Restrict, Binge, Beat yourself Up...Repeat. {The antidote at last!}

[Guest guest]

So the old cycle is Restrict (Diet), Binge, Beat Yourself Up...then repeat as

needed.

I had known the " antidote " so to speak for the first(dieting) and

last(attack)but just today I realized the alternative to binging.

Well everyone here knows (at some level) the answer to restricting is Intuitive

Eating. And that rather than beating ourselves up we bloom under the gentle

offer of compassion and acceptance.

Well just today I realized- partially from my experience yesterday of " turning

off " the urge to overeat by shifting my awareness to a state of curiosity and

partly from this AMAZING book I started reading (Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen

Bays) that the answer to the urge to binge or even if we have started to is to

as the author put it " sit down and be, if even for a few minutes, be wholly

present. "

Sure that sounds like a trite platitude. Ranking right up there with , " why

don't you just not overeat? " But after my post yesterday about " Curiosity

killing the urge to binge " where I talked about two conflicting states not being

able to co-exist in our minds...it is SO WEIRD but in a book I was reading it

stated that same exact thing.. and then I was watching a video on youtube about

the scientific research on the state of happiness and the man said the SAME

THING. (I love it when things like that happen!!)

So it seems that binging is an attempt to zone out and escape which can not

exist while we are being present.

So ...what does it mean to be present? I am new to this whole concept. But I am

finding that it is surprisingly simple... I have been just gently calling myself

(my thoughts) back to the present moment. Like a kind warm mother would call

back herself toddler when she was beyond a safe distance in the store.

If you are anything like me you are initially TERRIFIED of being present... you

think that it will be all the pain you have worked so hard to avoid ONLY

MAGNIFIED! But the exact opposite turns out to be true.... it is in the present

moment which I worked so hard to avoid that the restful peace of authentic

" escape " from suffering exists (Ok I know that sounds a little out there..but it

has been delightfully true for me)

It is weird but we binge to 'escape' and I have found that to be a counterfeit

escape...and I was so surprised when I first started playing with " mindfulness "

or being in the present moment how being in this present moment (which I GREATLY

feared previously) is actually the most delicious escape imaginable. There is a

safety and a peace in this present moment I could have never anticipated.

There aint nothing like the real thing baby!

If you are interested in finding out more about mindfulness I checked out a book

recommended by Tribole that comes with a cd that walks you through a few

mindfulness exercises... it has been like the piece I was missing all along. (It

is called the Mindful Way Through Depression by Mark , Teasdale,

Zindel Segal adn Jon Kabat-Zinn) I just read the first few chapters that talked

specifically about mindfulness you dont have to read the depression

specific chapters- and the cd is amazing!

Cheers!