Testing the Waters in NYC
I'm not sure how I even came across this site today...no doubt it was while I was bored at work and trying to keep my mind off the pack of Reese's my co-worker brought to the office...
Today is Day 9 of having changed my eating habits. I guess I'll categorize it as having relatively drastically changed my eating habits...I won't bore you with the specifics of what I have and have not put in my mouth in the past 9 days, but it's unarguably an improvement over my usual regime of the last, oh, 35 years. Went to the doctor yesterday and was disappointed to find I had not lost any weight yet, but I guess I gained this weight slowly and gradually and that will be how it has to come off as well. At the very least, I hope to maintain where I'm at now and not get any heavier.
It feels good to have finally exerted some control over at least one area of my life. I was tired of feeling overwhelmed by everything I thought I just couldn't change about myself and my circumstances. Some things I CAN'T change, but some things I can at least try to change. It's hard, though. I definitely need help.
5 years ago this month I gave up a couple of addictive behaviors I had been letting control me for many years. I don't consider myself "sober" yet, because my definition of sobriety includes emotional sobriety, and I haven't achieved that yet. But I have to remember that if I have the ability to abstain from those self-destructive behaviors, then I can apply what I have learned by doing so to not using food in a self-destructive manner, too. One step at a time, I guess--and maybe now I'm ready to address my emotional eating and my addiction to food.
This is not all to say that I anticipate that I will be perfect or without "relapse". Relapse is a part of recovery. I'm not going to beat myself up if I succumb to the temptation of ice cream on a hot Saturday night or some M&M's at the movies. Because compared to what I WAS eating, it's still a marked improvement. I don't think total deprivation will work for me. Balance is something I work towards in every arena of my life, and this is no different, I guess. A healthy balance rather than mindless indulgence and compulsion.
I guess I should offer some of the basics: I'm a 35-year old female in the non-profit sector in NYC, married, and unhappy with my health and my appearance as it relates to my weight.
Any questions? Feedback?
Happy to be here.
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