like a cow..and she dosent like to be skinny which is stupid because she is sooo lucky!!!!rigth now i weigth 114 and i go up and down from 114 to 115..

hey tyra!
im 12 years old...well i always think about how fat im gonna get if i dont throw up,but 4 the people thats reading this,just please dont start because its really hard to stop it!

Hello Tyra, I am a 32 year old mother of 3 and I have been fighting anorexia nervosa for most of my life I have went to many doctors to get help with this problem and the second I see myself looking like I have put on weight I freak out and then I go on a fasting benge for about a month where I will only eat once a day or sometimes not at all I am not sure what I can do I want to get past this so that my kids will not have to see what I am putting myself through but being that I have been told by so many people for so long that I am fat I just can't seem to get past this...I am scared that this disorder will get the best of me in the long run...what can I do???

Hi Tyra,
I'm 23 years old. I've been medically diagnosed with anorexia nervosa since I was 11 years old. I've been medically diagnosed with bulimia since I was 18. I went to college and in 4 years I was hospitalized 5 times; 3 out of those 5 times I was so underweight that the doctors weren't sure if i was going to live or die. Today I've graduated college (and I still did it in 4 years) with a psychology degree, my concentration is Eating Disorders. I'm still not fully recovered, there are days where I just simply forget to eat, because it's easier for me to revert back to old habits than stare into cupboards for hours trying to figure out what i can eat. I am further in recovery now than I ever have been before.
My partner really enforces healthy eating and doesn't buy junk food which makes me choosing a food to eat easier, she also eats with me which also helps. I hate eating alone, and if given a choice i won't. I credit my recovery largely to her and her continued support.
That being said, I still have the very dangerous self-defeating thoughts that tell me I'm not good enough and tell me that I don't deserve anything good. I probably will for years to come, but for right now I can't focus on years; I just need to take things 1 day at a time and on bad days It's more like 1 minute at a time

Hi Tyra,

In regards to Kaite's comment below me, my name is Sara, and I am Kaite's best friend. It is true that her problems are difficult for me, because i care for her so much, i just don't know how i can help her. Please, make an effort to dedicate more time to speaking out about eating disorders and how to overcome them. I am at a loss at how to help her.

Please help us both.

-Sara

Tyra,
i have been diagnosed with an eating disorder for about 6 months now. However, i have had one for about 10 months. I am 15 years old, and am not a model. i was getting better at first with not skipping my meals and eating healthy for 2 months. then all of a sudden my best friend died (my dog, Holy) i hurt my back and have a bulging disc in my back and i broke down. Not a day since then (one month) that i havent skipped at least one meal. Ive been on prosac for a month now and it was working at first but it just stopped. the weird thing is, when i restrict and skip meals i feel almost happier that day. I know that usually you become more upset but for me i feel accmplished. But in the long run im so worn out i yawn constantly and snap at all my friends. My mom is starting to get frustrated with me not getting better and my best friend Sara is constantly crying about it. I feel so guitl for doing this to them and i usually lie about what ive eaten.
Also i want to convey the fact that not all eating disorders are anorexic or bulemic. there can be mixing and also bingeing is a big part of it. for me i either restrict or eat to much.Bindging is when you eat so much in a same period of time. One time in a half an hour i ate an entire cake. other days i dont eat anything at all. and i dont throw up, but i take laxitives. which so many ppl dont know is another thing not only throwing up but taking laxatives. So far i have lost a lot of weight, but i am not underweight(yet). I also want say how not all people with eating disorders are underweight. i started out over weight. Now im on the lower side of my BMI. im so frustrated that Ed (eating disorder) wont leave me alone! but, i dont want him to leave me. its like having a battle between two people shoved in ur head. one is tellign me to listen to my family and kick ed out the other is telling me im so fat and ugly and that i have to eat nothing to loose weight. im so frustrated. i hope that u have another eposide not only about anorexia and the dangers of it but the gray areas that arent only bulemia and anorexia. Also if oyu could focuss on how to get better that would be great.

i hope that you take what i said into consideration...

Tyra,

I hope you will have a chance to read this. My best friend,Liz, is bulomic. I am thirteen years old and she is twelve until June. My other best friends have addressed this problem to her and tried to help her but she gets angry at them. She doesn't know that I know this.
I met her last year in the sixth grade and I love her very much and I don't want her to hurt herself more than she does. I want it to end. It is so hard on me and it's constantly all I think and worry about.
This year (2007, I'm in seventh grade) during gym class, my best friend, Danielle (whom Liz has been friends with ever since elementary school) was called down to the office. Liz was apparently pushed too far and took a completly different matter than bulomia down to the principal's. Danielle made a paper saying Liz has changed(which she has very much. She wears a TON of make-up, skimpy tops that barely cover her chest, and makesout with some of my guy friends.) Danielle then made people sign the paper agreeing with her. The principal blamed it all on Danielle when it's no one's fault but Liz's. My other friend,Chelsea, blew up at Liz once they returned from the principal. Every girl in the class then started crying and yelling. All Chelsea screamed was "You've changed, Elizabeth, you've changed!!" The four of us, a week later then had to go to the counclers. It was stressful, and I still didn't know all of it.
Later that year, things were back to normal us all being friends but not as close. We went to a camp with school for three days when I then learned about Liz's bulimia. I thought Chelsea was kidding at first, but I wondered why she'd kid about something so serious. Then I realized, Liz IS bulimic. You can see her ribs, her eyes popped out SO far, she has puffyness underneath her eyes and whenever she gave me a piggyback, I was stabbed by her hips.
So, PLEASE, Tyra, do a show about teen bulimia. It is really happening. This doesn't just go on between models and 15 and up, yearolds. 11-14 year olds also are becoming bulimic. It would be a miracle if she stopped. I love her so much and it is killing our friendship, and her.

Thank you Tyra,
Rebecca

ok tyra... i am BEYOND frustrated!... i am a fan of your shows ANTM and your talk show, but i am downright pissed off. you do shows on eating disorders and dieting, and you talk to your girls about it. you do body image exercises with your audience and at your camp, yet there is SO much you fail to say about what eating disorders are truly about, and i hate to say it, but some of your shows are very triggering.
i am 24 years old and have had an eating disorder for 11 years. i never got it from the media... something that you always blame eating disorders on. i was physically and verbally abused as a child. in high school i was sexually abused by my brother's friends, as my brother watched. my high school boyfriend was controlling and very verbally abusive. when i got to college, i was date raped.
i never talked about any of this with anyone, until things got so bad that i started having anxiety attacks and literally thought i was dying. i dropped to my lowest weight. i was confronted and forced to get help. through self-discovery, i learned about my eating disorder. instead of verbally getting everything out of me, i took it out on myself, and would confuse being full of food, with being full of feelings. i would purge to empty myself of my feelings. it's just like any other addiction... it's a numbing agent to not feel the pain of what's really bothering you. as long as i am empty of food... i am empty of the pain. it gives you something else to obsess about. food becomes your problem to deal with, instead of the demons inside. you have not ONCE explained this in your show.
in the show where you had the model on who would not admit she had an eating disorder, you asked her to describe how she eats. i was IN SHOCK and SO grateful when the woman next to her stopped you, b/c she knew that what you were asking, would just teach girls in your audience what they should do to "be beautiful". after that show i said i was gonna write you about my frustration, but as time past i calmed down a bit. BUT TODAY'S SHOW! eating for God. THAT was the last straw! the "diet" that the woman was explaining, and you were promoting through your show, are indeed, eating disorder behavior. i can't tell you how many social eating situations i have gotten through by starving myself until my stomach aches for food, then taking tiny bites and drinking in between each bite. that way you get full of water or diet pop instead of food. THOSE ARE STRAIGHT UP RULES, THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE NUMEROUS EATING DISORDER PROGRAMS I HAVE BEEN IN!
i can't help but ask.. what ARE you doing???? you're messages contradict themselves. your shows on weight draw me in b/c i am still very much in my eating disorder... and i just can't believe that you, such a positive, intelligent woman, can't see what you are teaching america! girls look up to you.. i know you know this. please... please.. do your research, and take a deep look at what you are putting out there on your show.

Dear Tyra

I am 20 years old and have declared myself as one of the pickiest eaters out there. I don't know what class of eating disorder it would be and I've always kept it a secret because it sounds so stupid, but it is controlling my life; relationships, career, self esteerm, everything. I have had this problem my whole life and I can't take it anymore, I have to do something and I need help, I can't battle this on my own anymore. Please help!

hajj Tyra
i really am glad that i don't have a eating disorder.. But the people that hav it must be stopped because very much people got an eating disorder but the don't know that it's bad..I love what you do really good keep it up.!!
-xxx-

Hey tyra.
I love your "so what" movement and i would like to see more of it. it has helped me with my eating disorder i am not completly better yet but i am getting there.

i love you. you are the best!!

dear tyra,

i am posting this because i just need to let it out. i've struggled with body image my whole life, i remember being in first grade and wanting a nose job and a tummy tuck because i thought i was fat and ugly. the fact that i even new what those are are at age 6 makes me soo sad. i've been the cubby one my whole life....no matter how many diets i went on or how many days i went without eating i was dissapointed in the end, because i just couldn't loose the weight, my family makes fun of my weight people at school would call me piggy. finally in 6th grade i dropped to 90 pounds, but no one noticed, i gained it all back and a year later i started purging. i stopped for a few years but when i hit 168lbs i just snapped. i swore to myself i would do anything to loose the weight no matter what it took i would be thin. so now it has been two years since i was 168lbs, i am now 100lbs.i never eat and the few times i do i purge, i throw up untill all that comes up is bile and even blood, i abuse laxatives to the point now that if i don't take them i don't have bowel movements. i am phisically and emotionally drained. i am begging to cry as i type this because it just hurts so bad to think that i am killing myself just to loose weight. there is an HBO documentary called "THIN" and in it one of the girls says" all i want more than anything is to be thin, so if it takes dying to get there, so be it." i will be 18 in one week and i feel as tired as an 80 year old ...im just so tired!

I am 21 years old and have been struggling with anorexia and bulimia for about 7 years. It started off simple enough, only eating once a day, sometimes twice then by the time high school came I learned how to hide the fact that I was not eating. There times when my friends and teachers caught on and I would give into their demands for me to eat just so I they would not call my mom. After high school is when it got really bad I dropped down to 110 pounds I am 5ft 6in. Even now that I am wanting to get better and wanting to live a "normal" life I can't. I am so consumed by how I look and how others see me that I have a hard time hanging out with my church college when there is food around. I have been isolating myself and wanting so badly to get lower than my 110 lbs. I just want to be thin! I am looking a treatment center because I know that if I don't get help now, now that I am willing and wanting help then I never will. It has finally hit after reaching rock bottom that I am going to die if I continue and I don't want to die!

Love- Rebeca

Hello. I am 16 years old. I am 5/3 and i weight 120lb. I dont know if thats normal or not? But i feel nasty. I look at my self and see nothing but FAT. Ill admit, i am "pretty" as in my face. But my body is gross. I am Bulimic, I use laxitives and no one knows. I dont want help. The way i look is just really been buggin me today. I wanted to vent to you. Oh, and i love your show. I'm actually watching it right now..the "it" girls! haha. bye dear.

Hi Tyra! I'm 20 years old and have been struggling with anorexia/bulimia for just about 3 years now. It started off just wanting to lose a couple of pounds, but as time went on, I wanted to lose more and more wt. despite being 88lbs. I look in the mirror and all I see is a ugly, fat, girl who will never be able to live without this ED. I have not been able to talk to my mother about it. She has found diet pills, laxatives, diuretics and has confronted on it and I was able to just make up stories about them. When she saw them she said "How could you do this to me?" After hearing that, I feel like I can never tell her what's going on. I recently began to cut. Which she also saw. I've been able to make up excuses but I'm sure she has an idea. I don't know what to do anymore. I've seen a psychologist but I feel like it's not improving. How do I move past this ED which is killing me inside!

Kari

tyra; i want to thank you so much for all your episodes. they are so REAL, and LEGIT. i am fourteen and have watched your show ever since it started. i struggled with my weight since the summer after fifth grade. i realized that most of the girls in my class were much skinnier than me, even though most of us weighed the same, the girls in my class were mostly taller than me, so as their weight was evened out...mine was not. i realized; through my dance classes, that if i walked around with my stomach tightened like i was supposed to do in dance, then i appeared thinner. i also thought that i could truly become thinner if i did not eat as much. the summer of sixth grade; i ate 1-2meals a day. mid-way through the summer friends were constantly confronting me telling me how worried they were; i told them i was fine. "look at me, i'm not skinny. i have meat to live off of". unfortunately; skinny or not..i was not healthy. i was constantly tired, and did not have the right nutrition going into my body. through eighth grade i tried several different diets, but i could never pull through with them. my old habits kept coming back. almost four years now that i am in ninth grade; at fourteen years old. i am slowly, but surely getting over my struggle and realizing that it is okay to eat. and i have recently started the 3 hour diet shown on one of your episodes. so far; i have kept up with it for two weeks! and i am getting energy and REAL confidence. i used to fake my confidence in order to cover up my insecurities.
thank you so much tyra for supporting health, and REAL NATURAL beauty!!!
i hope that i can keep up with this, and soon be able to live a normal life without constantly counting in my head calories and reading so many nutrition labels that when i pick up any object, food or not, i look for a nutrition fact diagram.

Tyra,
Well let me tell you how incredible and difficult it is to have a child with an eating disorder. My fourteen year old daughter Brittany is currently in a facility called Remuda Ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona. I am having a really hard time finding outside support. Aparently there just isn't enough support in the community for eating disorders. I thing it is even more difficult trying to convince our insurance company that ED is a life threatening issue. Thank you for listening to a mother in so much pain and with no one to talk to about it.

hello Tyra

Im 19 yrs old and i have been fightinf bulimia for 3 yrs. I am now suffering from bulimia and anorexia. I seeked out for help 5 months ago.. but unfortunetly my therapist and counselor is moving away. I feel hopeless... im asking for help... as i logged on.. i noticed how many.. girls have written to you.. n i felt my heart drop... this disease is terrible... n i thought.. she will never get to read my comment.. please i need help.. there is no support group in which i can go to.. around my town... and my parents still dont know about my eating disorders... i dont know what to do??.. my life is going down hill... can you please help me or give me advice??... i really need it...
thank you for your time
isaura

Hi Trya,
I dont have an eating disorder but I am over weight...I eat as good as
I can but sometimes i eat more then i should...and its makes me mad because its so hard to eat good and excersise when I see all these naturaly skinny girls who eat nothing but fast food and barely lift a finger whyll im running every day and beating on myself to eat good! Im tall and I feel bigger than i realy am and it makes me mad when girls act like they know wat im going through when they dont and say there fat....sometimes i just want to give up!!!

