Studying...

So I got myself a book, Overcoming Binge Eating by Dr. Christopher Fairburn.  I have learned a ton from this book about myself!!  And I am now following the steps in the book to overcome this addiction. I am logging my foods, even the bad binges, and putting comments on how I felt and where I ate it.  I am also doing a weekly worksheet on a summary of my weeks.  This will be the tool to let me know when to move on in the program.  They say to log foods for 3-4 days to see where and when the binges occur.  Then I move onto setting up a scheduled eating plan which means I only eat at certain times to get my brain functioning to normal eating habits. This will be hard for me because I am a huge snacker.  I got into dieting all the time, I told myself I could eat 1200 calories a day, and so I would just snack my 1200 calories all day!  Cause as long as I stayed under 1200, I was good.  It didn't matter to me how or what I ate.  Well then of course, I wouldn't count everything because of guilt...so the calories in and calories obviously didn't work for me.  I know it COULD work for me!  If I did it right! LOL!  And I work my battooty off exercising!!!  My frustration would only lead me to indulge in something yummy sweet!!! 

The book says that the first thing to do is NOT TO DIET! Which makes sense to me because when you binge, your not dieting anyways.  I am just making myself feel more guilty and my self esteem level zooms down to the lowest.  So I am not dieting.  But I know what makes a healthy day with food.  So I have a plan...I eat breakfast at 8:00, (which I do everyday anyway) have a mid morning snack at 10:30(which I want to be a fruit) and then lunch at 12:30 which will have a vegetable, and then a afternoon snack at 3:30 of a fruit and a dairy and then dinner 7:00 and then a evening snack if needed.  I do want to stay away from the evening snack or maybe just have it consist of tea or something.  I go to bed early every night, so it shouldn't be too hard! :)

So I found 16 steps that I have printed and I look at often.  I have crossed out the things I have done already and wrote little notes afterwards! :) 

1. Tell someone. Even if only one person knows about your disorder, at least you will no longer be alone in your struggle.
2. Seek out treatment and therapy. Enroll in an eating disorder treatment facility or attend therapy session. Be willing to learn and make yourself vulnerable.
3. Carry limited amounts of food at home. Although this may be more of a hassle, it will limit temptations at home. I don't binge too often at home because we don't have the bad foods there! And it is harder to binge in front of my family.
4. Relax. Set aside time to enjoy life and take part in a fun activity.
5. Forgive yourself. You can’t change the past, you can only learn from your mistakes.
6. Exercise. Plan out an appropriate exercise program you will desire to maintain.
7. Determine the causes and triggers of your disorder. By doing this you can then take steps to prevent further binges. Working on this!
8. Eat breakfast daily. Those who do not regularly eat breakfast are more prone to binging and eating high calorie meals later in the day.
9. Share your concerns with friends and family. Never isolate yourself. Working on this!
10. Take adequate nutrients. If you do not consume enough nutrients for your body, consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements.
11. Find self-help books. These books will encourage you and often offer helpful advice, especially if they are centered on binge eating. Although I would love to find more GOOD ones!
12. Attend a support group. Knowing that others struggle with the same problems may relieve stress. I don't think I could do this...
13. Talk with a nutritionist. He or she can help you set up an appropriate meal plan.
14. Write in a journal. This may help especially when you have the urge to binge eat. In progress
15. Do not diet. Fad diets rarely help for long periods of time and very strict diet plans may only make your disorder worse.
16. Love yourself for who you are, not what you look like. In progress