Goals, Hurdles, and Inspirations!

Hurray! I have officially reached one month of eating healthy and committing to recovery! Its been a difficult month...some days were better then others. I still struggle about every other day to keep pushing through this. There are so many days that I just want to give up and go back to my old habits and just accept that the disorder is a part of who I am. Its been really hard, some people are so critical and don't understand how real this is, they don't understand that recovery is more then just deciding to eat and actually following through, but actually an uphill battle. 

The biggest challenge (other than not giving up) has been finding the right combination of food and the correct portion sizes. The first week I was just trying to get enough food in my body, regardless of the nutritional value...needless to say I ate things I don't usually allow myself to eat, such as pizza, fries, ice cream, etc. The next week I started focusing on finding healthy meals that were full of nutrition and started cooking a lot more at home. I am still trying to figure out the best nutritional plan for me, and I have a feeling it is going to take a little bit to find what works, but I keep trying. 

Here are the top five things that I feel are the biggest contributions to success in ED Recovery:

1. Family & Friend Support: Without the support of family and friends, there is absolutely no way anyone will ever recover from their ED. The disorder rips away at self-esteem, self-respect, motivation, and rationality (when it comes to food and exercise), leaving that person needing the support of others to help them re-build their rational thinking skills, build them up, and especially keeping them accountable. I wouldn't be able to do this if I didn't have people keeping me accountable, especially my Mom and Mike, and even my boss Teri who asks me if I am eating if she doesn't see me eat at work.

2. Nutritionist/Dietitian: I have been so blessed by this woman! Cathy is a friend of my Mom's that she has known since college. Cathy is such a wonderful and strong woman, she is such an inspiration to me and I look up to her so much! She has been working with me through all of this, reading over my food diary, helping me choose healthier foods and get on an eating schedule. Not only this, but she has been such an encouragement to me in general, she is an amazing WOG! Someone with an ED needs guidelines and direction regarding their diet, without this it is easy to fall back into old habits because they don't know how to create new ones.

3. Exercise: Although this depends on the type of ED and the severity, I believe exercise is essential to recovery. It allows you to feel a little more in control of yourself and the endorphins you get from working out will help you feel better about yourself, cancelling out some of the negative. Running and hitting pads (like kickboxing) are my go to workouts when I am stressed or upset or feeling horrible about myself. I always feel better and I feel more focused about getting healthy. I am trying to create a healthy lifestyle and being active will always be a part of that.

4. Setting Goals: Setting goals is the best way to stay committed to recovery. Goals give us something to look forward to, something to work towards, and help us feel positive when we achieve these goals, no matter how big or small. Starting small is the best way to start recovering, for example, I started with the goal of trying to eat normally for two weeks. Even though it was a small goal, two weeks of eating is a lot when you have struggle with an ED, but short enough that you don't feel as overwhelmed. Just focus on your short term goals to start out with, anything beyond that seems impossible sometimes and could cause you to fall back into a destructive pattern.

5. Inspirations: Creating an inspiration board or just surrounding yourself with things that inspire you can help pull you through the rough days when you feel like you can't keep going. My inspirations come from blogs, magazines, people I know, things that make me happy, and hobbies. Not only do these things comfort, inspire, and motivate, but they fill your time and thoughts, leaving less room in your mind for the ED and give you the push forward. You've heard the saying; "It's the little things in life that matter."