[ElaineR.]

Recovery from an eating disorder doesn't happen by itself. You have to choose recovery.. and work it... and work it is!

How do you define recovery? For me, recovery is being abstinent. Abstinence means I do not binge, and recovery means I remain abstinent.. no matter what.

I did this once and relapsed. This time I am committed to a lifetime of recovery.. that means I can never binge again. It is getting easier.. but I have to work it everyday.

Elaine R.

[Mistypink]

oh Elaine I have to really work at this daily. Some days are easy and some days are soooo hard.

For me a overeater recrovery means not binging. It also means not going on strict diets either. It is to find that balance.

Recovery for me also means doing a reasonable amount of exercise. From being a total couch potato to doing 1 hour of exercise 6 or 7 days a week. My body doesn't have the aches and pains that inactivity caused which ofcourse makes me happier. I feel stronger now that I can do some of the things I thought were impossible.

The most important part of recovery for me is my emotions~~ that is the hardest one A good day is when my mind isn't focusing on food all day. Exercise is one mood improver. Reading books about positive women helps. Getting my mind on the happy side of life.

[fullhouse]

I believe that recovery is an ongoing process - I don't know that you actually reach a final destination though. Because it is a process, there WILL be setbacks, but this doesn't mean that you are not still "in recovery". When I reach a weight that I am happy with, I think that I would still say that I am in recovery....even those of us that have maintained weight loss for a while still struggle - some more than others.
Black and white thinking is not a healthy thought for me...either being recovered or not....I can still be on this journey of self-discovery AND have binges. What I believe is key though is, after I binge, how do I deal with it? Does it serve to be a learning moment or do I mentally flog myself, feel guilty and binge some more?
There also comes a time when we slowly begin to feel emotionally "in control" of our eating process. Sometimes its the habit of using some behavior mod strategies, other times its the gaining of wisdom about some emotional connection for you. I'm thinking that recovery may be less about "food intake" and more about having that "CLICK" mentally that helps you to make sense out of why you have behaved the way that you have. As I said above, I also don't think its a static state, but more of an ongoing flux with hills and valleys.....