7 lessons learned from overcoming disordered eating

I’ve shared before that I had a toxic relationship with food.  I’ve also shared how I healed my relationship with food and overcame disordered eating.

Intensely personal and difficult to talk about.

But I choose to speak up for those who don’t yet feel like they have a voice.  For those who use #edrecovery and share the internal struggles they face each day.  For those who feel like overcoming disordered eating is impossible.

I share because I know those internal struggles on a personal level.  And because I know it IS possible to overcome them.

Disordered eating comes in many shapes and sizes (ironically just like us).

“Disordered eating is a disturbed and unhealthy eating pattern that can include restrictive dieting, compulsive eating or skipping meals.”

At the heart of it all is a person feeling as though they are not good enough as they are.

Overcoming disordered eating is life changing and so today I share with you the lessons I learned from overcoming disordered eating.

And even if you have never struggled with disordered eating you may benefit from these lessons 🙂

LESSON ONE.  Never let the opinions of others become the measure of your self-worth.

YOU are the measure of your own self-worth.  No one else can define you.

I used to believe that the opinion others had of me mattered more than what I thought of myself.  But actually, who I am is defined by me, and only me.

Opinions are only that.  Opinions.  And everyone has one (or multiple).  They do not define who you are, what you are worthy of or what you have overcome.

LESSON TWO.  You need a non-judgemental buddy.

Disordered eating is often intensely private and personal.  Not many go shouting it from the rooftops, and most will go to the ends of the Earth to hide it.

Sharing your struggles with a non-judgemental buddy is good for the soul.  Whether your buddy is your closest friend, your family or someone you don’t know but trust, you realise that you are no longer alone.

The best thing I ever did was tell my now-husband several years ago about my struggle.  It was hard, near impossible even, but it changed the course of my life completely.

You need a non-judgemental buddy.

LESSON THREE.  Educate yourself.

You don’t need to get fancy or get a degree like me.  But knowing basic nutrition as well as the impact disordered eating can have on your body is without-a-doubt worth your time.

I had no clue about health or wellness when I started my journey.  I ate copious amounts of refined sugar to sustain energy and I feared fat.

I immersed myself into research and realised I really knew nothing about health and wellness at all!  I learnt the basics and with the basics came INFORMED choices.  I am constantly learning and evolving and the more I know the more I feel that I am able to make choices I feel proud of.

LESSON FOUR. Every day may not be good.  But there is good in every day.

Overcoming disordered eating is a LONG journey.  It’s not something you snap out of overnight.

Some days you can feel as though you are failing.  You can’t do it.  It’s all too hard.

It IS hard.  

But with every hard choice you become a step closer to your goal.  A slip up doesn’t define your day, nor does it define you.

There is good in every day.  Identify the good stuff.  ALWAYS.

LESSON FIVE. You are stronger than you think.

Every success is a strength.

What got you TO today?  What got you THROUGH today?

Even in your hardest moment you are stronger than you think.  You don’t need to prove your strength to anyone other than yourself.  But you are stronger than you think.

LESSON SIX.  Only you can make it happen.

Professionals can guide you, but only you can make it happen.

Some professionals I saw were helpful, some not so much.  But the reason I overcame disordered eating was because I wanted to make it happen.  Not because someone told me to and definitely not because someone did it for me.

Seek guidance and support from professionals, soak up information, identify your goals and PLAN ACTION.

LESSON SEVEN. You are not alone.

When I first struggled with disordered eating I didn’t know anyone else who struggled too.

I thought I was alone.  I thought no one else understood what I felt.

Because my focus of Pretty Wee Things moving forward is to help women heal their relationships with food I started researching by searching through the hashtags on social media.  What I found was a collection of (mostly) young women who felt EXACTLY as I did.

And the more I read the more I realised I NEEDED to speak up.

I NEEDED to share my journey so that someone like me didn’t feel as though they were alone.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

It is possible to overcome disordered eating.

In the coming months I will be releasing personalised health coaching packages for those who want guidance through their journey to overcome disordered eating.  If you want to know when these health coaching pages are released be sure to jump on my weekly newsletter list (plus you get my free Beginner’s guide to healthy eating’.