Wow, where did February go? The introduction of Little Victories to get sane about food was in early January, but it’s starting to feel like a long time ago! Each week you all share such amazing experiences, moments, and thoughts…they are so inspiring and incredibly insightful. Sometimes I think, maybe I should change up the end-of-the-week post, but each week just gets better and better. I must say I am really proud of all of your Little Victories and it keeps me focused on making sure I recognize my own through out the week. Sometimes it is helpful to see what other people are feeling victorious about to get yourself in the mindset of acknowledging all the little (and important) steps that eventually add to big changes, learning and recovery.
(If you are unfamiliar with Little Victories Fridays, check out some of the past posts and make sure to take a looksy at some of the great comments.)
This week one of my little victories came in the form of helping someone else, but it also made me recognize the progress I had made in the process. I was eating a bag of popcorn (the really addictive, cheesy kind) with a friend sort of mindlessly while watching the Olympics and we had both probably had our fair share.
My friend said he couldn’t stop eating it even though he wanted to stop. We both sort of laughed, but then I turned to him and asked, Do you really want to stop eating it? He said yes. So I took the bag, folded it up and put it back in the cupboard. He said thanks and that was that!
To someone else, this might seem like not a big deal, but sometimes if you are eating something and you have that feeling, “I want to stop eating this, but I can’t,” you have to give yourself some limits and help yourself out! Knowing yourself well enough to see that if you keep this bag next to you (or plate of unfinished french fries in front of you), you will continue to eat it, do yourself a favor and put it away. Or throw it out, if that is what needs to happen. Being firm with yourself doesn’t have to be restrictive or punishing or full of guilt. Helping my friend helped me recognize that if I can help set limits for someone else, I can do it for myself too. A few days later, I had a similar experience where I was alone and I just put the stuff away and it worked out great.
Allrighty, your turn. How has the week been? Victorious? I bet you can think of a few little victories, let’s hear them! —Morgan
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Yesterday I finished my last food log (I am in recovery from an eating disorder & have had to log what I eat since I started). I didn’t even realize it was my last one until I went to write down today’s food & discovered that I didn’t have any more log books. While I was a little unsure at first about how I would feel eating without having somewhere to record it (which made me feel more in control), I am actually confident after giving it some thought that I can still be sane about eating. My little victory!
That’s great, Julia! If you do end up feeling weird about it, I’m sure you could ask your therapist(s) if you could continue to log. I’m not sure whether that might kick up any restrictive tendencies you have, but I know for me writing down my food has been helpful during tough times in my life. xo…Sunny
Hey girls! I DID IT. I RAN A WHOLE MILE ON THE TREADMILL. I know it probably doesn’t seem like a lot, but I’ve hated running for a really long time because I couldn’t do it. I love walking on the treadmill, and I still do, but I wanted to really push myself and I managed to run an entire mile. I’m so proud of myself, and I was so excited when I left the gym I could have cried. WOOHOO!!!!
YAY TRISH! Do you feel strong and accomplished? You should.
Congratulations Trish!!
Maybe you’ve posted about it already (I’m new), but I would love to hear more about what you wrote in the above comment concerning food logs. I’m wondering if food logs are triggers or helpful for binge eating…
My very teeny, tiny victory- during a stress and loneliness-triggered binge today, I actually stopped and let myself feel how sick it was making me feel. I didn’t stop, but I did recognize feeling something other than just being numb while bingeing.
Progress? I think so…
Definitely progress, CC. And, thanks for the suggestion-I will totally plan an upcoming post about food logging. xo…Sunny
I’m pretty exited about my little victory this week
See, I’ve been reading one of Geneen Roth’s books.. (not sure the name in english, in french it’s (I’m repping french people here;)) ‘Oser avoir faim, manger avec plaisir et maigrir’. GREAT book.) So I’ve been trying to be extra in-tune with my emotions, and I realized that the emotion that I bottle up the most & that leads me to binge the most, is anger. This came as a surprise to me, since I thought I was somebody who never really got that mad (which I suppose is naive). So in short, in the past three days I’ve been trying to really listen to myself, and as suggested in the book, when I felt angry I wrote my feelings down (in huge red letters using.. colorful language.) or took out my emotions on a pillow (sounds a bit weird I know, but it totally works) or drew or exercised. Never ignored it.
The rest of the time I took extra care of myself, taking long baths, using nice scented products, meditating, eating what I felt like when I was hungry.
And I am now going on my fourth day without any urges to binge. See, it’s a pretty common occurance that I go 2 or 3 days without bingeing, but I ALWAYS in those days have
an (or many) urge(s) to. It’s mostly willpower, which, as I am sure you all know, is pretty useless against binge eating in the long run. But in the past days I just haven’t felt the need to.
That is great, Olivia!
I’ve noticed that rather than allowing myself to feel anger, I usually end up feeling anxious instead. It’s amazing how “unacceptable” emotions come out in other ways!
Squee! I just finished my first session ever with a personal trainer!! The more I exercise, the more likely I am to be able to push off a binge, so I am hoping that this will be the push I need to really get excited about the gym. I can already feel that ibuprofen will be needed later, but I feel GOOD!!!
Exercise is a huge tool I use for my mental health, too, Leslie. And working with a trainer is my favorite! Also, you just used one of my favorite words in the world: “Squee!”