What helps

Although my desire to recover remains steady there are times when I allow fear to get the best of me and my determination wavers. I thought it might be useful to start a thread for those times when recovery seems insurmountable, when you cannot face another bite of food, when the image in the mirror or the number on the scale is distressing, or when going for a run seems like the best idea. What works for one may not work for all but, hopefully, there will be something on here that will provide that needed boost.

-Do more, think less. I used to try and overcome my fears prior to tackling them. I have found this method to be largely ineffective. Taking the action lessens or ceases the fear, not the other way around. As the old Nike commercials admonished, "Just Do It!"

-Maintenance plus. When I am unsure how much to eat of something, I think about what a typical portion would be and add to that. For instance, if a cup of milk is a standard serving size, then a cup and a half, or two cups would be my portion.

Please add your tips, advice, or inspiration!

I'm in the middle of the 'recovery seems insurmountable' mode, as a matter of fact I'm in quite a slump, but sometimes reminding myself of my future goals helps. For example, I want to be able to rock climb again, and just thinking about the joy of being on the wall, the freedom of challenging gravity, the pureness of the effort and the dance with the wall, the happiness of being strong and fit and healthy and able, makes me yearn for it so much that I can then eat that next mouthful of food because it brings me one step closer to my dreams and goals.

• Think of where you want to be in one year, in five years, and in ten years time. I bet you the general answer will not be "in recovery" or "gaining weight"! The quicker we begin the quicker it is over with, the quicker we can move on and focus on the mental side of recovery more and/or on getting our lives back.
• Remember it's not just about you. The impact of your loss and low weight resounds onto family, friends and partners. They can see the damage done even when we have our distorted perceptions. Respect an outside opinion because, really, sometimes our own opinions are flawed by this distortion.
• See food as medicine and nutrition for a weakened body. And no diabetic should throw aside their insulin, no PCOS sufferer should turn away their thyriod meds, so we shouldn't turn away our meals either.

soo much--when i get discouraged i remember-

-im still technically+meducally underweight

-by bones+joints sometimes creak when i walk

guys dont whistle or look bc im hot(like i sooo used to be)but insead probably stare bc how scarey i look(altho its deff getting beeter, yay!)

sometimes my thinking is blurry

lack of energy

all the life im missing out on

my rediculous rigidity getting in the way of lib\ving life!

how im hurting the ppl around me

im out of work

there is so very much, ill come back to add more but ultimately, right now im not THE BEST THAT I CAN BE!

for excercise i tell myself-

once i reach a healthy weight ill really be able to put so much more into the excercise and get so much more out of it

my body needs a break

and, excercise burns calories, how much longer do i want this whole recovery thing to take???!!!!!!!!

so not good but i can go on and on-

i dont have a bf!

no period=no chance of a family!

hmm, ok, those were a bunch of negs but in gaining weight and becoming healthier, ive had some positives-

my hair is thicker

my eyes are brighter

im happier!!!

im looking health(ier)

i dont always think about food

i can think more clearly

Agru, put it all in one post! You can edit them!

sorry

what really helped me for a while was my lacrosse, running and sport in general coming back to me for I dont want to loose them again.... It is not until you have lost something you appreiciate how much you love it!

Also i have many life long goals in these sports and want to achieve them!

How i need to get myself back into that frame of mind for not feeling my best at the mo!!

Charlie I think i=this was a really good idea thanks hun!

When you get to thinking that you could be skinnier, look at yourself and think, "Hey, I COULD be skinnier if I wanted."


Then remind yourself that you DON'T want to be that skinny anymore; think of all the comments everyone has said to you, about how they're worried for your size and health.


They don't go saying that to other girls your age, because all of those girls are much bigger than you.


Just remember: you have control.  You have the option of being underweight and sickly looking, or being normal and healthy.


All you have to do is pick up the fork, like every other girl your age.  :D

Tomorrow I will have more regrets about the steps I didn't take than those I did.

And also -


Who wants to lose hair?  Who wants to have the shriveled stomach that is rounded out because the muscles have been reduced to nothing?  Who wants to have brittle bones and pale skin?


People who are healthy don't look like that.

I want to be healthy.

I was just reading your post on this thread.

I have been wondering why my stomach isn't flat like you think it would be compared to how underweight the rest of my body appears.

How is it that losing muscles in your stomach makes is more round?

This just scares me that I am like this.  I think sometimes I don't realize how fragile my body is because I have been like this for so long, I just am used to how I am.  I guess I can't remember what healthy feels or looks like.

Facts like this are REALLY helpful reality checks for those of us who may not realize that what we are seeing are actually negative side affects of our anorexia.

Thanks!