Introduction

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone! I am excited to have just joined this community and thought I'd

post a little bit about myself. I am an RN in my mid-twenties and committed

myself to IE a couple months ago. I first read the book several years ago, but

until now I could not fully let go of restrictive eating. My weight has gone up

and down since my early teens and through the many cycles of dieting and

overeating, I became terrified of being " fat " and developed a very negative body

image. Even when I reached my " ideal " weight last October (I was exercising a

lot to train for a triathlon), there were only brief moments when I felt happy

with the way my body looked. Since October, I've gone through several major

life changes and in the process gained some weight. Of course, at first this

was a crisis! All I wanted to do was start counting calories again and get rid

of the new weight as fast as possible. But a bigger part of me was way too

tired of the cycle. So I re-read IE and found more great books on body image

and food/weight issues, and am working towards practicing a loving, nurturing

way of eating and appreciating my body.

Of course, one of my goals is still to lose weight and my biggest challenge is

reminding myself that this goal is secondary to the goals of IE. I still keep a

close eye on my body weight and size and honestly, I am a little afraid that I

won't lose any weight with IE. Some days I am very tempted to bring back some

form of restrictive eating just " for a few weeks " or until " I lose X pounds. "

But thankfully, I have very supportive people in my life and they help me stay

committed to this process.

That was more than a little bit about myself, but thank you for listening to my

story!