Victory

July 2008 End Binge Eating Newsletter

What are you doing to tune into the voice of victory?

Many of you talk about that negative voice that plays inside of your 
head and tells you to binge.  I remember this voice all too well.  
It’s the one that can consistently beat you down and urge you to give 
into a binge.  So, let’s talk about that voice and how we can tune 
into the voice of victory instead…

When you give into a binge, the voice of victory will step in and tell 
you that it’s ok that you binged, but your days of not bingeing are 
ahead of you.  It’s the voice that motivates you to enjoy your life, 
instead of just tolerating your life.

It’s the voice that turns the negative “I can’t do anything”, “I’ll 
never beat binge eating disorder”, and “I’ll never get ahead” into 
“I’m one of a kind”, “I have the power to overcome binge eating 
disorder”, and “I’m a masterpiece”.

What voice have you been listening to lately?  The positive voice of 
victory or the negative victim voice?

You see, it’s important that you break free from the negative cycle 
and try to move into the victorious area of life.  Being negative 
isn’t going to make you binge-free; it’s only going to make you binge 
even more because you will feel so poorly about yourself.  The 
positive voice will reassure you that even though it might be tough, 
you can beat binge eating.

OK, so how do you start tuning into the voice of victory?

You learn to guard your thoughts.  You train yourself to hear what you 
want to hear and believe that the day will come when binge eating 
isn’t such a struggle.  You believe that your future will be better 
and brighter than your past.  You tune into your surroundings by 
becoming more aware.  You have to stop believing the negative noise 
that you have been listening to for so long because it obviously 
hasn’t gotten you to where you want to be.

Let me give you a good example of being tuned in to what you want:  My 
dog Buttercup loves cheese.  No matter where she is in the house, 
whenever I open a string cheese, she comes running.  Of course I try 
to trick her at times by being super quiet, but she always hears it.  
Always.  This girl is extremely tuned into one of her favorite 
things:  cheese.  She has trained herself to hear the sound of the 
cheese package when I open it.

What sounds are you in tune with?

Can you imagine how different your life would be if only you were in 
tune with what you want?

When you wake up in the morning and think, “I’m so depressed and will 
have another day of bingeing”, what do you think will happen that 
day?  You will be really depressed and will binge because this is what 
you believe to be true.  In these circumstances, it’s important to 
ignore the negative voice and tune into the positive one instead.  You 
have to retrain yourself to hear the good, not the bad.  You have to 
stop being the victim and dismiss any bad thoughts.

Sure, sometimes it is easier to buy into your poisonous thoughts that 
you aren’t worth having a healthy relationship with food, that you are 
ugly and fat, but it will only keep you away from what you truly 
want.  Even if buying into the thought feels good and appropriate at 
the time, don’t do it!  It’s not going to help you at all.

Learn to guard your mind carefully because you control your thoughts.  
When a positive thought plays out in your mind, grab onto it and press 
repeat so something good is playing over and over in your mind.  It’s 
just not possible to live a positive, binge-free life with negative 
thoughts.  It doesn’t work.  But, when you keep your mind filled with 
good thoughts, there will be no room for negative ones.

So instead of thinking, “I can’t do it”, “I’m not able to”, and “I’m 
not good enough”, start thinking in terms of “I can do it”, “I am able 
to”, and “I deserve it”.  You will really notice a shift in your 
thinking when you get rid of discouraging thoughts.

Adopt the attitude of “you might be talking, but I’m not listening” 
for the negative thoughts.  Who said you had to pay attention to them?

Start filling your mind with praise and learn to expect good things in 
your life.  We all go through temporary setbacks, but don’t let that 
hold you down.  Remember that those setbacks will pass in time.

Just remember that YOU decide what direction your life is going to go, 
so start taking charge of it!

I believe in you!

Kristin