This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness week. From February 25 through March 1, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is working to spread awareness and de-stigmatize issues surrounding eating disorders.
Syracuse local Gabriella Giacovelli grew up training to be a professional dancer. She said these pressures caused a strain on her relationship with food.
“I was in like what, 5th grade?” Giacovelli recounted. “I had a dance teacher that was relatively new to the studio and we were dancing at the bar, you know warm ups at the beginning of class, and she would go around to kids and slap her hand against our stomachs and say ‘you need to lose this’ at 10. 10 years old. Which is unhealthy but also just, why would anyone do that?”
Over time, the pressure to fit the mold got to Giacovelli. Her food intake decreased while her self-consciousness increased.
“I’d have like maybe a clementine for lunch, and then I can’t even remember if I came home and ate dinner because I would just go right to dance,” Giacovelli said. “I mean, I’d have water throughout the day, but even in dance, if I was really thirsty, I couldn’t just gulp a whole thing of water down because I knew I would get bloated after.”
Giacovelli went on for three years with this issue, and no one noticed. Luckily, it was the support of some friends who made her realize that what she was doing was not healthy.
NEDA’s theme for this week is “Come As You Are,” which focuses on listening to all voices who have had difficult relationships with food. This could be people who have been traditionally silenced, or people like Giacovelli who went undiagnosed.
Today, Giacovelli said she has to remind herself everyday that it is ok to eat a balanced array of foods. To counter the thoughts in her head, she actively meal plans so that she knows she’s getting enough food to eat.
Although she no longer dreams of becoming a dancer, Giacovelli said she has found a healthy lifestyle now. One where she can eat, dance, and be healthy, all on her own terms.
