Conquering fear foods: the real deal.
So many of us recovering from eating disorders may be at the stage where we want to take that leap of faith and begin trusting in our bodies' cravings once again. This can be a tricky and anxiety-provoking time if we do not handle it correctly. While it is important to trust your body, it is also important to eliminate the ED talk within it, which can be quite challenging. Many of us would agree that a fiber one brownie is not considered a fear food, as it is very low-calorie and artificially flavored to keep the sugars down. A REAL fear food would be a normal brownie, made exactly the way you loved to eat them before your ED took hold. Now, it is important to remember a few things before going into your challenge.
1. It is okay to eat all of your challenge food portion - it is SUGGESTED :D In doing so, you are not allowing ED to have any part in your food decisions at this point in time and are defeating ED by doing so.
2. It is always good to have a trusted companion with you, eating the same thing you are as you try out the challenge! This will allow you to have a big source of support if you start feeling extremely anxious or anything of that sort!
3. Don't forget what you're fighting for! You're fighting for your freedom and your happiness back! ED steals those things from you and makes you believe you are not good enough to enjoy food and enjoy your life, but he's the biggest liar of them all! You're fighting for your life back, so eat that damn brownie! :)
Conquering fear foods takes time. I've been in recovery for about four years and still find myself struggling with certain foods, although, not at all to the same degree as I once did.
I promise you, challenging yourself is one of the best decisions you will make in your recovery! You'll feel incredible after you can finally cross a fear food off of the list and you'll gain some of your power back from ED!
Good luck and always feel free to comment with your victories and/or questions!
Stay strong and stay beautiful!
Sammy .x
A food I can now cross off my list: CUPCAKES! :)
