hi, I'm new and awkward!

misssunshine17

Hi ladies! So here's my story... I'm a former dancer and current dance teacher. I've never been 'fat,' despite constant pressure and cruel comments from my former teachers. In late high school and through college, I struggled off and on with eating disorder syptoms and a very unhealthy view of my body and food. I saw a counselor and am now feeling better about my body. I work out regularly and though I don't like everything, I don't berate myself like I used to (hense why I stopped performing) but I struggle with the eating part. I find anything less than eating whatever I want, when I want very constricting. I don't eat fast food, but I love sweet carbs and overindulge. 

My question is how do I take baby steps to get my eating under control without feeling like I'm depriving myself? Thanks, ladies!

jennylee813

Welcome, miss!

Eating is hard! I struggle with it for different reasons - my mom ate like crap for years and ended up having a host of medical problems. She almost died when I was 9, and I was dealing with taking care of her and my little sister (my dad worked away and was gone for months on end). I was in elementary school and running a household because she had stomach problems that could have been avoided...

Anywhooo ...

So I struggle with food too, but it's because I don't want to eat.

But the good news is that it does get easier. Acknowledging the problem (which you've done) is the best place to start. I've found that taking an interest in recipes again has been the biggest help for me. I bought a new cookbook with healthy alternatives, and have been incorporating new recipes into our routine.

I'm excited about cooking again.

Having control to make healthy choices makes a difference to me, and eventually convenience food doesn't taste as good as homemade.

Good luck, stick around. We don't bite!

entropicbeauty

I'm going to go ahead and ditto the call to join Myfitnesspal and track your food intake!

I'm on the opposite end. I've struggled with binge eating disorder most of my life (only became aware of it during my college years). Now that I'm making myself track everything I eat, I am much less prone to overeat. Awareness is a HUGE component to being successful IMO.

misssunshine17

Thanks for much for your advice and support!! 

I have tried MFP and I really became obsessive about it, in a unhealthy way, so kwitherton, you really hit it on the head. Though I think I just need to be more aware of what I eat and mindless eating, so I created an excel sheet that will log what I'm eating, but not how much in calories. I think my problem lies more in the what, not the how much. 

I struggle too, because when I talk to people about it, I get shut down because I'm a size 2 and not at all overweight, so people don't understand why I care. 

I also read an article about changing one thing about your diet each week, as opposed to setting unrealistic goals, so week one is ensuring I drink enough water through the day. 

Thanks again for the support!

mcda04

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_hi-im-new-and-awkward?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:eb759c52-0620-4731-a2ea-c1afc3c7060fPost:75d36c1c-723c-4991-b19a-032a7eb4fb6c">hi, I'm new and awkward!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi ladies! So here's my story... I'm a former dancer and current dance teacher. I've never been 'fat,' despite constant pressure and cruel comments from my former teachers. In late high school and through college, I struggled off and on with eating disorder syptoms and a very unhealthy view of my body and food. I saw a counselor and am now feeling better about my body. I work out regularly and though I don't like everything, I don't berate myself like I used to (hense why I stopped performing) but I struggle with the eating part. I find anything less than eating whatever I want, when I want very constricting. I don't eat fast food, but I love sweet carbs and overindulge.  My question is how do I take baby steps to get my eating under control without feeling like I'm depriving myself? Thanks, ladies!
Posted by misssunshine17[/QUOTE]

Hello Ms. Sunshine. Congratulation on overcoming your eating disorder. It takes a lot of courage to admit it letalone seeking help like you did.

Let me add a little bit about myself, I am almost 30 but struggled with an eating disorder (Anorexia) when i was in HS., I wasn't obese then either, i was 5'2 and weighed about 115 lbs. well my mom put me through therapy and i was able to "somewhat" overcome it years later. Fast forward, I now have two kids and what i struggled with a few years ago was baby weight, i shed the lbs by nursing but my eating habits are either extremely good or horribly bad, I'm still struggling with eating the proper amount of calories but one thing that helps me is eating my dinner in dessert plates instead of full plates and drinking a full glass of water after dinner. About the sugar cravings, I know we're all different but my doctor told me my cravings were due to an iron deficiency (Anemia) and recommended daily vitamins. they do help but i'm horrible at taking pills so i forget to take them daily.

Anyway, sorry for the long lifestory. Good Luck.

misssunshine17

Thanks, ladies! I plan on sticking around for more advice! I've been on pinterest looking up motivational quotes for a half hour haha whatever works, I guess!