Weight Gain Mantras

I have recently started working with a therapist, and even in these first few sessions she has given me some invaluable advice. She has given me helpful phrases that calm me down when I get panicked or encourage me to eat more. My favourite of her mantras is "Food is medicine".

My question is, what phrases or mantras help you eat more or calm you down when you get worried?

I deserve to eat

It is normal to eat

Eating is a natural part of life

I want to heal my body

I'm not fat, I am bloated

This phase will pass

The last too are good when struggling with body image etc

eating is as natural as going to the toilet or blinking

I'm no longer gaining, but I remember my mantra was:

It's ok to be normal.

For me that meant a lot of things. It was ok to not be as "special" as I thought I was when anorexic... It was ok to eat normal food, not diet food. It was ok to be a normal weight and not skinny. It was ok to have people act like I was normal and not be constantly fussing and worried about me. It was ok to feel hunger, because hunger is normal and I was NOT an exception. It was ok not to be perfect... it was always ok to be just normal!

these are just quotes i like:

life is not a dress rehersal, life is the real thing

would you rather be five kilos under and weak or five kilos heavier and strong?

and my personal favourite which is a push to make recovery worth it.....

when i see a fat person i don't think eww disgusting i think oh how fun it must have been to get there :P.....  nigella lawson - remember folks you only got one chance to gain weight so don't blow it by sticking to a routine of safe foods....  expand your food horizons and enjoy life!

wow, I love all of these quotes and mantras, especially the Nigella Lawson one - I love her and that is so funny and true.

Meryl: That one really hits me too, my anorexia is often about being different and 'special' so I will definitely use that one :)

I have lots, but since one of my deepest desires is to have children someday, this is my favorite:

"My future children deserve a whole mommy."

grt idea

everybody else eats so why shouldnt I?

does a car fun without petrol ? no so your body wont run without food

food is meant to be enjoyed

you gain weight you gain health and viality

one that i particarly think of is ive always struggled to think if im not exercising i need to eat, and a good way of looking at it is if your dog hurt its leg and couldnt walk would you still feed it ?

i can certainly relate to the feeling special starving yourself dosent make you anymore worthy as a person

not eating makes me miserable

All of these are so great! Thank you all so much. I am DEFINITELY going to use some of these! I really love the dog analogy for the relationship between exercise and food.  It's so logical.   My problem is, I have to make the connection between work out and food to eat more to compensate for a hard work out, so its sort of conflicting concepts. What I am trying to train myself is think "more" for workout days, not "less" for rest days. There's a huge difference!

Wow Tessa, I love that dog analogy! That will really help me, thanks so much for posting it.

Ok so this isn't really a mantra, but sometimes when I was stuffed but still had to eat, and/or I was having body image issues and had to eat, I would literally picture the food going into my body, and repairing my brain, fixing up cells in my heart, patching up things that were broken etc. Like little repair-men going to work.

Hahaa.. juvenile? Maybe. But it worked for me!

evolution_revolution: That is a really good one! Even though it's not a mantra that is.. well it will really help :)

I used to (and still do a lot) think of food as just either going into my stomach and making me look pregnant (:S) or spreading all over and making me fat. But this is such a good way of looking at it, thank you for posting it :)

illusion: same here, I just think of food as sitting in my stomch waiting to helo me gain weight. I will try that too evolution, thanks.

Something that helps me to eat things with sugar or fat in them is saying 'I used to eat all of these foods before I got my ED and I was completely healthy, so there is obviously nothing wrong with them'

Or

'My sister/friend eats chocolate and she is beautiful, why should it make me fat and not her?

Hey emma, I found out by your profile that we're the same age :) sorry, random haha but yeah.

Oh I forgot to post what helps me to eat!

Have to agree with what emmabrody said about thinking that I could eat those foods before etc.

Also, I try to focus on  the vitamins/minerals i'm gaining from the food as opposed to the fat and all that. Thinking those nutrients are helping me to be healthy is good, as well as thinking that I have to be healthy and at a good weight to be able to have kids (because I reaaally want to when i'm older).

When eating with my father (which is very difficult), not really a mantra, but a thought

"Stand on my own two feet, not as daddys little girl trying to impress him, do what I know is best for me at the moment for my recovery"

This also helps when eating out with friends

bluidechic- that made me smile=) But having kids in the future is certainly one of my driving force.

tessa / beautifulloser- i love your analogy about the dog as well! beautifulloser, I can totally relate to what you mean!!I've lately been struggling with getting exercise under control (rather than it controlling me!) and this definitely is a wake up call!=D I find that if I did have some sort of structured workout, I tend to be more relaxed about eating up to and beyond my calorie goal, but will get a bit antsy if I've been sitting on my bum all day!*sigh* It's something I'm still having a hard time working through..=|

evolution_revolution- lol! that's really cute! sometimes at the end of the day, before I sleep I do that too! People count sheep to go to sleep; I on the other hand count all the cells that are being "fixed" ;)

drivenlass- I know! I have to constantly remind myself that this is for me and no one else! Sometimes I catch myself thinking "oh what will they think..." It's especially hard when you know that you have to eat more, while everyone else is eating less...but hey!more food for us right?=D

Well, my mantra is that when I wake up every morning I tell myself: "It's a new day, fresh new start, so leave the yesterday behind, SMILE, and push forward!" this helps me start off on a clean slate and look at each day as a new beginning. It also prevents me from restricting and forget about what I've eaten the day before.=) (I find it so hard to not feel guilty about what I've eaten the day before and accept the fact that I need that much food every single day.) 

Thanks guys for all your help!<3

My best friend perdie calls me up regularly at stupid o clock in the morning and yells at me down the phone: Dude, we are not pregnant, crack addicts, and living in a crummy council flat with abusive boyfriends!  HURRAH

Rob, the other day, when I was refusing to eat a sandwich, because someone had given it to me, and I see forcing food upon me as pushing me to eat, then I don't blah blah blah ecc., and Rob said: "T, even HITLER ate!!!"

or my favourite: 'Action does not always bring happiness, but there can be no happiness without action.'

Great post guys, these have all been very helpful!!!

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, [but] it is impossible to find it elsewhere."

- Agnes Repplier

"Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out."

- Katherine Dunham

Original Post by chrissy1988:

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, [but] it is impossible to find it elsewhere."

- Agnes Repplier

 

"Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out."

- Katherine Dunham

 

 i like those chrissy

I know a lot of times when I am feeling anxious about eating (if I have just ate or are about to) I say to myself "I'm ok. I'm fine." If I'm really anxious I may say it out loud or grab my mother's hand or a friend's who knows about my Ed, look them in the eye and say "I'm ok. I'm fine." just as a way to reassure myself.

As my psychologist put it, I have a "fear of food and a fear of fat". I'm not a person who gives in and I like to change my fears. (I.E. I have a phobia of heights and love to rock climb just to conquer it). 

My favorite thought though is "You've already proven to your self just how easy it is for you to lose weight. So what's so bad about gaining some?"