Hi Tyra,
I wish I could be as comfortable with my body the way you are. I watched your show about that stupid picture and the comments,you rocked.I have been dealing with a weight issue since I was a teen. I don't really know how you would caragorize it because I don't think I am fat and am not scared of getting that way. I see and hear alot of things about loosing weight but not so much about gaining it.Everyone tells me to eat more but they don't realize I do eat, I just have a really hard time gaining weight. I do have to admit though that i know part of my problem is that when I get upset I can't eat, it makes me sick to my stomache and I hate throwing up. I've tried to look up different ways (and tried them too) but so far haven't come up with any thing that helps. Any info on gaining weight would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Kristy

hey tyra,
my names lauryn and im from sydney australia! the segments you do on eating disorders is one of the main reasons i watc your show ( iw atch it every day regardless!) im 19 and have had an eating disorder for 9 years! i was always a bigger kid and used to get teased alot...never bothered me though until i got abused at the age of ten.... and i was so sick mentally all i wanted to do was punish myself so i was making myself vomit..it was such an easy and wonderful escape for me. so as an overweight kid aT 10 yrs old i went from 130 ponds to 105 in a month. the bulemia turned into eating heapss then vomiting then finally at the age of 14 i was raped and food didnt exist food was not in my vocabulary if anyone tried to help me or make me eat i would hit them chuck tantrums run away do all sorts of crazy things! my family was falling apart because of me but i didnt care my dad used to call me awfull names like your an ugly skeleton but if your happy like that im not gonna stop ya! THEN FINALLY AT 14 FROM 105 PUNDS TO 77 pounds i was annorexic for 3 years but it took my parents a whole year to get me admited int o hospital cause i refused to go then finnaly ididnt have a choice i was dying! i was on bed rest 4 3 months in hospital because even losing half a calorie from walking to the bathroom could put me in serious danger! a year later i left hospital it was absolute hell!! i left at 103 pounds and the night i got home i tried to commit suicide because i was so fat! after being home for 4 motnhs it was hell i was still vommiting and i found my newd rug of choice laxatives! i was addicted i was taking up to 150 laxatives a night it would make me vomit cause i couldn digest them all but it felt great cause i would take all the tablets and never eat so i was always empty....6 months of laxative absue i was re admited back into hospital at 72 pounds...enough is enough this was hell on earth i had no friends no life n my family was at breaking point but i didnt care cause i was always to fat! after i got out the second time of hospital i would hav been 16i was 110 pounds.. eating but stil vomiting! and i am now 143 pounds still vomiting and feel as fat as ever but i have no more energy left and my family especially my mother is way to imprtant to me to relapse just thought id let u in on a minute part of my life got many more stories i would love to share thanks tyra u r really an inspiration and i hope your program over there can shed the light on childrens lives after all they are our future!
love you heaps peace xox

Tyra,
I've been struggling with an eating disorder for some years now. my thearpist thinks Ishould go into a treatment center but I don't have insurance or that kind of money. I think shows like your help girls see that being thin is not all that it is cracked up to be.

Tyra,
I've been struggling with an eating disorder for some years now. my thearpist thinks Ishould go into a treatment center but I don't have insurance or that kind of money. I think shows like your help girls see that being thin is not all that it is cracked up to be.

Hi Tyra,

I love your show I watch it every day My name is Lori and I'm 26 years old I live in Monticello MN I have been deeling with a eating disoder for about 7 years. I have tried my things to get over it I have been to a program in the City but I had to stop going there cause it was to much driving. I have been trying to find places but I don't know were to look I would like to get my life back together and not care what other people think. It has taking over my live and I want it to stop. I want to say SO WHAT I hope that you can help me find the way

Love Lori

Tyra,

Ive been having a extremely hard problem with binging. Ive had this problem for 7 months now. Nine months ago, I had a child. Im not gonna write about ALL the events that happened but I’ll just explained that after pregnancy, I lost “the prego weight” and then, I was on a high about that so I became anorexic..feeling that with all the chaos of a new child, new surroundings, new responsibilies (being 24 and having to start a new job ,moving in with the father, my bf,being back in my hometown which trying to escape from was a huge goal…”was” keyword..etc) that weight was something I could control despite all the chaos. I was 5’5 at 99lbs about 7 months ago…I still kept looking in the mirror and kept saying “damn my hips are freakin HUGE!”, today im 5’5 at 117lbs, not because I thought “hmm,I should start eating a well balanced diet and become a healthy being again.” Nope, mentally b/c i was depriving myself of food (good or bad foods), its all i could think about and since i was 99lbs, i thought “hey, wouldnt hurt to have alittle ice cream”(again not going to add glory details of the anorexic period)...alittle ice cream turned into a half gallon every single night. I couldnt stop my craving (the cravings became more broad) and my huge obsession of food…the binging kept going ever since..it was a vicious cycle in my mind which was- get up,try to eat alil bit of cereal,after that still felt hungry so Id gorge, after that Id feel guilty and shamefull, so to make the stress go away, I ate more, after that id feel tired amnd need to sleep….. Now, as my amazing daughter is starting to grow I need to get outta this binge..god help me…Please, if you have any advice…hell even support, I’d be more than happy to hear it all….

hi tyra,

i dont know where else to turn. I am 37 years old. I live in The U.K and suffer from Anorexia. I have been in and out of hospital for the past 7 years and once again my weight is falling. we just dont have the outpatient facility to help once a healthy weight has been reached in hospital. i feel like they have given up on me over here. i dont know what else to do anymore. my illness is very severe and most days i hate it but the days i feel low and alone is when i turn to it. right now its really very strong and is totally in control. i am barely eating but trying to hang on. i wish it was cureable through medicine it must look very easy from the outside - the obvious solution is just to eat (which of course is true) but even when i think i may die i still cant eat - it wont let me.i wish someone would take it away - its just not enough to want to get better it just lives on and on and as the years go on and on i guess i have less chance of recovery and that scares me. i am trying so hard but i just cant hold onto healthy weights. once i come out of hospital i just cant justify eating at a higher weight and it starts all over again . i watch all your shows over here and you really are an inspiration for girls of all ages and races. i am mixed race and find it extremely hard to fit in. its like living in limbo or like you died and cant cross over and i think part of my eating disorder is because of that - i just dont like myself and its totally out of control.thank you for letting me post onto your web - it helps actually just knowing there are other people suffering. this is a terrible illness and i wouldnt wish it on anyone. thanks again natali (uk)

Tyra,
i love both of the shows america's next top model and your talk show. they are suer amazing. i emailed you this because me and my boyfriend have been dating for about 2 months now and this whole entire time that we have been dating i haven't even felt like eating. looking at food even made me sick. At first it started out with the occasional im not hungry right now or maybe later every now and then but now i don't even feel like eating. At times when i look in the mirror i see an overweight young girl with , in my opinion, a pretty face. Even though im only 14 years old , everyone at school always ask me if im aorexic or bulimic. The worst part was last week my boyfriend asked me if i suffered from one. I know i don't but could i be developing the symptoms of an eating disorder. I have been looking up some of the long term medical issues that can be caused by eating disorder. Tyra please help me figure out what it is. i dont want everyone at school to keep spreading the rumor that they think i have an eating disorder.

Hi Tyra,
First off i wanted to tell you how much I love you! i am almost 15 now and i admire you so much and even if you aren't able to read this i just thought I'd let you know.

I am not sure if i might have BDD or an eating disorder. I feel embarassed for asking this. I am turning 15 soon, like i said. and i am 5'3 and 115 lbs. I hate who i am and how i look. I am disgusting. Its weird becuase no matter how many doctumentaries or stories I read about the dangers of eating disorders, or how much i realize how bad they are, i almost want one. I dont know why. I need to lose weight so badly and have gone to extreme measures to do so. And yet i am not a skinny bony girl so i wouldnt be considered having an eating disorder?
I feel so embarassed for emailing you about this and I am very sorry but I guess I am really confused about if I do have one or if i am just obsessed with myself and my looks. You are such a wonderful role model, Tyra, and I love you so much!!!!

Tyra,
I know my message is no different to the thousands of other messages you get - but I wanted to share my story.

I have been battling an eating disorder (in its various forms) for almost 6 years now. I now have to travel to a different state once a week to recieve treatment as there is nothing in my area left to help me. I'm not underweight - I'm a size 12 (Australian). My eating disorder has taken everything and placed a huge burden on my family. My treatment costs around $AUD600 per week - which is more than my single-income family can afford.

There is so much emphasis on the pysical side effects of eating disorders and almost nothing on the mental side effects. I don't know one interview or article done about eating disorders which accurately reflects the emotional turmoil and internal ping-pong battle between the self and the eating disorder.

