Profoundly inspirational eating disorder quotes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
Famous Eating Disorder Quotes
This is not a teenage girls’ disease. Candace Cameron Bure
Though no one can go back and make a new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new end. Carl Bard
Restriction is the gateway to eating disorders. Cheese Turner
I intend to accept my body today, love my body tomorrow, and appreciate my body always.
I’d look in the mirror and still see a 180-lb. guy, even though I was 138 pounds. Dennis Quaid
In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. Abraham Maslow
Even the models we see in magazines wish they could look like their own images. Cheri K. Erdman
Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow. Mary Anne Radmacher
The beauty myth is always actually prescribing behavior and not appearance. Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth
I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles. Laurie Halse Anderson
Eating disorders are dangerous at any age, and they become especially dangerous when there are delays in getting help. Pamela Keel, Ph.D
The words I am are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you’re claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you. A.L. Kitselman
This disorder doesn’t discriminate. It affects 30 million people in the United States alone, both men and women of all different ages. Candace Cameron Bure
The size of my waist has nothing to do with my worth.
Eating disorders are a life threatening illness that can affect anyone. It doesn’t matter your age, your sex, your ethnicity. Eating disorders don’t discriminate. Kesha
If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how very different our ideals of beauty would be. Lauren Jauregui
At least 10% of the population are struggling with an eating disorder, disordered eating, and or body image. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)
Get off the scale! I have yet to see a scale that can tell you how enchanting your eyes are. I have yet to see a scale that can show you how wonderful your hair looks when the sun shines its glorious rays on it. I have yet to see a scale that can thank you for your compassion, sense of humor, and contagious smile. Get off the scale because I have yet to see one that can admire you for your perseverance when challenged in life. Steve Maraboli
The anorexic operates under the astounding illusion that she can escape the flesh, and, by association, the realm of emotions. Marya Hornbacher, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings are for. Michael Meegan
I won’t let a number on a scale own me
Our minds distort our mirrors.
Recovery feels like having to learn how to walk all over again. Portia de Rossi
Make peace with the mirror, and watch your reflection change.
It’s very important to seek treatment early for eating disorders. Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D
When you starve yourself, you feed your demons.
Remember that it’s okay to get help, and it doesn’t make you weak. Lauren Alaina
In the midst of hate, I found there was in me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was within me, an invincible calm In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger something better, pushing right back. Albert Camus
I intend to accept my body today love my body tomorrow and appreciate my body always.
At this very moment, you may be saying to yourself that you have any number of admirable qualities. You are a loyal friend, a caring person, someone who is smart, dependable, fun to be around. That’s wonderful, and I’m happy for you, but let me ask you this: are you being any of those things to yourself? Phillip C. McGraw
It’s very hard to let go of an eating disorder, to say: ‘I’m enough, I don’t need that anymore. I’m past that. Evanna Lynch
Let your hopes, not your hurts shape your future. Robert Schuller
Asking for help is never a sign of weakness. It’s one of the bravest things you can do. And it can save your life. Lily Collins
You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. Buddha
I think the hardest part to get to is that point of asking for help or reaching out to other people and being honest with yourself. Mary Kate Olsen
Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults. Les Brown
The first step is exposing that secret and that struggle, and you have to take that first step before you can find freedom. Candace Cameron Bure
Choose every day to forgive yourself. You are human, and most of all, worthy of love. Alison Malee
Recovery doesn’t mean your life magically becomes perfect and happy all the time, but it helps you recognize that you have the strength and resilience within you to handle the good and the bad that comes with life. Beth Pilcher, LISW-CP
Whatever you did today is enough. Whatever you felt today is valid. Whatever you thought today isn’t to be judged. Repeat the above each day. Brittany Burgunder
Not giving your body enough of what it needs is really dangerous. Hilary Duff
Sometimes it’s ok if the only thing you did today was breathe.