Hey Tyra, I am now 18 years old and STILL dealing with this spirit dwindling disease. I black out upon standing, can't remember what I did an hour ago, and find it exhausting to even hold my arms up long enough to brush my hair. And yet, no one would ever know had they simply passed me on the street because I am of a normal weight, nor the serious health condition I am in. I was hospitalized last year for severe dehydration and the beginning of kidney failure. My heart rate was so low they wouldn't let me get out of bed, and were afraid my heart would stop as I fell asleep. Thinking back on this, and realizing that I am still stuck in this destructive behavior, days, or even hours from death, it doesn't bother me. I feel as if no one cares, and feel so unnatractive and disgusting, even though I am told on a daily basis that I am beautiful from people I have never even met before. Why do I keep doing this!? I want so badly to be able to complete daily tasks without feeling exhausted afterwards, and my listless body collapsing into bed after even the smallest of tasks. Always facing an impending hospital visit, and threatened by my nutritionist, Doctor and therapist. I just want to get on with my life and be able to enjoy all of the wonderful things life has to offer. I am so glad that you and others are getting the word out, and telling everyone how serious eating disorders are. That they are not just for attention, not just a way to lose weight, and not something you can just get over. People need to know that people of any weight can suffer from an eating disorder, and you don't have to be emaciated to suffer.

Um yes. Well most of the days on t.v and the media all you hear is about obesity. Thats not the only problem out there. I'm 17 years old, 5'5 and I weigh 95 lbs. I hate being that skinny and I eat like a cow. I can out-eat all of my friends, but yet I don't gain weight. I hear everyday at school and even from my family "you look anerexic you need to eat". Thats all I hear everyday. It's starting to get really aggravating to hear on the news oh fat people this fat people that. What about the anerexic(not me, but the ones who want to gain weight)people and normal skinny people who want to gain weight. Why is there nothing for them and only for big people.

Hello! My name is Amy, i'm 18 and have a problem with my eatting habits. I'm not sure if i have an eatting disorder but I know if I don't get help, it'll get worse. I would really like your advice, on what you actually eat in one day to stay in shape and be healthy? Thanks Tyra, all the best, xxx

hey tyra,
how are you my name is jocelyn graham i am soon to be 19 and i just want to put it out there that there is more than one eating disorder. well at least i feel it is. for example me i eat in my sleep and when i am bored or am depressed i eat any and everything i can.i wake up eating i eat threw out the day like 5 timnes i go to sleep eating and i eat in my sleep so i just wanted to stop by and let people know it is two sides of eating disorders i think .

hey...so since last year i havve had issues with my body...people think and tell me that i am thin...but im not...on march 22,2007 i lost my best friend kailey erica mathews!!! i love her with all my heart and i wish she was heree... i really havent been eating much ever since it has happen it has affected my personality... it has affected every part of me...i juste dont care anymore..about anything...and when i do eat i just throw it up...my parents think i eat...but i dont... i just want evrything to be okay...sometimes i wish my disorder gets bad enough that i can just leave this world and see my sister kai again... I JUST WANT TO BE THIN....AND I DONT CARE WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I DONT WANT TO STOP AND I DONT WANT HELP...BUT AT THE SAME TIME I KNOW IF THIS GGETS OUT OF HAND THEN I WILL NEED HELP........

hey...so since last year i havve had issues with my body...people think and tell me that i am thin...but im not...on march 22,2007 i lost my best friend kailey erica mathews!!! i love her with all my heart and i wish she was heree... i really havent been eating much ever since it has happen it has affected my personality... it has affected every part of me...i juste dont care anymore..about anything...and when i do eat i just throw it up...my parents think i eat...but i dont... i just want evrything to be okay...sometimes i wish my disorder gets bad enough that i can just leave this world and see my sister kai again... I JUST WANT TO BE THIN....AND I DONT CARE WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I DONT WANT TO STOP AND I DONT WANT HELP...BUT AT THE SAME TIME I KNOW IF THIS GGETS OUT OF HAND THEN I WILL NEED HELP........

Hi Tyra.This is Sarah...i just want to say I Hate how my body looks like.I wish i look like a model.let me tell u what i eat a day i eat oatmeal with tea...1year ago i would throw up and i wouldn't keep nothing in my body.iam 5'7 and my weight is 115...im fat!!!!

Dear Tyra,

I'm just comming to grips that part of my problem is a eating disorder. I hate being over wieght I have tried many programs and can't seem to stick to them. My husband tells me that it really shows how bad I want to be fit. He has no problem with my shape or size he just wants me to be healthy. I have learned that I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovaran Syndrome) This problem contributes to a persons eating disorder as well as many other problems. Many women are not treated for this problem and suffer greatly. I'm learning to take things day by day and to one day believe I can develop the mind set to change my life style and get fit. It's harder than really some would think especialy with PCOS.

Tyra,
i dont think i have an eating disorder. however, i sometimes overeat if i am left alone in the house. i hate being alone with food. i cant make myself vomit, although i really wish i could. i use a lot of laxatives and dieters tea,water pills. i want to buy this "ipecac" its supposed to make you vomit. i really hate my body and im so embarressed of myself. i cant wear a bikini and fatter people than me do. im not obese but overweight. im 5'1 and 135 lbs. i really need help. i think about it all the time. sometimes i even starve myself for days. i cant live like this.

Hey Tyra,

I love your show you always have such great issues on your show. I don't feel I have a eating disorder. Just a problem of being an over eater and pack on pounds. I have tried ever diet but never make it past lunch. No matter what I am always hungry. Seriously no matter what or how much. I am a single mother of three boys and dread when my sons bring home fund raising order forms for what else; candy or the latest is for rich deserts. Lord give me strengh. In any case I never have to worry about starving myself that's for sure and I would not make my self vommit due to the fact I would be in the bathroom a million times a day. But I pray for the woman that I suffer from it. I knew girls when I was in high school that suffered from it and it was not pretty. Your the best Tyra to bring this issue on your show.

ah the eating disorders my favorite subject I am luckliy one not surrended into this though all my friends call me anerexic, and ask me am i bulimic but im not this is actully realyl starting to get on my nerves and im scared it might take a toll on me and i will become bulimic just to satify people....I dont feel im under weight for my height im 5'3" and on average weigh 100 pounds in the morning i weigh about 97,98 and by night im about 100.5(our weight moves around durnig the day) though I have noticed lately i have become addicted to the scale. My doctor actully was concered about my weight some as i had lost 6 pounds the last time i weighed in which got me kind of pariond but it is still hard.
P.S. love your show tyra if you could somehow ever just e-mail me it would mean the world

To all women and girls skinny isnt in the weight that is good for your height and your body is the way to go listen to your doctor(hopefully they are nice) and not the media!

Ms. Tyra,

I watched the show you had on eating disorders and up until that point I did not realize that I actually had an eating disorder. I am extremely overweight, 360 - 375, I'm not sure exactly because there is not a scale out there that is able to weigh me! I have dealt with weight my entire life, but since my boyfriend's sudden passing 7 years ago it seems to have escalated beyond my control. The physicians say I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, however, have offered no help other than therapy which I cannot afford. I have explained to them numerous times that I am in college, trying to work, and pay my bills. I have lived on my own since I was sixteen because of personal reasons, so needless to say I don't have the financial resources to seek treatment. I was only 19 when my boyfriend passed away, I am currently 28 years old and can still remember to this day the position he was in when we found him, I will remember it for the rest of my life. I need help Ms. Tyra, I can't loose this weight and when I try it just seems to add to my problems. I try to eat healthy, love vegetables and fruits, all the things you eat when you have decided to go healthy. I need an intervention ...

Respectfully,

Sherry

hi... I am kathy uykiat. I am 228 pounds. Before, I was 230 lbs. I take fiber supplements daily and my lunch is 1 cup of rice and fish.

hi my is jessica iam 18 and i way 361 pounds iam so fat i need help i can`t stop myself from eating. and really i don`t have a alot of money to play with . my dad passed away nov 11 of 2006 and when that happend i would eat to help the pain and iam so big. and i can`t walk very far at time . i cry myself to sleep every night. i don`t even want to get out of my house and do any thing. i really need help. love always jess

i just need and really want the help i can get to recover from bulimia. i just feel likei have no hope though

okay...so i saw your website hoping to find some guidence...and i know that i was probably going to need to find some help sooner or later.....

As a young teenager i have gone through so many lessons about eating disorders, and yes, i know the consequences that follow with it. i never paid attention to my weight, not until maybe 8th grade, but it didn't really seem to matter because i knew that i was at a average height of 5'3, and weighed about 113 lbs. i had never recieved any comments about people calling me overweight before so it never really occured to me to think i as fat. i think the only person that really called me that in front of my face was my father, but i didn't really care. i had always been healthy and fitt...i participated in soccer, track and field, and many other sports to make sure that i was "in shape". but in the summer of 2006, during the month of July i became obsessed with my weight...i was on a diet, but an unhealthy one. i consumed less then 900 calories a day and i started to get "black outs" due to the lack of food. after realizing that i had dropped too much weight i had to become healthy somehow. i started to eat regularly or maybe even more then i use to and the pounds started to pile up..i was afraid to step on the weight scale, yet i was on it at least 5 times a day or even more then that. Thats when i remembered watching on T.V about a young women in her early 20's who suffered from a eating disorder called bulimia. i paid close attention to the show and figured that this was the only solution for me to lose weight. i remembered the first time i vomited in my bathroom "on purpose", was during the first week of August. i cried secretly after each forceful attempt to get rid of the food i had eaten. and my throat hurt because i knew that the acid in my stomach must have been causing me this pain. But after a while i became use to it. this so called "disease" has been kept away from all my close family and friends....and im pretty sure that they wouldnt understand why i am doing this because truthfully....i dont know why i am doing this myself...i always tell myself that i can stop whenever i want to....yet im still binge eating and vomitting....i guess the only reason why i am actually writing this e-mail is because just 2 or 3 days ago....my mom asked me why i was vomitting...i was stunned that she had found out, and i was expecting be scolded but instead.....she just said me, " tell me whenever you feel that u can share this with me"....i thought that she would MAYBE understand what i was going through but instead i finally understood that there is ,and will be no help for me....my mom has never heard of any kinds of eating disorders before... anorexia, bulimia...totally UNkNOwn in her world..when i tried explaining to her what it was she just told me to "stop....just to stop vomitting....". i wish it was as easily said then done...i think i lasted about 19 hours of anti-bulimic behavior..and then i started again...i want to stop...but i'm not sure how...i want to reach out for help, but where is the help i need...now, all i can ask for is guidence.....guidence is the thing i need right now..so, please tell me what to do inorder for me to just STOP.....

Hey tyra, I am 12 almost 13 and I watch your show all the time. When I saw the one about eating dissorders and stuff I really began to realize how much this can affect people and their friends and family. I was on line at IMDB and I was looking at a message board and the title was "Am I Fat". I first thought this was someone younger but she was actually 15 and weighed 94 pounds. I scrolled down and somebody left a comment saying "yes you are fat." I thought about this and scrolled down and about 4 of five replies the person who started this had written, "are you serious." and of course the other one said yes I already told you. Then the person who asked if she was fat said, "i'm gonna go vomit the latte I just had." I have now learned definitely not to ask someone on line if you are fat because of this world we live in now. I believe that if you eat right and excercise you can lose weight but it won't show in a day but over time. I haven't always been the skinniest or the fattest in my classes over the years but I think I'm just perfect the way I am. I was watching bring it on all or nothing and in the show there was a cheerleader for one of the teams that's "never had a fat cheerleader" and this one girl moves and she gets on the team and there's a kinda fat girl but she didn't care about her weight and then in the end the one girl's captain makes her not eat for the day of the competition and she faints. well they give her a snickers and she says that she feels way better and hasn't had chocolate in forever and that it was ok that she was fat and that she came from a big family well that was inspriational. I would also like to say that you are and inspiration to me.

dear tyra, i just wanted to tell you houw much you inspire me.. i am 14 years old and have struggled with my weight for the last 3 years.. i was never overweight or anything but the summer before grade 7 i lost some weight and started to get taller and thin out, i got so many compliments and felt so great.. then i would think to myself , if i get compliments from losing that much weight if i lose a little more i will get more and more compliments, so i started living off smoothies and not eating very much at all.. i lost a little more weight but it wasnt enough, so i started overexcersizing, i would just run on the tredmill for hours and hours..i became obsessed with counting my calories and writing down my intake and outake for the day.. then i found these xanga sites of people that had eating disorders and tips on how to not give up and i would spend my time getting tips and visting those pro-ana/mia sites, they called them..i then began binging and purging.. but mostly just purging. every time i ate one little thing, even if it was just a bite of somthing, off to the bathroom i went. i became depressed and extremly moody. if anyone talked to me i would flip out at them. i couldnt concentrate at school because all i could think about was what i was going to eat next and if i really needed it. recently i told my parents about all of this because i couldnt handle it myself, i was out of control. i am in the process of getting help but it takes a while to get appointments with doctors and crisis workers and all those specialists in eating disorders..your such a inspiration and just watching your show makes me want to get better. i love americas next top model and i think its great that you have full figured models now. you've made me realize that being skinny isnt everything and everyone is beautiful. lifes too short to spend time counting each calorie. thanks for everything tyra, your an amazing rolemodel.

Hey Tyra, I watch your show just about everyday and I know you say you don't promote obesity, but it's contradictory when you have obese women "showing off" on the runway. Why would you be saying that such a unhealthy body is sexy or beautiful? It's not sexy, it represents how fat and lazy America is getting.

Hey Tyra
I think you are so beautiful and wish I could make such an impact on the lives of others like you do.I'm 18 home schooled due to anxiety, have social phoebia and suffer from bulimia for 5 years now.I have been to rehab 5 times but still can't seem to stop.My life is all about food, getting money to buy it and binging and purging.The scale is my worst enemy and i'm affraid to put on weight as I feel nobody will love me then.Even though now it feels like noone can love me anyway, all I do is cause trouble and hurt my parents.I get scared to go out with friends and let them down because my anxiety gets so bad. Sometimes I wish I were dead but i'm not and sometimes you just have to get back up again.I spend my days visiting the babies home and would love to help people to feel beautiful from the inside out.I feel that in South Africa so many people are looked down on, the rich look down on the poor and make them feel non existent.God loves everyone equally and I hate to see people not realising their worth or their true potential.Life is cruel but I guess it's also what you make of it.I don't know how to get better.I'm not thin enough or brave enough to get help again and I try but I just can't get it right on my own.I don't really know what to do anymore.Thanks, it's great to see someone really making a difference in the world- God will remember you at the gates of heaven.Hugs me

You would think that after so many years of eating disorders coming into the light of the mainstream it still wouldn’t be such a taboo topic. At 20 I am now in my 9th year of having an Eating Disorder NOS- which is a huge put down in the land of EDs. I am not skinny- never have been, yet I don’t eat until I begin to see black spots. Since November I have lost 85 pounds and gone down 5 sizes. If I had been a smaller girl people would have been worried about me, instead they congratulate me. Every time I begin to recover and think that for once I am not going to revert back into this, that I will be happy being a BBW it doesn’t happen. Society has made it so that we are not worth anything unless we are a size two. It begins in elementary school with comments like beached whale and earthquake, and quickly goes up into even worse slurs. The absolute worst comment (this is taken from a poll on bolt.com) is being called fat.
Nothing Tastes As Good As Thin Feels is very very very true. Because I am convinced that I won’t be good enough until I become skinny. But even I know I will never be happy… and that this is just a sad attempt to make myself feel like I might one day be the girl I always wanted to be.
I love your show Tyra!!!!