Dear Tyra,
im 17 years old i just wanted to say thank you for having the episodes on different eating disorders. my eating problem started when i was 16 and in my first year of high school. i would get depressed because the people around me were skinnier then me,so i stopped eating at school(now i ended up eating once a day at dinner, I was watching how much i ate) after awhile i noticed i was loseing weight(i dropped from 132 to 122).people stated to notice and asked if im balimic or what, and i would say no. Then after two moths of starving myself i started to get dizy spells, there were even times when i nearly passout(my lowest here was 112 and that was when i got sick).While after almost a year of starving i saw one of your episodes, and it scared me into thinking what would end up happening to me if i didn't correct it. So i tryed to eat more but it doesn't really work(i was eating two big meals and snacks). Now i do go through the "i don't want to eat" phases but i made sure i eat so now so my weight is maintained at or between 119 to 121. If you read this thank you for your time and thank you again for showing those episodes.
-Tony

Oh my gosh. First of all tyra, I love your show! You are such a real person and I think that's awesome. But OK, I saw this eating disorder section and read about it because I have been seriously struggling with the way I look. As a matter of fact, I feel literally exactly the same way that Ana, the girl who posted before me feels! And what's more? My name is Anna too! I was reading her entry and everything she said I was going, "Oh my gosh! That's exactly what I think everyday of my life!" No one in my life knows the extent of my obsession with wanting to be thinner. I don't want to be super skinny, I just want to be thinner.. to be more attractive. I am 5' 6" and weigh 145. I have told my best friend but she doesn't understand how much I obsess over it or how badly I constantly feel. I love looking at other girls to see why they are prettier than me. It has become an obsession (a bad one, i know). But I will never be able to forgive myself if I don't do lose weight, or get a flat stomach. I actually hope that Ana reads this, because I feel like we have the same exact problems. I've never met anyone that like me that is constantly thinking about the way they look or how other girls look, like I do. I would like to talk to her if I could. I would love to talk to Tyra too!

Tyra,

My head hurts because I have been crying for the last 1/2 hour. Just typing that made me cry again. I am watching your show right now on Oxygen. Im not sure why Im writing this, I know there wont be a response and Im okay with that. I have been crying because I am afraid I will never be okay with the way that I look. I have been battling my weight and my body image since I was about 13, and I just turned 20. I am 5'7" and about 155 lbs. I havent even told my boyfriend of almost 2 years how much I weigh. I absolutely hate my body, I am incredibly self consious and think about it everyday, almost constantly unless I am distracted in class or at work. I have been trying absolutely everything since at least 14 to lose weight, which has gone up and down over the years. I have tried not eating, restricting/counting calories, diet pills, over exercising, you name it. whatever I try I can't keep it up for some reason or another. As sick and twisted as it sounds there have been times when I wished I had an eating disorder just so I could keep at it and get to my goal weight of about 130lbs. I dont want to be bony...just attractive. sexy. I love my boyfriend very much and I know he loves me- but I cant share this with him although I have told him parts of the story so he has an idea, just not how badly it hurts me. Sometimes (it used to be every time) if we dont have sex I cry myself to sleep telling myself he doesnt want me because I am fat. I have talked to my best friend about this but even she doesnt know the lengths I have gone to and how much I cry. As I write this I am getting my desk all wet with my tears... everywhere I go I am constantly looking at other girls and thinking how much better they look than me. how much thinner, or more in shape, what have you. I could go into specifics of what I hate but it only makes me more upset....I just want to feel attractive and wanted by my boyfriend. I just want to feel good about myself physically. I think I am an emotional eater- sometimes I eat for the taste or to calm my stress. then when I do that I feel extremely guilty and upset that I ate something I shouldnt have, which sometimes leads me to eat again. I am so embarassed writing this...Im not even sure why Im writing. I guess sometimes it just helps to get it out. I dont know what to do...

hi tyra. i have watched your show on eating disorders and i know something is wrong with me but it doesnt fall into any of those categories. i love eating and am not afraid to gain weight. im 5'0 and maybe 90 lbs now. and its really scary now because for a month now i havent been able to eat well. i would go get food for lunch and not be able to take more than 2-3 bites without feeling like i dont want it anymore. at first i thought it was because i was eating alot of greasy fast foods so i stopped ordering from those places. but now its so bad that i cant eat that much and im really hungry. im going to the doctor soon to get checked out because i feel really weak and sick and im just getting over a hangover and been throwing up from the alcohol poisoning, so that plus my problem from before is making me really sick. i hope this isnt as bad as i think it is.

I watched this show and it made me cry because I suffer from an eating disorder, Anorexia. It hurts me to see other people go through this pain of worrying and having this image of how you're supposed to be. I've battled this disorder for 7 years and it's still hard everyday. I help others the best I can but it's easier to help others than myself. But this show meant a lot to me that you let people about these disorders and how they should get help. Thanks for making this show. You're a role model to me, thank you!

Hey Tyra!!
I absolutely love your show! I love the fact that you did a show on eating disorders, you're getting information out there to girls that look up to you and I think thats awesome! But there is one comment I would like to make...There are other eating disorders out there that I don't believe a lot of people give enough notice to! I am a compulsive OVER eater. Basically i'm addicted to FOOD! I am the exact opposite of some of the women you've had on your show! I don't think that this is a problem that people are comfortable with! But I am extremely comfortable with it and i'm battling it every single day! I do hope that one day I will overcome this and I KNOW that I will! I also have a dream that one day this will be something that people will take seriously and understand that it is an addiction just like any other! Well thanks for all you do!! maybe one day you'll do a show on this topic! Keep up the great work! You are changing lives and you have touched my own many times! Thanks!!

tyra,
i just watched your shaw addicted to thin and i was appalled. not every eating disorder is about weight! I have been bulimic for quite some time and for me it is because i want to take control. i want to be the one to take care of my self and i can through my actions and that includes purging. i dont incourage this behavior, as a matter of fact i hate it! i hate being depressed and whatnot but it is who i am and apart of my life and i just accept it as is and yes, i have tried to stop and i was good for about a day or so but i had to return to my mia. well, i hope this sheds some light on the other half of bulimics.

Dear Tyra,
These past few monthes have been crazy and now they are starting to scare me. A few monthes ago I felt I needed to lose a few pounds even the my doctor says being 130 lbs and about 4'11" and 15 yrs. old and that my weight is about normal. So, I decided to minimize my eating habits. No one noticed in the begining. But somehow it kept minimizing. I am down to two small meals a day. That second meal I sometimes have to force my self to eat it or I wont eat it at all. One of my best friends went through an eating disorder but s fine now, and when we are together she make a comment like lets eat something, and I'll be like no I'm not hungry even if I am a little. She makes me sit with her and usually feeds me to make sure I eat a little something, but I think shes aware that Im becoming what it seems as anorexic. I've looked up the symptoms and some of the main symptons I have. Like not eating alot and playing with the food on the plate, feeling sick after eating, being cold, exercising alot, isolating myself from my boyfriend, family, and some friends, having mood changes,menstrual changes, and I've been feeling like I'm going to faint lately, etc... Am I Anorexic or is my body just changing...Can you help me if I am. Iam scared and it doesn't help with my mom telling everyone I don't eat, us not getting along and me feeling depressed, and her sometimes poking my tummy, butt, n thighs, n making small comments. I have lost about 5 lbs now in the past couple weeks. Im scared because this isnt like me.

dear Tyra,

I have been fat for most of my life.I've tried just about every diet, along with excersize.I've also tried a lot of other not so healthy options, such as throwing up, not eating taking and taking laxatives.I had a pretty hard childhood,and I'm guessing that might have a lot to do with my insecurities.These insecurities are ruining my relationship with my boyfriend. He tells me everyday how beautiful I am,and he is wonderful. I really wish I could see myself through his eyes.What do I do!?If you have any advice I would appreciate anything you have to say.

thanks so much, jessica

Hi

I live in south africa cape town and i just want to say i watch your show alot, and i watch the shows where u have people with eating disorders, my point is that i have been struggling with an eating disorder for nearly 6 to 7 years, bulimia. and i just want to say that there is hope for people who are suffering because i managed to stop. i was in a deep depression and the pressure at campus was killing me and the only way out of the stress was to purge..everyone wondered why i was loosing wieght and looking pale but i never said anything. it even came to a point where i would have constant pains in my stomach i would skip my menstrual periods. and then i took the first step to becoming healthier. my boyfriend was my pillar of strength and i am glad that he is part of my life. so everyone who is suffering please try and find strength and try to over come this bad habit that is killing us....inside. lots love

Hey Tyra! My name is Adriana. I live in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. I want you to know I watch your shows everyday and I like the way you help people. I think I understand the 98% of your shows. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that even in Mexico we know who you are and what you do. Keep helping people, specially those with weight problems like me. I'm 19 years old and i weight more than 300lb I know you may not help me directly but with the things you said you really make my day. thank you.

