“This morning, I’m feeling so overwhelmed with all I have to do at home, for my job, and the kids! But, on the way to make this call for our session, I’m getting tissues not cookies. I guess that’s what you’d call progress :-).” ~ A quote from one of my A Weigh Out Coaching Clients
She’s right! Anytime one of my people connects with and expresses a feeling, instead of avoiding the feeling by shifting attention to food, I’m ready to celebrate! YES! That is how we define progress; emotional eating recovery happens one choice at a time…
And recovery from emotional eating or binge eating disorder does not mean you won’t still have STRONG FEELINGS. I think that’s one of the biggest myths associated with recovery from disordered eating. Feelings still happen and sometimes they hit big. What changes in recovery is one’s ability to tolerate and effectively express big feelings, small feelings, any intensity of feeling; boredom, loneliness, anger, frustration, overwhelm, etc., without using a coping behavior that’s counter to what we feel is healthy for us (like emotional or binge eating).
In truth, recovery is a gradual thing. Which is often difficult for people to tolerate, especially the case for those of us who have had a history of judging “success” through the all-or-nothing lens of a diet or “abstinence”. We were “on” or “off”. How many time did I hear myself say, “I’ve been good today”, or, “I’ve been bad today”, which translated into “I’m good” or “I’m bad”.
And, when I labeled myself as “bad”, I had a reason to head right back to the cookies! True recovery is a less judgmental, gentler experience…and such a relief!
______________________________
I’m Ellen Shuman, a Coach who has been specializing in emotional eating recovery since 1993. I’m the founder of A Weigh Out & Acoria Binge Eating Disorder Treatment (1993-present), Past President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (2011/2012), and Co-Founder of the Academy for Eating Disorders Special Interest Group on “Health at Every Size”, ellen@aweighout.com, Learn more; join me for my FREE Phone Seminar. Or call me for a free coaching assessment, 513-321-4242.
______________________________
