Eating to numb feelings

Christmas is over. It went quity well. High above my expectations at least. I guess that I should be proud. Here´s a little something from Kay Sheppard's site about food-addiction.

"A food-addiction is characterized by obsession with food, obsession with weight and loss of control over the amount of food eaten. It involves the compulsive pursuit of a mood change by engaging repeatedly in episodes of binge eating despite adverse consequences. When we eat to soothe feelings, that is compulsive eating. The irony here is that we eat to feel better; that which makes us feel worse. Eating because of uncomfortable feelings never worked. It only numbed us for a while but never resolved the feelings. Those could be ignored for a while as we ate out of control, but they never went away. That, of course, increased the amount and frequency of food necessary to dull the pain. This is an example of progression -- food addiction is a progressive disease. "

Tapping - Release the NEED to lose weight

The Pyramid of Mastery - positiv effect of a transforming yor body on other life areas

After finding that all BFL testimonies had experienced positive effect on other areas of their life I found that the self-help guru Tony Robbins could put words to this phenomena by using what he calls the "Pyramid of Mastery"
7 Areas of Constant Growth for an Extraordinary Life

..."An extraordinary life comes from an unrelenting commitment to constant and never-ending improvement in all seven areas of your life. While all seven areas are important, there is a hierarchy that helps create peak performance and fulfillment. For example, if you don’t focus on health and your body, all the money, career success and contribution in the world will be worthless. You can’t experience an extraordinary quality of life without the vehicle that’s helping create it. Or if you spend time trying to solve your relationship issues and haven’t yet focused on your emotions, you’ll no doubt encounter problems. Similarly, you must determine how you focus and spend your time in order to create a successful career."

Finding a balance

Why is the "all or nothing" thinking so prominent when it comes to food? Because unlike other addictions, you can't avoid your "drug" as food is necessary for survival. Having broken one of your food rules the perfectionists "black and white" thinking takes over and the vicious cycle continues. Also, when consuming ice cream, pizzas, cookies and other calorie dense food often - it's no longer a treat and I wont appreciate it as much and so I'll eat more of it.

I know I don't want to live without treats but I don't want to "live for it" either. So what I'll do is to develop a healthier relationship with my food - a relationship based on meeting my nutritional needs, respecting my body and occasionally savouring treats.

Begin with the end in mind

I've just accomplished my Body for life challenge! It's been 12 exciting weeks that has literally transformed my body and life. On the physical level I'm today full of energy and I'm proud of my body! I'm slim, flexible and strong and today eating is really simple: I just eat when I'm hungry, I only put food in my body that I love and respect, I savour every mouthful and I stop eating when I'm satisfied. As I love my body I take care of it exercise and healthy eating are now a part of my lifestyle and as natural as brushing my teeth before I go to bed!

But what's even more amazing is that the BFL challenge has had an affect on so many other areas of my life. I gained back the self-respect and self-esteem that I had lost. By loving myself I'm a much more seccure, generous and positiv and I've become a better parter, friend and cooworker. I feel like I have gained the life of my dreams and I hear from others that I'm a source of inspiration as well. I know now that I'm in charge of my life and I'm thankful for every new day that I'm the capten of my destiny!

Self - discipline - we all need it to suceed

Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state. This is also closely linked to your self-esteem. To build self-discipline the personal development blogger Steve Pavlina uses the below steps.

Identify an area where your discipline is weakest, acknowledge your starting point, and design a training program for yourself to improve in this area. Willpower is your ability to set a course of action and say, “Engage!” This includes the following steps:

1 Choose your objective 2 Create a plan of attack 3 Execute the plan

Your life will reach a whole new level when you stop avoiding hard work and simply surrender to it. If you want to get heathy it’s time to accept that the path to your goal requires disciplined diet and exercise (both hard work).
Self-discipline also requires that you develop the capacity to put in the time where it’s needed. In life there are many tasks that aren’t necessarily difficult, but if you don’t discipline yourself to get these done, they can make a big mess of your life. Finally when you work on any big goal you won't always feel motivated but by being persistent you'll keep taking action and therefore you keep accumulating results.

The Body for life challenge

Inspiration from people taking on the BFL challenge

"The Body-for-LIFE Challenge has changed everything for me. I realize now that being overweight was a way for me to hide from life. Not anymore! I now have a level of energy, self-confidence and personal power that I can achieve any goal I set for myself."

"My BFL journey has taught me so much about myself. I am not weak, but strong. I have the ability to accomplish anything I put my heart and mind to. Not only has my body and confidence level changed, but my life overall is amazing now. I’m a pleasant, more giving wife, a fun and energetic mom, and a supportive nurturing friend"

"People tell me how much I have changed. I tell them BFL has not CHANGED me. Rather, it has helped me to find me again—the thin, healthy, happy me that was hiding under a layer of grief, pain, loss, guilt and fat."

"This has been a life-changing experience, affecting me not only physically, but just as much, emotionally and spiritually. I feel empowered, like anything is possible if I really want it! I am a better wife, mother and friend. I can’t seem to quit smiling, because I feel so good, inside and out. I am full of energy and am enjoying my husband and kids more than ever. I was an average, middle-aged, wife and mother, who, by taking the Body-for-LIFE Challenge, has indeed CHANGED FOR LIFE! I sincerely thank you for this new life!!"

Strive for consistency, not perfection

You can be sure there will be the occasional meal or snack that’s not on the recommended food list. When you get off track in this way, don’t allow it to slow you down. Enjoy the divergence, recommit to your goal, and get back on track with your next meal.

Walk the talk

A lot of self-help litterature suggests that high self-esteem comes from BEEING the DOING. It seems like goals setting and successfully reaching your goals is a crucial step in developing self-esteem. You must ACT!

If you assume responsibility for your life and if you put in time and effort necesary you will gain self-respect. You will so like yourself better and in that way others will like you more as well.

Just finished my fast

Since last time I actually DID something drastical. I highlight the word "did" as I beleive that "winner do what loosers don't want to do". Like get your self together ;-) Of course this is a way to simplify the complex behavior of someone suffering from an eating disorder but anyway, it's good to keep in mind.

So I did a fast. A so called master cleanse. The aim of this was to let my poor digestive system rest, to get new eating patterns, to appreciate the act of eating and to clean out my body from toxics (detoxes must by the way be one of the most popular diet fads today).

And yes, I know that it's a short time solution to a long time problem and that the loss is not only toxics and fats but also a lot of water and also some muscles, but a desperately needed to feel lighter and better in my body.