To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself. Simone de Beauvoir
My only choice was to fight my way out, even if I didn’t think I would make it. Laurie Halse Anderson
Toxic nutrition messaging is more harmful for your health than food will ever be. Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S
Just because something is familiar, doesn’t mean it’s safe. And just because something feels safe, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Brittany Burgunder
If you’re hungry in any way, physically or emotionally hungry, you’re never going to be functioning 100 percent. Lily Collins
In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. Abraham Maslow
I will never get my full health back because of what society taught me to do to my body, and I don’t want that to happen to you. Jameela Jamil
Everyone kept asking me if I wanted to die. Well, no. No, I didn’t want to die. But no one ever asked me if I wanted to live. Brittany Burgunder
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on it’s going on when you don’t have strength. Napoleon Bonaparte
You may feel like it is helping you deal with life’s problems, but actually it is avoiding you from tackling those problems head on. Don’t confuse distraction with tackling. Amalie Lee
Fall seven times and stand up eight. Japanese proverb
Your eating disorder may help numb the uncomfortable emotions that you don’t want to feel, but it also numbs the positive ones, and convinces you that you can’t handle life without it. Beth Pilcher, LISW-CP
Ask yourself what you love. Without fear of consequences, without force or shame or guilt. What motivates you to be kind, to take care of your body, your spirit, others, the earth? Trust the longing, trust the love that can be translated into action without the threat of punishment. Trust that you will not destroy what matters most. Give yourself that much. Geneen Roth
I now view food as energy for my mind and body rather than something to be scared of. It’s fuel, not punishment. Because without it, I can’t grow stronger, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Lily Collins
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson
I battled with many eating disorders and body issues as a younger girl and it took me a long time to find self love and acceptance! Trust me, all of that pain and destruction I inflicted on myself wasn’t worth it. Ireland Baldwin
I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. Anne Frank
I am more than the shell for my soul that is my body and every day I fight to remind myself of that. Demi Lovato
The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the person perfected without trials. Chinese proverb
The most important thing we can do is not only admit it to ourselves but then to reach out for that help. Candace Cameron Bure
Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Henry Ford
If you have an eating disorder, but are not being clinically supported, your story matters. You matter. Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S
Recovery is real. It’s not a luck of the draw deal where you put your name in a hat and hope to be chosen. It’s a grueling, relentless, personal process that will push you beyond your limits over and over. Brittany Burgunder
People who struggle with atypical anorexia may not always appear sick, but their symptoms are as valid as those of individuals who have anorexia. Eating Disorder Hope
You will get there when you are meant to get there and not one moment sooner. So relax, breathe, and be patient. Mandy Hale
I am angry that I starved my brain and that I sat shivering in my bed at night instead of dancing or reading poetry or eating ice cream or kissing a boy. Laurie Halse Anderson
Focus on progress not perfection. Bill Phillips
Living with an eating disorder takes extraordinary fortitude. And when that energy can be circumvented in a different way, incredible things happen. Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. Vincent Van Gogh
You are not a mistake. You are not a problem to be solved. But you won’t discover this until you are willing to stop banging your head against the wall of shaming and caging and fearing yourself. Geneen Roth
If you’re going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill
For some, binge eating disorder is a coping mechanism to manage emotional distress, therefore it’s important to understand where the drive to use food for comfort is coming from. Yasi Ansari, MS, RDN, CSSD
No two eating disorders are the same. No two individuals are the same. No two paths to recovery are the same. But everyone’s strength to reach recovery IS the same. Brittany Burgunder
But it’s never too late to start improving yourself and trying to be the best version of YOU possible. It’s not a race, and it’s not a competition it’s about respecting yourself and doing what’s best for YOU. Rebel Wilson
The good news, however, is that also contrary to popular belief, full and lasting recovery from an eating disorder is possible.
One thing I have come to notice in my life is that recovery for me has not been linear. It’s more two steps forward, three back, five forward, two back, so I’m always improving but there are setbacks within the improvement. Jonathan Van Ness
Binge eating is another eating disorder that people really don’t realize is a problem. Demi Lovato
Do I want to die from the inside out or the outside in? Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls
For me, the bulimia was about stuffing my emotions. So I stopped suppressing my feelings. Cheryl James
I am forever engaged in a silent battle in my head over whether or not to lift the fork to my mouth. Jena Morrow
In a world full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming. Helen Keller
If you can’t tell someone they look nice without making it about their size, then baby, please don’t say nuthin at all. Tess Holliday
My worst days in recovery are better than the best days in relapse.
I had no idea how broken the eating disorder community is. I had no idea how few resources there are for people like me. Tess Holliday
I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that’s wrong, you’re full of self loathing and then you punish yourself. Katie Couric
Choose every day to forgive yourself. You are human, and most of all, worthy of love. Allison Malee
People with eating disorders often have other mental disorders such as depression, or anxiety, or problems with substance use. Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D
I’m recovering from anorexia nervosa, and I am learning to heal, love and accept myself fully.
You’re never going to be feeling like the best version of yourself and then you’re not living the life that you should be and the best life that you can. Lily Collins
Recovery is a challenge, but it’s not as difficult as continuing to live the wrath of an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are mental illnesses. You cannot tell if someone has an ED by looking only at how they eat, what they eat, how much they weigh. Zeynep Demirelli, MSc.
In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.
Complimenting someone on their weight loss can be as harmful as complimenting someone on their weight gain in regards to talking to someone in recovery from an eating disorder. Demi Lovato
My only choice was to fight my way out, even if I didn’t think I would make it. Laurie Halse Anderson
