We haven’t had a Little Victories post in a while—and it’s time! “Little Victories” are what we here at HealthyGirl.org like to call the small (yet important) steps, moments, thoughts that eventually pave the way to big changes and recovery. If you add up a bunch of little victories, you get BIG victories, so let’s keep counting!
I will get us started and then it’s your turn: This past week was a bit of a long one for me (I’m sure many of you can relate), with some unusually emotionally straining circumstances and I was faced with feeling more than I am usually accustomed to (or comfortable with). By the time Sunday came around, I was sort of out of gas—the kind that helps me keep it together and deal relatively healthfully with what’s going on.
I just felt exhausted and sad and I had this creeping feeling like I might be a little bit weird around food (something I haven’t felt in a while). I tried not to freak out and recognized this as a way that I used to cope with strong emotions and that it wasn’t how I wanted to this time. I was clear with myself that I did not want to deal with this through food because I knew it would only make me feel way worse afterwards.
Instead of letting myself slip back into a familiar and unhelpful habit, I tried truly listening to my body to figure out what it was that I needed. The answer was simple and it really did help. I needed an afternoon nap, I needed to spend some chill time with a friend that makes me feel good, and I needed to talk to my Mama on the phone =). Luckily, I got to do all of those things and by the end of the evening, I felt better. Food really is a quick fix, but I knew deep down that a quick fix was going to also quickly fade away and leave me feeling physically and mentally worse. I think that trusting myself and my past experiences helps me to make better decisions about how to handle these types of situations. Monday morning, I woke up feeling victorious, and not with a food hangover!
Alright, your turn! Let’s hear what’s been going on, “little victory” warriors! —Morgan
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I think these “little victories” posts are incredibly important. Even when we’re feeling tired (me!), down (a little), overworked (god yes!) or bad about ourselves (weirdly, yes) we can take a few minutes to reflect on something that makes us feel hopeful and positive. My most recent little victory was this: An intern brought me a little a bag of Sees chocolates as a gift. (Chocolate used to be a major binge food for me.) I had one piece, then put the chocolates away in my desk drawer planning to have a piece every so often as a snack/treat. I forgot about them until a week later, then brought them home and shared them with my husband. I forgot about chocolate that was sitting less than two feet from me. THAT, dear friends, is definitely a victory. xo…Sunny
I ate in front of people instead of hiding it like it is a crime. I ate a whole meal…not just a few bites. I have been expressing my feelings about feeling pressured to look and be a certain way as a woman…it creates solidarity and is very therapeutic…
So I was thinking about little victories too. I had a couple of good days, but then not so good. Tonight I did not eat food I knew was bad for me. I could have, but I made a healthier decision.
I know I could be doing better. Eating in front of others is very difficult for me. I have never liked it. It’s like it’s in my DNA. Maybe just admitting that I have a problem eating around other people is a little victory. I know I dread it because I think all of my eating issues will become obvious and everyone will know / be freaked out by how crazy my eating behavior can be. I just need to keep working on this so my next little victory can be something related to eating with some degree of sanity around others.
Little Victory — went to Atlantic City with a special someone over the weekend…we had an amazing dinner that I didn’t finish — not because I felt like I should stop because HE thought I should, but because I was full! And the best part is, if I wanted to finish that dish, I feel no pressure from this guy that I should stop, or not eat certain foods, etc. He doesn’t try to curb me or make me lose weight like some people in the past. Happiness!!
Yay, special someone! Wheeee! And I love that you feel comfortable to be yourSELF, your wonderful self.
When you have someone who isn’t a jerk about things like food, doesn’t it make eating together (and just generally being together) so much more fun?!? Isn’t it weird that we ever let ourselves be with people who DON’T make us feel good about ourselves??
OMG, heather, YES!! It’s such a change from what I was used to. I can fully live in the moment and enjoy all my time with him — it’s amazing! and I read your post about your victory — AWESOME JOB!
While I ate a little more than I should have yesterday, I would say that my little victory was that I didn’t give into emotional eating. I had an argument with my boyfriend last night and the whole time I sat there I wanted so badly to go into my refrigerator and grab the tub of chocolate pudding and just eat my feelings numb. Thankfully I didn’t do that. So I’m proud of myself today
My okay day could have turned disastrous.
That is a victory! And it’s also a victory I think when we can have a balanced and easygoing view of our day—knowing that eating a little more than normal isn’t the end of the world, and doesn’t mean that we have to binge.
Last week I had several little victories. I was certainly out of my comfort zone, because I was on a 5 day field course in New Mexico. This means no control over when and what I eat. Horrible, right? Well, it went really well. And when everyone one else was drinking their anxieties away in the evenings, I kept it down to 1 or 2 drinks and ate enough without getting overly full and self medicating. I am so proud of myself.
Little victories is a concept that no one can really understand unless they have been down the road to recovery. You really appreciate how much the baby steps add up. Plus, no one can take those victories away from you. No one!
