Happy New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year's Eve!

Another fresh new year is here... another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me to live each day with zest ... to daily grow and try to be my highest and my best! I have the opportunity once more to right some wrongs, to pray for peace, to plant a tree, and sing more joyful songs. 
William Arthur Ward

Recovery Quote Of The Week: December 31, 2011

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.
Dolly Parton

See sidebar menu for more Recovery Quotes of the Week, and Inspirational Recovery Quotes

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcmetroblogger/3531573740/in/photostream/

10 Self-Nurturing New Year's Resolutions

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions. More often than not, we set up lofty goals that are near impossible to stick to or are just unhealthy for us. When we don't manage to accomplish them we then feel guilty, frustrated, and defeated. If you're considering making resolutions for the new year why not make them something that nurtures your being and changes how you feel about yourself? 


10 Self-Nurturing New Year's Resolutions
 
I resolve to:

1. love myself more (flaws and all)
2. be more grateful for my body and what it allows me to do every day
3. make more healthy choices for both my mind and my body
4. respect myself and others more
5. surround myself with more positive and supportive people
6. stop comparing myself to others and instead celebrate my unique individuality more
7. replace negative self-talk with more positive, loving statements
8. let go of past shame, regrets, and fear and live in the present more
9. speak up, reach out, and ask for more help when I need it
10. laugh more, love more, and enjoy the life I have been blessed with

Notice the word, "more," slipped in there? "More" is important for two reasons.

1.  you may already be doing these things and so now are resolving to build on them. 
2. "more" allows forward movement without the preconceived notion of failure when you don't accomplish something fully.

Remember, it's not about perfecting anything. It's about learning to nurture yourself. It takes time and practice.

Make this year the year that you choose to take care of you. Make yourself a priority.


Happy New Year! 
MrsM

©Weighing The Facts



picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aschultz/3700307982/

This Week's R.I.S.E. : Don't Hang Around Waiting For Perfection

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise) is Don't Hang Around Waiting For Perfection.

Are you waiting for perfection before you participate? Have there been events, gatherings, classes you'd like to take, a career move you'd like to make, or anything else that you've put on hold because you're waiting for the perfect time, perfect weight, perfect outfit, perfect conditions?

The problem with perfection is that it's practically unattainable and, in my opinion, boring (said with a long, drawn out, sing songy type inflection). When I think back on some of my favorite memories, it's the imperfections that made them so extraordinary, so memorable. The imperfect friends and family, and the imperfect situations led to unexpected turns of events that left me belly laughing with glee, or happily surprised by an outcome I couldn't have even imagined. Even when I wasn't thrilled by the end results, I came away from it with a life lesson that I wouldn't have learned otherwise and that I was (if not immediately, at least down the road) grateful to learn.

Putting your life on hold because you don't feel thin enough, good enough, pretty enough, worthy enough (and the list goes on and on) is one of the biggest life cheats there is.

The hard, cold fact is that we only have right now, this very moment, for certain. Everything else is a gamble and a gift. Keep hanging around waiting for perfection and you could find you've missed a huge hunk of life.

We hold ourselves back by worrying what others will think of us when, in reality, they're really not giving us much thought. Not in the sense that we worry they are. Have you ever noticed that the people who go out and meet life head on don't seem the least bit concerned with how you feel about it? They're not worried that you don't approve, or don't think they look the right way,  or think they're good enough to do whatever it is they're choosing to do. They're too busy living their lives. 

This is no dress rehearsal (paraphrasing Rose Tremain) so stop waiting and start participating.

For this week do something you've been wanting to do. Attend or host a gathering of friends you've been eager to see, go somewhere new, do something... just don't hang around waiting for perfection.

Jump in without weight, appearance, or any other self-limiting thoughts holding you back. Let go of the self-negativity and worry. Take your-self with you. The real you. The one that matters.  Enjoy! Laugh! Live it fully! And if it doesn't turn out the way you had hoped, go with the flow and make the best of it.

There's a whole lot of living to be done out there and it's waiting for your wonderfully imperfect self!

* See sidebar menu for more Weekly R.I.S.E.