Dear Tyra:

I'm a 40 year old woman who's been struggling with my eating disorder since I was 19. The first time it was Bulimia. Then it was years of over-exercising. Then it was laxative use. The last time, it was bingeing and then restricting. It was not until 4 months ago when I decided that this madness must stop, because it was holding me back from being happy. Through Overeater's Anonymous and private therapy, I've uncovered several traumas in my life that resulted in low self-esteem, from sexual abuse to verbal abuse and alcoholism in family members. I am just now beginning to regain my self-esteem and I've begun to love my body AS IS.
Everytime I see one of your shows regarding body image, it makes me cry, because the things I hear your guests say (especially those little girls who thought they were "fat"), are the same things I've said about myself. I always end up crying while watching at the gym while I'm on the eliptical trainer!
I thank you a million times for bringing awareness to people about body image. You are a wonderful person and you inspire me to help others who have body image problems.
Again, thank you Tyra.
You've shown the world that beauty is on the inside, not on the outside.
Sincerely,
Val K

Dear Tyra...I am 13 years uld my hair is dark brown and I have blue eyes I have been struggling with deppresin and my waight..When I look in the mirror I try to tell my self im beautifull but I cant..I watch your show all the time you are so beautifull I tell my self that if tyra can be 161 poundes and still be beautifull then I can be...Trya you are one of the reasones why I wake up everymorning you give me the strength...You are my hero ........I would love to be a model when I grow up but I no that im not beautifull enough....Tyra i hate myself and i nead ur advise!!!

dear tyra,
i first wanted to start off by saying that im a really big fan of you. I'm really tall 5'7" with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. My main problem is that i love eating like alot! i could go on forever eating ribs, ice cream italian food and so on. I do weight watchers but it dosent work so well for me and i really want to loose weight. And your one of the only people who never worries about their weight and how they look. unlike me people are always making fun of me for being fat but my close friends say im gorgeous and that i dont need to loose weight and i always feel fat after i eat and the only thing i eat now is a blueberry muffing and an ice coffee from dunkin donuts, its really important for me to watch my weight because im in a bathing suite every night because im a springboard and platform diver. please help me tyra!

xxx arielle

I'm 23 yrs old and I really never had anyone to talk to about this but,in this family being over weight is something that is not seen as a bad thing, but if you werent big to begin with and you start gaining weight your pointed out first, and thats always been me, the first thing relatives of mine tell me is that Ive gained weight and they'll poke or pinch my sides which really bothers alot, in high school i was bulimic and i've tried so hard not to go back but at times i fail myself and go back to it, when i feel stressed or things happen at home that i cant control i purge, i do it because it makes me feel better and its just a habit i cant break. I look in the mirror everyday and i hate what i see, im reminded of my weight whenever i try something on and flab sticks out, i get mad at myself and i wont eat anything, ive been excersing everday all day if possible and drink nothing but water and diet tea but my image never changes i feel so abnormal to everyone else around me and its killing me that i cant be normal like everyone else. i just felt like i needed to write this out to someone thanks for listening.
elly

My struggle: my weight, my body, my self esteem. I have always had it. Mirrors are as nonexistant as possible in my daily routine. I can't bare to stare inthe mirror..What I see is just hideous!! anorexia and use cocaine to manage my appetite. I wake up to cocaine and go to sleep with at least 5 or 6 tylenol pm's... i have always had problems sleeping but with the cocaine it makes it worse. I want to stop it but at the same time I can't get fat..im already disgusting and adding being fat to it is just not okay! If I fear anything in life it is becoming really..FAT! It is the one thing that regardless of how disgusting I am, I can help and control..I just turned 21 but my weight, my look in general, has been an issue since 12..my deepest darkest secret...that I wish someone could REALLY know!!so, I can be okay,not feeling disappointed because I opened my eyes another day..so, that I can get help!! I have distanced myself from everyone but noone understands why....if they only knew...I just want to be okay. I dont want to hate myself! I'm drained

I would just like to add..I know one thing you had mentioned was that you thought people like me were just taking the lazy way out...I dont excuse what I have turned into but at the sametime I also go to the gym..I workout, it isn't enough...

hi tyra my name is amath. im 31 and very much concern and worried about my weight, i do not have a eating disorder but have thought of starving myself, its just too hard cause i keep eating. im just really unhappy and disgusted with my body, i just had a baby in june 06 and now have stretch marks on my theighs and stomach, it grosses me out to where its hard to look in the mirror at myself. i just had a baby and can lose the weight, and the beauty is within, my husband also worried about my weight. do u have any advice or help u can give me, im going CRAZY, i cant live with myself looking like this.

hi tyra,
elet me start out by saying your shows amazing and i'm a HUGE fan, people think my reason for you being my biggest role model is stupid for the fact that your about the only totally famous (lol) person thats not ALWAYS worrying about how they look, unlike lindsay lohan like.. how many times has she been in rehab now haha?
Besides the point .. um , i'm 13 going on 14 this january and for the last few months i've been wondering if i've been suffering from an eating disorder, i've looked up AND memorized all the side effects and symptoms and i've been stressing over my weight (128 ibs) for a real long time. My mom and dad says i shouldnt diet in a way that isnt healthy and i know shes referring to anorexia and/or bulimia, but when i diet regularly its like she isnt comfortable with that either, she says i dont need to diet because i'm not fat. I haven't ever been overweight, but i've certainly felt fat in 95% of the areas on my body. I hate my stomach and my upper arms and my thighs, the only time i'm ever truley satisfyed with my body is when i'm sizing myself up in the mirror and i come across bone. My ribs & Hips stick out more then my stomach does, but thats natural for me, although latley its been real severe its so bad now that i know it isnt supposed to look like it does. I have never purged, NEVER. I hate vomiting when i have to i cant imagine doing it when i dont have too. Although i have tried i just couldnt find myself to do it. I've read blogs*journels of a few people who suffer from anorexia and/or bulimia and apparently they started out purging once or twice every two to four months and people with anorexia had only starved themselfs for one to 3 days before they found themselfs doing it for weeks, they said its the way an eating disorder devolps.. it starts out small and then you find the need to do it for some crazy reason. About a month ago i starved myself 8 in the morning until 12 at 1 the next morning i just couldnt bear the hunger pains so i HAD to eat something. But i did burn off alot of calories from that. It was about a month after that i found the wonders of fasting. I bloar myself with water and excersise it off, you lose 1-3 pounds a day.. i thought it was a normal diet until i read that its a type of bulimia.
I know i should talk to people about this but i'm 13 and i dont want people thinking i have seroius problems and i dont want them knowing i may need a theorpist (plus i'm 13 where am i gunna get the money to do so?) I've tried telling my friends and they think i do it for attention , in my school any kinda eating disorder is classifyed as "they're doing it for attention" , my parents wont understand because they think things like eating disorders and people who are depressed and it leads to cutting themselfs is childish i dont want them getting mad at me. I have a loving boyfriend and i overheard him saying he's went out with one girl who was all skin&bones and when he found she was suffering from anorexia nervosa he had to break it off, i dont want him knowing whats wrong with me because hes the only thing in my life right now that seroiusly understands me. TYRA I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO I NEED HELP BUT I HAVE NO WHERE TO TURN, PLEASE E-MAIL ME OR SOMETHING , PLEASEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!! ):

taylor01011995@hotmail.com

Tyra,
I've seen several of your shows on eating disorders and body image and I think your comments to the girls are well meaning and somewhat true. The truth is though, that we can tell ourselves it doesn't matter what we look like or how much we weigh. But it does matter. Everyone else notices, pays attention to it, judges you if you're too fat or too skinny. I have struggled with binging/purging/restrictingfor about 8 years now. I started in high school in order to remain competive in sports. I've always felt like as an athlete I'm expected to be a certain size and can't gain weight. My coaches would look at us, our weight, what were eating, what we weren't eating, etc. The pressure was crazy. We'd get yelled at for eating fattty things. Thats when I got "clued into" purging...a way to eat your fatty treats, but not gain the weight. My actions continued through college at which time I was on a Division 1 Varsity team working out several hours a day. I am now in medical school, going to become a doctor and am fully aware of the "dangers" of eating disorders. I just don't care though. I keep doing these same actions because I feel like there is no other option. Also, I feel like all the other dangers are just what happens to other people. It will never happen to me. I know this is stupid way to think, but like I said I just can't change. I don't know what to do. I've tried group counseling and things before, but it all comes down to the fact that I enjoy my life as it is. I feel in control, and I'm not gonna get fat this way. What do you suggest?

hi tyra my name is ashley im 19 and struggling with my weight,(165 lbs) i do not have a eating disorder but have thought of starving myself, its just too hard cause i keep eating. im just really unhappy and disgusted with my body, i just had a baby in june 07 and now have stretch marks on my theighs and stomach, it grosses me out to where its hard to look in the mirror at myself all i see is ugliness because also for 5 years have been struggling with acne on face, i have a wonderful boyfriend who tells me im beautiful, i just had a baby and can lose the weight, and the beauty is within, but no matter how many times he says that i still feel disgusted on the outside. do u have any advice or help u can give me, im going CRAZY, i cant live with myself looking like this.

