Meditate on the word "sufficiency"
Karen R. Koenig, author of two books about intuitive eating, recently said this on the Diet Survivors message board:
"Reaching out to each other is a vital component in recovery, but it will never take the place of the miserably hard work you have to do dozens of times every day to check in with hunger, satisfaction, food enjoyment, fullness, and feelings.
" By all means, share your successes and setbacks on the board, but put the bulk of your energy into focusing on what you have to do minute by minute to get well."
Oh how true her words are! But does it churn up objections? Questions such as: Why should I have to do all this work? Normal eaters don't have to work so hard!
The more accurate picture is that everyone struggles with certain things. Everyone has areas of difficulty, and overcoming them takes hard work.
It just so happens that for those of you reading this, food is one of your struggles.
An alcoholic has hard work to do and an uphill battle in order to get well. That alcoholic will still have rocky times, but can lead a good life.
Same for you. How about aiming for APPROXIMATING normalcy? Can that be sufficient for you? Especially because so many dysfunctional eaters tend to be perfectionists and b/w thinkers, I would suggest that the
goal of approximating is a worthy one, if for no other reason than the fact that a goal of imperfection may be a new idea for you.
The reason black and white thinkers fail at their goals is that they have no sufficiency barometer for themselves. They do either all or nothing.
So start today. See if it's okay to live a life in which you do things reasonably well, and sufficiently good enough.
It's a new way to live. And once you catch on, it's both a relief, and a surprise, that more of your dreams come true.
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