©Weighing The Facts

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/tangaroo/1280739738/

Today I Smile: Eating Disorders Poetry

Today I Smile

wind blowing
peacefully
music playing
beautifully
this content feeling …
make it last, eternally

slow breaths in and out
any feeling of uneasiness
has flown away with the breeze
going far away
and I’ll do anything to make it stay that way

there have been times when I didn’t care to stay
but with THIS day …
I can’t see it any other way

Finally
It’s been a while
Finally
I can feel the smile

No worries, no anxiety
The sun beating down on me
Mirrors the light
That has just been turned on inside myself
Positively affecting my emotional health

Happy people passing by
Smiles on their faces, helping to erase all the “whys”

Its.time.
To let go
Its.time.
To finally say .. no

No
To the emotions that force themselves upon me
Because today, I am happy … as happy as can be.


by: Life Is Sweet



picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/lanuiop/4499445972/in/photostream/

Links to Help See You Through This Holiday Season

I hope you find yourself surrounded by people who love and support you this holiday season and that you all have a wonderful Holiday!

Below are some links to help if you find yourself struggling:

Surviving the Holidays: Links

Eating Disorders Help Hotlines, Organizations, Websites

Eating Disorders Christmas Survival Guide from Cambridge University (PDF download)

Coping with Christmas SWEDA Somerset &  Wessex Eating Disorders Association

Holiday Survival Kit Eating Disorder Hope

FEAST Holiday Survival Tips 

Eating Disorder Recovery: I Refuse To Be

I refuse to be defined by my past, the size of my jeans, the number on a scale, or the opinion of others. I am an amazing, unique, and worthwhile person just as I am, here, now, as I stand before you today. I am a work in progress; ever growing, ever changing, ever moving forward. I am an amazing individual worthy of respect, love, and joy. My journey is no less important than your own. I do not seek your approval or permission to be who I choose to be. I am walking my own path at my own pace. 

©Weighing The Facts

picsource:weighinthefacts.blogspot.com

Eating Disorders Poetry: My Declaration of Independence

This is my declaration of independence...

from the voice that never lets me rest or says what I do or who I am is never good enough.

from the sickness that takes doing anything productive as an "opportunity" NOT to eat.

from the disease that tricks, not just my mind, but my body into pushing beyond the line of healthy, sane excersize.

from the disorder that brings my turmoil unto my family unnecessarily and forces it's rules onto those I live with; to waste money on food I will inevitably abuse or deprive them of foods they enjoy because they trigger binges for me.

from the idea that I can't deal with the downfalls, relationships, rejections, or losses in my life.

from the voice that distorts the real image of my body, my thoughts, and my soul,

or says I need to eat more then physically refuse it,

eat less and then abuse it,

or eat nothing until hunger and fullness are one in the same.

No more will I feel bad, guilty, or trapped for nourishing my body.

No more will I let it distort who I am or what I see with my eyes.

No more will I let it suck the life from me, the freedom to live how I want to.

No more will I let it take my confidence, what makes me truly beautiful, MY beliefs.

No more will I be afraid to simply go grocery shopping for my family or myself.

No more will I let it destroy me, mentally and physically.

No more will I believe that no one could ever love me or that I could never LOVE MYSELF.

No more will I listen to the negative spin on a compliment.

No more will I surround myself with people who fuel this abusive boyfriend in my head.

No more will I feel bad for eating "too much".

No more will I be afraid to eat.
No more.

by: Alex Buchwald




Share your eating disorders and body image poetry/writings on Weighing The Facts


picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulin-a/3941549009/in/photostream/

This Week's R.I.S.E. : Tidy Up Your Inner House

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise): Tidy Up Your Inner House.

We all carry around with us emotions, thoughts, and memories from our past. Some are positive, encouraging, and emotionally comforting. Some, on the other hand, only serve to feed our negativity, fears, and anxiety. 

Not all that we feel and think is rooted in reality. We may see ourselves through our past and allow thoughts that spring from that to influence our present. Things that happened to us as children are remembered from a child's point of view and so may carry a heavier weight. Maybe the scarring words of someone we looked up to whispers in our ear, making us feel less than, unsure, scared, or helpless. Maybe a past event has altered how we see ourselves and carries with it feelings of shame that, in turn, make us feel unworthy of the good we deserve. 

How do you know if your thoughts or feelings need tidying up? 

• How do they make you feel?
• Are your feelings about it outdated?
• Do they derail your positive progress? 
• Are they attached to an event that you had no control over? 
• Do they serve to help you on your new path? 

