Replacing food obsessions with a hobby

Did anyone try to pick up something new when moving away from an eating disorder and found it really helped. I started playing guitar as a way to draw attention away from exercise and eating i.e. to help usher in the idea that perfecting a body is not the only thing worth perfecting. I also started skateboarding a thing I was good at in high school,  I think what working for me is if I realize im good at things that dont involve exercise or appearance I feel "valued" in other words or it takes away that feeling of worthlesness if you dont exercise or maintain a the body of a greek god if you know you have other talents and things that make you unique. Or things that make you, you. what did you do to make yourself fell a sense of identity and uniqueness while attempting to abandoning anorexia?

I'm giving this a shot right now, and I'm trying to lose myself more in making my art (writing, photography, painting). It's really good for catharsis, and I haven't created this much in years - and, like you said, it's something unique to me that I can take some pride in. In terms of identity, it's a good chance for me to reconnect with the pieces of myself that have been silenced by my ED.

I totally live by the last sentence of the last poster. An ED takes so many things away from you, so throughout my recovery process I focused on trying to rebuild myself and also improve myself. Once my weight was up, I started hiking for fun again. I also read and wrote a lot. I joined some things through my school. I tried to be more social again too by going out every Friday with a group of friends, either hanging out playing the Wii or going to see a movie.

Cross stitching keeps me from eating if thats what you mean :)

I really like this! Recently I've been feeling like food consumes my life. I think about my weight and what I'm going to eat and when ALL THE TIME. I'm totally going to try to focus more on things that make me happy, becuase you are right, looking a certain way isn't important, but the way you feel about yourself and how comfortable you are is!

It's hard not to think about food when cooking is your hobby...

I'm totally in the same boat now. I've gotten like OBSESSED with food. so bad that I like start freaking out whenever I go into the kitchen because I'm afraid I'm going to binge and have to purge. Yuck. But now I'm making a concerted effort to NOT think about food (as much...), and let myself eat more. Sometimes, if I just let myself eat a little it stops me from thinking about it because I feel satisfied. But yeah, I've been working really hard on teaching myself math and spending more time on homework to keep my grades up, and not worrying about what I'm going to eat for the next meal. Also working on my garden really cheers me up and gets my mind off worrying about what I'm going to eat.

And it's odd, but sometimes even cooking something helps, even if I don't want to eat it I like knowing that someone else will enjoy it. :)

Dance definitely helped me in my long struggle w/ ED.  Even though it fueled my ED to a certain point (again, FUELED it, it was NOT the cause of my ED), I can't even begin to start at how much it has helped me.  I'm going off to college this summer to be a dance major, and that's the motivation I'm using to get myself back on track.  The mentality I use is now when it comes to eating to conquer all those thoughts is just telling myself that all the nurtients are going to my bones to make me stronger, to my muscles to make me more flexible (I'm also a contortionist) and to help me leap higher, kick higher, etc.  I can honestly say that I absolutely love my body when I dance!

double post :/

I have crocheted my whole life but kinda stopped a few years ago. When I decided to start losing weight I picked it up again because I found out my friend is pregnant so I'm making her a baby blanket. It did help for a few days but you get tired of doing it whenever you have a craving. Eventually you just have to get the mindset that you have to master your cravings. That's really all the help I can give you, sorry.

~*~Gela~*~

I find that just leaving the house helps me with my cravings.  Hobbies help, especially if it's one that requires a lot of mental concentration.  That way, your hands and your mind is busy.

I also find that when I have a big celebration (birthdays, holidays, promotions, etc) I usually celebrate by going out to eat.  I just decided (last month) to forgo the eating out and do something else to celebrate.  So for Mother's Day, the kids and I went out for miniature golf.  Not very active, but sure beats sitting and eating.  Plus, we saved ourselves some money, which is always a good thing.  We eat at home and then go to our activity.  Hope this helps give you ideas.