When we hear about eating disorders we immediately think of women, but men also suffer from eating disorders. I am a man developed anorexia when I was nineteen years old. My anorexia was more of a cry for help than anything. I came from a terrible home life, I was struggling with my sexuality, and being constantly picked-on in school left me scarred for life, I carried this low self-esteem and pain into my adulthood. Being a Christian I could not take my own life or it would seal my fate of going to hell. I decided I would make a pact with God and quit eating, if he let me die then it was meant to be and would not be considered suicide. To this day I still have a very low self-esteem and constantly struggle with life in-general. I have “come out” to my friends and for a while life was great, but due to the anorexia that later led to bulimia I have lost my back teeth and haven’t smiled in over twenty years. I am very self-conscious about my teeth, my smile, and my face in-general. I always pray that I will wake-up and my teeth falling out of my head will be just a bad dream, but alas it is not, it is my life that I am trying to find a way to live as best I can. I have not been able to date nor have friends since I have to be careful not to laugh or smile too much. I have learned to make myself eat, but still forget to eat on my days off work. I keep thinking it would be so much easier to return to anorexia and hope that my struggle with life would quickly dissipate. However, I know from past experience that anorexia is a very slow killer, I was close to one hundred pounds before I finally decided that the anorexia was not going to kill me, but it was greatly concerning and upsetting my grandmother. I started eating again for my grandmother and best friend, but she died in 1992 along with my motivation as I have no inward motivation or happiness left in me.

Ladies, watch your children and husbands. Let them know they mean the world to you and if you suspect they have a eating disorder or depression address it immediately, don’t wait for it to go away.

Hi Tyra,
You are such an incredible inspiration to me. I've struggled with an Eating Disorder for 8 years now, and have been in treatment twice. To Remuda In fact, I was there only by the grace of God. I've been home for about three weeks and am struggling again. (Not as bad as I was before, but this path is all to familiar to me) How do you do it? How do you model, and go about your day without worrying about your body? I am so self consious about the way I look that I don't even want to go anywhere ever! Its hard...Its a hard battle to fight. I wish that I could go one day without thinking about how horrible and fat I am. I wish sometimes that it would end just with the snap of my fingers but is doesn't. Any advice?
Thanks!

Tyra,I wanted to start off by saying that I'm very proud of you for really trying to understand eating disorders.From someone who has suffered from anorexia for 20 years and also has a daughter who suffers from it.I think these shows are very important.However at the end of these shows you always say if you need help get it.You really should do a show on the cost of these programs.And the short amount of time that insurance will cover it if they even do.The issue for many people is being unable to afford these programs which in my opinion is tragic.And believe me you are talking to a true expert. I think you'd be surprised at how many people would have gotton help sooner if they we're able. Keep up the good work.Jodi

Tyra, I used to have a eating Disorder anex. But not for the reason you think,I just didn't want to gain weight because I wanted to stay my size. But I just ended up losin up to 30 something pounds. Why I DID IT WAS because ALL i DO IS MOST OF THE TIME spend time in the house. I didn't really like that, I Wanted to go to the gym or dancing class or go running or something. But I COULDNIT BECAUSE I COULDN'T get their because i didn't have a car or didn't have enough money. Now I'm eating healthy,eating the recommed amount of servings from each food group. I don't even eatcandy,cookies,cakes, muffian or anything like that. My family is not really supported me. They eat junk food and tell me I SHOULD EAT IT TOO. BUT I REFUSE TO EAT THAT WAY, I THINK IT JUST WRONG. yOU SHOULD not care about taste all the time because some foods may have to much sugar may have to much sugar or salt or saturated and trans fats, which is not healthy to get a lot of!Now please Tyra I ask that you please come talk to my family and provide me with a certicate or money to go to the gym or any kind of exersixze class. I even ask for a persoel trainer. Trust me I 'M A HARD WORKER and willing to try my best at anything the trainer tells me to do. I ALSO ask for you to keep having shows about health and fitness because i like to know up-to-date info on that subject.I AM WILLING TO TRY ANYTHING NEW FOR MY HEALTH!!!!!!!!!!! I-m a curious person and always wants to know what is going on in the world. So Please Tyra read this and contact me . I'm your #1 fan. P.S. I want to be a commercial And catalog model whengrow up maybe a dietian or nutritionist!!!!!!

I am a desperate and concerned mother of a 28 year old daughter who has been diagnosed with a severe eating disorder along with obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic disorders and severe depression. She wants to get well and needs in-patient treatment. She is seeking the treatment needed. The fact that she is unable to work because of her conditions she is only eligible for medical assistance insurance coverage. There is only one facility in the state where we live that offers the treatment she needs for the multi-symptoms she suffers from. They do not accept this type of insurance. If she does not get the treatment she needs she could lose her life. We are tenacious in pursuing all avenues possible to get her the help she needs. The media has brought to light the fact that this is an epidemic and prevelent in all walks of life. It is my hope and my mission as a mother who is watching her daughter fade away with each passing day to find the help and hope for not only her but all who suffer from this life threatening disease to be able to recieve the treatment needed for recovery and the chance for them to become healthy well-being members of our society. The more awareness of how serious this disease is the more possibilities of helping those who suffer will be able to begin their road to recovery. Thank you for being a big part of that awareness.

Hey Tyra, my name is Julia and I want to thank you for all the things you are doing in your show. This particular topic is such a good one. I am writing a big reseach paper on eating disorders. It really put a heavy burden on my heart for these girls who have eating disorders. I want to help so bad. Our society spends too much time on how we look that they have forgotten that it is about whats on the inside not the out. thank you for all your hard work and I hope one day I can make an impact on the world just like you are.

Dear tyra!!
THANK YOUR SO MUCH FOR THIS SHOW, IT HELPED ME REALIZE HOW BAD MY ED WAS. AM TURNING 14 YEARS OLD IN JUNE 10, AND I HAVE SUFFERED FROM ANOREXIA OVER 2 YEARS. IT ALL STARTED WITH THAT WELL KNOW PRESSURE TO BE PRETTY(SKINNY). i USE TO WIGHT 100 POUND AND I WAS 5'3, MY FAMILY SAID IT WAS OKAY TO BE IN THAT WEIGHT, BUT I THOUGHT I WAS A PIG, SO I DECIDED TO NOT EAT ANYMORE. FOR BREKFAST THE ONLY THING I DID WAS WATCH MY BROTHER EAT AND I JUST DRANK WATER ALL DAY IN SCHOOL. I STARTED TO LOSE 5 POUNDS EACH WEEK, AND EACH WEEK THAT PASSED AND I LOST MORE WEIGHT I FELT EVEN MORE PROUD OF MYSELF AND WANTED TO LOSS MORE ANTIL I HAD LOST 35 POUNDS!! NOW I DONT KNOW WAT TO DO WITH MY LIVE AM ALWAYS SAD AND I WAS A STRAGHT A STUDENT AND NOW I HATE GOING TO SCHOOL. MY MOM DOESNT HAVE MONEY TO PAY FOR HELP AND I DONT KNOW WAT TO DO, PLEAS HELP ME TYRA
LUV MARIA

Hi tyra my name is Tammy and I'm 14 years old. Last year 2 of my friends suffered from bulimia and they cut also. There depression made me depressed also because I could not help them. I began to cut and was very depressed. One girl from my school commited suicide so of course that did not make matters any better especially because me and my friends we her friends also. A little later on my mom read my diary and found out everything that i was doing and everything that my friends were doing. It hurt me horribly because the things that I wrote in my diary were things that I would never tell anyone and for my mom to read those things was pretty much a stab in the back and the heart. Anyways back to the bulimia; I think that you should have had younger girls go on the show because i didnt feel like I could really relate because of most of the people on their were married and older.

Tyra,
Thank you for the show on eating disorders. My daughter is at a treatment center for the second time. She has been suffering from bulimia for 8 years. It has taken all this time to find a treatment center that will accept her Insurnace, but only for 3 weeks and have to fight for every day of them. This is not enough time, but unfortunately it's all she can get.
The 2 girls you put into treatment centers are so very fortunate, my daughter would loved to have gone to either one of them, but couldn't because of the expence.
Thank you for at least helping 2 women get better.

Hi tyra umm I am 16 years old and I have a problem. Now I dont know if you would necessarily think you would call it an eating disorder but Lets just say I eat alot. Even when im not really hungery i eat and thats not good. I tried
diets and i exercise too. I really dont know what to do. some people come up to me and ask if im pregnant and I feel really bad about myself please give me some help. Love Deja XOXO

Hi Tyra!

I just watched your show and I feel like I need to say a couple of things. I think it is incredible that you are doing so much for women and body image. This is a topic I am very interested in as I am a recovered bulimic. I struggled for 6 years with binging, purging, starving, diet pill addiction, etc. The girls you had on your show broke my heart. I know that pain and bondage and watching their stories reminded me of how far I've come and how much life I wasted when I was living with an eating disorder. The one thing in your show that I really thought you could have done without, however, is including the details such as numbers, weight, what someone ate and what time of day it was eaten, etc. I know that when I was in the middle of my own disorder I thrived on hearing those kinds of details because I would try to do them. I would think, "if that's how she lost weight then I will do it too". I didn't care if it was dangerous because I didn't care about or value myself. Unfortunately, a lot of young women don't value themselves, and many young women watch your show. I am afraid that like myself, a lot of girls who watch the show could be triggered by the details, and I know that the show could have been just as effective without the details of when, how, how much, etc.
I would also like to say that I hear a lot of stories about women who have eating disorders and I rarely hear stories about the people who have found freedom. I remember being told countless times that I would live with this for the rest of my life, that I would never have a "normal" relationship with food. I began to believe it and I ended up in a place in my life where I truly believed that I would die before I would ever find my way out. I just want to say that all of those things were lies. Freedom is possible and I am living a life today that I never thought was possible a few months ago. I am tired of believing the lie that I am not worthy or beautiful no matter what I do or what I weigh. I am tired of being a woman who contributes to the problem. By giving my entire life, striving to be something I was never meant to be, I am just feeding the lie in our society that I am just a body or a weight. I believe that the through God's incredible grace on my life, I have a reason to walk in freedom. He created me with a purpose that goes far beyond what I weigh or what is seen on the outside. I am learning to walk in freedom from the lies that kept me silent and stuck in a place where I was endlessly striving and never loving anyone except myself. Now that I have tasted freedom, I realize that it extends FAR beyond me. The freedom extends to my sisters, to my future daughters, to my mother and to the women around me. I think that along with awareness of the problem of eating disorders, women need to be flooded with positive examples of other women who have fought their own struggles and overcome.

Dear Tyra,

I first off want to thank you for doing a show on eating disorders, something I feel is so overlooked in our society. I wanted to say that your show truely did touch me. I am 18 years old and have been suffering with bulimia and anorexic tenedencies for 5 years. I was "discovered" by family and friends this past June and since then I have been in recovery, which I feel is an up hill battle but I stay positive. Anyways, the day I watched your show was after I had yet another therapy session. I sat in silence just staring at the TV taking everything in. I was almost jealous that those girls were able to just let there emotions out (something I struggle with daily). But the show gave me a little sense of hope. I have been doing amazingly better than the years previous but I still struggle a lot. The first time I saw this show I basically retained the emotions I wanted to. But it wasn't until the second time it really hit me. Again this episode was on before I went to a therapy session. Right before my eyes I saw girls break down and cry and let out there emotions, I saw you guiding them through. It hit me then that I have all the support in the world from my loved ones but I'm still that missing link in the piece of recovery to allow myself to feel my emotions, truely. But seeing your episode a second time made me realize the support I have and how positive things can really look. So, I just wanted to thank you.

Dear Tyra,
I'm 17 and my boyfriend who is 19 has be suffering with anorexia for a year and he has lost 130 lbs,he is now somewhere between 135 and 130,We talk about it all the time,He is covenced that I have an eating disorder,We have been going out for 8 months and for the past 9 months I've done everything to lose lbs,I only eat one small meal a day because my parents make me and if I eat something that I can feel in my body I throw it up, I've lost only 30lbs. in the past 9 months, the main reason that I wached this episode of your show was for insperation,not insperation to get help but thinsperation, I still feel like I am in control of this thing, that I can stop it when I want, but when I watched your show I felt obese all most as soon as I saw the first girl, andI understan that people make these shows to show that its ok to get help, but honestly it inspires some of us to get away from the help,to not eat for the next week, I was awake all last night thinking about this...I know about 5 people with soe kind of eating disorder, and all of them watch these shows for the same reason I do.I just wanted to say that I don't think people should have these shows...I know tht my sound like I don't want these people to get help and that I'm blamng my problems on a tv show(I'm not) I'm just saying it doesn't help,when you see someone so dedicated to their ed...it motivates me to be more dedicated...Its why I watch ANTM...they have reached the perfection that I hope to reach.

This was the first Tyra show I've had a chance to watch and I am so glad that I did. I've lost 60+ lbs. and am now at a very healthy weight for my height - 5'6" and 130 lbs. I know that this is a healthy weight, but I still see the "fat" girl I used to be. I am gradually accepting that this is the wt. I am supposed to be, however my friends & family are constantly scrutinizing my eating & exercise habits, and always making comments about how I "need" to gain weight & am "too thin". I've realized that my appearance is their issue & not mine and the only thoughts I can control are my own.

My 10 y.o. daughter is overweight herself. I've charted her weight & BMI, worried that I was projecting my fears & issues of being "fat" onto her, but she is medically overweight. I have been working to improve her diet, buying only healthy snacks, limiting fast food, etc. and have been exercising with her twice a week to a kid's Tae-Bo DVD. When I saw what the topic for this show was, I had her sit down & watch it with me. I explained to her that just as there are dangers to being overweight there are dangers to being underweight too, and that that was why we try to achieve a healthy balance.

My family & friends now think that I am setting her up for an eating disorder because of my own "problem". I am frustrated & lost as to how to get them to realize that she is, in fact, overweight & needs to start following a healthy lifestyle now - not 20 years from now when she's developed health problems. I've shown them the charts - solid proof that she does have a weight problem & that it is NOT my issues being projected on her - to no avail.

I have a friend who has been fighting bulimia for years. And I suspect my sister is anorexic. I hate to see these women hurt themselves in this manner, but also understand their thought process.