I am a african american girl;despite what we all have been taught I once sufferred from eating disorders.From eighth grade until my junior year in highschool I battled bulimia then anorexia.I believed I was recovered for the past three years, but now I am slipping back.I have never gotten over not loving my body and I find it hard to believe that I ever will. I guess even though they say recovery is possible I don't really believe it. I know I am no longer anorexic because I am of course fat again, but I wish that I could one day be proud of my body and actually wear a two piece bathing suite for once in my 21 years of life.My opinion of the media as a whole has put too much pressure on weight instead of personality. If they would stop trying to cover all imperfections maybe we non-celeberties could feel normal instead of as I do flawed.

One can weigh 170 lbs. and be healthy AND one can weight 85 lbs and be healthy (at the same height)! There are so many factors involved!!!

I'd like to see emphasis on HEALTH and NOT on weight!

Unless we focus on what a healthy weight is for individuals based on bone mass, etc. we are simply barking up the wrong tree!

In college I weighed around 145 lbs. and was 5'9". When I was asked my weight in a health class, I was told that was "impossible (I wore a size 7 or so and was thin.) I ate all the time, having a high metabolism. When I worked on the week-ends, I would regularly eat 3 lunches (my line of work was exceptionally physically demanding), and yet I was VERY healthy.

Some people also have a higher metabolism than others, which seems to be, if mentioned at all, to be a side-note in conversations about weight and health.

Many thin & larger women are BOTH getting bad wraps about their appearance, as they don't fit some cookie-cutter mold!

We are NOT machines! Those weight charts are arbitrary at best (I was told I was overweight for my height, which I thought was ridiculous (everyone thought I weighed around 100lbs.), but just to keep my health instructor happy, I *did* drop to 140 lbs. I felt like I was going to pass out & immediately & purposefully went back to the 145-150 were I felt healthiest!

We've gotta stop all these charts and BS and have women eat healthy and listen to their bodies!!!

If you stop eating sugar (and sugar substitutes, as well as stay away from artificially flavored and preserved foods) or anything with it in any form, other than fruit and other natural sources, you'll stop craving sugar & a lot of junk foods! "Diet foods" are incredibly unhealthy and can and *do* cause cancers, obesity , hormonal problems and a host of other health problems!

How many times have you heard,"I hate her because she's so thin?"

Larger frame girls also take a bad wrap! Some people NEED to be a heavier weight - plain and simple!

Obviously, being too fat or too thin is not healthy for anyone (BUT it HAS TO take into account one's body and how it works - We are not made from cookie cutters & the "industry(ies)" that do not accept women who are healthy for who they are when they are healthy are doing a huge disservice to everyone and need to be ignored!

Watching TV shows that cast nothing but thin toothpicks who aren't healthy, who are using drugs, starvation, etc. to keep thin, simply promotes unhealthy attitudes about people in general!

We should ALL change the channel when someone is unhealthily heavy or thin! To continue watching is promoting and perpetuating unhealthy attitudes about women's bodies - especially to younger kids!

I hear the excuse ALL the time that it is what sells, etc. Only consumers can change those attitudes!

If we refuse to watch shows that promote illness, are we not just as guilty of promoting unhealthy attitudes about girls and women's bodies?

Maybe it'll take lawsuits by actresses and actors (especially actresses, as they definitely have more pressure, but the boys aren't off the hook either!) to sue when they are told to loose X amount of pounds or to gain X amount of lbs. "just for show" on TV. It IS discrimination and deserves to be addressed in a courtroom for those working in the industry!

For those of us who watch, it is just as important to avoid the unhealthy garbage on TV, weather it be a movie, an awards show, etc. For us to support them by watching them, we're bringing the trash into our homes, along with other shows with cussing, nudity, violence, etc.

We need to look for shows that are entertaining, but NOT at the expense of others. To do so is perpetuating the "bully mentality" that has lead to so much violence in schools, etc., but no one has really addressed the fact that in those instances, the bullies who were picking on those who lost it (and killed a bunch of people)have NEVER been addressed! That needs to stop as well, least we have more instances like Columbine!

Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" is the high school version of this... Why keep this immaturity going into adulthood?

We cannot allow bullies who've never grown up in the "industry" to continue bullying young adults and kids! Look how many "kids" in "the industry" are now in rehab (or dead)! Did you ever think you might have helped put them there? If you watched their shows, or awards shows that applaud them getting through the abuse, you probably did!

The "industry" needs to change or be held accountable! Look at Marilyn Monroe All the way to River Phoenix & Anna Nichole Smith!

Who will we bury next if we support this type of media?

Media gets money from ratings and thus advertisers. If we refuse to watch the garbage, they will have no choice but to change!

If they are legally held accountable for the anorexia, the drugs and alcoholism from executive comments made to young actors and actresses about weight, loosing their jobs if they aren't loosing weight, etc., AND if the awards are meaningful (meaning they really hit the pocket books of the industry leaders who make up this crap and say these things to these young people, manipulate adults and kids, etc.), THEN things will change!

If those who pay kids scraps without residuals to hurt themselves to be "Internet Stars" are sued for residuals, as well as lifetime medical bills for those who do those stupid stunts, then maybe things will change! If people keep watching, then it will likely continue!

We, as consumers, need to simply refrain from feeding the monster and watch shows that don't keep this crap going!

We also need to support employees of places that give them a hard time about their weight (and there are a LOT who do! You'd be amazed! Some gyms fire people or simply will not hire them because of their size or how they look! If your local gas station, gym , restaurant, etc. does this to their employees, STOP going there!

This illness has spread into our society and we as a society need to grow up!

ANY industry, place of work, etc. that abuses employees for ANY reason does not deserve a penny of our money OR time & we need to take it elsewhere!

To continue to support an industry that abuses people is supporting abuse in the workplace, which can spread over to home and makes for one VERY ill society!

I am thankful that people are beginning to realize the torture of anorexia. I began 15 years ago. I reached a point where I was too sick to get out of bed much. That was my worst point, I prayed and prayed. Then I stopped watching tv and reading magazines. Eventually, I started to slowly come back up, very slowly. Then I tried so hard to stop weighing my self. Saying, only once a day. Then only every other day....til I eventually stopped all together. Except on my weak days, which have gotten to be less and less. I have also been in counseling for a while.
Now, I feel like I'm starting to live. I still have my bad days of course, I still think about losing weight often, but it doesn't rule my life as much as it once did.
One more thing, as much as I loved and still loved for people to tell me I was too thin or too boney, it only made things worse. It's hard to explain why it would, but it did. It's like it kept the focus on my weight, and I felt like it was then expected of me to maintain that, or even make myself "better" by losing more weight, then more people would tell me that.
It's a horrible thing to feel, so complicated. But, as I grow older and get better I am understanding it more.
Thanks for your show. Dove too.

Watching the show today made me feel guilty for starving myself.

I was watching your show on porogrphy, better known as "Depersonalization"
That manifests itself, in many ways. Bulimia, anorexia,and the list goes on.
I have learned,
[heart-felt} that man, has pushed women into a world of a type of abyss, where you only "Matter" if your rich, beautiful, famious and skinny, Well its all a crock of BS.
Woman ,like men, are people, and if you refuse to wake up? then you will be wide awake, when you pass-on...

Hey Tyra... I just watched your show about anorexia, with the women that has the disease and has two boys. Hope that she survives, the hardest part of any kind of disease is admitting you have one. She is in a step in the right direction. I hope that your plan with Americas Next Top Model shines through. Helping healthy, strong, curvy,women succeed in that industry. A Model to me does not mean the gorgeous skinny people that walk down runways and pose for pictures. In fact i looked up the meaning for model on the internet there are 11 different nouns for model. None of them say "skinny, not eating, people who look disgusting." So you keep doing what you do.... You look fantastic and never let anyone tell you different. People that have bad things to say about other people, just feel sorry themselves and they are usually jealous. Im 5'9" 145Lbs. Curvy, athletic (38-28-38). People tell me i should try to be a model for young girls,i eat everything in sight (without bringing it back up), and maintain 3 to 4 jobs at a time. Some people might say that is a model, rather then models out there that you can't see because they are all skin and bones. Thanks for you time! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

