I am so intrigued by this show, I could not wait for episode two and after patiently waiting until all my big work was done I sat down and watched it on my DVR (thank goodness for dvr)!

Once again I am so thankful that E! is bringing the reality of eating disorders to millions of people.  I think seeing the real faces behind this disease will help everyone understand it more.  These are real people who come from various backgrounds and I am hopeful the audience can see how this disease has taken over their lives.

This episode was especially heartbreaking because it was so evident that Marc had a really tough childhood and was suffering a lot.  He was so brave to put himself out there and really allow cameras to follow him bingeing, purging, restricting and abusing laxatives and diuretics.  But more importantly the cameras showed us how damaged he was by the way he wouldn’t even look people in the eye, to the point that the doctor had to instruct him how to do so.  The lesson from his story is easily that if someone asks for help it is available.  Exposure therapy with the nutritionist was so amazing in the end when he was able to actually eat some candy.  And she was genuinely interested in helping him that I found it inspiring.

Kristy was again an entirely different type of woman, married with kids, she had battled bulimia for 23 years, stemming from negative remarks her mother made.  Even as a successful model she shows photos of herself and reveals that underneath she was starving and miserable.  Kristy’s husband and family are unsure of how to support her, but I think the show does a great example of showing how a little family therapy can really turn things around. Often times loved ones are just angry at the disease and behavior and demand it be stopped.  But with some family therapy they find out a disease has taken over their loved one and it will take more than “just stopping”.  This also helps build a support system that is very effective, which was evident in both Kristy and Marc’s case.

I am looking forward to next week.  And by the way on the Time Warner LA feed we had a Jenny Craig commercial.  WOW.

Bridget Loves