Thank for this show & helping me to show my daughter the other side of dangerous eating - going too far.

Heather M.

Hi Tyra,

Your show on eating disorders was very informative. Every now and then I need a reminder that being stick thin is not the norm and is not always healthy. I have suffered from an eating disorder off and on but have never been truly anorexic or bulimic. On occassion I have taken ipecac syrup to throw up and I have gone up to two weeks without eating. I have been close to going overboard but through lots of prayer and personal reflection I was able to get through those tough times.

I am an african-american female and something that bothers me is that body dismorphia among my ethnicity is rarely discussed. It is thought that african-american women do not suffer from anorexia and bulimia because curviness is accepted in our community. While our community might be a little more forgiving, people like me still exist. Although I am african-american, I still see the same images in the media as everyone else. It is very hard to talk about with friends and family because they do not think that african-american girls suffer from this disease. Seeing african-american girls on television talking about this issue will make it much easier for others to talk about it and seek help.

DEAR TYRA,
FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS I HAVE BEEN FIGHTING A DEMON. IT HAS CAUSED ME TO GO INTO THE HOSPITAL AND HAVE AN IV TUBE IN ME BECAUSE I WAS SO DEHYDRATED. IT ALSO HAS COST MY PARENTS ALOT OF MONEY WITH SEEING ALL THE PYSCOLOGIST AND MEDICAL DOCTORS. THIS DEMON IS CALL ANOREXIA. I WENT FROM 107 TO 79 POUNDS. I WOULD ONLY EAT TWO MEALS A DAY AND EXCERCISE ALOT.THEN IT GOT TO THE POINT WHEN I DID NOT EAT ANYTHING. IT WAS A FEAR THAT I HAD. I JUST COULD NOT BRING MYSELF TO SWALLOW FOOD. I WOULD CRY BECAUSE MY PARENTS WOULD MAKE ME EAT AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I WANTED TO DIE! I FELT HOPELESS. NOW I HAVE GAINED SOME WEIGHT BUT I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH I WEIGH BECAUSE I DONT GET ON THE SCALE ANYMORE. I STILL HAVE THAT FEAR OF FOOD AND I WISH I COULD JUST BE NORMAL AND NOT WEIRD. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY THING THAT HAS HAPPEND TO ME. I WAS RAPED WHEN I WAS IN THE SECOND GRADE AND TILL THIS DAY I HAVE NIGHTMARES ABOUT THE TIMES WHEN I WOULD TRY TO GET AWAY BUT I WAS OVERPOWERED. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I AM WANTED AND CARED FOR BECAUSE U ADDRESS THE THINGS THAT REAL PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING WITH. I KNOW NOW I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS CRAZY WORLD. YOU ARE SUCH A GREAT ROLE MODLE AND SOMEDAY I HOPE TO CARRY ON YOUR LEGACY!!

Hi, Tyra: I am an older viewer, but enjoy your shows although they are geared toward the young. I have a concern about the choice of an very obese woman to counsel women with an aversion to food. Perhaps that would have the reverse effect upon them, because her appearance is exactly what they fear most. Also, in my opinion, the heavy woman has an eating disorder herself, in that her concentration is obviously upon overeating. In general, I think you are doing a wonderful service to women in this day of the quest for perfection.

First I would like to ask, why is it that noone does shows about gain weight?All the show I watch is about losing weight. There are people who would like to gain. I don't have an eating disorder, but have alot of troble gain weight. I'm 28 years old, and weight 94 pounds. I hate the way my body looks,and hate being so small. I eat everything buy any, and everything to help me gain weight,but nothing works. MY questions is how can I gain, and the girl on the show said she eats 6 meals a day 3 meals, and 3 snacks what did she mean 3 snacks? Did she mean cookies, candy, what? What does 3 snacks mean? Can you please tell me. I know this isn't want your normly get,and I'm sorry about that,But I watch your show everyday, and hope you cantell me Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this. Rosa

Dear Tyra

hi. I am one of those people who is suffering from eatting disorder. suffering everyday and nights. every mins is fighting. can not get out from it for long long time.

Hello. I am a 56 yr. old woman, mother, wife and grandmother. I am writing because I DVRd your show about eating disorders and I recently watched it.

My oldest child, a daughter, is no longer married and she has a beautiful 10 yr. old daughter of her own. At this time she lives in a Victims of Domestic Violence shelter with her child.

When her child was born 10 yrs. ago, my daughter decided that she immediatly needed to lose her 'baby weight'...somewhere along the way instead of her being in control of the exercise and what she was eating the eating disorder took control of her. I see it as an evil entity that has possession of my child and will not let her go.

Her weight at this time is somewhere in the 60's. Her ED has affected everyone in our family in one way or another. It is like a row of dominoes, when one falls they all fall.

Several years ago, when she was still covered by her ex's insurance, I went to family court and got guardianship over her medical well being. I then had to go home and serve those papers on her myself.
Let me tell you she was not happy with me at all.

We then took her to a private treatment center here in Georgia. She had a feeding tube the whole time she was inpatient. As with most insurance companies, 30 days was all they would cover. I am sure that we all know that that is not nearly enough time for someone who lives in their ED so deeply to recover.
My daughter has always protected her eating disorder as if she were protecting a jealous lover.

She now has no insurance, is on disability and gets very little child support on a very irregular basis.

I do not want to bury my child, that is not the natural order of things.

Her osteoporosis caused from the ED has caused her 37 year old self to have the bones of a 60 yr. old woman. There is also some brain damage because her body has fed off of itself, it's own organs.

I have written to everyone I can think of that can help other girls and their families from traveling down this horrible nightmare of a path through their lives.

After being married to my children's father for 24 yrs., we divorced. It was a very abusive marriage and family life for all of us mentally, emotionally and physically.

My daughter is my oldest child and I think she somehow felt it was her responsibility to take care of her brothers and apparantly to take care of me also.

She used to be so very beautiful. In fact she lived in Japan for several years and did some photography modeling. Her black and white pictures are stunning.

In 1998, after I had been divorced for about 8 or 9 years, I was contacted by an old friend who was actually the first boy that I ever had a date with when I was 15 yrs. old. I was still living in our small hometown in South Louisiana, he had lived here in Atlanta for about 20 yrs. and we had just lost touch.

Not only was I blessed to have this wonderful man back in my life, but my children,even though they were all grown, finally had a wonderful father figure to look up to and to show them what a real father, what a real man is supposed to be to a family.
We have been married for 8 1/2 yrs.

He makes us all laugh, we have never had a fight, he supports whatever I want to do and is always there for my children and granddaughers.
His health is not the best. He has heart problems and all that comes with that condition.

We call him Big Poppa...and Big Poppa has worried and stressed and cried just as much as I have over my once beautiful daughter, who seems to be trying to erase herself from the world.

Your show was so informative.
When you busted the paparazzi and others for making nasty comments about your slight weight gain, well, you made me proud to be a woman. The world of fashion, TV, Celebrities, movies, magazines, all of it have added to this issue.

Thank you for standing up for what you believe and perhaps saving another mother's daughter from this monster that creeps in our daughter's heads and tells them that they are not good enough...just as they are.

If you read my letter, I thank you for taking the time to do so.

Sincerely,
DJ

Dear Tyra,

I cried through the entire show about eating disorders. I am even crying as I write this now. I just want to thank you for doing that show, and helping those girls, it meant so much to me. I would do anything to be able to get treatment because i have an eating disorder aswell, bulimia. I have suffered from it for 2 years and lost over 40 pounds by binging and purging, but i still feel heavy and i still want to loose more. I have come to the conclusion that i am very sick and my doctor says that i will die if i do not get proper treatment. I could identify mostly with the first young mother that you took to the first clinic because she seemed alot like me:scared. I wake up in the middle of the night because i have developed heart problems from my eating disorder, and i cant go to school most of the time because i am so dizzy and weak. I really need help and you inspired me to ask for it. So I just want to thank you for showing the world that eating disorders can be cured, and it doesn't mean that you are insane because you have one.

Dear Tyra,
People don't understand an eating disorder unless they have actually fought though one or more. Take me for example. When I was in undergrad all my friends where so thin and I felt so out of place. Plus my mom would make comments like don't where that shirt because your gut is hanging out. I use to have so much self confidence then it was diminished. I decided that last day of my sophmore year that I was going to lose weight. I started on a good diet (just the eating healthier and exercising). One day I felt like I ate to much so I thought well i try the throwing up. I thought it will just be this one time. Boy was I wrong. When I saw that the scale went down a few pounds I was pumped and then I was hooked. But, I got tired of it. It hurt, made me have horrible head aches, and I was so weak. I then just stopped eating. If I didn't eat anything I have to throw it up. I had alot of will power. I lost the weight that I wanted but by that time it was an addiction. I could stop myself. I decided to take a stand. I went to a counselor who helped me see the light. I started eating and didn't throw up anymore. Sounds like every other happy ending. Wrong again. I would eat a huge lunch so that I would not be hungry and I thought I was doing something good. I found out that was wrong too. Also, I have to run every single day so that I can lose a few pounds. I hate it. I can never relax. My life did get better. My father at the time all this started too was diagnosed with cancer, and was not given much time (howver he still living which is great)and I was trying to deal with that. That is when I knew stress was a terrible evil. However, I figured out how to deal. Then I graduated and went off to law school in Michigan. I was 7 hours from home and missed it like crazy. Also, right before I left for school my wonderful boyfriend proposed to me. I couldn't not be more happy. Well, over the Christmas break I had to have emergency surgery. When that was over I was no tallowed to work out of course and so I gained weight again. I had already bought the most wonderful wedding dress and it was a size 6. I tried to fit into it about 1 month later and it didn't fit. I don't think I had ever been so devasted in my life. Here I though I was going to be this beautiful bride just like in my fairy tale and it was slipping away. Plus me mother keeps pushing to be the most beautiful bride ever. It was just too much and I relapsed. I started throwing up again trying to get back into my size 6. My finace knows about it but he tries to look the other way. It is a terrible feeling. He always tells me I am beautiful and so on but I fell so huge and ugly. I have absolutely no self esteem and weigh myself about 8 times a days. It is a terrible addiction.It is not something I am proud of but I can't stop. I just wish I had one day where I felt beautiful inside and out. Also, I just would like some self-esteem back. My wedding was supposed to be the most wonderful day of life and right now I can't even enjoy it. Do you have any good advice?

Dear tyra,

Hi my name is Cassandra. I am fourteen years old and have been really depressed most of my life. It all started when i was little, and my father used to beat my mom. I remember five years ago when he hit her on christmas eve and knocked her out, the packed up me and my brother and took us away for the night. Last year i got really really depressed and started cutting myself, my mom got uderly mad at me, and asked why i did it, but everytime i tryed to explain she would just get mad. I stoped doing it for a couple months, but then my depression got the best of me again, i got really interested in the whole "calorie" and dieting thing, it didn't get bad until a couple months ago. One day my friend well ex. boyfriend called my mom and told her he was worried about me becuase i would often faint. Everytime i tried to talk to someone about this problem, no one would listen to me because i wasn't super skinny. Recently i got signed into a modeling agencie, and when i went to go shoot a couple of porfolio pictures i was the happiest person in the world, until a couple days after it. I realized that i was one of the biggest girls there, well so i thought, and i figured they wouldn't keep me cuase i was too fat. Once again i started cutting myself. Everyday i try to get over my eating disorder on my own, because i want to be normal again, i dont want to look super skinny, and always sick.See i would starve myslef throughtout the day and then come home and binge and purge. I would binge and purge and least 2-3 times a day. i dont do that as much anymore, now its just starving myself. and i eat less than 500 clalories a day. i haven't got overly skinny yet, but everything is taken a toll on me mentally and starting to physically. It just seems i have no one to turn to, and no one who will listen and i have tried so hard by my self to over come this, but its too hard. Being a model now doesnt help either, i think the media should focus on girls other than nicole richie nad mary-kate who are gross and skinny, and should focus on the other girls like you, and jennifer hudson who are confident and curvy and beautiful. I no i have taken a bad turn in life, but not eating seemed to help me deal with things better than cutting myslef, because it was less obvious. Tyra i am so lost and confused and i dont no what to do with myself i couldnt talk to my mom, i would feel so ashamed of myslef making her worry like that, shes been through enough, i just need someone to help me, i'm sick of this and just want to get better.

My sister is eighty pounds. She is five foot three, and fifteen years old. My sister is anorexic. She unhealthy and very thin. I don’t know how this happened. One day she was happy and healthy, now she scares me because of how sick she is.
My sister is my best friend, how could I not know this was happening. No one even noticed and as a result, my sister is lying in a hospital bed everyday, fighting for her life.
I thought my sister could tell me anything. Instead she did everything she could to hide it from me. She said I was the only person she was afraid of finding out.
For four months she did this to herself. During those months my sister lost 25 pounds.
She became very good at hiding it. But one day I did notice something. I didn’t say anything. I knew that if I did, she would just deny everything and then be mad at me. I didn’t want her to be mad at me. I hate it when my sister is mad at me. Now that I look back, I wish I had said something. I would rather my sister be mad at me then dying right beside me. Now what I hate, is knowing I cant do anything to help her, but be there for her. That’s not enough though, nothing seems to be enough.
Her hair started to fall out, but she said it was because she straightened it all the time. She was always tired, but she had an excuse for that too. She said it was because she was doing so much work out of school. I believed her for a while, but then it started to get old. Things just got worse and worse.
I wish I could go back, then I would have been more awake to what was happening. Then I could I have stopped it before it had started.
That’s not even the worst part. My sister has no idea that she’s as skinny as she really is. The other day, the doctor asked her, if she was aware of how thin she is. My sister just said, “Im not skinny, Im just sick.” Even though, she is eighty pounds, she still doesn’t see how sickly skinny she is.
When she looks in the mirror, she sees something she wants to change, or weight she wants to loose. When I look at my sister, I see right past her face. I look into my sisters eyes, and see someone who is being over powered by anorexia.
She needs help, but doesn’t see it. She feels that if in one day the most she eats is a grape, that grape will add ten pounds to her body. Nothing I say or do, helps make her believe that the grape she refuses to eat could possibly save her life.
I was looking through a magazine, while my sister was sleeping. I used to be able to look at these magazines but now, I hate them. I see celebrities that are as thin as my sister, but the only difference is, they are standing on the red carpet in gorgeous dresses, smiling; while my sister is in a hospital gown, with a face that’s as pale as a white slate. My sister is not smiling. I haven’t seen my sister smiling in a long time. Its not fair.
As my sister started to recover. I realized how hard it will be for her. Its not like everything can go back to normal right away. She has been away from school for a month and no one knows why. She is going to go back soon, and everyone than will know. They are all going to ask me questions. I know exactly what they are going to ask. And instead of asking her, they will go to me, but I wont know how to answer. What will I say to them.
My sister is done hiding, she’s done with everything. I know this because, its not my sister, its me. I was anorexic.

hey tyra i just wanted to say you are such an inspiration to so many people my cousin is probably well over 300 pounds and you finaly inspired her to get some help so thanks.from your #1 fan shavon much love.