Hi Tyra,
I actually have some questions about how to help someone who has an eating disorder, i myself do not have an eating disorder....i'm probably 20 pounds over weight!! but my sister-in-law has to be 85-90 pounds and she is 5'7, she never eats, she thinks she is fat...all her bones are sticking out...and she doesn't think she has a problem. She works out about 6 times a week....but she has nothing to work off....it's really scary. I'm scared for my Brother-in-law because he doesn't know how to approach her about this...and i dont' think he wants to, he doesn't like to start problems...but i'm very afriad for her health..she's 34 years old...and my brother-in-law wants to have children, and she refuses to go to the doctor...and she has been unsuccessful in trying to get pregnant...i don't know what to do to help her, because she doesn't think she needs help! please help me tyra...i don't know what to do...should i butt out? please e-mail me back!
Donna NJ
DFiorella05@yahoo.com

hey tyra
first off i just want you to know i love both of your shows especially antm i already posted something but it has been 2 days and i havnt seen it been posted yet so im sorry if im wasting your time

im 13 going on 14 and im 91.5 pounds and i feel im on the veger of becoming bulleimic/anorexic because latley i feel that i have fat on every part of my body and i do excercise and it dosnt work ive actually gained 7 pounds in 2 weeks it used to take me 2 years to gain that much weight and it seems like just puking is an easier way to lose weight and my friends look at me and see skin and bones and i see fat and cellulite and my dreams of becoming a model are up i thought if natasha won the episode it would atleast show me that top models dont have to be so thin she needs to have a weight limit to how much weight can be put on her body natasha had meat on her bones and jaelene has so little meat on her bones she barley has breasts seriously im 13 and my breasts were bigger than hers when i was 10

hey tyra..like im a huge fan of u. i like your motto thing "so what" i really dont think women should be stressin over there body and weight and should just be happy with what they have! but anyways im only 14. i weight 100-105 i have 4 sisters and one of them is my twin. i am the middle child and its reallie hard on me. i stess alot and i suffer from anorexia and kinda bulumic, but they arnt serious except for everyday it gets worse. im very fit cuz i do alot of sports and i do karote and i excersise alot! im kinda muscular. i really want to be a model like you. except i live in ontario, canada. your like such a role model and your helping me not to care what other people think but i get told im fat alot. and im really not that really affects me. like alot. im just going into high school now. grade 9 my twin sis gets alot of the attention. she doesnt do sports only me and thats when i get some attention.i like have to scream to get my parents attention or hurt myslef. im like really sick of it!! thank you for letting me send this. i just really needed to get that out. i havnt told anybody that till now. thank you soo much and keep up the good work with the "so what" campaigon. dont let anybody or anything stop you from that. i watch your shows EVERYDAY!they help me in life. i love you sooo much tyra!!

Rebecca

Tyra,
(first off i wanted to tell you how amazing you are.) I am 19 years old.. and i have been suffering from anorexia for 5 to 6 years. i have tried to "get better" by myself, but with all the weight i'd gain, i'd freak out and go back to my old ways. ive been as heavy as 190, and as light as 101. i am now at 150, and hate it. I am sick of being unsatisfied with my weight. I know there is a beautiful person hiding within me, i just cant seem to look into a mirror and find her. I have conciderd going to a health rehab. but dont have the money, or a way there. wow im sounding pretty pathitic arent I? but people with eating disorders arent bad people.. like most people think they arent stupid.. theres just something deep in there brains that tell them they are too fat.. they cant help it.. i know i cant.. ive tried to block it out but it keeps coming back.. everytime a little bit worse.. it makes me weak, irratable, sick, and makes my body ache. i hate this.. i want to stop this ... its controling my life. Thank you so much for listening to me,
Meranda from Gadsden Alabama

Tyra:

Thank you for sending the message to basically be happy with your body - forget the actresses/etc who show the too skinny side of life. Depending on what source you find, Marilyn Monroe it is said was between a size 12 and a size 16. She was never viewed as "fat." Why do you suppose that is? The concentration should now be with eating healthy, getting proper exercise, and just trying to be healthy in general. I see all sizes where I work, and all ages. Super skinny people, those heavy like me, and those who are in between. Out of all those I see, those who don't bounce back as quickly from being sick are usually the thinner ones - they don't get the proper nutrition their body needs to keep the immune system working, so the body steals the energy from muscle since ther is no fat tissue to get the food for the energy of fighting infection and getting well. We are a nation of all shapes and sizes - some people could eat fast food three times a day and not gain any weight, and others would gain 10 pounds in a matter of 1-2 weeks. Just please keep reminding people it's not how fat/skinny/average their body size is--what matters is how healthy the lifestyle they lead is. We all break the rules on occasion by having that extra piece of cake we know we shouldn't have, or having that extra cookie. As long as we try to make somewhat healthy food choices (based on the budgets we have; fresh vegetables aren't as cheap as frozen for example) and live healthy, that's what matters. What would be great is if Oprah and other talk show hosts/actresses/etc that are comfortable with their own body image would help you in this project. It's a lot for you to take on by yourself - I hope you get a lot of help to get the message out to more of the public that what we see in magazines and TV/Movies is NOT healthy. Keep up the good work.

Hi Tyra,

first of all, I would like to say that I admire your genuine and sincere personality and attributes. You're a fine role model to many females of all ages and mostly to those who needed a role model to inspire them in all aspects. I'm a 21 years old Asian-American from the mid-west. Asians are typically known to have a smaller body mass index. This is rather true in my case. I'm 5'3 weighing in at about 95 lbs. Growing up, I've always been thin. There was a time in my life where my dad would kind of threatened me to eat due to the concern of me being underweight and unhealthy. after binge eating in front of him, we had to go to the hospital. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I knew that I was sick. I never found out the results from the doctor because I was too young, but I had a feeling that I could be anemic. My body mass index tells me that I'm underweight. I have an obsession with how my body looks and recently put in about an hour to sometime two hours of exercise 5-6 days per week. I also binge eat. I want to be able to eat whatever I wanted and the amount I wanted. I feel that I shouldn't have to give up the things I like to eat. Sometime I would go through the whole day with eating one big meal. Any source of fluid would help with my cravings. I've also secluded myself from the social crowd. I think that I could also be capable of anti-social which leads me to depression. I want to be able to maintain a healthy body and also a body that I would feel comfortable being in. Depression helps me to gain a bit of weight back in my early high school years. people wouldn't normally call it fat but to me, I felt gross out by my appearance. The heaviest weight that I was in was about 120 lbs. Even though it wasn't much of a weight gain for someone my height, I started developing stretch marks around my hips, legs, butts, and shoulders. I was confused about what was going on among my body so I started feeling insecure and eat less throughout the day.

Hi Tyra,
I just wanted to thank you for this amazing show. I know it aired back in February, but I am greatful to have caught it now. I have never struggled with weight, but I know those who have. I was a gymnast for 10 years and then participated in other sports. I am greatful for those opportunities because I believe it taught me how to be health and eat as a young girl. Now that I am 25 years old on Wednesday I realize just how lucky I have had it. Again I have never struggled with weight, but have always been self-consious of my features. Somewhere along the way I looked at myself and said "forget them all if they don't like me for who I am than they can walk away." How I got that strength I am not sure at times, but I am glad I have it. I watch young girls today and wonder why they do the things they do to impress others. I realize I was a young girl once doing the same things and kind of laugh. I have never been one to be called popular, but throughout my grade school years I had friends from all different backgrounds and friends in many different "clicks" as they call them today. I have young women approach me or kids and ask me questions or advice. I once had a young man ask me if I ever brush my teeth...he was only about 10 years old, so he did not know what he was truely asking. I looked at him and said yes and that he was being very rude. This did hurt a little know this is my weakest part of myself that I have. I looked past it and said oh well nothing I can do about it so I let it go. I do the best I can in answering questions. I have always told young men or women to be themselves and try not to listen to others. The important thing is what you think of yourself. One of my ambitions is to become a gymnastics coach. There are two main reasons...one I always loved it myself. Two is because I fear that gymnastics like modeling is in great danger with eating disorders. There is heavy criticism on gymnasts weight versus height and I fear young girls will get the wrong impression. I would rather pull a young gymnast off the team who scores 9.8's than watch her die. I hope my ambition as a coach will come true, so I can show young girls that just because you are thin doesn't mean you are attractive to the boys. The magazines make me sick because they portray a bad image...until they pull those pictures, girls will still follow in the footsteps of Mary-Kate and Ashley or Lohan. On average I range between 105 and 115. I feel very comfortabe with myself and that my body is not like it was at 15. I have from time to time gotten upset because something doesn't fit, but I let it go and look at the positive things in life. I think the black woman model you had on the show had class and style above all else. She was comfortable as herself and is happy and health because of it as opposed to the 88lb loud mouth who will I'm sure be hospitalized soon. I hope you can continue to inspire young women to make the right choices in life. I know your story really touched me.

Dear Tyra,

I just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing ways you work to empower women and truly teach us that we are all fantastic, just as we are. I was flipping channels and ran across the segment you ran on anorexia following the ridiculous claims about your weight in all those tabloids (I'm actually still in the middle of watching it!). I've had huge issues with my weight since around the 3rd grade or so, dealing with anorexia (though never severely) around my freshman year in high school, and it was... so good to see that issue being addressed in a really public way. There is such a focus on weight and size, and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the message you're sending out.

I never truly was overweight, but I grew up larger than other girls and definitely have a large frame. At my largest I was 165, 10 lbs overweight, and at my smallest, I was 110 lbs at 5'5". I'm now 19, and healthy at 150 lbs. I'm eating extremely well, exercisizing daily, and for the past 3 years I have been mentally healthy as well.

Tonight was a night where I truly needed to hear something, some reinforcement to know I'm going in the right direction, and was so thrilled to be able to find that segment of your show playing.

I just really want to thank you for everything you do to help girls and women out there, and let you know that I appreciate having such a great role model for anyone who watches your show.

