10 days

[sonja]

I can't believe how easy it has been.  I am 10 days binge free!  And I have been around a lot of triggers this week with guests, parties, and I even baked!  So excited!

[charlotte]

So happy for you! Keep going!

[monica]

hi sonja, i have also recently read the book and 9 days binge free, also surprisingly rather effortlessly! freedom tastes delicious!!!

[charlotte]

Whoa people, that's amazing! Could you please describe a bit how you've been doing it / what your thoughts have been like?

[monsoon]

Hi Charlotte,
Whilst 9 days may not seem like a long time (which is why I'm weary about giving advice), it feels like a real change to me, as there have not been many stretches of binge free time for me in the last year. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what changed in the last 9 days (and part of me as I write this is wondering whether it is going to last?!) but it does feel slightly different this time.

I had been on various diets over the past few months, with slow carbing most recently. I got to a (familiar) point where I was fed up of eliminating whole grains, fruits, bread, as well as chocolate, sweets and cakes (which I was binging on, on a regular basis). I was keeping a food diary and one thing I fully realised when I estimated the weekly binge calories was that I probably didn’t need to restrict my food so much during the day/eat super healthy, as my binges were so bad that if only I could binge less, I would probably lose weight. It was kind of obvious but somehow it really made me think about the silliness of restricting foods that are not the real cause of my obesity (e.g. fruits, linseeds in a smoothie, small amount of honey in my porridge, etc.). I therefore decided to allow all foods back in my diet and just put a reasonable limit on the amount of sweets I had a day (mainly because they are not real foods so the brain cannot easily make a decision on satiety although i am aware that this strategy might not suit everyone).

Also around the same time I came across this website and the book. I have not yet finished reading the book but it has had a major impact on my thinking about bingeing. I has made me truly realise that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with me as a person. Given my relationship with food, years of therapy and reading about eating disorders, I have spent years feeling ‘defective’ (like I could not cope with life) and trying to figure out why I have developed this eating disorder and how to learn healthier ways of ‘managing my feelings’. It did not help that I fully subscribed to the psychological theories of EDs. I now totally agree with BOB that whilst some factors might make people more susceptible to developing EDs, at the end of the day it is a habit, with associated neural pathways in the brain and this is what needs to change. Redefining recovery is also pretty genius. You don't have to have a 'perfect' life to stop bingeing.

I know it does not seem like much but the last few days have felt incredible, I have had three meals and a dessert every day, I have enjoyed my food (sometimes intentionally focusing on the feelings of satisfaction - eating what I fancied helped with that), had some meals out without dreading them or bingeing before them (not having the familiar thought of ‘no point eating healthily as I am going out this weekend’). Not sure if any of the above helps anyone, but for the first time in a few years I am feeling hopeful and so grateful I came across this website. Hope we can all find peace and freedom.