Challenge Day 7- Talking About My Eating Disorder

It has been seven days since I last updated you all on my 21 day challenge! I have several bits of news, both good and bad.  I will start with the bad first, just to get it out of the way!

I have had to stop the cardio aspect of my challenge.  I have severe shin splints, so adding running to my already high level of daily activity was incredibly painful for me!  I have been using the stationary bike instead.

Now that that is out of the way, let me just say WOW.  Sometimes when there is something wrong with your body for so long, you start to not notice it as much anymore.  For me, it's my chronic hip and back pain from dancing, as well as a constant feeling of nausea.  While this new eating hasn't cured my pain (darn!) it has tremendously improved my nausea!  What I noticed was that within the first couple of days eating like this, there was a bit of discomfort.  Probably just my body getting used to eating this way, especially since it was a fairly drastic change!  I had no ease-in process where I was vegetarian or vegan.

My the third day of eating low fat raw vegan, I noticed that I no longer felt ill when I ate!  The relief that my body feels is almost overwhelming!

The one downside to my eating this way is that I have to be eating constantly, which is very hard for someone as busy as me.  I have been very good about planning meals the night before to bring with me in my new backpack!

On the flip-side, as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder for about a decade, this lifestyle is incredibly fulfilling.  I would restrict, then binge, then take laxatives and purge; I was diagnosed with a subtype of anorexia nervosa when I was 12 years old.  Needless to say, even while in "recovery," eating large quantities of food and keeping it in me has been a struggle.  However, eating low fat raw vegan has allowed me to eat very large portions that would normally be terrifying for me!  I'm not saying that I feel 100% fearless when I see a big bowl of bananas and mangos, but the more I eat this way, the less scared I become, and the more confidence I have at the table.

Hopefully I will be able to continue with this newfound mindset when I have completed the challenge.

I hope everyone is doing well! I love you!

-Fly high, little birds!

xxx