Tuesday, March 18, 2008

My workout today will not break any records but I enjoyed it and I truly did it just because I wanted to, not to lose weight which is huge in my mind. I cannot express enough how wonderful I feel to be free of my disordered thinking. I've known for several years now that I had gone beyond innocently starting a diet but it has taken me a long time to admit it, and I still haven't said anything to anyone in person. I'm not sure if I will or when I will and part of that is because I think they would tell me, "You don't have an eating disorder" blah blah and that would drive me insane. Just because I haven't revealed half the shit that goes through my head and the things I do does not mean it is okay to try and make your SELF feel better about having a sick daughter/wife/friend/sister etc. I am getting better and I will continue to but I don't need anyone backing me in to a corner making me feel like I have to make a case for why I strongly feel that I went past diet, did not collect $200 and got myself a damned eating disorder. I don't want to classify things or defend things here either but trust me, reading detailed information about binge eating disorder, bullemia where the form of purging is restriction, and other things like EDNOS are me to a T for the most part. They didn't use to be, before I started WW I didn't do any of the sad, twisted up punishing things or have the negative thoughts about myself. I remember in high school filling out one of those surveys about self esteem and actually having to make up something I didn't like about myself just so I wouldn't be the well adjusted misfit. How funny in a completely non humorous way.
I have been able to drop 99% of the behaviors and thinking so far, I'm afraid it will try and come back but I'm going to fight it off no matter what. I keep telling myself I can eat anything I want and how much I want and it is working because I actually mean it this time. No fear of being fat, no pinching my flesh constantly, no daily weighing, no constant mirror checks, no feeling inferior in a group of skinnier women...I'm tired and I can't even think straight.
I am so happy that I am accepting myself and getting back to being me.
The elliptical started squeaking at 10 minutes this time, I battled it out until about 23 minutes stopping and starting a few times to try and spray WD40 on any joint I could find which did not help. It is driving me batty that I WANT to do cardio for the first time in my life, that I am finding it fun and the durn machine is going haywire. I also did lower body weights and instead of trying to kill the bottom half of my body to burn more calories and build muscle to burn more calories etc. I just did what I wanted to do and it was so freeing. I finished up with dancing.

1 comment:

LME said...

When I was in the throes of an eating disorder back in college--I had lost about 60 pounds in a short period of time and my periods had stopped--I was still at what would have been considered on the low end of normal for my height. If someone had seen me who did not know me, they would not have thought that I had a problem at all. You never know where someone started. Or what they've done to get where they are. I was never diagnosed, but I know what it was. Restricting (to 300 calories a day, give or take) and overexercising. My sister was worried about me at the time; she knew what I was up to and that it was dangerous and out of control. But so many people pshawed it, including my own mother, who eyeballed me and figured I looked fine and could stand to lose a bit more, because I didn't look like what they thought someone with an eating disorder looked like.

I've had flare-ups here and there since then, and it's almost always when I'm feeling depressed and stressed out. It's all about coping skills (or lack thereof) and addiction in my case.

I know all of this, but it doesn't mean I'm not susceptible to disordered thinking/behavior.

I'm happy that you are recognizing your issues for what they are, and that you are in a good place with it right now.