'Real Housewives' star responds to Instagram comments she is 'too skinny'
A former "Real Housewives" star is responding to comments made online that she is "too skinny" and "should eat a burger" as she is in the midst of a divorce from her husband and caring for her son with brain damage.
"For the record, I am naturally thin and I’ve always had a healthy relationship with food," Meghan King Edmonds wrote in a blog post published Sunday. "But right now, I am too skinny. I don’t like it."
"I won’t weigh myself because I’m scared to see what the scale says. When my clothes don’t fit I pretend like they do anyway,' she said. " But I’m not hungry. I know I should eat but I’m surviving on adrenaline but decaying on stress (did I mention what has happened in the last 150 days? And let’s just really lay it on by being in the thick of the holidays)."
Edmonds, 35, revealed in July that one of her toddler twin sons, Hart, has irreversible brain damage. She shares the twin boys and an older daughter with her estranged husband Jim Edmonds, a retired MLB star whom she has accused of cheating.
Edmonds' blog post about her health came after commenters responded to a photo she shared on Instagram of herself pushing her twin sons at a park with her daughter at her side. Some questioned Edmonds' weight loss, while others came to her defense with reminders that weight should be off limits to discuss.
"You look very skinny. I know you have a lot on your plate. And I can only imagine how hard it is to juggle it all,” one commenter wrote. “Take care of yourself momma, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Sending you love.”
"Stop commenting on her weight," wrote another. "Don’t you guys think she already knows she’s lost weight. Who wouldn’t?"
Edmonds responded to at least one comment, describing herself as a stress non-eater. That description is one common for people experiencing lots of stress, according to Amy Boyers, Ph.D.,a Miami-based psychologist who specializes in eating disorders.
"Stress is really very closely connected to anxiety," said Boyers, who does not treat Edmonds. "When your level of fear and anxiety and worry get high enough, for many people that just kills their appetite and they’re also so focused on whatever the stressor is they’re not paying attention to what’s happening in their body."
Weight loss may be an outward sign of what is happening with a person's health, so it is best to ask how a person is doing, rather than focusing on weight, according to Boyers.
"I think that if you are concerned about someone it’s always more helpful to say, 'I’m concerned about you. Are you okay? Can I help you?,' rather than focusing on the weight," she said. "The weight is the outer-most layer and that’s not really the essence of how this person is doing."
"It’s impossible to know from the outside why someone’s weight changes, so connecting as a human being rather than making any kind of accusations is much more helpful," Boyers added.
Edmonds said she was hurt by the comments about her weight, writing, "I agree, I’m too thin. Acknowledgement is powerful and allows me to psychologically take back control. However, you hurt me when you mention it. I’m working on it. Please, sit back and watch me thrive despite my setbacks. The best is yet to come."
She also wrote about the obstacles she faces every day to make sure she is allowing herself to take in the proper nutrition.
"I eat breakfast every day. That’s easy. Lunch is hard because it’s an annoyance: a stop in the middle of the day when I’m on a roll," she wrote. "So when I eat lunch I really go for it – all the carbs and all the protein. I don’t snack – never have. Dinner can go either way. The kids are asleep so I have time to eat and I do but usually I’m not very hungry."
Boyers shared a few tips that she gives clients who are going through times of stress and not eating well because of it.
"Put alerts on your phone to remind you to eat. Find some foods that are easy for you to prepare and get down, something like a smoothie is easy to make in a pretty calorically-dense way," she said. "Find foods that will sustain you and that are easy to eat."
Boyers also recommends reaching out for support, whether from a therapist or friends and family who can make meals for you and help remind you to eat.
"Also, just take time to slow down and to process whatever is going on with you, maybe that’s meditating, going to therapy or walking on the beach," she said. "Take time to allow yourself to fully process whatever it is you’re going through."