Thanks again,
Christy

Hi Tyra
I m currently watching you show, i think that many people should have a positive look at themself like you of yours.. I was a model for a while and i saw many of my friends obsess with their weights, i lost a couple pounds duing that time but never actually considered stop eating.. im not going to lie i see all this girls with flat stomach and i think i want it to but then again i think is not healthy not eating to get something that can bring dangerous consequences, specially considering that i am diabetic .Im 20 and currently weight 110 bl still have a little tommy but proud of it. Just at the end of last year, beggining of this one i was close on getting anorexia cuz i didn't wanted to eat only drinking liquids, felt extremely week, i got scare, plus my mom was always talking about that belly i have and worried that probably my fiance would see another girl with that supposed perfect body, when ther is no perfect body all types of bodies are beautiful just the way they are, we just need confidence and care less of what people think or say, i am who i am and people either love me like this if not they'll be the ones missing it. People shouldn't stop eating no matter what.

Hello Tyra,

I am a 35 year old mother of three and I am a very upset by what I have witnessed on your show. I have been what scarred by society and people like you my whole life for being too "skinny". I have a small frame naturally and on a normal/good day I can weigh up to 125 pounds at 5'7. There was a time where I had a few modeling agencies making me offers to travel all over the world to model. I am not nor will I ever be thick or as you say "healthy". I resent that an you for allowing people to get on show an be so condemning. Is it our fault that some are naturally thick and some aren't. You come against the media for coming against you for your weight. But you think this coming against people like me for no apparent reason is just fine. You need to pay attention to those that can't help the way that they are. My father was 6'00 tall and not over 160 pounds, my mother is 5'3 and 150 lbs. mother of three, so no I am never going to become bigger than what I am.

Talk to the people that want to gain wait but can't or those who try and struggle to keep their wait but find that it' too hard like myself. If you want to be fair stop being two faced and judging people like me without taking a closer look that maybe this is a problem we don't want. You have it int you to be fair to everyone try being fair to people like me that want to gain weight desperately but can't because of their gene make up.

I hope this makes it to your desk to think about before you condem.

Thanks,
Nicole McCullough

Tyra,
I just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing ways you work to empower women and truly teach us that we are all fantastic, just as we are. I was flipping channels and ran across the segment you ran on anorexia following the ridiculous claims about your weight in all those tabloids (I'm actually still in the middle of watching it!). I've had huge issues with my weight since around the 3rd grade or so, dealing with anorexia (though never severely) around my freshman year in high school, and it was... so good to see that issue being addressed in a really public way. There is such a focus on weight and size, and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the message you're sending out.

I'm 19 now, and finally really healthy. I'm eating well, losing weight the healthy way, exercising moderately (and daily), and at 5'5" and 150 lbs, I'm accepting my body and really learning to love what it can do. Tonight was really a night I needed a reminder of how much it means to be healthy, and I was so happy to be able to watch that segment.

So thank you, for everything you're doing for women and girls out there.

Christy

Tyra

My name is Megan-Nicole and I am 18 years old. I also have an eating disorder. But I don't starve myself or make myself throw up, I over eat excessivly. I find that every aspect in my life is over taken by stressful issues and I know that I shouldn't. I have tried everything that I can think of to stop overeating and such but it doesn't work. I feel like I am hungry when I am stressed out although I know that I am not. Help me.. Please? I'm sick of being made fun of, my own father has said he doesnt feel the same about me because I am fat.

Tyra--

I happened to be flipping through channels and saw a syndicated episode about young girls with eating disorders. I thought it had a good message...until the commercial break. I came in halfway through the show, but during that time to the end of the show, there were commercials for two weight loss programs as well as Age Rewind makeup. Even your final words of the show seemed ironic, discussing how powerful words are and how dangerous it is to impose our own insecurities on children. However, the commercials seen during your show are imposing the exact ideals that you seemed to be fighting on your show.

I don't usually watch the show so I thought, "Maybe, since it was on a syndicated channel, she doesn't have as much control over the advertising." But then I go to this website to make this comment and am faced with advertisements saying "Good-bye cellulite, hello bikini." What message is that sending to the girls who have posted in this very column before me saying how they are suffering from eating disorders and hate their bodies?

What you're saying is admirable, but if it really is ok to be happy with yourself no matter what you look like (as long as you're healthy), then you need to make sure that your message isn't contradicted during your commercial breaks and in the advertising on your website.

With all the discussion of eating disorders on your show (I see there have been a couple in your archives), I hope you're familiar with the research on the impact of advertising and the media on self-esteem and body image. It's not difficult to find. Since I'm not a regular watcher, maybe you've already addressed this, but since you have the exact audience that is most affected, my challenge to you, Tyra, is to devote some time promoting awareness of the impact of advertising and the media on body image as well as trying to make sure your show (as well as ANTM) does not become yet another source for the detrimental advertising that is a major cause of low body image.

Tyra,

Any show you do on eating disorders personally touches me. I am 22 years old and was bulimic and anorexic for 4 years. How I got to the point of destroying myself inside and out, well it took alot of self searching to figure that part out. I could sit and blame it on my mother picking apart the outfit I chose or my hair or making me try on a million different outfits that didn't fit quite right. Truth is though I just didn't love myself the way that I should have. Instead I chose to hurt myself my body something that I will never be able to take back to fix. Now I have problems gaining any weight back no matter how much I eat, at the time I was always tired, weak, had headaches like you wouldn't believe. Medically a mess. I had erruption of my esopagus, unexplainable stomache pains, and when I now tried to keep my food down it would naturally come back up because my body was so used to that. When I go my mindset straight and got out of that cycle I then had the problem of not being able to eat anything but a few bites at a time. I am having my own child and plan to raise my child to put themselves first loving their body, who they are, and knowing that God made us to be how we are not what society feels is best. I love how people have recently been coming out with not so perfect bodies and saying out loud I love me for me. Its impowering to us all. I hope other girls can chose to do what I have done and get better, be happy and move on, because it does control every part of you when you are that low.

Dear Tyra,

I am a 41 year old mother of 5. I have 3 natural children of my own- 1 boy and 2 girls and 2 step children- 1 boy and 1 girl. I have been- for all intensive purposes- my step children's mother for the past 7 years- Delaine, my step son is now 14, and Taylor, my step daughter is now 16. My natural children have always been athletic, and we have always been very conscious of eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle. My step children were not raised with those values and food was always used as a "pacifier" or method of comforting them. My step daughter has been overweight since I've known her- and, it seems, that there is no amount of help or suggestions I can give her that have been able to help her. She has cried because people call her fat and she has very low self esteem because of the things people say. She really is a very beautiful girl and we tell her this. What is frustrating to me is that I feel that if she is not happy with herself, she should have the mindset and self discipline to do something about it. But she constantly makes bad choices on how much and what she eats. She gets up at night and eats and sneaks food into her room every chance she gets. We are always finding wrappers and dishes hidden in her room. I love Taylor as my own and accept her for who she is as long as who she is- is not detrimental to her health. The fact that she has low self-esteem and can't exercise without getting out of breath- among other health problems associated with being overweight- I do not feel that this is the case. She has been watching your shows about "being happy and accepting who you are- no matter what weight you are-and I do think it's great and necessary that you have these shows, however, I also feel that more focus should be put on making healthy lifestyle choices on what you eat and exercising. Granted- disorders such as annorexia and bulimia are serious and potentially fatal- but so is obesity and the health problems that come along with it. I'd like to see you also do a show that focuses on that. Many young girls that "rationalize" about their overeating are, unfortunately, hearing that it's ok to be that way on some of your shows-even if that's not the message you're trying to deliver. I know because I see it with my 16 year old step daughter who has even said "Tyra says it's ok that I'm fat, and I should be happy with who I am today". The problem with this, Tyra, is that she really isn't, and I don't know how to help her be happy with who she is, and, at the same time, make better lifestyle choices that don't compromise her health.

Thank you for your time,

Rene Hassett
Royal Center, Indiana

Hey Tyra,

I just wanted to share a little of my experience with eating disorders. Right now I am almost 23 and have spent the last 6 years trying to overcome battles with eating disorders and will probably continue battling in one way or another my whole life.

When I was in 7th grade a few of my friends and I decided we would loose weight together. There was 4 of us and it started by skipping lunch at school then went into a downward spiral from there. 2 of the girls couldn't "hack it" anymore so they told us they were backing out but would keep their mouths closed. As sick as it sounds this gave the other girl and I a sense of achievement. That "haha.. we are stronger than them" attitude. After a while she and I decided that skipping lunch wasn't working anymore and we decided to start skipping dinner as well. Right before summer break she got caught, but kept the silence about me.

At this point I was out of control. Over the summer between my 7th and 8th grade year. I gave in... I couldn't stay away from the food. So I ate. But then I realized the theory of "what I put in my body I can take out"

I started by using a toothbrush to make myself gag and then after a few months I could just open my mouth and be sick. This continued into my junior year of high school. I am 5'6" and when I was at my lowest weight I was 93lbs.

