Burnaby-based fitness coach Aeryon Ashlie will be sharing her struggles with bulimia during the upcoming Wellness Show in Vancouver.
Bullied because of the way she looked, Ashlie developed the eating disorder for many years. She turned that struggle into a best-selling book and a life devoted to helping others get healthier.
Ashlie says she remains all-too-aware of the toll an eating disorder can take on someone’s mental and physical health.
“A learning moment for me was when my daughter was about three and we were on our own,” Ashlie said. “I was in the bathroom, I lifted the lid of the toilet and began to purge, then heard her little voice. I got up, saw my reflection in the mirror. I’d seen that reflection so many times, but this time that reflection caught me, and I thought, ‘This could be my daughter someday.’ If I don’t do something drastic, if I don’t change my behaviour.”
During Eating Disorder Awareness Week,which runs in Canada Feb. 1-7, she is even more pragmatic about her life lesson messaging. She will sharing it at the 2019 Wellness Showrunning Feb. 2-3 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
“I want people to know they can take charge of their lives even when they are struggling with something as significant as an eating disorder,” she said.
Her book Bulimia to Balance shares her main message compelling others to be mindful when they are eating and planning meals.
“By practicing mindfulness, we can become more deliberate and intentional in what we are eating, focusing on health, rather than substituting emotions for food,” says Ashlie. “My ultimate goal in life these days is to teach others how to connect to their bodies, listen and acknowledge their hunger cues, eat what and when they want and land in a place of sustainable health and wellness."
To check out when she is speaking at this year’s Wellness Show, visit: http://thewellnessshow.com/women-and-wellness-seminar-series/
FAST FACTS
- According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), over 30 million people in North America suffer from some kind of an eating disorder or disordered eating.
- ANAD also reports 13 per cent of women over the age of 50 routinely engage in eating disorder behaviors.
- The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) defines eating disorders as a group of mental illnesses that affect the way you feel about food and the way you feel about your body and yourself.
- The CMHA estimates about 90 per cent of people diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia are women.
- Eating disorders typically start in teen years though they can start earlier or later in life too.
