Living with an eating disorder is a toxic cycle that’s hard to break out of. I know because I suffered from one for many years. There are different kinds of eating disorders and different levels of severity. Some eating disorders will be dormant for years and then come back to haunt you when you least expect it, when you’re most vulnerable and when life feels out of control. An eating disorder can develop at any age – mine developed 20 years ago and I remember that I couldn’t figure out how to control it. I went to therapy, tried medication, I tried a lot of different things. I remember going to my family doctor for a physical and I told my doctor that I had an eating disorder to see if she could give me any advice. Her advice was- “stop it, you’re too old for that” I must have been in my early 20’s at the time when she said that. It doesn’t matter what age you are, eating disorders don’t have a set age. It can range, start early on in life, stop for a while, and then come back. I’m not an expert in eating disorders and I don’t claim to be. I had body image issues, I struggled to maintain my weight, I struggled mentally with not wanting to gain weight or be known as “fat”. I wanted to be known as skinny. I went on drastic diets and lost so much weight that I was literally skin and bones… Then I would eat and eat like I was never going to eat another meal again. It was a toxic cycle. The only way I was able to overcome my eating disorder, maintain a healthy weight, and mentally heal from it was by sticking to a repetitive routine. Here’s how I did it:
#1 Pray. I prayed every day for strength to overcome by body image issues, self worth, and the strength to heal. If you don’t pray, then meditate, if you don’t meditate, then sit in silence and envision yourself healed from your eating disorder. Envision yourself healthy and happy.
#2 Positive affirmations. Speak positive affirmations out loud- Speak them over you right now, actually let’s speak them together over you right now- repeat after me- “I am beautiful, I am worthy, I am more than enough, I am smart, I am amazing, and I CAN do hard things”. I want you to remember this analogy- Roses are so beautiful right? Imagine you are like a beautiful rose; your rose petals can fall off from the winds and storms of life, but even with fallen rose petals, you are still so beautiful. Shed the old you, let those petals fall off you because you don’t need them- they will grow back and you will still be so beautiful.
#3 Love yourself from the inside out. The key is to love and forgive yourself. It’s okay if you mess up, and have a day of bad eating- get back up and start over again and again and again until the new good habits are formed and engrained in you. Loving yourself means to take care of yourself, put yourself first before anyone else. Find out what makes you happy. I love to listen to music and dance- it makes me feel good and it helps clear my mind. Form a new fun hobby that you can do to clear your mind. Some people love to workout- that’s where they go to release endorphins. The only way a transformation inside you will work is if you learn to love yourself and be kind to yourself.
#4 Food. Create a list of low carb, zero sugar foods you can eat and stick to it. Hold yourself accountable. For a my exact meal plan CLICK HERE. This is the only way I could overcome my issues and my relationship with food. It’s okay if you mess up, and have a day of bad eating- get back up and start over again and again and again until the new good habits are formed and engrained in you. I tried so many different types of diets- they don’t work. This is a lifestyle change and a new way of eating. Avoid the trigger foods as much as possible in the beginning- after a few weeks, you won’t crave any of those foods, you won’t crave sugar, you won’t even have an urge to binge out on food. The key here is to eat low carb, zero sugar foods. For me, I needed no-brainer foods. I’m a busy mom and I don’t have time to count calories, count points, weigh my food, think about portion sizes, etc. I don’t have time for that and someone with an eating disorder needs to not think about that stuff. This way of eating doesn’t allow you to count calories, I have no clue how many calories I eat in a day or how much fat. I did that- it didn’t work and it didn’t help my eating disorder. What did help was knowing what foods to eat and knowing what foods were “off limits” for a while. You need to reprogram your brain to think that you’re eating for fuel and nutrients. When you eat the same thing over and over, you replace that head space with other important things and the eating disorder lessens and lessens and starts to finally feel so distant that you won’t even think about it and it won’t even consume you anymore. I can tell you to exercise your heart out to maintain the weight, you can eat healthy, but it’s not necessarily about working out- most of this is about your eating habits. You are eating healthy this way, but you’re eating specific foods that won’t trigger a setback.
#5 Routine. Every day, make a list of what you’re going to eat and what you’re going to do, take the first 10 min of your day to strengthen your mind (10 min meditation/music/prayer), Eating disorders deplete you from nutrients and can dehydrate you- So make sure to revitalize your skin so you’re glowing- moisturize and take your supplements and vitamins. Eat the same foods low carb no sugar, love yourself, pamper yourself, strengthen your body- lift weights, focus on the positive, be proud of yourself, and end with a motivational quote to keep you motivated and excited about your transformation. If what you’re currently doing isn’t working- you’ve gotta change it. This is the only way I could punch out that eating disorder- I had to completely change my habits, my daily routine, and then I finally lost the weight that I was so desperately trying to lose. I strengthened my mind, body, and soul and I had to start from changing the inside out.
If you have food issues or an eating disorder like I did- this process WILL help you. If I did it, anyone can do it! The key is repeating the same new good habits over and over. Eating the same foods over and over. It will help you restore the new you. Become a better healthier 2.0 version of YOU. Remember an overall transformation has to start from within- it has to start from the inside out. This eating disorder will not defeat you – You CAN overcome it! You can revive yourself and heal from your food issues, your eating disorder, you can heal from the toxic cycle.. Follow me on this journey.. I will keep showing you the way! I want to end with this quote from my favorite Audrey Hepburn:
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I’m possible”
– Audrey Hepburn