During my junior year my mom caught me one morning and I told her it was just the flu. She excepted it the first time then when she caught me again.... things were really bad. I got to the point that I couldn't eat or drink anything. My body would rid anything I tried to eat or drink by itself like it was something foreign. It would hit my stomach and come back up. This included water on most days.

I had several trips to the doctor where I remember my mom yelling at me telling me that I was making everyone's life difficult and to think of someone other than myself. I also remember having had a counselor/psyc. everyday of the week... rather it was the school counselor or a eating disorder group meeting or someone trying to disect my brain and find out why I was doing this.

However none of this helped at all, it wasn't until I was rushed to the e.r. only to find I was so dehydrated that my veins were rolling. They tried several times (think double digits) to get an I.V. in several different places. They finally got one but not before telling me that it was their last try... otherwise they were going to put the I.V. line directly in my heart. I felt like dying. I was already dead on the inside. This was my wake up call. After 6 years and the finding of faith. Through several steps forward and a few steps back I am now at a healthy weight.

Now I am 23 and classified as "fully recovered". Which doesn't mean I don't ever think about it... or occasionally slip back... it just means I know what I have done and know what to do when I catch myself slipping back.

Eating disorders are a VERY serious situation and I just pray that my situation and story may someday help another. Thank you, Tyra, for your concern in the issue and thank you for having a place where we can share our situation and pray that God uses it to help others.

God Bless,
Jessica

dear tyra,
im jenna and my best friend alexis is here with me were 12 and we always say were fat we are both a size 0 and we are always commented "my stomach is gross" my arms jiggle etc. we belive if were fat we will lose everything populairity and boys. I alexis know thats positivly because i was overweight kindergarden through forth grade i was about 112 at age 10 and i always would break down and cry because my brother would call me negitive names and tell me i was an obese .in the summer of fith grade i lost over twenty pounds and mom brought me right to the doctors exuseing me of having an eating disorder. turns out i didnt but now present time i dont know how me and jenna are we are always saying that were fat and we talk about how better we would look skinny. We feel that if are rimbs dont stick out and are collor bones aren't showing that were not pretty.-alexis.both me and alexis are dancers and cheerleaders we belive that if we even gain alittle wait that the other girls on the squad and the dance teams would talk bad about us saying were fat and wont want to dance or cheer with us.Both me and alexis are always working out and criticing ourselfs.i rember one time we had a vegieterian ceser salad {it had tofu chicken] and right after we ate it we worked out for an hour and we wouldnt leave untill we lost 300 caloris.Alexis and i are both vegiterians as well. We are always waching your show and we would really like to meet you and get help

Dear TAYLOR (posted on aug. 24th)

I LOVE YOU.
you said all the stuff i was thinking.
i will post my whole critique later on.

WOOT, ANOREXIA NERVOSA.

Hi Tyra,
I was just hoping to ask for one last peice of advice.
For gym class you have to get weight mesurements done and height.
Well, I'm short and when we were doing our weight I got teased a lot beacuse I'm about 4ft 9' and I weigh 115 when their are kids bigger than me and they weigh 90. I weighed more than some boys who were hanging around the scale and thet kept telling everyone I was so fat and told them all my weight.
How do I handle jerks like that?
Love,
Sammy

Hi Tyra,
I'm here to reveal a confession of mine!
I have had an eating disorder for about two and a half years now and I don't want it controlling my life anymore.
I have all of the symptons listed and I'm going crazy!
Help me Tyra.
Love,
Sammy

Hey Tyra,
My name is Stephanie. I am 14 years old, and stand at about 5'4. I have developed an eating disorder. I have had this for about a year and a half now. And whenever I see old friends, they're all like wow, you've lost alot of weight, then I think to myself, I'm still the same as i've always been, as of what I see in the mirror. At times I eat small amounts, but then after, I feel quilty that i've ate it, then feel "fat" and non-pretty. Then when I go forever without having something in my stomach, I feel like i'm pretty, and so happy. And feel like nothing can bring me down, and think that no one is looking at me and saying ha, look at the fat ugly girl over there. I want this to go away, but as I move onto highschool, I think to myself that I have to be smaller to "fit in" with the crowds. I hate it, there's always so much pressure towards this, and it's not fair. It's not easy being me. And then when you have a boyfriend that you love and adore, and thinks he feels the same way, then breaks it off with you. As if so what happened to me. I felt as if I could never live up to his other girlfriends, and always thought i wasn't pretty enough for anyone, or skinny enough. That's another thing that always put me down. It's not fair, because no matter how hard i try to fix everything, it just never happens. I hate it!

tyra,
my name is whitney and im 18 years old. The summer going into my junior year of highschool i became anorexic. I was the captian of my highschool dance team and wanted nothing more than to be a role model to my teammates. I thought that being thin and in shape would give me that extra confidence i needed. I have never been overweight, but i thought that i should probably lose a couple pounds. Thats where it all went downhill. I began obssessing over what i ate and how much i exercised. I couldnt put something in my mouth and not go running after to burn it off. I became irritable and lost all of my close relationships. Before i was sent away to an inpatient treatment facility, I allowed myself to have one yogurt a day. I felt so ashamed of the way i looked. I never wanted to go out with friends or leave from my house unless i was going to the gym. I went to Laureate which is an inpatient treatment facility and stayed there for 4 months. For the first month i was there i wasnt even allowed to walk. I had to be pushed in a wheelchair. I was so scared to come home, and 1 month after being back i relasped. I couldnt handle it. I didnt know who i was without my eating disorder i didnt know what made whitney "special." Two years later I consider myself to be on the road to recovery. I made a desicion that saved my life. I wanted to live to see my next birthday, I wanted to graduate from hgihschool, I wanted my parents to not worry if I was breathing when I went to bed. Your show touched my heart in so many ways. It sends an excellent message to teenagers and adults. I commend you. Thank you for all that you do, your an inspiration.

Hi Tyra,
My name is Tera and I am 13 years old. I am scared because i see myself starting to develop an eating diorder. I am to afriad to tell my parents about it because I am scared that they won't take it seriously. And its hard to go shopping and stuff with my best friend because she is so skinny and small that when I am with her it makes me feel "fat". I don't what to do, because it started out that I would skip dinner every once and a while but now I will acually lie to my friends and family and tell them that i ate a lot and I am not hungry. and i honestly think that if I could just talk to someone that is not my friends or family about it I think that I will feel better about myself.

i admire your courage to say what you said on the show dealing with the tabloids. You are gorgeous and there is nothing wrong with being thick honey. You've enjoyed your career and the terms that come with it. Now it's time for you to enjoy the rest of your life. No one on tv would have gotten up in front of millions of people and admitted the truth. I watch your show because you are real and you tell it like it is. Keep doing what you do Tyra because you doing a hell of a lot more than those who have been on tv.

hey tyra! i watch your show alot and i really think u are a good role model and inspiration. i am a 13 year old girl going into eighth grade. i have always been picked on and totured in school because of how i look and talk. i was never really fat but i did have some weight on me. about a month ago i went to the e.r. for severe dizziness and blacking out and i have very low blood pressure and have lost alot of weight. i kept on teling the doctor that i wasnt trying to lose weight and was comfortable with my body. they wanted to put me in rehab but my mom said no because she didnt think i had an eating disorder and did not really know why i lost weight besides eating more healthy. i lied soo badly. i have exercise bulimia so whenever i eat, i imediately go exercise afterwards to try to burn it off. i eat alot of food, but its all really low calorie food. i would make myself eat only 4 certain times a day with very limited choices and never eat past 6:30. i have some extra skin hanging on my lower stomach which i obsess with because it sticks out like fat but its just from the weight i did lose so i want to keep exercising to get rid of it. i lost all shape to me and m woman figure(i always looked older then i was) now im obseesed with everything that sticks out but still have that belly(which i should not worry about) i am going to the doctors again and if i did not gain any weight, they are taking me away and im missing school. im scared because when they said that, i just exercised more. i cry every day because i just want a skinny body(and curves) and a flat stomach and just pretty much the body of a model. i know i cant have that because of my body shape and i have to live with what i have but i refuse. now i also have depression and stay away from all my friends that i did have and am pretty much a loner now. i need help really bad but in a way, i dont want it. i have had many fights with my parents and especially with my dad...... i cant take my life. when i watch your show, it makes me feel a little bit better and gets my self esteem up...for a little bit. ALL of your topics touch me and so did that one-but i still cant get better. but once again, i really look up to you and i hope you read this.

hi tyra you are my role model and i hope you are the best role model ever cause your really awesome luv ya victory

I watched the show regarding anorexia. It was an eye opener. When I was 26 yrs old I weighed about 100 lbs (I'm 5'6'). I was eating only once a day and my family thought I was on drugs. Two years later my weight has increased to 116 lbs and I feel as if I need to lose this weight. I've always been extremely unhappy with my body. I feel as if I am going back to my old ways because I have cut back on my eating everytime I look at myself in the mirror. It is very hard to overcome especially when all we see in the media is thin people. I want to tell you that you are a wonderful role model to all the girls out there. The show was something that needed to be talked about since this is an ongoing problem with women everywhere. Keep up the great work!!

