TODAY I CELEBRATE .....

.... wrapping up a binge-free July.

Despite my very helpful SP sessions from 2 years ago, I continued to struggle with binge eating to various degrees. Sometimes I'd be caught in the ravages of it finding it very hard to break free. Other times it was just a bit here and there but I was still unable to shake it. It was disturbing and debilitating leaving me battling a myriad of negative feelings. I SO wanted to stop it, yet over and over I failed to do so.

But on 10 June I took a leap of faith and tried something different, something that I had never dared to embrace before and something that took me to really unfamiliar territory.

I stopped trying to lose weight and I introduced a daily treat of a food that I would previously have deemed "off limits." No other rules. No other goals. Just a plan to change my all / nothing thinking  (the daily treat) and the focus on the scale number.

Well to say that was liberating is an understatement. I'm no longer hung up on "ooh I shouldnt have eaten that but because I did I may as well have ...." Its only been a relatively short time but it seems to be working because I have worked on changing my headset, my beliefs and subsequently my actions. And I have done this on my own (taking tips and advice from others) tailoring it to my needs and being accountable only to myself.

My weight has stayed fairly steady in this time and I know this not from jumping on the scales daily (heaven forbid) or even weekly. I just KNOW by how I look, how I feel and how my clothes fit. Thats good enough for me.

Yet whilst the outside is fine, the improvement on the inside has been the best. "Disturbing and debilitating" are words I no longer use to describe how I feel about my eating. Instead I'm calm, balanced and relaxed around food and (most) stressful situations. THIS is how I want to live my life and so I lift my proverbial glass of champagne and say "cheers to me."

:-) M