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With the Right Attitude, You Can End Binge Eating
Author: Kristin Gerstley  | Posted: 23-04-2008 | Views: 9 | Rating: (52)  (?) 
I’m going to let you in on the big secret of ending binge eating and having a healthy relationship with food… Are you ready? Grab a pen and paper and prepare to write down the magical formula to being the person that you want to be. Being the person that is not consumed with food.
The secret is something that we all have within us. What is it, you ask? It’s YOUR attitude. Attitude. That’s all.
It’s your attitude on how you feel about yourself. It’s how you handle your daily activities. It’s how you react to your life. It’s being an active participant in your life.
When I struggled with bingeing, my attitude was simply to turn to food because I didn’t care. I didn’t want to actually try to deal with my life (even though it wasn’t bad). I didn’t want to face up to something not being right with me and my relationship with food. I simply wanted to live an existence with food as my best friend… and I was successful in living that kind of life for about 8 years.
Something shifted for me one day though. I realized “Hey, I don’t have to live this way. I don’t have to feel absolutely consumed with food 24/7. I bet there is a way out.” But what was this way out that was going to help me gain control? It was ME.
It was me deciding that I wanted to change. Me deciding to gain control and deal with circumstances and emotions when they happened instead of drowning myself with Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Arby’s, and whatever else I could find (in one binge, mind you). Me making the decision to tell someone about my deep, dark secret so that I could move one step forward to making progress. Me realizing that I didn’t want to be overweight in my twenties. Me realizing all of the health problems that could arise due to bingeing and gaining weight. Me realizing that I wanted to fit into many of the clothes that I had in my closet, even though most of my pants couldn’t even fit up one of my legs, let alone both legs and up to my waist. Me realizing how nice it would be to keep a doctor appointment instead of cancelling because I knew they would weigh me and I didn’t want to have to deal with the scale and numbers, let alone any comments about my weight from the doctor. Me realizing that I wanted to hang out with my friends and family without having to worry about them commenting on my weight. Me realizing that I only wanted one life – not a secret life that no one else knew about.
Do you want to change? If you do, stop living in the reality you’ve known for so long and being OK with your situation. Open your eyes and face up to the things that bingeing has limited you to doing. What would you like to be able to do?
With me, it was just so easy for my weight to be out of my mind. I’m a very good pretender (liar) to myself. If I didn’t know how much I weighed, then I didn’t have to face up to how it would feel to know the numbers. Of course I knew that I gained weight – all of my clothes were tighter. Being oblivious to the numbers also provided some consolation to me, as silly as that sounds. I didn’t have to know if I was close to 200 pounds or not. Instead, I had a number in my head (the last time I weighed myself) and I convinced myself I wasn’t too far from that.
After I made a decision to start taking control of my life, I went to the gym one day and met with a trainer who weighed me and took my body fat. Maybe I wasn’t quite prepared for all of that. She told me how much I weighed and how much body fat I had and it took all I had not break down in tears. I went right home after that and cried and cried. How did I let myself gain so much weight? How was almost half of my body fat? It was because I chose not to have a say in my life. Sadly, I had only sat back and did what was comfortable for me (eating) without searching for another way out.
At this point, I decided that it would be in my very best interest to start making some big changes in my life. I knew that it would be hard, but I also knew that it was going to be the best thing in the world for me! Here’s where my attitude played a very vital role…
Of course when you are used to bingeing for so many months or years, it becomes a habit. Almost without knowing what you are doing, you find yourself reaching for food. I found that it was incredibly hard to try to change these patterns. Many times I felt like two different people: one telling me to binge because it would make me feel better and another one telling me not to binge. There were times when I would drive to Taco Bell, circle the parking lot without getting anything, leave, and find myself going to another place only to do the same thing. I wasn’t hungry, but it was what I was used to doing when I was in the car and had a rough day. It had been my way out for so many years. Finally I learned to just drive home without stopping anywhere. I would say 9 times out of 10 that I would be in a horrible mood when I got home. I was forced to handle my rough day without food and it was hard.