Hi Tyra!

I dont know if the episode on oxygen was a re-run or what. i am a 15 year old high schooler who stuggles with her weight to make it in today society. I am a huge fan, i tivo every episode and cant wait untill your new season takes place in N.Y. and one day i can be a part of your studio audience (R.I. is a lot closer to N.Y. than L.A.) aside the fact. at the begining of the show you expressed your views on the minds of weight discriminators. it was the most inspiring, powerful, and beautiful speech i have ever heard from a female speaking on that topic. You and Mia have inspired me to not become Yale(sp), and seek treatment before my problems get out of hand. and to not only help myself, but you make others aware that what other people have to say about anothers weight dosnt mean a thing!
i know this probubly doesnt make sence, i just wanted to let you know you truly touched me last night.
Tyra4President!
Much Love,
Katie

Tyra
I just watched your show and found it very informative. Ever since I can remember I've had an obsession with my weight. I've been hospitalized for an eating disorder but it never truly goes away. People close to you will tell you just eat something or that you look fine. When I look in the mirror I know that I don't see what everyone else does. I see a fat woman, and that is not what I want to be. There isn't a magic pill or cream out there that is going to make it better. I work hard to lose weight and am proud to say that I am at my lowest ever for me. I am 5'4 and weigh 120. It's a healthy weight. Problem is that I think that I should weigh less so I keep fighting to lose more. It's a constant battle. I have a loving husband and adorable 2 year old son and I feel like I am missing out on so much. No matter how hard I try or deny I always worry and fret about what my weight is or what I am eating. I don't want to miss out on my life and I feel wore out. To worry constantly about food and weight just wears a person out. I don't want to do it anymore. I want to be normal. I see women who are happy with how they look and are enjoying life. I don't want my son to grow up thinking that in order for women to be beautiful that they have to be super skinny and do things like I have done. Do you know how horrible I feel when my son walks into the bathroom and mommy is throwing up because she feels she ate too much or mommy is irritable and snappy because she is trying not to eat too much. I know that the lifestyle I have now is not healthy and I try to look in the mirror and love what I see. I want to see what everyone else sees when they look at me. To people out there who feel that it's all in a persons head and all they have to do is eat something just don't understand. It's a disease that people cannot control.

Hello Tyra:)

I watched your show about eating disorders and thought about my own struggle with food addiction. I’ve had weight issues since early childhood that progressed through the years. My life is not my own and I do not even know myself. I have some health problems and fear I will not live to see my child grow up. I pray at night that I wake up the following day and thank God every morning for blessing me. How can I overcome my addiction? God bless you. You make a difference in so many peoples lives. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

The commercials advertising weight reduction products and anti-cellulite cream diminish the impact of and undermine the positive messages of Tyra’s shows, especially when aired during the “Tyra Confronts Her Fat Tabloid Photos” episode addressing eating disorders. These commercials dish out a good deal of negative self-image by telling us that naturally occurring conditions in our bodies are distasteful aberrations to be wiped out, erased, or otherwise eradicated by some unnatural chemical cream or diet pill.

It has been said it takes 7 positive messages to neutralize 1 negative message. This means the Tyra Banks Show will have to put in 7 times more positive messages than the commercials deliver, just to come out even. It is a disservice to Tyra Banks and her public for these messages to be associated with Tyra and the show.

If the Tyra Banks Show can have any influence at all over the advertisements aired during the show, please consider utilizing it to put guidelines in place about the products that can be advertised in Tyra's airspace and web space.

Hey Tyra,
Important show about eating disorders and more so, self hatred. The lack of self esteem is a killer in so many ways. I wanted to share a recent experience I had. I am 6'2" and about a year and a half ago I weighed 123 lbs.. I looked like the poster child for Auschwitz! It was stunning to me that I was CONSTANTLY complimented for my "Super Model" body. People continually told me I was gorgeous and inquired as to whether I was a model or an actress. I would say politely, "Oh my no... thanks for the compliment! However, I have fully metastacized breast cancer, and am not expected to survive". Of course that response would elicit a gasp and a very uncomfortable apology. It still stuns me that the public is so brainwashed as to think that physique,(nothing short of a death mask)is enviable. Happily I have recovered, (another amazing story) and weigh in at a healthy 169-173 lbs.. Love the junk in my trunk! Thanks for your good work!

Hey Tyra and All,
I just watched a repeat of this show about eating disorders, and I guess my biggest gripe is when someone says eating disorder the first thing you think of is anorexia or bulemia; we seem to be forgetting about people that over eat. Just as in any eating disorder the disease is run by emotions and wanting control over a something in their life.
I was picked on for years about being over weight and because society is the way it is over weight people are also dying to be thin! Until just recently the gastric bypass could be fatal.
Two weeks ago I had this surgery. I have already begun to loose weight and yet I still have issues fitting in the seats at a movie theater, amusement park rides, and my sons school! It is not only embarrassing but it is something that could not be helped. It is a disease as any other and people make us feel like outcasts!! I would say more but it is already starting to make me emotional!

tyra
i am struggling with an eating disorder right now and i dont think you should get help right away b/c if you do then you wasted your time trying to be skinny i thing having an eating disorder is ok b/c if you want to look good then you have to be skinny and people who r against it is dumb b/c i think every girl should be skinny i mean its working 4 me and i am proud to say i am bulmic and dont care of what others think

TYRA,
THIS EPISODE REALLY MADE ME UPSET THE WAY THE SKINNY MODEL WAS BEING TALKED TO. NOW MYSELF, I AM 5'2 AND 130LBS. I DONT WATCH WHAT EAT AND I DONT THINK IM FAT. BUT I DO FEEL UNHEALTHY. AND I THINK THAT WAS THE POINT THAT MODEL WAS TRYING TO MAKE. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR. THIS MODEL SAID SHE WAS A VEGITERIAN AND SHE WAS NATUARALLY SKINNY. I DONT NECCERELY THINK SHE LOOKED GOOD THAT SKINNY. BUT WHO AM I TO SAY THATS NOT NATURAL FOR HER AND WHOSE TO SAY SHE HAS ANOREXIA. WHEN SHE FACED THE OVERWEIGHT MODEL AND POINTED OUT HER UNHEALTHINESS YOU ACTED AS IF THAT WAS NORMAL ALSO. MAYBE BOTH THESE WOMEN ARE NATURALLY THERE SIZE. BUT LETS NOT FORGET THAT EATIN WHATEVER WE WANT IS ALSO VERY UNHEALTHY. I AM ONE TO TALK. I DONT WATCH WHAT I EAT BECAUSE I DONT CARE OF MY SIZE. BUT WHEN I GO TO BED AT NIGHT I DO THINK ABOUT WHAT GREASY FOODS ARE DOING TO MY ARETERIES. ANOTHER THING, HOW DO YOU THINK YOU AFFECTED YOUNG GIRLS WHO ARE VERY SKINNY AND CANT GAIN WAIT. NOW YOU HAVE MADE THESE WOMEN FEEL ABNORMAL AND DISGUSTED WITH THEMSELVES. LET ME SAY I HAVE MET MORE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF BEING OVER WEIGHT THEN YOU COULD IMAGINE. AND I HAVE A FEW FRIENDS WHO ARE NATURALLY VERY SKINNY AND GET PICKED ON FOR IT. I DON’T KNOW, ALL IM SAYING IS I THINK THIS SHOW WAS A BIT HYPOCRITICLE

Hi tyra,
I just wanted to say that I can totally relate to the women on your show and I am so glad you are bringing attention to eating disorders. I have been evrything from anorexic weighing 109LBS at 5'6. To bulimac at an average weight of 132(currently). I feel so gross that I cant even leave my house because I fear that everybody is looking at how fat I am. Many nights I go to sleep wishing I wouldnt wake up. This is a deamon that will always posses me. Eating disorders never really go away. In my case it began when I was seven years old. I know it will probably kill me eventually but for me I am beyond help. I really wish that you wouldnt keep such skinny models on americas next top model. It is a trigger and a motivational factor that feeds my eating disorder and I am sure that of every other sick women like me. However, more importantly it spreads this deamon to other young girls and once it posseses you there is never really an escape. I understand that very skinny girls are what america wants in a model so perhaps you should make a choice as to if you want to be apart of what influences like that have done to me. The emphasis on very skinny women has robbed me of my life. Only hypothetically for now but perhaps I will one day become a statistic. I wish I wish I could prevent younger girls from ever starting something like this but I cant. Therefor I am simply going to shine light on what shows like yours are doing. You decide if bringing back the super-models as you put it is really worth the lives of women everyplace. Even if only one women becomes ill from your show while millions watch it is your show worth more then that one life?

Tyra,

I just watched an episode of your show about eating disorders and I have to tell you that it was the best tv I have seen in pretty much my whole life. I'm 16 and have been strugeling with an eating disorder for 2 years now. People always say I'm so skinny and some people have even recently commented that they have never seen me eat since they have know me. They