Ms. Tyra,

I watch your show as often as I can. I would like to say thanks for being such a positive role model for African American women. I sure you hear this a lot but, you are such an inspiration to me. I have been dealing with my eating disorder for awhile now and no one seems to understand what I go through. A lot of time I am told that I am acting "white" or people seem to think that I am going through a phase. I'm not. I want things to change I want to learn how to love me for me and my curves. But it is so hard with all the negative images that are on the tv. I want to thank for shinning a light on the issues of eating disorders. For once I don't feel alone. I feel that there is someone of color that actually understands what I go through.

Thank you so much Ms. Tyra for all that you do.

April

Hey Tyra! Its me your number one fan Celestina. Of course i love you and you are amazing and i think your making such a good point for young girls who may be anorexic or think being super skinny is a good thing BUT there is ONE BUT! But (this is it)...You are also telling them to be plus size on ANTM. This is what i think will happen: Girls who are born to be a model with thin bones are going to be eating like crazy and trying to gain weight (ecspecialy if a plus size contestant wins on your show) the whole world might be trying to gain weight and be bigger with big hips, bigger boobs ect...just because they think its cool and thats how to be a model. Its not right. Its a good thing to not be so sickly and skinny but its also not healthy. Tyra you are beautiful but you do not look like how you look on the show. On the show you hold your weight together with corsets and tights that suck in your fat but just like you said on your show, at home thats not what ppeople will see, they will see a person with no make up and all the fat. You are showing them that being fat is beautiful but its not! Only if your wearing corsets ect... if you are wearing corsets and that jazz than its gorgouse of course, it looks perfect, it looks like a small waste with a booty! Thats what all skinny girls want...than all the big shapes look fancy and put together but when they get fat Tyra its going to sag because the wont have any corsets or anything to wear. I apreciate you trying but half the world is taking it the wrong way. think about it.

-celestina.

Hey Tyra i think your inspiaring and i think its good that you feel strongly about anerexia and buliemia. I'm a hevey girl and i know there are other heveay girls and its not good to starv your self or thow up your food but how are we supose to be fit and be confedent in our selfs when were not allowed to go to a gym or go to a fittnes club b/c we aren't old enough? Anywho i hope you read this becuase i realy feel strong about it and I lOvE YoU SO0O MuCh AnD YoUr ShOwS!- from one of you fans larisa

HI TY!

This show was very enlightening. It's got to feel good to know that because of the power of the little box of entertainment, the TV, that you can reach people who need help in remote parts of the country. I hope so many who struggle with these illnesses get the help they need, these illnesses are real. Also to, on a side note, don't forget that a lot of these girls have really low self esteem, and when the girl made the comment about America's Top Model, those were her feelings. She's obviously trying to work stuff out. Sometimes we have to be patient Tyra, even when it seems we are being "attacked" and recognize those who are being malicious from those who are just lost and confused. Keep up the good work though...Till next time Holla

dear tyra
i saw your show a couple of days ago, about anorexia/bulimia and i just wanted to say tht i think you are an inspiration to other people especially yound teenagers like me. I've been dealing with bulimia since grade 8 and i cant seem to stop, its been really hard i dont eat breakfast or lunch cuz i feel sick when i do. I just cant stop doing this i've been worrying about my weight ever since i was in grade 6. I am very obssesed with losing weight. I told my mom like 2 months later after i've been vomiting and she just told me tht i have to stop but obviously i cant, its taking over my life!

Hi Tyra,
all these people that say that they have eating disorders are lucky because i wish i was as skinny as they are. Im 5.5 and i weigh about 99. but acually i feel like i weigh like a ton. my friend is the most skinniest girl you'll see but she doesnt have anything. She eats like a pig. what should i do?? and oh ya what is purge and binging

Dear Tyra,
I am writing because a am upset about an interview you did with one of the women suffering from an eating disorder. She had mentioned to you about how she felt your show America's Next Top Model had an influence on her condition. Instead of listening to her you right away got defensive and said you had never called any of the girls fat. The woman you were talking with again felt unheard by someone she thought cared about how she felt. It took a lot of guts for her to confront you on what she was seeing on your show. I am responding to this because I felt she was right. During Season 1 of America's Next Top Model on one of the episodes the girls had to hike back into the forest and make thier own costumes out of nature. One of the black models was slightly bigger than the other models. During panel you told her that her picture had to have a lot of retouching done on it and that normally that would not be done. You told her that if she wanted to be in the modeling profession that she would have to find a way to control her weight and that this was apart of the world of modeling. Also on the beginning of another season you had all the girls height and weight taken to see where they were at. One of the girls was at 5'9" and 128 lbs, she was told that was a little big. I believe that if we are going to help girls the modeling industry needs to focus more on what a real average woman looks like. I don't understand why magazines can't have the pages filled with girls that are 5'4" 120 lbs modeling the cloths they want to sell us anyway.

As someone who is recovering from anorexia on my own, it's been really hard. I don't have anyone FORCING me to eat or anything. On the really bad days, it's hard to just keep eating after having just a little to eat in the morning before school. Since I've started eating, I've also started binging. I haven't purged. I just need something to make me forget. I'm fourteen years old and I'm in the middle of the biggest fight in my life.

My best friend died on the 18th of this month. Since then, I've been binging every other night at least. It's been so hard. I know that it's unhealthy. But that way, I'm eating and I feel better. Jason, my best friend, was the only one that knew about my anorexia. Mom never pays enough attention to me to notice. Jason knew though. So then, when he died, I couldn't talk to him. And I'm TRYING so hard to keep going. I miss him more than anything. And now, I'm going at this alone. Even though Jason will never really be dead in my mind, he's not physically here and that scares me. I don't know what to do on those nights when I feel like binging or when I don't feel like eating at all. I can't talk to him. I can't laugh with him.

It's been almost a month since I've gone more than a day without eating anything. I binged last night. But it helped. And I was able to sleep for those few hours at night. If I binge before I go to sleep, I'll be able to sleep for a few hours before I wake up. I have nightmares about Jason. It's torture. I can't sleep. I don't want to lay awake because then I'll become even more depressed and my whole day will be ruined. So I get up and I eat. I eat until it doesn't hurt anymore. Then I go back to sleep for a while. I hate this. Jason wouldn't want me to be like this. And that hurts even more.

It's like I'm in a dead end. And Jason said I was the biggest fighter in the world. So I keep fighting. And I do it for him. He would want me to. And that's why I'm fighting. It's the hardest fight in my whole life. But it's for Jason.

i have been strugling all mylife to gain weight. i'm in my late 2o's and i weigh 110lbs.the problem is in my attempt to gain weight i have given in to a lifestyle that is quite dangerous but i don't how to quit. please help

Tyra, Tyra, Tyra...I just have to say I truly enjoy your show from the very first being over 50 and all...now with that said I just want to bring to your attention that recently in the month of february the news featured that the government was going to start having teachers check and record young children in grades kindergarden and up weighing them on the scales in front of other children even...I am appauled that now with children unknowingly being cruel and mean to cause young children to have complexes as you've have already shown, still yet even causing more health and mental problems on top of already stressfull lives that we as adults have put on them (our children)...if you have heard of this cruelty as I call it or if not could you please research and let your wonderfull audiences know about this so as to prevent an already prevailing problem with our future...lets let our children be children as those (old yuks yuks) had without adult concerns...it's so hard to put my true feelings in these words...but I do hope you can tell,(I know You can, :)) Keep up the wonderfull things you do for us all...so what I may be almost 52 years wise so what...I still look good as others have stated
Thank you Lovely Lady...
Val Sims

Heyy Tyra!! I love you… My name is Michelle. I watch your show every day =] I don’t really have anyone to talk to, and you’re a great role model so I want to talk to you. I am going through a really tough time right now; the worst thing that’s bothering me is my sister. She is my best friend and the closest person to me. It makes me so sad because she thinks she is so fat when she is like the average 16 year- old. My sister and I were talking a few days ago, and she was telling me how depressed she is, because she thinks she’s fat. She told me that she wants to look skinnier than me, and like a model, so I said “ohh… you wanna look anorexic?” and she said “no, I don’t wanna look anorexic, I wanna be anorexic. I tried to tell her all the bad things I possibly can about being anorexic, and she doesn’t care. Ever since then, she eats like half a meal a day, and I don’t want her to end up getting really sick. I already lost 4 very close family members; I don’t want to have to loose the closest one to me. I tried telling some people this already, but they don’t seem to care and they keep on telling me that she won’t stop eating, but I know she will, I know her better than anyone does. Please help me, I am really worried about her and I don’t know what else to do to try to make her feel good about herself. She always compared herself to me, so I figured, if I eat more and get fatter, she won’t feel so bad, I even gained 9 pounds in 2 weeks to try to let her feel a bit skinnier but all it’s telling her is that I can eat as much as I want and I won’t get fatter (because she didn’t see a difference in me),but if she eats, she will be fat. I am running out of ideas… and I don’t want her to keep on torchering herself. What should I do?

Hello Tyra I am a day late posting on here cause i was not for sure if i wanted to post anything. I am 30 yrs old and i am about 255lbs but yet i also have a eating disorder people say how can you have a eating disoder and still be so big. I use to make myself sick alot but i try to take my life two times over a man. I now have help but now i just dont eat for 2 or 3 days if i feel i need food i smoke. I still once in awhile make myself sick by eating real fast then smoking right after and it makes me sick. I am still at 255 lbs my grandpa gets on me all the time about being big. I had my first surgery ever and it was back surgery in 04 after getting hurt at work being a STNA so now i dont work so i sit and think about everything that has happend to me in my past i just wanted to share alittle about me and tell you thank you for all the help you give people.Take care and god bless tyra
Shannon

Tyra,

you have been such an inspiration to everyone out there in the world. I have just been recently tested for anemia, and the results have not come back yet, even though its not anorexia, it could lead to it, and watching your show has really made me realize that i cant put myself through eating one snack a day, or just eating 5 crackers when i get home from school, and your show has really changed my life, and i thank you so much for this show, and i hope you continue on with it, i watch it everytime it comes on, and im truley a big fan, thank you so much, you dont even understand how much.

this show was one of the
best umm..i think what you
did was right

tyra. i am not super skinny but my family and teachers are concerned that i have an eating disorder. i DONT and i eat like crazy. but when i tell them im fine they say im in denial and need to get help- i dont understand where they are coming from. i am not super skinny and they see me eat! i just dont understand and i dont know how to react when they make such hurtfull accusations! Any advice?

hey Tyra,
Even though i don't have any eatting disorder, But my mom do complain about my weight. I'm 14 years old. And i weigh 85 pounds. I gained 10 pounds in a year. My mom and my two sisters are slim. And because i gained more weight they been yelling at me. They want me to become slim like everybody else in my family. To most people, they still think i'm skinny, But including to my family, I'm not. Before i saw your show, I started to drink diet tea, which caused my body to get more weak, and it also caused me to feel light headed. I have a head injury, already so the pain was really getting anoying. I wasn't able to sleep more than two hours a day. So that caused my effort in school to go down. Im starting to catch up my school work. i started to stop going on a diet after i watched your show. I really don't want to have a disorder or anymore problems with mybody because there is a chance i might have glaucoma, my mom always say "You mad complicated, why cant u be a normal kid. You always cause problems into my life". I been feeling really discourage about myself. Thank you for everything. You have a heart of an angel. You really beautiful. I think what you do is really sweet. You help people with really bad problems. Even though u never met me, and i don't know how you really are in real life, Your show had really helped me. I could've been one of the victims of the disorders. But thank to you, i didn't. Thank you Tyra. I hope you for the best

Thank you so much!! Im actually terrified by learnig about eating disorders due to the fact my sister is suffering from one. I just want to help her recover.I would switch places with her in a heart beat I i had the power to do so. I want her to be able to live a healthy life. Im scared she will ultimately hurt herslef where there is no recovery. Your show is a big help with dealing with this.

I have been battling an eating disorder for 16 years now. This was the first show I have seen on eating disorders that was not triggering at all. Tyra did a fantastic job with this one! She said all the right things at the right times and showed serious compassion. The part that made such an impact for me was that not all people with eating disorders are super skinny or walking around with a sign that says "i have an eating disorder." That was a very important thing to get across.
Thank you Tyra, you are just amazing, and you are a fantastic role model as well.

Hey Tyra!
i love your show.. and i really like watching ones dealing with eating disorders. because i have had problems with this for about 3 years. and i know excatly how these girls feel. i feel so alone sometimes. but when i see shows like this i know i'm not.. so thanks!

Thank-you, Tyra, for doing all the shows about eating disorders, and thank-you to all the girls who've posted their comments on here....I sure don't feel so alone with this disease when I read how others are feeling EXACTLY the way I do. I've been anorexic and bulimic for 20 yrs and have been told it's a miracle I'm still alive. I WANT to live, but my "disease" has become my way of life as I can't remember ever being "normal." Why is it so difficult to reprogram all our negative thinking regarding food, weight, self-worth, etc? There are so-ooo many more IMPORTANT things in this world to be preoccupied with other than how big our butts look! Tyra, I think you are on the right path in making a difference in all of this. Hopefully we'll eventually see a decline in eating disorders in up-and-coming generations of young women! For that, I pray!

Dear Tyra,

I am 28 years old and I struggle everyday with weather to eat or not. I know I'm not as bad right now as the women on yesterdays show but I'm really scared that I will end up getting that bad. The whole time I watched that show I cried because a lot of what they said is how I feel about myself.I fell like I'm fat,ugly and not worth anything.People tell me all the time that I'm not fat but if only I could believe that.I'm 5ft2 and 118lbs but I feel like I weigh more.When I was 15 I wanted to be a model but now I just don't think I could because I feel too fat.I have 2 little girls and I don't want them to feel like this when they get older.I want them to feel good about themselves. My husband doesn't like that I barely eat or sometimes eat nothing at all. I can't help it everytime I think about eating I think about getting fat and I don't want that. Even when I eat only a little bit I feel like I just gained a lot of weight.I hate feeling like that about myself and wish I could see what everybody else sees when they look at me.

I cried when I visited this website; I was so touched by Tyra and her guests' honesty,caring, and willingness to share their own personal stories. I am 32 years old and have suffered from Bulimia/Anorexia for half of my life. I survived 5 hospitalizations and a body weight so low I almost died. I am now at a very healthy weight, and my recovery has taken me to a wonderful career as a nurse and the military.(Something I could have never dreamed of having years ago) Here I have experienced the mental and physical demands of my jobs, and how important it is for me to be strong, healthy, and ready for anything. I have a whole new respect for my body and what it is able to accomplish. My patients and troops depend on it! I also just got married to an amazing man who is aware of my disease and participtes in my recovery. Although I have gotten so much better, I still need maintenance and it's a constant work in progress. It's beautiful people like Tyra that give me hope and keep me strong, especially during times when I am tempted to regress. I want to thank her with all of my heart for being real; being herself! We need more women like her to help fight this war on body image!