I was in full binge prep mode yesterday. I recently added about 35 new customers and their first shipments were due to go out yesterday. A few pieces had to be redone and I was freaking out…I drove to the bakery, bought a box of doughnuts and some cookies and on my way home I started to calm myself down…realizing that none of the customers knew that the shipment was supposed to go out yesterday and that I was just being obsessive about what was written in my day planner. I pulled into a drive thru for coffee and threw all of the food in the garbage and got my coffee and went home. Sure, I wasted $10, but as far as I am concerned, it was well worth it.
Hey Heather,
I think that is sooo impressive. To catch yourself between the thought of binging, and then actually doing it, is something I find very hard. More and more, I am aware there is a gap there, and there still is an opportunity to not binge, even once the foods are in my home, but it is slow progress.
My little victory of the week: it’s been a pretty emotional week with me. I went back to stay with my parents in Sydney (my hometown), and apologised for my behaviour a few weeks earlier, when I’d been in the throws of overeating and had been very angry and irrational. I didn’t tell them everything about it, because, unfortunately, they won’t understand (I have tried before). But I had a few days to think about what I’m doing at the moment, and I was able to spend a bit of time with my brother, who’s having a hard time, and I came back to my husband with a new sense of appreciation and love, and a quiet sense of confidence that this is something I can do.
My other piece of good news: it’s over 1 week since I binged and I’ve been eating kindly and healthily with occasional indulgences (which I’ve thoroughly savoured). Unlike previous between-binges, I am feeling relaxed, not restricting food, and not punishing myself with exercise. I feel a little stronger
little victory- a pull-up with the green band for the first time!
I changed the bookmarks tab on my browser labeled “Diet” to “Fitness” and cleaned out all the blogs the promote “dieting”. I’m going to read about intuitive eaters and fitness enthusiasts from now on instead of point and calorie counters.
I also called someone for help for the first time today… Thanks.
Oops! “Wellness” not “Fitness”
YESSSSSS!
I am so inspired right now-by every single one of you. A million xo’s…Sunny
That is awesome… those little changes turn into big ones really fast! Great job!
Well, I am heading for my first pick-up game of Ultimate (formerly Ultimate Frisbee before the Frisbee people got annoyed) on Friday, and I realized today that my personal trainer isn’t working for me. I know I have to ask for a different one, and am prepared to do it. I have been very careful about curbing my eating out (even if it is a veggie sub, it is generally not as healthy as eating at home) after a week of being very busy and out of the house a lot. Not bad for a week where I generally felt that I wasn’t being very healthy!
A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I cannot eat/drink anything with wheat, barley, or rye. For a recovering binger, that’s a big restriction to live with. I have been battling with this for weeks and finally ‘laid it down’ on Sunday. I decided that I was more important than the food and I deserved to eat /drink things that did not destroy my body. This translates to binging, etc. So, my little victory is that I’m eating food that is healthy for my body and focusing on being kind to myself. It’s been a few days. For someone who escapes with food, this is hard, but rewarding work.
The last couple days have been rocky for me, but sprinkled with small victories. For example, there was leftover birthday cake on the counter yesterday afternoon. No one would have thought less of me if I grabbed some for an afternoon snack…but I knew the risk. I was able to walk away from the counter without taking any cake. A similar situation happened when I was with some friends and they pulled out a late night snack. I said no, and was proud for it.
Yay, a little victory post! I looove reading these, it’s so inspiring.
So, I guess I’ll share mine: I’ve been doing yoga almost everyday for the past two weeks, and I love it. I don’t always feel like taking the time to do it, but I force myself to, and always end up feeling great afterwards. It’s made me more aware of my body and what it can do, and made me feel better about it.
Also, (this may sound like a weird victory, but anyways..) I let myself have a really good, long cry yesterday. I cried heavily for over an hour.. Which is a victory because I very, very rarely cry, I guess it comes with bottling up my emotions & eating to forget about them. And even if I do start crying, I usually tell myself to stop, then feel depressed the rest of the day and binge later on. Yesterday I concentrated fully on letting my sadness out, then when I stopped, I went on with my day, a weight off my shoulders. And I did not binge.
This past week has been one of the most stressful weeks in a long time (college summer job stress) and I made it through without bingeing. I might have had a little too much to eat at dinner a few nights, but i stopped eating when I was full, and did not binge. Very proud/amazed at myself right now
[…] no matter how small they might seem. Sunny of Healthy Girl regularly talks about little victories, which she writes are “the small (yet important) steps, moments, thoughts that eventually […]
This blog site is awesome! I just found it, and I am in the very first steps of recovery from almost 23yrs of coping with life as a binge-eater. I remembered something i read the other day that stopped me from a binge: “Don’t take the first bite of that binge”….I knew that if i ate one cookie, i’d want to eat more. Usually, I’d ignore that voice and say, ‘so what….I can’t help it’. But I’m finding good company here, and hope in actually living free from this dis-ordered eating. I choose not to eat the cookie. Thought about what I needed….i ended leaving my little 1yr in the care of my husband, sat on my bed with my Bible, and cried….something i hadn’t done in a long time. It was perfect, and ended with my boys coming in to give me kisses:) No cookies could’ve done that.
[…] I didn’t speak up and do what was right for me. It doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but little victories come from small things, […]