Striving to have a healthy relationship with food all boils down to a person’s attitude. It is completely unnatural to expect that our problem with food will be fixed overnight. In the times when you fall, but pick yourself right back up, get back on track, eat healthy, exercise, and do whatever makes you feel good about yourself – those are the most important times.
Really, that is all my success is. I was determined to not let food control me and my thoughts anymore. I was determined to become a healthier person. So, naturally, I had to start taking action. After all, aren’t we all responsible for our own lives and well-being? I’m not going to lie, there were times when it was really hard. Times when I wanted to drown myself in food. But, I was making progress even if I binged only 10% in the beginning because that still meant that there was 90% of me that was still working towards my goal. If I did give in, I learned to pick myself up and move on. No dwelling on anything that wasn’t going to get me closer to my goal.
In time, I got better and better. All of the small times when I noticed myself moving forward began adding up until I was finally healed. Totally recovered. Every single person is capable of having a success story like me, and I truly wish that for all of you.
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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/with-the-right-attitude-you-can-end-binge-eating-394559.html
About the Author:Kristin Gerstley is a former binge eater that now has a very healthy relationship with food. She is the owner of http://www.endbingeeating.com and http://www.bingeeatingdisorderhelp.com, both of which help people overcome Binge Eating Disorder. She also publishes a free newsletter offering encouragement, tips on how to stop binge eating, and regain control of your life.
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Mother and daughter
By: voterperson | 29-07-2008
OK yesterday Doreen?s mom (in her 80?s) and Doreen (in her 50?s) went to see ?Mama Mia? which was wonderful. Any way as the movie started all of a sudden Doreen got very hot and extremely dizzy. (A few years ago Doreen got dizzy and she made the mistake of going to a few doctors, each one misdiagnosed why she was dizzy and with the medication each doctor gave Doreen, Doreen kept getting worse until she went to one doctor who cured Doreen).Mom: ?What is wrong?Doreen: ?I feel dizzy?The dizziness stopped but Doreen was nervous a little bit throughout the movie. When the movie ended:Mom: ?Just wait until we get into the car I want to talk to you?Doreen: ?Well if we are going to have a fight I don?t want to hear it?Mom: ?Then take the bus?But Doreen got into the carMom: ?You have to stop drinking coffee?Doreen: ?I know I am going to stop?(And Doreen thought that would be the end of the conversation - wrong)Mom: ?I know you drink coffee for weight loss. You don?t need to lose any more weight?Doreen: ?But I was always skinny?Mom: ?Yes but now you are even skinnier?This got Doreen mad and they had some fight. When they came home her mom said nasty things to Doreen and Doreen said nasty things back to her mom. Mom: ?You need to gain weight?Doreen: ?No I don?t?Mom: ?It isn?t just the coffee but the way you eat? Doreen: ?I like salads?Mom: ?But when you order a salad they give you mostly lettuce and six strips of chicken you leave over two.?When Doreen went on the computer she found out the reason she was getting dizzy and it was because of the herb she is taking but Doreen cannot tell her mom that because her mom is very opinionated. THEN TODAY; Doreen: ?Mom do you want to know why I got mad yesterday it is because you made it sound like I wasn?t always thin?Mom: ?That is how you hear it?Then about five minutes later they had a terrible fight because her mom started to rant and rave.Doreen: ?All I wanted was for you to answer that one question?Mom: ?OK yes you were fat before - how?s that? - her mom said this in a tone to get Doreen mad and upset.My question: How would you interpret both conversations and would do you think Doreen misinterpreted the word ?any more?? Would you think ?any more? means that Doreen?s mom did not think she was thin in the past. GIVE DETAILS
Lose Weight and Strengthen Body
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Hi.
I need to lose some weight and get healthier. I also want to learn how to strengthen my upper and lower body.
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