Dear Tyra!
First of all I want to say that I admire you so much. When I watch your show I feel as if I can do more than just get up everyday, go to school, and do nothing with my life! But When I had seen your eating disorders comments I started reading and I know where every one is coming from. Believe me I know! I'm a junior in high school, and weight is everything to the whole school. I am not the skinniest person in the school and I'm not even in the middle anywhere I weigh to much to say but. I just want you to know that you have solved alot of my prblems just over a television show. Thank you so much.
Love Kimmy B.

Tyra,
I missed your show the other day, but I heard that it was a true eye opener. I myself have been dealing with bulemia/anorexia.I am a senior now and this all started in 8th grade...it has gradually became worse.I have went to counseling for it but didnt seem to help.But I do want to say you are a insperation to all the other girls that have thought about starting a eating disorder they can look at you and see that they dont have to be 70 pounds to be beautiful.
~Beth~

I'm 14 and my best friend is 13 and I think she has an eating problem cause she only eats 1 meal a day and for that 1 meal all she eats is half a glass of water and 2-3 bites of a salaled and if she eats anymore she awlays feels sick and she sais she's fat but shes the skiniest person in grade 8.

I'm 14 and there's a LOT of pressure to be skinny, especially with peer pressure in school. It's like, "skinny=perfect" and I think it's so wrong. All those popular girls in my school are all thin and skinny and it's like if you're not skinny then they won't find you attractive anymore. I hate the fact that skinny models are so IN in this generation unlike the old generations when shapely was in. And what I hate most is the fact that this whole skinny trend will probably last for a long time and that I have to go through my high school years dealing with it. It sucks SO bad, it's frustrating.

Dear Tyra,
I was sort of upset with you and a comment you made to the woman with bullimia.
You told her that she was "taking the easy way out" EDs are not easy!!! People don't do it so that they don't have to exercise or eat right.. In fact they try to eat the most healthiest things like vegetables and chicken or fish.. They also exercise, probably more than the average person. EDs are hard to understand especially if you don't have one...I don't even understand it myself..
So I think you need to be a little more sensitive.

Im only 14 and iguess ive had a "problem" with ED I started feeling really fat when i was 12 cause i had a pudgy stomach so i started restricting really bad sometimes not eating anything for two-three days and when id finally eat if i felt guilty like if it was icecream or chips id purge.this went on for a long time until i finally got the body i wanted cause i was also a cheerleader so i was toned and really liked my body,so i stopped except when i felt id overeaten.After stopping ive become really insecure i feel even worse than i used to like i got worse i thought id be fine after i lost a little weight but now i dont think ill ever be happy with my body,lately ive gone back to not eating i really dont wanna purge cause it just feels grose and i feel as if o have no power,where if i dont eat i have the power to say no i dont wanna eat cause i dont have to and no one can make me i tell my mom i just wanna be healthy but the truth is i get dizzy light headed iv passed out from hunger on my couch i dont even know how many times.when it first started i just thought i was tired and fell asleep but then i started forgeting going to sleep and noticing that id feel lightheaded and dizzy so id rest my head and id be out when id wake up id just tell my mom i took a nap,but i honestly didnt know if i was gonna wake up IDK i havent said NE thing to no one except a few close friends who are somewhat going through the same thing just not as extreme.wheather or not is obvius i dont know cause my mom would never confront me about ne-thing and im alredy seen as like the outsider of my family so i dont need this on top of it.part of me sorta wants it to come out so i can stop,im sick of thinking bout food all the time and how i cant have any cause im fat or ill get fat,icant be myself im so depressed,cause at the same time i dont want ne one to know cause i dont want to have issues or be seen as the girl with a disorder,man im so fustratid!!!

Dear Wonderful Gorgeous Tyra,

* chuckles* I love your shows and am happy that you are so sucessful and going up the ladder even more from where you are now. I just wanted to tell you that I ... watched your show yesturday.. I nearly sobs a few times.. ( i don't really let myself cry) I've been struggling with problems with my weight for the last 2 1/2 years and have been doing ..bad habits on trying to lose more weight.. and struggling with my body image and just how i feel about myself every single day. Also on your show the girls you interviewed, the ones that opened up with you. Well it just made me happy to see how other girls think and how they want to get better and how they struggle with mia or ana..

Well, I just think in my head that I dont have a problem, i eat normally most of the time or that I dont have a problem like the millions of girls that have mia problem or ana problem..

i'm sorry i'm just rabbling and not really sure what i want to say or if i should send this or.. what..
right now in my chest i feel pain and stress because i am writting this to you and in the back of my head .. i'm saying no no no! dont send this. what are you doing. but i dunno i want to let this out.
and sorry again for my useless worthless message here.., but.. thank you for having ur shows and giving advice to girls and woman. your doing a great job

Dear Tyra,
I am 18 years old and I have had anorexia and bulima since I was 12.I have tried to stop but it is so hard.I am 5'4 and at my worst I was 90 pounds.I purge anywhere between 4 and 7 times a day, whether I ate a large amount of food or even a few crackers.I also take diet pills and diuretics.Some days I may take up to 8-10 diuretics.Your show has made me realize that I shouldnt be ashamed to get help.I just dont know how to get help and Im really afraid of it.Anorexia and bulimia have always been the things that I could rely on and its a comfort.Im afraid that if I lose that I wont have anything else.I dont want to die from this and I know that if I keep going down this road that I will die.Sometimes I dont care if I die from it but deep down I know I dont want to.Please give me some insight on how to get help!!

-Sherry
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Hi, like some of the other girls who've posted, I am a anorexia survivor.

The reason I'm posting is because I want to get a the message out there to Lori, or Jessica or whoever's helping her...

You can't FORCE her to eat, she has to WANT to get better. You have to hear her SAY she wants to do it. Show her that her family wants her to get better, her husband, the PUBLIC, etc. You have GOT to convince her; whether she's doing it for her family, for her kids or, at first, even if she's just doing it for the public. WHATEVER motivates her. She can NOT want to be thin anymore.

She won't get better until she really wants to. That has GOT to be the first step, I can't stress this enough...

I'm 24 years old and I am a food addict. I began binging at the age of 8. I didn't know how to communicate and express how I felt, so I internalized all of my feelings and emotions. I just thought that I liked to eat, and I never believed that I had any kind of problem until about a few years ago. I'm fully aware of my disease and addiction, but I've lost all of my power and control. I hate me! I hate what I've done to myself. For 16 yrs. I've fed the hole in my heart with pounds and pounds of food.
Today's hard, because I'm fed up and I don't want to be destructive any longer. I promised myself that I wouldn't overeat today, and I've been stuffing my face all day long. I'm so tired of living like this. I'm so scared that I am going to die from this disease if I don't get any help. For so long, I believed that I could do it on my own, but I can't. I'm not strong enough to handle this demon on my own. I think about dying each and every day, because the pain has become so intense. Instead of dealing with my pain and issues they've just manifested and grown over 16 yrs. I've wasted 16 yrs of my life with this disease. I'm angry and full of rage. I take the anger and rage out on my loved ones, because the person that I truly hate is me. I don't blame anyone for this addiction but myself.
I feel so worthless, disgusting and evil. I feel like God won't ever forgive me for abusing myself for so long. I want to kill myself...these are the thoughts that I've been having for the past few months. Maybe I really am a lost cause. Maybe I deserve this, because of all the horrible things I've done in my past. This is a dangerous disease, and I just want to be healthy and free. I want to live life to the fullest. I just wish I would of loved myself so much more. I'm screaming out for help! I'm sceaming out for rehab and intense therapy.
Whomever reads this, please take a moment and pray for me. Don't walk down my path. Let one in, instead of keeping everything inside and giving it the freedom to manifest. Learn to love yourself, so you won't be vulnerable to people's comments and opinions. God Bless!

I am not a person who normally writes to a show but as a person who has thought about their wieght every day of my life for most of my 41 years. I am astounded that we are all talking about wieght(of a woman) and starving ourselves and feeling unworthy... of what?? I am as guilty as society but I don't get it. What makes me think of this EVERY day, why are women made into this, why are you on the cover of a magazine with "She gained 20 pounds!" you don't see men going through this and by the way I think you are just as beautiful as always! I am with Dove I think there is more than one version of beauty!

Dear Tyra,
My mother brought it to my attention that your show today was based on anorexic and bulimic individuals. Unfortunately I was in school during the show and wasn't able to see it. I can relate to this situation though. I am an 18 year old female and have been struggling with bulimia since I in 9th grade. I'm currently receiving help for my disease. As a matter of fact, I was at my second counsel session today. I just wanted to say that since I've overcome the denial of having an eating disorder and am now getting the help I need, I already feel like a new person. My attitude, emotions, and feelings have changed for the better in the past month. This disease cannot be cured overnight and I know it will take time to recover. But I'm very proud to say that I'm happier and healthier every day that goes by. Thank you for voicing this horrible situation and making the world more aware of the problem in our society!
Love,
Jessica

Hey Tyra I must say you are doing a wonderful job on focusing on some burning issues in societies today. I'm a twenty two year old that at times worry about my weight also so I can only imagine those that have the disease. Continue in your quest to show young people that once you love who you are the way the world perceive you doesn't matter. Thanks for all you are doing. Neekimo

Turks and Caicos Islands

Hi Tyra - just watched your show on ED today. As a mother of an adult daughter who struggles everyday with severe bulimia, I thank you for all you are trying to do to help bring awareness to this insidious mental illness. Sadly though, even those who are in a place where they recognize they need help, are not always able to get the help they need. Wait lists are years long and most often not an affordable option. Insurance companies rarely cover even one in patient treatment let alone the often required return visits. And our governments continue to turn a blind eye to a devastating epidemic that results in serious irreversible medical conditions and all too often - death. Hopefully with help like yours we might begin to see some hope for our loved ones - so that they can begin to love themselves again.

Dear Tyra,
It was very sad to watch your show today. It breaks my heart to see the women have so little self worth. I do believe that these conditions are major health issues that become overwhelming because the women do not see themselves has having much self worth. I know how devasting that can be, because I have suffered with a poor self image for about 40 years now. Because I never felt that I was good enough, I suffered years and years of major depression. I have finally gotten some help medically with dealing with the medical side of my depression, and with the help of God I am starting to feel happy again, but I still struggle with a poor self image. I am now at least 100 pounds overweight. I enjoyed your show about "so what". I would be very helpful to me to have some lessons on things that can improve inward and outward images. I first watched your show by just flipping channels, but now I really make an effort to watch it every time you are on. I think that you are doing women a lot of good and I hope that you will continue.

hey tyra,
so i was really disappointed that i didnt get to see your show this morning..i heard about it and really wanted to see it because i am supposed to be in treatment for anorexia and bulimia but i just pulled myself out because it wasnt doing any good and i was really excited to see it but i had a class that started at the same time as your show but i just wanted to tell you that i think it is awesome that you did something like this for your show and i really wish i could have seen it :-)

Hi I am Miranda. I will be sixteen in May and I looove you and your show. At age 14 I had anorexia and at 5'5'' I was 70 pounds or less. I stopped having one after a year, but now it's coming back again. I'm not sure what to do. Well, God bless. Love always,
Miranda

hello Ms.Tyra today i was watching your show and i was ready to cry because i saw the girls that was on your show and how they dont want to gain weight..but what they dont know is that there are girls out there that would kill to be there size..like me i would love to be the first girl you was helping size...and i would love to be your size Ms.Tyra and like how the people say you were fat you is not fat if they call that fat what do they call 270 punds ....i would love to be your size ..and thats was a nice show you had on the air today!

Tyra, this show was great and it will open up so many more people's eyes about this horrible thing that happens to young girls. In school, we are writing research papers, and mine is about eating disorders, and I am planning on showing clips from your show in my presentation because it was that great.

Tyra,
I want to thank you for doing such an informative show on eating disorders. Unfortunately I missed most of it. But I got the idea. I have been anorexic since I was 7 years old. Every day is a struggle. It is so important to get the message out there about eating disorders. It is so glorified in the media that eating disorders are wonderful, beautiful things. No one really sees the down and dirty part of the disease. No one sees the pain and struggle. I do what I can to get the word out. I volunteer my time to go to a middles school 4 times a year to speak in the health class when they finish their unit on eating disorders. I tell my story and answer any and every question that they ask. It is important to me that they see that this is not a pretty disease. That it is not fun, and not worth toying with. I have been speaking publicly about my anorexia for a long time. If I can help one person, then my struggles were worth it. I am at a healthy weight now, but, as I said every day is a struggle. I still do not manage to get in as many meals as I should. My wish is that one day I can see myself through the eyes of others. Anyway, I applaud your efforts in making the struggles of this disease known. Keep up the good work.

~Kim

Hi Tyra, I watched your show about eating disorders and cried all thru it. I have struggled off and on with binging and purging since I was in 7th grade I am now 37 years old. I have Barretts diease and now they have found pre cancer cells. I am not sure if it was caused by purging.I still feel so much better if I get sick after I eat, I do not do it every time I eat but I still do it. It is hard for anyone to understand the just of it. I just dont want my daughter who is 9 to ever go thru it. She now thinks she is over weight. I thank you for your enlighting shows. I hope I can show my daughter the right way to be at a healthy weight. Any up coming shows or advise that would help please let me know. You are great Thanks Tina

Hello, I just finished watching a fantastic episode on eating disorders. I am now 26 years old. When I was in high school (16-18 years old), I also struggled with anorexia. I was 5'5" and 75 Lbs. Much like Jessica. I had gone from psychiatrist to psychiatrist, with and without my parents and nothing seemed to work. My doctor finally said that if I didn't get help within the month, she would bet that I wouldn't be alive!! I decided to check into an eating disorder clinic in Winnipeg, MB and was there for almost three months. The experience was a good one, but I fought the nurses and doctors every step of the way. I ended up leaving them AMA at 105 lbs and bet them that I wouldn't have to return. I am now 125 lbs and have never been back.

The way my letter is sounding you would think that I have beaten the disorder. I'm at a healthy weight, have a great job, fiancée, friends, ect. My feeling though, and I thought you'd be interested since you said that you couldn't quite grasp what it's all about is....

The weight issue is the least of the disorder. It's basically what determines whether your body gives up or not, but like you found out on the show, it's a mental disorder. I have decided for myself that I'm going to live in some sort of depression for the rest of my life!! Just because I have come to terms with eating, and force myself to do it to stay healthy, there isn't a minute of the day that I'm not thinking of food, counting calories, thinking that I've eaten too much, thinking about my weight, looking at my body in the mirror and feeling sick!! I don't know what to do, and I just want the "other EVIL voice in my head" to go away. I want to love myself, and appreciate what I have, because I have SOOO much more than a lot of people. I'm blessed, but still constantly struggling.

