I’ve been working on normal eating for over six years now. I started the journey hoping to uncover the reasons behind my urgency to eat and I have gotten that and so much more. I guess that’s the way it is with therapy, you start with vanity and in the end, find yourself.
Lately I’ve been struggling, though, and feeling anxious about it. I thought it might help for me to go back through my notes and “relearn” from the beginning. Remind myself where I started and all the things I learned along the way. I feel like going back through will really help solidify the lessons and hopefully build my strength for the next leg of this journey, whatever that might look like.
One ah-ha moment I had early on was learning that listening to my body is a form of self love. When I eat when I’m not really hungry and stuff myself full of food I am ignoring the signals of my body and cutting into my self worth. I don’t feel proud when I do this, I feel shame. So in listening to my hunger signals, as hard as that can be sometimes, and honoring them, I am showing myself love.
When I read this and really let it sink in, it felt so right. It has kept me from overeating SO many times and also pushed me to wait just a little longer to eat until I truly felt hungry. Every single time I do this, I feel like it builds my confidence in myself and my ability to make actual change in my life. It was revolutionary, really.
Each week I will pull something out of the old journal and share it here. I believe it will help me get out of this big rut!
What have you learned that really makes a big difference to you?
xoxo
