I feel so great today! Sure it is nice to have a break in
class, and I am done with the quarter. I like that I have only 2 quarters left,
but what has me excited is where I am today! It feels so good to have
accomplished so much this year. In the past, when a quarter was over I had more
of the attitude, “Ok that quarter is done. Bring on the next.” Not a bad
attitude, but not one of accomplishment and pride, more one of relief that I
got through it and lamenting the one ahead.
This quarter has brought me such pride. It was hard, but I
found a better balance with my stress, school, and personal life. I did not do
as well as I may have in past quarters, but I have a solid B+, maybe an A-. The
way I learn has completely changed, and it was no small feat trying to figure
out how to study and learn. Coming back after a 10 month absence was not so
easy either. I dealt with concentration issues, fatigue, and trying to get used
to a busy schedule again. It really was a lot to go through and I did it! I
even took my final 4 days early. I feel like a rock star today!!!
By the way, the next step in our health journey is eating a
healthy, hardy breakfast! This may be hard for many people out there, but
really it is important. You need to fuel your body with nutrient rich food to
get your day started. It helps you keep up your energy, concentration, and your
mood. Let’s face it, we are usually pretty cranky if we are hungry. It also
turns you into a cannibal of sorts. If you don’t feed your body food but you
force it to work…aka go to work, school, run errands, etc., your body starts to
eat itself. That’s right, your body starts to break down not only your fat
reserves but your actual muscle as well! Eating breakfast jump starts your metabolism
to burn calories and fat and as long as you continue to feed the machine, your
metabolism continues to work and burn that unwanted fat instead of your wanted
muscle tissue!
That is three easy steps to do now right? Let’s recap them.
Drink 64 oz of water a day. No, tea and coffee don’t count. It has to be water!
Eat an apple a day. Make sure you eat those peels. Now eat a healthy, hardy
breakfast every morning. We are off to a good start. Now I just have to get
this done during busy and high stress times!
Speaking of which, I got a strange call today. Well, the
call was expected, but what they told me was not!
I went to the doctor a couple of days ago for a checkup. I
talked to the doctor about my food war, and he thought that I would do well to
get some dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help me. I am all for it. This
whole last school quarter was about things like this, and I am very comfortable
with it. He gave me the behavioral health referral and said they would call me.
The call came in and they told me they received a referral for treatment of an
eating disorder!
At first I was confused. I am not anorexic, bulimic, or have
binge eating disorder, so what does this mean? Well, after a minute I thought
about it. There are several
definitions of eating disorders, depending on where you look. Even the psychologists
that make the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are
revamping what they think are diagnosable eating disorders. Sixty-five percent
of people diagnosed with eating disorders are diagnosed “eating disorder NOS
(not otherwise specified)” because most people do not fit the classic
definition of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. Simply
put, an eating disorder is defined
by abnormal eating habits that
may involve either inadequate or excessive caloric intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical and/or
mental health. Well, isn’t that exactly what I have been talking about in this
blog for a while? I even asked, “Why am I eating myself to death?”
When I was told I had cancer, I didn’t wallow in self pity or
hide under a rock. I put on my warrior princess panties and started to kick ass!
If this is where I am at…having an actual eating disorder, then I am going to
approach it with the same attitude. I am not going to hide it or be ashamed of
it, but I am not going to sing from the mountain top either. I am just going to
do what I do, fix it. As per usual, I will share my journey here.
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