A recovery story
I’ve been seeing *Emily in therapy for four years. She has written her recovery story and agreed to have it posted. I actually remember the first time I binged and purged. I was in eighth grade and we were at Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents’ house. My grandma used to make these huge elaborate meals, […]
Practicing Slowing Down– How to start mindful eating
One of the easiest exercises that you can you do to help you let go of binge eating is practicing mindful eating. The first step in eating mindfully is to slow down. When you serve yourself a meal, don’t pick or snack until you are sitting down with your plate in front of you. Then, […]
I regret eating that… dealing with food regret
“You’ll never regret the things you do; only the things you don’t.” This quote doesn’t necessarily work with food though, does it? With food, you won’t necessarily regret the food that you pass up, but the food that you choose to eat, the binge that you choose to have might lead to some regrets. […]
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Often, in attempts to quit binge eating, people will set up a rule structure for themselves such as “I can’t eat sugar anymore, I can’t ever eat white flour, I can’t eat gluten…” etc. However, more often that not, those foods that they restrict themselves are the foods they wind up bingeing on. Rather than […]
Do One Nice Thing for yourself– RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!
What nurturing non-food related thing can you do for yourself at this moment? You deserve to be cared for and if you don’t take it upon yourself to take care of yourself, you just might wind up using food to fulfill that need. Here are some things that you can do right now. 1.)Rub nice […]
One Daily Intention
Here’s a quick recovery exercise for you. Rather than thinking about weeks or months or years ahead of you, each morning set just ONE DAILY INTENTION. Wake up in the morning and before you do anything, before you get out of bed, before you brush your teeth, think about what your intention for that day […]
Friday – Q&A- I can’t stop fantasizing about food
This comes from a reader who would prefer to remain anonymous: Question- I wondered if you could give me some advice. Sometimes when I feel distressed or tired, I find myself having food fantasies. They are very intense and vivid where I imagine myself eating high-calorie food like cake and other sweet, fatty, high-carb foods. […]
Six Elements of Recovery from Binge Eating
Recovery from any eating disorder takes time, patience, self love, support, and has several layers to it. The deeper you go, the more you find, and the more whole you become as you heal those deep inner wounds. However, there are six elements to recovery that must be tended to in order to find deep […]
What’s on Your Plate?
Fritz Perls, who developed Gestalt Therapy, encouraged us to understand the way we eat as a metaphor for the way we live. At your next meal, watch yourself eat. Do it without judgment and without trying to change anything, just watch. It can be enlightening to draw some parallels around how you eat and […]
How to beat stress eating– 50 ways to cope with stress without food
If you give a normal person a list of five things to do, they will get started with the first thing on their list. If you give a stress eater a list with five things to do, they will get started by running to the refrigerator. Eating becomes a way to deal with procrastination, fatigue, […]
When food is the third person in your relationship
Some couples are drinking buddies. That is, they spend a lot of time going to bars together, or drinking at home together and alcohol becomes a big part of their relationship. Often these couples aren’t exactly sure what they’d do together if alcohol wasn’t accessible. Other couples are eating buddies. Their relationship revolves around food […]
Just One Day Without Binge Eating Challenge
One of the many AA mottos is “One Day at a Time” That just has to be true. People who binge eat are often very polarized in their thinking. It has to be all or nothing. So, when people decide to recover from binge eating, they set the bar very high for themselves. “I’m never […]