If you could find some info on these sorts of issues, it would be greatly appreciated!!

Good job on the show, I watch you all the time, as well as ANTM!! New episodes start tonight, can't wait!! You are an inspiration!!

Sincerely,

Stephanie Mackid
Calgary, AB, Canada

Dear tyra, I just wanted to say thank you for doing a show about eating disorders. I have a friend who is suffering from bulemia and this show gave me the courage to tell her that she needs to get help.I watch your show all the time and you are a major inspiration to me. I just want to say thank you again and I love your show.

Hey Tyra,I watched your show today on Ed's.I just want to say thank you.It's a real eye opener.I have a 6 year old daughter who loves to eat and is getting heavy and this made me realize what a serious problem I could be causing her by being on her case about her eating.Thanx for being a light for those troubled by this illness.

The show this morning on eating disorders made me cry and was very moving. I did not get to see the whole thing (due to leaving for work) and so was wondering if any mention was made of overeating. You can die and have complications from both ends of the spectrum. I should know I weigh around 400 lbs and should be dead. Heart disease diabetes and other complications run in my family and have killed relatives. I would find it very disturbing if a show on eating disorders did not make mention of both "ends of the spectrum". Oh and thank you for doing the show with the red bodysuits it is wonderful to see positive messages.

I thought your show on eating disorders was well done, except why on earth did you allow a commercial for L.A. Weight Loss to air during it? I think that was in exceedingly poor taste. I would have written to the show directly to express this, but you don't seem to have an email address available for such.

Tyra, I think you are so amazing anyway, and then you do a show that is me, and so many others who are in secret. I struggled with bulimia for 4 years, then went to a treatment center and relasped the day i got out. Then I started drinking so that i wouldn't think of food, so i ended up in AA, a recovery home. I did well for a couple of years, and now, in the past month i have been doing horrible. i'm actually binging right now. I don't understand how the obsession went away for so long and now it has come back. I know i cant go get help anymore, so I have to stop this on my own. Its vein, but the thing i hate most about bulimia is my swollen glands, and they are getting swollen. I think the reason God took away my freedom was becasue i didn't help anyone else. Its so awesome that you help so many others. Thanks Tyra

My daughter has been suffering from an eating disorder since she was about 13 years old. She is now 24 and still suffers. She has been in and out of clinics over the years and I can honestly say that she has hardly progressed with her eating habits during this time and has recently relapsed again and has only taken in liquids over the past few weeks. The biggest problem is the medical insurance who pay about 70% of the monthly fees at these clinics, which average about $1000 a day. How many families can afford this sort of money? Many insurances, like ours, only cover 60 days per year. I know 60 days treatment is not enough for most girls, so they end up going home and relapsing before trying another place a year later - and the cycle continues ..... If only someone would realize, that it would probably cost the medical insurance companies much less money if a patient stayed at a clinic for a good 6 months or more, than for 2 months at a time - repeating this year after year. Our experience too, has been that the environment of an eating disorder clinic is not really like "real life" and many of the girls just cannot cope once they return to "normal" living conditions. I know that our daughter would benefit immensely, at this time, having someone who was experienced with the psychological as well as the nutritional side of eating disorders to live close by and be there for her during meals and when she was struggling emotionally - but how many people can afford a private life coach? A new approach has to be found before this illness becomes an epidemic. As a mother, watching her beautiful, intelligent daughter struggle year after year with this problem, I really don't know where or how this is all going to end for us. It is very, very sad and my heart goes out to every one of you suffering from this terrible illness and to the families who suffer sometimes even more, watching their child struggling day in and day out.

My daughter has suffered with Anorexia for over 11 years. She has a very severe case and has been unable to work or go to school. She recently has been going to college half-time and has been struggling with that--not because of grades, but the anxiety and low weight. She is living on disability and her health care is very limited. She has been in treatment facilities numerous times and has found them to be ineffective for long-term results. She is in need of treatment again, but knows that the limited health coverage available to her will be inadequate. What she needs now is long-term treatment in a residencial facility, but her health coverage is only for a hospital setting. I am so afraid that she will die if she doesn't get the proper treatment soon. She is so very thin now and would meet the criteria for admission. Is there help out there for someone who doesn't have the funds for the treatment they need?

Dear Tyra, I am 11 (turning 12 on March 3rd) and I watch your show all the time. I have a really bad self asteem problem (it has nothing to do with any of your shows)and you are my role model. I am kind of chubby and been thinking about going on a diet. Your show has made me relize that dieting is the wrong way to go. Besides i love food to much to go on a diet anyway. It would be a dream come true if i met you or was on your show.It would help my self-esteem alot. We could talk about how alot of teenage girls have self-esteem problems and how they turn to dieting as a solution. e-mail back!

Hi ya Tyra,
After watching the show today I relize that there is so much more out there then being skinny. When I was 16 I was 124# which was perfect. Now with the diease in my back I am unable to loose weight I now weigh 254#. I am not a big eater and don`t drink soda. I only eat 1 meal daily with my husband and daughter. Eating is not my problem. I have been on Paxil for the last three years and weaned myself off in OCT. due to trying to end my pain here and the way I was feeling. I have a 5 year old daughter and due to my being like this and being unable to get around I can not give her the childhood I know she wants. Thearpy is 4 times a week and 40$ a pop of course I can not afford this. Everyday wishing I can do the thing I can only imagine has just become part of a fantsy world to me.My husband plays a big role in trying to take care of stuff. My house work and my appearance has went empty. Some days I am paralized in my right side due to the nerves being pushed against my spine. Some days I am able to go out for about 10 mins but when I can no longer stand I must come in. My daughter is always wanting to take walks and ride bikes and you have no idea how it feels to tell her "NO" or "I CAN`T" it hurts my every day. my weight keeps going up and I have no more options due to lack of money. This makes life and my weight even harder you just can not know unless you experiance it. The suicide can not happen again cause If it is not successful I will be took to a mental institute which I am not mental I am in pain. If you were in my shoes what would you do?
Thank you for opening the eyes of people like me.
Missy

Hi, I'm Karla . I had to write after watching your show on eating disorders. As I watched I could do nothing but cry because I've been there! I related most with Angela ,however, I felt each girls pain. I am about to be thirty- three years old in April and I started making myself sick around the age of fifteen. So it's been over seventeen years. I am now recovering, it's been about six months ago since I made myself sick. It's been an on and off again thing through the years. I weigh 125.5lbs. and am 5ft5inches tall. I would still like to loose 10 or 15 lbs.,but I deal with it a little better the older that I get. I normally don't watch TV but, I have become a big fan of the show! This week two shows "So What" & "Eating Disorders" really touched me. Even though I am recovering, bulimia is something I feel never goes away it's always in the back of your mind,but I have a wonderful husband and two georgous kids and I'm finally realizing that they mean so much more to me than having a perfect figure.It's really hard to find strength sometimes though.I also suffer from epilepsy and can't drive. I don't know for sure what caused the epilepsy,for all I know it could be due to the bulimia but the epilepsy causes me to be at home 95% of the time so It's just me and the TV most of the time.My kids are five and seven so they're in school.Like I said earlier I don't watch much TV but now I can't miss your show! After watching the so what show, I felt an even stronger will to love me for me. My husband ask me last night if I was hot because I walked around after I put the kids to bed in just my panties and bra, I put my finger up to my mouth then stuck it to my hip and made a sizzle sound and said yes I am! He was in shock because I normally keep myself covered and by no means do I ever say or think things like I'm hot. So I thank you for giving me more strenghth. I love your show and all that you stand for!!!
P.S. Isn't it ironic that after your show went off today the first commercial to come on was "say goodbye to body fat", that's why I don't watch much TV!
P.S.S."Sowhat, I have a pooch!"

Tyra! hey, I just want to say that the pressure to be thin is just so strong in middle school, what you are doing is such an inspiration and I thank you so much for everything you do for girls just like me!keep goning I LOVE YOU!

Tyra,Your shows on eating disorders have helped me with my stuggle. I have had a problem since I was 15 when I was 17 I was at 98lbs. I became pregnant when I was 18, and had my first big battle putting on the pounds I finally reached my goal of putting on 30lbs. I had no problem getting back down to size. I am now 20 and pregnant again fighting the same battle, but thanks to you I know I can do it no matter how rough it may get

Hi Tyra, I just wanted to think you for your episode on eating disorder clinics. I'm 19 years old and have struggled with purging and straving (EDNOS) myself for four years. I am about 5'5" and weigh about 120 pounds ( I wanna weigh 100 ponds). I am at a average weight because I alternate between the two, but I have lost about 2 sizes. Only a few of my close friends know, but my family has no idea. After seeing this episode I realize that when I am ready to go into treatment and confront my demons that there really is a life after an eating disorder.
Thanks Tyra, you'll never know how much you really did help me.

Tyra, Just wanted to give you praise for the good work that you are doing.
With this type of show you are touching people and changing lives. Keep it up!God is blessing you BIGTIME!

Dear Tyra,

I greatly appreciate your work that you have done on your show concerning eating disorders. I have a daughter, who is 17, with bullemia. She does not believe that she has a problem and I am constantly struggling to geet her to go to treatment. She has run away from me, cussed at me and has been very defiant towards getting any kind of help. I pray every day that she will wake up and realize that she needs help and that she knows that I love her and am here to help her. Keep up the good work Tyra. You are a great role model for all of us!

Hey Tyra, you know, for every good/positive comment there are negative comments. I'm here to tell you to just be encouraged, you are phenomenal and continue with your good work and just being the wonderful person that you are. Much love and Be blessed!!

I just finished watching the eating disorder clinic show. I have struggled with feeling good about my body. Luckily, I have come to accept that all body types are different and I don't want to change my basic shape, but I still struggle with the thought that I need to get more toned and lose the pudge. People say I'm a good weight, but some days I have a hard time accepting that I don't need to go a little farther. Luckily, I have three best friends who are in this struggle with me. We keep each other sane and workout together. "Dieting" with friends is definitely the best way to go!

Dear Tyra,

THANK YOU so much for doing today's show. I just finished watching it (amazing that I actually watched it in "real" time as I normally have to tape it and watch it when everyone else in the house is asleep).
I want to say GOOD FOR YOU!!! for taking a stance on the war to fight eating disorders! I was a victim (literally a victim) of this disease for over 10 years about 5-6 years ago. Even though I am doing well (married, even was able to have a child, a son), I still struggle with it on and off. I suffered from BOTH anorexia and bulimia (sometimes alternating and sometimes at the same time). I still find myself constantly reminding myself that as long as I'm healty-psychologically, physically, emotionally, spiritually (and happy) it doesn't matter what the weight or clothing size is. It's a constant "renewing" of my mind whenever I get stressed. Getting stressed is usually the beginning of my mind wandering off to the "disease state" and wondering if things were better (or would have been better) if I was smaller (in size and weight). Being surrounded with people who really loves me for who I am also help.
I, myself, have been in and out of hospitals and treatment centres so often I don't really remember the exact numbers. However, what was the changing point? It was when I have had enough of loosing my life (all the joys, the experiences of living) and being prisoner of this wicked disease! I wanted a life! I wanted to be married, to have a family. At the rate I was going, I couldn't, I wasn't able to. My life was literally passing me by. It also didn't help that depressing and eating disorder are sooooo intertwined it's hard to separate them. However, once I had the mental decision to actually fight for my life with EVERYTHING I've got (in the last treatment centre I was in) that I finally started on the road to recovery. I've been "eating-disordered-free" (at least behaviourally) for about 5-6 years! Mentally, I still struggle to keep myself in check and be realistic. However, it wasn't until last year July that I was finally able to get off anti-depressants. I was on them for about 11 years.
Now that I'm off all medications, I feel so free! I feel so liberated! For the first time in a decade, I am able to perform the music (piano) that I've been trained in. It's crazy...it almost feels as if my piano is my therapist...the piano (music) is where I dump all my emotions into. Currently, I'm preparing for 2 international piano competitions. The eating disorder robbed me of my rise to the music world when I was younger. Now, in my 30's, I'm starting on that journey again. But this time, with the support of my loving husband and son...without the eating disorder or depression!
Once again, THANK YOU, for being a role model for me...and for everyone else. Thank you for takling issues face-on and honestly, openly, without reservations. Thank you for you! You really inspire me!

First off, thank you Tyra for going behind the scenes to a ED clinic. I'm from Canada, and don't have to worry about the cost of getting help. Yet, I have refused it. I was hospitalized (obs) at the beginning of February for anorexia and depression. It was one of the most horrible times in my life. I ate as much as I could, or as much as I would let myself, and the nurse told me it wasn't enough and to eat more. Taking those extra bites was excrutiating. I didn't know which to fight more, the food or the tears. One of the hardests parts for me has been not looking like I have an ED. I'm 5'9 and weigh 145. I have curves and look healthy. When I look in the mirror, I hate what I see. I've starved myself to get to this weight. A weight were, like Lori, being able to feel my ribs is a comfort. And yet, it still feels like it's not enough. I have the support of friends and the church, but they can only help with as much as I trust them with. I don't want to die in my quest for beauty. I need help. I need to change my thinking and get rid of my fears. I need to stop obbsessively weighing myself. I need to stop pretending everything is okay.

Tyra-My 21 yr old daughter almost died this month due to complications r/t anorexia. She is currently in the hospital receiving tube feedings to get her wt up. She was down to 79# on a 6'2" frame. Her heart was so starved for nutrition, it was unable to beat properly- when I took her to the ER as she was unresponsive, her blood sugar was at 12 - it has been a nightmare.. Her psychiatrist is wanting to send her to a eating facility like the ones shown on your show today - however there are no facilities in the pacific northwest. Her insurance will not cover any facilities and she does not quality for medical assistance. So I guess she is just out of luck? Do you have any ideas? Her doctors will not release her until she is up to 115# -yesterday her weight was at 98#. She is eating but I know the only reason she is is just to get out of the hospital and I'm afraid that she will slide back once she is out. Thank you for your time.
Debbie

I was dreading watching this show... I know I probably shouldn't... but now it's on, and... I'm bawling. I'm engaged, and I know I can't get married if I don't have this under control... I'm watching Amanda say goodbye to her kids... I will never let myself have children if I'm still like this... and I don't see it changing.

I'm remembering rehab. How strict, how much work I did. And it was all for nothing. No point in doing it again... I don't have the money, and if I did, it would just be a waste...

Hello Tyra! I would like to thank you for your initiative in tackling the weight issue, and women's self confidence issues in general. I would just like to point out that there are two sides of eating disorders. Why do we treat anoretics and bulemics by sending them to chic treatment facilities, but still are putting fat girs on diets? Compulsive overeating is just as much of an eating disorder as anorexia or bulemia, although not nearly as glam. Granted, dying from heart disease or diabetes is a much slower, crueler way to die than sudden heart failure due to malnutrition, anorexia might be more immediately acute than "morbid" obesity, but the bottom line is the same. People are using food, or lack of it, to control their feelings or lives. People are dying from both sides of the same coin. They are both equally deadly, and therefore should be equally treated. Thank you for everything you are doing for women's health, both physical and mental.

