Re: Recovering from a binge and treating myself with kindness the next day

[Guest guest]

Kayla,I think " emotionally coddling myself like I were my own daughter " is the perfect way to deal with those post-binge feelings!also, praying to forgive yourself sounds great. i think it's when we dont forgive ourselves that we continue to binge.

maybe you can think about little things that you can do to reward yourself for tackling that math homework? (ie things not related to food OR math) and maybe break down the homework into time periods that are not intimidating? ie after 30 minutes, or even 15, i will do 3 minutes of stretching and deep breathing (i think all that oxygen helps the brain work better)... or i will go outside and go get the mail... or walk around the block.... or get a cup of tea...

if you really hate math, you might have to make it really easy for yourself, especially at first. and just keep on cheering for yourself! just like if your daughter was tackling the math homework she hates!

i also think eating without distractions is ALWAYS a great idea! if you were eating distractedly yesterday because you were thinking about (or doing) math while you ate, you might have also binged because you felt cheated out of a pleasurable eating experience? 

i do think that the more self care we provide, the less likely we are to binge. and sometimes self care means picking just the right time to do that yucky math homework... and when to cut yourself some slack. there's days for me when work is easy and other days that it's just torture... yesterday was one of those days for me, and for once i just left work with tons of stuff undone.... and today, miraculously, i had more energy and it's a lot easier. though still not a bundle of laughs! oh well, just trying to get through another day.

i hope this is helpful. i am glad you shared with us. i think just doing that can be really helpful.best,abbyIE since 11/08

 

Last night I had a few bad binges and went to bed feeling really awful about what I did. I think my trigger was that I had a lot of math hw and studying that I was dreading and trying to procrastinate on. I prayed to help me forgive myself for the havoc I imposed upon my physical and emotional health, which helped a little, but I promised myself I'd post here tomorrow to prevent further self-sabotage.

Pre-IE, I'd feel so bad about a " bad day " that I'd perpetuate the same behaviors for days and days thereafter, as a way to punish myself or something idk? But today, I pledge to the group that I'm really going to focus on self-care today. Sometimes, when I feel " out of control " with my food and know at any moment I could just snap and start binging, I lay out a tentative meal plan for myself. Is that against the rules of IE? It tends to help...so that's what I'm doing today: laying it out and not eating in front of any distractions to really taste every bite. All this while emotionally coddling myself like I were my own daughter. What do you guys think? How do you guys recover after a binge?

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