Always remember, food is our medicine

I would like to dedicate this post to someone who contacted me for the first time quite recently, asking for advice. This girl has now been able to realise just how important not listening to her anorexic thoughts is, no matter how awful and loud they are. I am so proud of her for the determination and bravery she is demonstrating and truly believe that if she continues to fight the way she currently is, she will be able to make a full recovery.

People say that anorexia recovery shouldn't only be about food and weight and they may be right but I believe they are both still very significant parts of recovery. The fact of the matter is, you cant recover from anorexia without eating lots of food. Food is our medicine and we need lots of it to make us healthy and strong. Even if you are not significantly underweight, you still need to eat lots in order to recover from anorexia.

When we have bad days in recovery, or even bad weeks, this is not a reason not to stick to our meal plans or calorie goals. It is even more important to eat enough at times like these. This is because if you are having bad times like these, it means that your anorexia is still present and the only way to get rid of your anorexia is to fight it. By doing this you are getting closer to recovering and getting stronger so that you can fight the same kind of thoughts more easily, the next time they arise.

Another way to think about it is like this. If a person has a cold and is taking cold tablets, they dont stop taking their tablets if there cold gets worse. They obviously keep taking their tablets, as they still need them, more then ever. For an anorexic to stop eating when their anorexic thoughts are bad is exactly the same as a person stopping their cold medication, when their cold is at its worst.

If you give into your anorexia when you are struggling by eating or exercising differently then you know you should be, this only makes your anorexia stronger and sets you back in your recovery. After you give into your anorexia once, it then thinks all it has to do is make you feel that way again and it will be able to get its way. You need to prove to yourself and your anorexia that you are stronger then it is and the only way you can do this is by fighting it and doing what is right for your recovery.