Tyra- I just want to thank you for focusing on the problem of most young girls and women today. I think all of us find the struggle with being "thin" being "pretty". We don't have to be stick thin to look good. It takes someone like you to get that out!!
You are Great!!

Dear Tyra,
I became anorexic in second grade at age 7. I did that because my parents were pressuring me to look a certain way and also because I would see countless pictures of thin models in magazines at the grocery store. At 14, I became anorexic again. At a height of 5'8", I weighed slightly less than 100 pounds. Now I weigh 135 and go to a top 20 university. I like the way I look because curves are just more attractive. I think it is important for girls to know that sometimes when you are that thin with a ultra-low BMI that it can result in many internal problems, both physical and psychological. Your nervous system, for example, relies on carbs and when you don't eat enough, you're killing brain cells. Your heart and other organs are also digested by your body which can and may result in organ failure later on in life. Emotional problems you can adopt through anorexia not only include depression, anxiety, and other eating disorders, but also really negative personality changes. All in all, it is better to have curves than not.

-Hillary

Hey Tyra, I am so glad that your trying to help people like me. It's nice just to read what others are going through. That I'm not alone. I am 28 and I have had an eating disorder for 7 yrs. now. It's so hard to go through everyday and all I think about is my weight and what I eat. My eating disorder has got worse in the last yr. I am praying that someday I will be over this problem once and for all.

hi tyra my name is amberlee and i am 16 and i just finished watching your show today about the eating dissorters. and becuase of watching your show i now no that i need help. for the past two years i have been struggling with aneroxia and when i started putting on weight becuase my mother made me i now have another eating dissorder. i do not kno what to do. now i do not know when i am full..i am a binge eater and it is discusting and also terrifies me. when i look into the merrior i see a fat ugly person who is discusting, then i binge and i am extremely upset all the time. i miss school. what i am telling you is that i need help in order to be happy..

love you girl
amberlee

you only see stories of people who are skinny, not just people who are struggling. why can't you show the struggles of the 75% of eating disordered women who are actually at or above a normal weight? i look "fine," but i'm very sick, and for a long time i didn't get help because i thought i was too fat to have an eating disorder. if you want more people to get help, offer a platform for girls like me, who not only feel like a failure regarding their weight, but regarding their own illness as well. is there help for us? if things stay the way they are, i don't think so. and i don't want to live my life like this... it doesn't seem worth it.

Hi Tyra,
I watched this show today and it took me back to when I struggled with an eating disorder. I struggled with anorexia and bulimia for about 10 years. I think that it's important to note, that a lot of the time an eating disorder is a symptom to bigger issues. It's more of a control factor than anything. When a person's life is out of control, the easiest and quickest way to gain a tainted look at control is through eating. No one else has control over what you eat or if you throw up. Purging is a type of relief, it's purging not only food but all the feelings of being out of control.
I would love to work with people that suffer from eating disorders, and prevention. I am a Social Worker in Canada and would love the opportunity to work with eating disorders. Having suffered myself, I know about the lying, manipulations, fear, sadness that goes along with an eating disorder. Is there anything that you can help me with?
Thank you for what you do! You are amazing!!
From Canada
Joey

thank you to Tyra for her talk show she should be very proud of herself. i was about to give up on myself too until i started watching her show!!!!

I really enjoy your eating disorder show today. I to am recovering, the one thing I would like to see you ask is “life after recovery” 15 years ago when my youngest daughter was born I weighed 92 lbs (I am 5’5”). I now weigh 192. It has been an uphill battle. I now feel depressed about my weight because due to health problems my doctor has told me I need to loose 60 lbs. I tried to explain to him that I am really scared because I am afraid that the bulimia will come back. Even after 15 years eating and not throwing up is a battle. I have to eat and than lay down to sleep so I don’t throw up. Now with a medical professional telling me I am obese it is a battle. So if you could do a show on this it would really help me.

Thank you

Kathy

i'm an eating disordered young woman, and my experience tells me that actually, chances of recovery are slim to none. i certainly can't imagine a life without this obsession, though i've been to rehab and through years of therapy. i think the statistics are skewed... especially remuda ranch claiming a 90% recovery rate, since all the girls i met there that i'm still in touch with, including myself, are sicker than ever. i don't know if it's worth living the rest of my life like this... gaining, losing, seeming better, suffering backlash. what kind of existence is this?

Hi Tyra, I watch your show more and more now that you have been talking about weight. I am over weight, and I have been all of my life. Ever since I was little I have been teased and made fun of. I am now A young mother and I think the only time I was ok with myself was when I was preago because you are ok to be fat then. When I watch to you, it makes me feel a little better about myself and all I can say is thank you SOOOOO MUCH!

Hi,
um well i just wanted to say that... i kinda want help. I am stuggling with an eating disorder, but i am deff. not thin. If u look at me you would never think i struggle with an ED.... but the thing is, my ED DOES take over my life. I think about food and weight all the time, everyday. And i just want to change, i want to not have to think about my weight 24-7. Please Tyra, help me be me again.

xoxo

Trya,
I just wanted to take a moment to say How glad to see your show on the eating disorders. When I was young my mother had a battle with an eating disorder. She was In a center for a few weeks. I still recall the fear of losing her. to this day when I hear a women say "I'm too fat" it makes me so angery. I try to tell them that they are great just the way they are, even though I know my word fall on def ears. I hope that women will see this realize that they are not only hurting them selves, there also hurting the people around them. As a son who almost lost a mother please don't risk your life to be thin. We don't eant to lose another person to this disease.

I have been big my whole adult live.And have been on alot of diets and everything.And heard some of the worst coments a person could say to some on else.And this show brings to light alot of issues that come with either being overweigth or to thin.I just people to know that if someone has some curves or rolls or whatever dosnt make them non human.

I cant even imagine being as small as thoes girls are and trying to lose weight. I wear a size five just like Laurie did and I am trying to GAIN weight!! I hate the way I look. I use to weigh 120 lbs and loved myself. I went to hairdressing school and got really stressed out and lost about 15lbs. Then just the other day when I went for a surgery, I weighed 98 lbs. I felt sick to my tummy because I always thought that if I stayed above 100lbs I wouldnt look gross...well I think I do now. And Im pretty sure I must have lost a couple more lbs after my surgery on my feet because I couldnt keep food down due to the pain killers and I wasnt using my legs. Anyways, I just think its so sad that they are trying to be so skinny. I hate it!!! I would rather be bigger anyday!

Hi, I was just watching wednesdays show about eating disorders and i know what these girls are feeling. I was not a victom of an eating disorder but i was over weight, to come down to it i was 230 lbs. I had the realization that i was fat when i was disnosted with diabetes. I have lost 80 lbs and some times i still feel fat but when i look in the morror i see me as me but still feel fat. i hope that these girls can come to terms that they are not fat and are lovely young womem. all the luck to the girls in the future!

Tyra,

Your show today was amazing. The way you took those women under your wing to show them that you care shows a lot about your character as a WOMAN! You have an amazing heart and such an overwhelming, wonderful spirit. Your show touched me in more ways than you will ever know. Thank you for these kind of shows and the messages you are sending accross to every woman out there.

I watched this show Tyra and I thought that it is wonderful that you have gone the extra mile to help women understand that eating dissorders are a reeeaalllll problem among women(young and old). I am a size 24 and I am healthy!!! A lot of my family have always been on me about the weight. But I recently went to have a full check-up and guess what...I'm fine. It is partly becuz I stay very active. Now granted it was advised to me that weight loss is something I need to consider, it is not worth starving myself, or starting any kind of "get thin quick" diet!! Thank you for being You Tyra you have truely stepped out of the box when it comes to modeling and beauty. I have always Loved your "THIS IS ME...SO LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME BABY!!!" attitude. As a Mother of a 6 yr. daughter you are one of the positive role models that I welcome in her life!!!

Thank you taking the freak- show element out of eating disorders by showing its strongest weapon: isolation. That's a universal emotion all of us can succumb to and understand. But here's something we can't all universally find: health care. To pay for in-patient care, to pay for ongoing out-patient care, to pay for a a therapist AND a nutritionist. I'm in my 30s, and have had one evolution of an eating disorder for half my life. But it never seems like the right time to put my life on hold -- college, jobs, marriage, periods of wellness and improvement -- And the extremity of my disease is not at the point where Tyra, or Oprah or whomever would swoop in and take care for and pay for my recovery. My husband is trying, my friends are trying I AM TRYING, but this is a mental health break that I can't set back together with 45 minutes, weekly treatments. I need help that speaks to my disease, my life and my budget.

Tyra, I just wanted to say thank you for stepping out and being the person that you are. I am inspired by your willingness to go against the flow and help people the way you do. Other celebrities sit in their ivory towers and write checks and attend charity balls but not you. You are out there every day trying to change the world one person at a time. Forget about what the tabloids say, you keep up the good work. God bless.

Hey Tyra,
I think that your the greatest and I love what you are doing for everyone. I'm 18 and struggling with my wieght. I'm really looking forward to todays show to see what exactly goes on. I hate to say it but sometimes i think I am on the verge to going into that direction. I hope todays show helps me but I still think I will do anything to be that (skinny) girl.

I knew this one girl who had an eating disorder. I met her at the mall. We traded e-mails and started chatting online. I saw her live journal and read she had the disorder. I do not remember if she was anorexic or bulimic. I tried to convince her to get help but she was only chewing me out. Last I heard she was in Dallas with her father. She stopped posting in her live journal years ago. I thank she likely died.

I draw allot and I am so very concerned about drawing females too thin but I feel I am still having trouble. I would be horrified if my art caused a girl to trigger into an eating disorder. It scares me to thank what could happen.

Our current image of beauty comes from some deathly sick woman.

One thing I know is beauty radiates from within. It is not worth your life to look like a stick.

First let me say that you are a very beautiful woman, but after watching your show, I have found that your inner beauty is more amazing than what appears on the outside. I work night shift so I have time to watch your show and I must say that I truly enjoy it. The shows that you do on what's going on in todays world is awsome. Keep on keeping on my beautiful sister.

Tyra, Im 17 years old and have been dealing with bulimia which developed into anorexia since 8th grade. I got pregnant and knew i had to stay healthy for my son and im back on my path and at my lowest weight ever at 112 and 5'5. Nothing ever makes me happy, because my original GW was 115 but im aiming for 95 now. I love that you want to help and support girls, but some of us dont want it. We want to reach perfection and its a hard thing because most of us will end up dying getting there.

Dear Tyra,

I'm a girl from the Netherlands and since a few months i can watch you're show on the Dutch television! I love you're show and i can't wait to see this eppisode. I've got an eating disorder for 8 years now. First anorexia, a short time boulimia and now back to anorexia. I'm 20 years old at this moment and I don't know if i will ever beat my eating disorder. I'm fighting for so long time now! I'm tired of fighting!

Lots of love, I love you Tyra!

Denise

Well I was just wondering, Bulemia and Anorexia are eating disorders but what about overeating thats a disorder to isn't it? I mean I struggle with that a lot of people struggle with overeating because of emotional issues. Its away to I guess eat away your problems. You feel awful when you do it but you can't help yourself. Shouldn't you offer help for that?

i think i have an eating disoder but im over weight? al i want to do is strave.... but i dont .. but want to.. what shound i do?

The pressure to be thin is overwhelming today, especially when you see how overweight people are being treated. I had a friend who died from an eating disorder and there isn't a day that goes by that I wish she would've gotten treatment. What makes me even madder is that she was trying to be thin so she could model. So when you came out with your "So What" campaign it made me happy to see a model say something about the whole weight issue. I think you look fantastic and I applaud you and hope that more people adopt your thinking.

I think you looked beautiful in your red suit! In fact, the whole audience did. I am recovering from bulimea and thank you for your show. It is a difficult road, but can be done. Stay real Tyra!

Yay!! you can recover!! I have and its the BEST! Its hard still but its best to get over it! I loved the monday show!! byes~

watching your show now. i onl get to watch them on days off,,, thank gawd for weekdays off haha.... i think you rock and i love that your shows reach out to people and help. i know watching todays show hit home on alot of things. as i have suffered from binge eating since i was 16 years old.. now 30 i still have my bad days, weeks, months.... thank u for being so wonderful and helping so many people... you are a GOOD person Tyra

I am so happy that you are doing this! I have struggled with an eating disorder in one form or another since sixth grade, and the last of it was bulimia. I new it was bad and finaly told my boyfriend and that was the hardest thing I ever had to do I was so scared that...I don't know it was just really hard and scary to do because this is the one thing you have control over and when you tell someone you feel like you are giving up control. I still havent told my parents but I am getting so much better just after telling a few friends and my boyfriend. As scary as telling someone seems you feal much better after ward and this show will show people that life does excist after an ed.
LJG

This comment is to Laura's post about the pressure to be thin. I agree, and the fad that eating disorders are the popular thing to do just makes it worse. I'm glad you stuck up for yourself. I became anorexic at 16. I DECIDED to do it. I consciously sat at the dining room table after eating what I considered to be "too much" zucchini bread and said in my head, "that's it, I'm going to be anorexic." I had no idea what it entailed. I'm 31 and though I'm a healthy weight, I obsess about food all the time. For me, it will never go away. It was the worst decision I ever made.

hey tyra. everyone always talks about eating disorders and struggling to be skinny, but i feel like i have the opposite problem. i have been thin my entire life, i was comfortable with the way i looked although i would like to have "bigger curves". occasionally i get comments from people saying things like "you need to eat something". i guess they think its harmless but it isnt. my mom would accuse me of being anorexic and ask me what i ate that day, we would get into fights about the whole situation. eventually it really started upsetting me and it caused a lot of problems in our relationship. as a result i have a sort of eating disorder. i live at my dads house now, for several reasons. and i always look at the nutrition facts, not to find low fat, carbs, and calories. but to find things high in carbs and fat, i weigh myself all the time although after watching your "SO WHAT?!" show im going to try and resist weighing myself so often.

Tyra, you seriously are SUCH an inspiration to me. You are a huge role model among teenage girls. I don't know if you read these, But I just wanted to say thank-you, for all that you've done for me.

Well I just wanted to tell you that you are a romodel for me!!!!!!

im 14 years old tyra and theres alot of pressure to be skinny in my grade and all like the snobby girls are skinny and mean and if your not skinny and you have love handles like me you get made fun of and a girl in one of my french classes said gross people are fat and show just go throw up i had the nerve to say to her thats pretty mean and just becuase u do doesnt mean people want to ruin there health and end up dying and this girl who was being made fun of became my best friend