Tidying up and cleaning out isn't a simple task. Not all the negative things we feel and think are so easily gotten rid of and require a professional to guide us to understanding the whys and the why nots so we can move past them. There are, though, things we can do on our own to make a big difference in how our thoughts, and even memories, affect us. 

Start small. Stay positive. Be patient. Be repetitive.

Forgive your past self of past mistakes. You, today, are not that person. You are allowed to change. You are capable of change. You are deserving of change. 

Let go of negative narratives. Those old tapes that play in your head, telling you you're not worthy, that you can't accomplish something, that you don't deserve anything good ... toss them! Replace them with positive, encouraging ones. Start a new inner dialogue that's supportive, and forgiving.

Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be loving to yourself. 

Tidying up is a bit more involved than past R.I.S.E. but the idea isn't to tackle it all. The idea is to pick one emotional negative that's dragging you down and chip away at it until you can rid yourself of it, then move on to another and do the same.

So this week, tidy up just one small corner of your inner house. Let the old stuff go and start anew. Your inner talk is a powerful cleaning tool. Make good use of it. 

Throw out that old set of emotional baggage and make room for a more positive set. Fill the new set up with only good things. Visualize the process. 

*See sidebar menu for more Weekly R.I.S.E.  

©Weighing The Facts
 

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mildlydiverting/9033447/in/photostream/

Inspirational Recovery Quotes: Moving Forward

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.
Denis Waitley

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.
George Whitefield

You have to decide if you're going to wilt like a daisy or if you're just going to go forward and live the life that you've been granted.
Kevin Costner

Time doesn't stop and wait for anyone. Move on.
Unknown

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.
Julia Cameron

Life is an operation which is done in a forward direction. One lives toward the future, because to live consists inexorably in doing, in each individual life making itself.
Jose Ortega y Gasset

Stride forward with a firm, steady step knowing with a deep, certain inner knowing that you will reach every goal you set yourselves, that you will achieve every aim .
Eileen Caddy

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Soren Kierkegaard

It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.
Helen Keller

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
Brian Tracy

I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.
David Livingstone

He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

As long as you as an individual... can convince yourself that in order to move forward as best you can you have to be optimistic, you can be described as 'one of the faithful,' one of those people who can say, 'Well, look, something's going to happen! Let's just keep trying. Let's not give up.
Tom Hanks

Man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward.
Maxwell Maltz

Sometimes looking back on what you had motivates you to keep moving forward...there's a reason why you left, keep going.
Unknown

There is no finer sensation in life that which comes with victory over one's self. Go forward to a goal of inward achievement, brushing aside all your old internal enemies as you advance.
Vash Young

I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you've done.
Robert Downey, Jr.

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Life is a series of adjustments; You can make changes along the way, but if you didn’t start moving forward you'll never get anywhere!
Kimora Lee Simmons

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
Ellen Glasgow

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
Walt Disney

Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.
Victor Kiam

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.
Marcus Aurelius

We face neither East nor West: we face forward.
Kwame Nkrumah

My trust in a higher power that wants me to survive and have love in my life, is what keeps me moving forward.
Kenny Loggins

By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.
Mikhail Bakunin

When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your next objective.
George C. Marshall

There is no standing still because time is moving forward.
Greg Lake

You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.
Conrad Hall

One fails forward toward success.
Charles Kettering

I demolish my bridges behind me - then there is no choice but forward.
Fridtjof Nansen

We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of.
Phil McGraw

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.
Winston Churchill

Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.
Anton Chekhov

I definitely feel we're moving forward. There's a lot more understanding... there's less fear and we're working on there being less hatred.
Melissa Etheridge

I find that the best way to do things is to constantly move forward and to never doubt anything and keep moving forward, if you make a mistake say you made a mistake.
John Frusciante

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
Henry Ford

You've got to bumble forward into the unknown.
Frank Gehry

What helps me go forward is that I stay receptive; I feel that anything can happen.
Anouk Aimee

Sometimes you have to take a half step back to take two forward.
Vince McMahon

There is trust in there being a Spirit who loves me and wants me to have love in my life. I trust in this higher power, it is what keeps me moving forward no matter what happens.
Kenny Loggins

Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there's got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together.
Yo-Yo Ma

If you cry 'forward', you must without fail make plain in what direction to go.
Anton Chekhov

Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.
James Thurber

We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.
Jeremy Irons

We are all afraid for our confidence, for the future, for the world. That is the nature of the human imagination. Yet every man, every civilization, has gone forward because of its engagement with what it has set itself to do.
Jacob Bronowski

