"Normal" Eating
The idea that we will one day be able to eat spontaneously, like normal people, is a delusion. We compulsive overeaters tend to think that once we lose our excess pounds, we can go back to "normal" eating. Not so.
It is our experience that once a compulsive overeater, always a compulsive overeater. There is no way we will ever be able to eat spontaneously without eventually getting into trouble. When we reach our desired weight, we continue to eat three measured meals a day with nothing in between, and we continue to avoid entirely our personal binge foods.
When we accept our permanent need to abstain, when we accept the fact that we can never return to what we thought was normal eating, then we can stop making irrational attempts at experimentation which always fail. By accepting our disease and learning to live with it, we become sane and free. We see that our new eating plan is really very normal. It was the old compulsive overeating habit which was abnormal in the extreme.
Thank you, Lord, for sanity.
From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980The idea that we will one day be able to eat spontaneously, like normal people, is a delusion. We compulsive overeaters tend to think that once we lose our excess pounds, we can go back to "normal" eating. Not so.
It is our experience that once a compulsive overeater, always a compulsive overeater. There is no way we will ever be able to eat spontaneously without eventually getting into trouble. When we reach our desired weight, we continue to eat three measured meals a day with nothing in between, and we continue to avoid entirely our personal binge foods.
When we accept our permanent need to abstain, when we accept the fact that we can never return to what we thought was normal eating, then we can stop making irrational attempts at experimentation which always fail. By accepting our disease and learning to live with it, we become sane and free. We see that our new eating plan is really very normal. It was the old compulsive overeating habit which was abnormal in the extreme.
Thank you, Lord, for sanity.
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A return to "normal" eating has caused me to regain weight & to yo yo diet for 40 some years. As a compulsive overeater, I have to redefine what constitutes "normal eating" and create it myself. Society tells me that eating junk food and sweets is normal, but for me, those are trigger foods which will lead to a binge.
In the old days, OA told us to eat 3 moderate meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time. Nowadays, the definition of abstinence can vary. For me, eating 6 small meals a day with nothing in between is what keeps me on track & abstinent. Fueling my body with small, healthy meals every few hours keeps my blood sugar level and my cravings at bay.
Accepting myself and my disease instead of fighting it is what's led me to freedom. Looking at food as fuel instead of entertainment, has kept me toeing the line for nearly 4 years and for that, I am grateful. For today, I will not fight what I know to be true, but rather, accept the terms of my disease & treat it with respect.
Thank you, Lord, for sanity.
Thank you for keeping this real. xoxo
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