Reflections

Binge Eating Newsletter
October/November 2008

Dear friends,

If you have noticed that a newsletter is long overdue, thank you for being a devoted reader!   Lately it seems as if time is just flying by; I can hardly believe it!

I guess it all started with Hurricane Ike.  Ah, the fun times of a hurricane and being without power (for 11 days, I might add!)  As frustrating as it was to not have electricity, especially on those hot days, it was also, dare I say it, a good time.  We have the best neighbors and after cutting down trees all day long, we would gather around and have barbeques at night.

It was a good time to reflect on life in general.  Perhaps the greatest outcome of the hurricane was that we got to know our neighbors really well.  Before Ike, we had only waved at them while taking Buttercup on walks.  After Ike, we were in each other’s kitchens cooking, exchanging stories, and playing with the kiddos.  It was nice to take a break from life because, let’s face it; there was nothing else to do.  We were outside all the time trading stories about where we could get gas while waiting an hour as opposed to three or four hours.  We talked about what was open so that we could get ice, water, or bread.

Basically we spent the days just surviving (and I realize how dramatic this sounds, but it’s true).  I’m talking doing laundry in the sink (Thank God we had hot water!) and hanging it on a line outside with binder clips.  Oh yes, clothespins were sold out at every place that was open.  No electricity, no Internet, and no cell phone service most of the time.  It was craziness, but also extremely nice to almost travel back in time where things were more basic.

I had my first can of SpaghettiOs during the hurricane and I realized that I do not like them at all.  Gross.  On one hand, we were prepared for Ike.  The news told us to get 3-4 days worth of food and water, and we had one week’s worth.  On the other hand, being a vegetarian and constantly eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches wasn’t working out too well.  I’m not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich kind of girl at all, so sad to say, but I broke my vegetarian ways of about 3-years.  

Thanks Ike.  Just kidding, it was all my decision, but the hurricane factors helped me actually get to that point.  All of our neighbors cooked everything they had in their freezers and there was tons of food.  Chicken, Filet Mignon, Venison, Pork, you name it and it was there.  We were not going to go hungry, that’s for sure.  Without spilling too much information, let’s just say that the meat was a complete shock to my body, including gaining 7-pounds.

Of course now that everything is back to normal, life has quickly flown by and playing catch-up isn’t fun.  Dealing with things from the hurricane, plus life has been very busy indeed.

As if the hurricane wasn’t enough to deal with, our dog Buttercup had some problems too.  These problems actually started in August of this year.  Her liver levels were elevated and we had to take her to the vet every week, until October 20.  On this day, we got the call from the vet saying that her biopsy results were back from the pathologist and there was no cancer.  Nothing life-threatening at all!  I started crying on the spot because I was so happy!  It’s a big challenge to stop yourself from thinking about all the bad possibilities that could happen while waiting over a week for the results.

There are other things that have been going on as well, but I’ll spare you.  This newsletter is not intended to be a downer, but I just wanted to explain why I’ve been “away” for a while.  The moral of this story is that life goes on whether you are ready for it or not.  The hurricane happened about 40-days ago and I still haven’t lost the pounds I gained.  In fact, I haven’t really been trying.  Not to say that the extra pounds aren’t bothering me; they are.  In fact, 7 stupid pounds have made me go up a whole size in clothing.  Whether you are a size 16 or a size 6, this is frustrating.

I’m just telling you like it is…  There will always be obstacles in our lives.  We will always be faced with making better decisions regarding everything, including our health.  What will you decide to do?  Will you just fall down and succumb to the ways of life or will you stand up and fight for what you want?

Since you are still reading, I’m assuming that you still want to become binge-free.  Of course it’s not the easiest thing to do, but here are a few words of advice to help you stay on the path.

First, remember to always be real.  When you set goals, you want to make sure they are not too big that you will fall short to.  Make them realistic goals that will help you to stop bingeing and gain health.  I found that it is easiest to start off small and build off of that that without rushing anything.  Focus on getting through one day without a huge binge and think of how good that will make you feel.  It’s very important that you set goals and make decisions that you won’t give up on.

Next, give yourself permission to fall down.  Setbacks will happen:  They happened to me and chances are they will happen to you.  Setbacks do not erase all of your progress thus far though.  Setbacks force you to only make a decision:  Will you stay down and give up or are you going to get right back up and keep on going?

Finally, and most importantly, believe in yourself.  You have to believe that you have the power to overcome bingeing.  It’s crucial.  You also have to let all of the former rules go out the window.  Instead of seeing mistakes along your journey, see them as experiences that will help you in the long run.  When you believe in yourself you can use the mistakes to your advantage instead of beating yourself up on why the situation happened.

Today is the start of a new time for me.  I’m on a very serious mission to exercise those extra pounds away, blog on a regular basis again, revamp my website to make it more user-friendly, and much more!  Thanks for hanging in there and waiting on this newsletter!  I appreciate you and do truly believe in your success against binge eating disorder.

I believe in you!

P.S... There are BIG changes coming to my http://www.EndBingeEating.com site.  Stay tuned!

P.P.S... The B.E.D. Special Report limited offer will be expiring in November.  This is your last chance to save 50% and have just about all of your questions answered about Binge Eating Disorder you have now and/or will have in the future.  For more details, please see:  http://www.endbingeeating.com/report.html