It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.
Enrico Fermi

I haven't found anywhere in the world where I want to be all the time. The best of my life is the moving. I look forward to going.
Sean Connery

I'm really looking forward to, not more of the same, but a continual growth.
Ben Harper

Everyone who's serious about what they're doing must be in constant motion forward.
Ed O'Brien

I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.
Herbie Hanc

So it's like starting over again, but I look forward to the challenge.
Lee Majors

A man of courage flees forward, in the midst of new things.
Jacques Maritain


*See sidebar menu for more Inspirational Recovery Quotes and Recovery Quotes of the Week 


picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnian/152396707/in/photostream/

Recovery Quote Of The Week: December 16, 2011

One of these mornings you're going to rise up singing and you'll spread your wings and take to the sky...
Summertime lyrics


See sidebar menu for more Recovery Quotes of the Week and Inspirational Recovery Quotes

This Week's R.I.S.E. : Be Silly, Laugh, Have Fun!

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise): Be Silly, Laugh, Have Fun.

Laughter isn't just fun, it's good for your health and improves your quality of life!
It's free, fun, can happen just about anywhere, and it doesn't require any special equipment or membership fees. 

When we're acting silly, enjoying ourselves, and laughing we actually change physiologically. Though studies are less than abundant and results are debated by many, there's no arguing that a bit of silliness and a good dose of laughter sure can make a person feel good.

Some of the physiological benefits include:

• releases endorphins (make us feel good and help decrease pain)
• facial muscles stretch
• blood flow is increased
• breath is increased and oxygenates our tissues
• immune cells increased 
• blood sugar lowers
• better sleep
• increased energy

Some of the emotional benefits include:

• decreased stress
• reduced anxiety
• increased feelings of hope
• increased creativity

ps. faking a laugh is beneficial to our health, just like faking a smile is.  


Try these to add a little silliness, fun, and laughter to your life:

• Watch a favorite (or new to you) funny movie
• Watch a funny sitcom with a friend or loved one
• Hang out with your funny friends
• Fake it. Really. Try out different laughs, be goofy, make funny faces.
• Sign up for a joke a day email. There are several online you can sign up for
• Go to a comedy show
• Play comedy charades with friends. All categories must relate to something humorous 
• Don't forget to laugh at yourself. Find the humor in mishaps, etc. 

Here's a little something to help get you started. :)





See sidebar menu for more weekly R.I.S.E.

©Weighing The Facts


sources:http://women.webmd.com/guide/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter?page=2 
http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/humor/benefits-humor
picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alinieri/3687736037/in/photostream/

Girl Standing In Front Of The Mirror: Eating Disorder Poetry

*warning: poem may be triggering

Girl Standing in Front of the Mirror

Collarbones jutted out,
Every rib defined against the starving flesh
Eyes hollow, bloodshot
Wrists cocked, trying to defy the laws of nature,
To put her fingers around her waist
Hipbones sharp as a raven’s beak
Legs thin as twigs, ready to snap
Her arms never small enough
Her cheekbones never prominent enough
Girl standing in front of the mirror,
Inching her hollow eyes over ever flaw, every imperfection
No matter the countless gags, the starvation, the exercise,
She is never perfect
Girl standing in front of the mirror,
Her hollow eyes tell it all:
Insecurity, Distortion, Desperation
Girl standing in front of the mirror,
Slowly dying in her perception of beauty and perfection

Written by: SC

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picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cloudninex/4140647605/sizes/l/in/photostream/

This Week's R.I.S.E. :Self-Love Jar

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise) is to start a Self-Love Jar. 

Materials Needed:
*empty jar
*slips of paper (be creative or simply grab a piece of scrap paper)
*pen, pencil, or colored markers


Each day, grab a slip of paper and take a moment to:
*write one positive thing about yourself
*or words of encouragement 
*place it in the jar
Keep it positive. No negativity allowed.

Consider the jar your personal bank of self-love and encouragement. You make deposits into it that you later can withdraw as needed.

Feeling down, struggling, or using negative self-talk? Take a slip of paper out of the jar and read it. Take another. Dump it upside down on your bed, get comfy and read them all. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. 

 See sidebar menu for more R.I.S.E. from previous weeks.

©Weighing The Facts

 picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/emiliehoffpauirphotography/5516279404/in/photostream/