People often ask us our views on recovery.
So here they are.
These are our views and what we believe to be true for anyone suffering from binge eating or disordered eating.
This is our manifesto.
(You can download a printable version here)
The Binge Code Manifesto
I can recover. Yes, me. It’s not too late for me. There’s no such thing as “too late”. Nor is there such a thing as being too weak or too broken to break free from binge eating.
It doesn’t matter if I don’t feel 100% ready and confident. I don’t need to be. I know something has to change and that’s all that matters.
It’s time to let go of the “I’m broken” excuse. Bingeing on food does not make me weak, broken or faulty.
I am human. The basic principles of human biology apply to me. If I under-eat, I will binge eat. This can happen to anyone on the planet. It’s biological, not personal.
I can let go of diets. Diets are the primary driver of binge eating. The diet failure rate is around 95%. Would you let a brain surgeon with a 95% failure rate work on your brain? Would you get onto a plane that had a 95% chance of crashing? Of course not. Yet when a diet fails or we develop eating issues, we tend to blame ourselves.
I don’t need to make recovery harder than it needs to be. I don’t need to resolve all my underlying issues to stop binge eating. I don’t need to change my emotions, build my confidence or become someone else. I simply need to focus on adopting new helpful habits that will help me feel more centered, stable and balanced
(it actually happens the other way round: first, you recover from binge eating and then you watch as your self-esteem, confidence, personality, energy, vibrancy, well-being and happiness soar!)
There are no good reasons to binge eat. None. Binge eating only adds stress and burden to my life. Fact. Without it, my life will be less stressful, I will cope better and my emotions will be more stable… Okay, I know I might not feel this right now, but I’m willing to give myself the chance to discover this truth.
I understand it takes time for my body to heal. Think marathon, not a sprint. It feels nice to imagine that I’m going to be someone who has a perfect journey to freedom from bingeing, but the truth is, it just doesn’t work that way. Life is constantly throwing us curve balls and placing obstacles in our way. I accept that the journey to freedom is an imperfect road with bumps along the way.
The path to freedom is not promising myself to never binge again. It‘s a gradual reduction in the frequency, intensity and duration of my binges over time.
Unhelpful habits are driving my binge eating behavior. This is good news. Studies prove that it’s never too late to change my habits. At times, adopting new, helpful habits can be uncomfortable. But that’s okay. Nothing amazing was ever achieved while living in the comfort zone.
I know some weeks will be tougher than others, but I’ll keep the bigger picture in mind. I’ll realize that I can learn from any setbacks and still make progress.
Once back in balance, I won’t need a diet to tell me how to eat. Instead, I’ll allow my bodily signals to instruct me how much and what to eat so that I continue being balanced.
When balanced, I can give my body time to gradually discover its optimum, healthy weight that is right for my body type, so that I feel most vibrant, energetic and alive.
No one expects me to be perfect. People will still love me if I’m not perfect. I can still love myself without being perfect. Besides, perfection is boring and it’s a sure-fire path to misery. I’d much rather embrace the imperfect, flawed, quirky, beautiful, wonderful person that I really am 🙂
Everyone feels sad, unworthy, anxious, unloved, miserable at times. Everyone. This is called being human. This is normal. It’s not a flaw. I can develop a new habit of positive self-care to soothe myself during these times (instead of turning to food to numb myself).
It doesn’t matter how many times I fall off, all I need to do is get back on. That’s what makes the biggest difference in the end: perseverance and commitment.
I will struggle at times, but my struggles make me more amazing. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote: “The most amazing people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness and a deep loving concern. Amazing people do not just happen.”
I’m not giving up binge eating. I’m gaining life.