Sweet Freedom - Part One - I Found Help

Yay, me!!!

Earlier this month, I completed Lydia Wente's Beat The Binge program, and HOT DAMN.... I am  PSYCHED!

Lydia recently invited me to do an "exit interview" after graduating the program and I was quite honored to be a part of it.  God knows that after dealing my wackiness on a daily basis for 8 weeks, I should do anything she asks of me.  

The fact is that the whole process was amazing.   And I had..... get this..... an incredible time!  Yup.  I said ‘incredible’, and I mean it!

Granted, there were some tough moments as I tried to find answers to overcoming my eating disorder, but when the answers came, they always left me wanting more.  Every step was even more exciting and educating, leading me to WANT to search for more answers.  It never once felt tedious or boring.   This was self-discovery at its finest AND most enjoyable.

And if I had a dollar for every "Ah-HA!" moment that I had, I'd be a happy camper.  I always love a good "Ah-HA!" moment.

There is nothing else out there that even compares to Lydia's program.  Lydia is so knowledgeable and just brilliant in her field.  An extra bonus is that she has such a warm heart and fun personality! Here we are discussing my experience with the Beat The Binge program:

(IF YOU DO NOT SEE A VIDEO ABOVE, CLICK HERE)

If you know anyone who might benefit from Lydia's program, please share this post or her video via social media or email.... or whatever it is that you do to pass on interesting info!  

Truthfully,  there are probably many people in our lives who WOULD benefit from this but we just don't know it.  No one knew how much I needed Lydia's help until I discovered it myself.  I would have been so grateful if someone had pointed me in her direction much earlier.

Please share.  You may be doing an enormous favor for someone you care about!

Many blessings,

Vicki

xoxox

PS.  Part Two of my finding freedom is coming verrrrrrrrry soon.  Like, tomorrow!

This ABSOLUTELY is NOT a paid endorsement for the Brain Over Binge Program!!  Just the facts....according to me (and hundreds of others 😉)

Insane DIet News

It's the diet news that's nuts.....not a diet based on insanity, just in case you were confused by the title 😉.

Actually.....can you imagine that?  "A diet that will make you insane!  But we promise you'll lose weight!"  I can't even fathom how many people would actually consider it..... cuz trust me when I say that there are people who would.

I had to pause there and think that one through.  Was there any point in my life where I would actually agree to go temporarily insane in order to lose weight?  And the answer was YES.  I'm very sad for that version of Me.  Desperate times, people.  Desperate times.

Anywho!  (Don't you just love people who say that?)

I've completed my sixth week on Lydia Wente's Beat the Binge program and I'm just so pleased with the entire process.  My next post will explain how life changing it was for me in greater detail, but as of now I can tell you that I have NOT binged in over six weeks.  It's the first time in over 20 years.  I feel informed, educated, enlightened, supported, loved (yes, LOVED!) and free!

As I said, LIFE CHANGING.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here.  I wanted to touch on two other topics today before I get into the subject of my progress.  I want to be a little bit closer to the end of the program before I share that information, but trust me, it's coming!

First, a few people reached out to me about their confusion over whether overeating is the same as binging.  It's not.  To help you understand the difference, I made the quick video below:

Click here if you don't see a video above

Part of the freedom I've gained is due to the acceptance of the previously alluded-to diet news.  I think you'll find this as interesting as I did:

Click here if you don't see a video above

So, what do you think?  I imagine there are a number of people who refuse to accept that diets don't work, or that there isn't a magic pill/drink/program out there to take our weight loss woes away.  That's completely understandable as many of us  (and I say US because it was my way of thinking for 30 years as well) have put all of our hope into this one belief.  It's our only salvation if we "ever want to find true happiness and the ability to love our bodies".   That one diet/drink/program/pill is our Holy Grail!  If not for that, what hope do we have???!

While we are busy spending money on trying everything that the diet industry is trying to shove down our throats (pun totally intended), the answer sits before us every moment of every day.  And it's FREE.  No joke.  FREE.

As the diet industry pushes us over the edge of insanity, urging us to spend every waking moment planning and counting and buying helpful weight loss aids, inner peace and freedom stares back at us in the mirror.  Unfortunately, most of us don't believe that this is even possible.  In our minds, if we can't lose weight WITH the help of "science", how can we possibly do with WITHOUT?

The reality is that the true science is within us, but we keep messing with it.  The "fake science" (not related to Trump's "fake news"), has tricked us into believing that we need their extra help, when the truth is that every time we take their extra help, we get further and further from our goal.

So, what am I getting at?

Our bodies know how to do "this" already.  With the exception of some of us with medical issues, our bodies are built to keep us alive and healthy and in shape.  The science behind the human body will help you with balancing your weight as long as you treat it well.   We need to stop putting crappy food and metabolism- destroying substances into our bodies and let it do its job!  Like a good employee, if you treat your body well, you will get good results!

Put good, healthy food in your body and it will run with peak performance.  Stop with the "something better"!  Every time you use "something better", you are pushing your body further from optimal performance and creating a longer recovery period when you finally figure all of this all out.

But you CAN do it.  Give your body a chance to undo all of the "mystery miracles" that you've tried to enhance it, let your body regulate itself and do its job.  It's very capable if you let just treat it well.

This next video is great!  It's one of my favorites.  I've been dying to share Lydia's video about what happens to your body after you stop restricting (i.e. dieting) or bingeing.  If it doesn't click the first time, watch it again.  After all, it's under 5 minutes and she's very entertaining! :-)

Click here if you don't see a video above

If you are like me and spent numerous years binge eating and dieting your way through life, PLEASE click here for Lydia's 5 Elements to End Binge Eating FREE Masterclass.  She's so amazing and I just absolutely adore her.  (More about that next time 😄)

Here are a few other interesting links that I thought you might enjoy......

Why Diets Don't Work....And What Does from Psychology Today

13 Experts Explain Why Diets Don't Work from BuzzFeed

A Neuroscientist Tackles 'Why Diets Make Us Fat' from NPR

Please click here if you don't see a video above

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Many blessings,
Vicki

Sharing A Spring Secret

Howdy partners!  It's been awhile.  I hope you're enjoying this slightly chilly transition into Spring.  I think Mother Nature is done asking us to "hold her beer" so she can show off with her dazzling displays of bombagenesis and whatnot.  Finally.....’tis time for blooming, everyone!

The great thing about Spring is that it's a fresh beginning for the Earth.  Everything that grows gets to come out and reveal itself in all of its glory.

I'm having a Personal Spring of my own.

I was quite nervous about this post.  No, quite isn't the word.  I was SERIOUSLY FREAKING NERVOUS about this post.  Yeah, that's more accurate.  (And the caps are totally necessary.)

I had a physical setback in the form of a broken bone at the beginning of February.  For 40+ years, I've avoided any physical injury that might seriously interfere with my life.  Mental drama, sure!  Physical trauma, not so much.

The funny thing about physical trauma is that in the true fashion of misery, it loves company.... in the form of mental drama.  Being unable to do every day things like brush my hair or put on a bra or cut up vegetables or even open a can of pet food wreaked havoc on my brain.  For someone who prides themselves on being independent and able to take on the world, all of this sent me into a fit of depression.

(Side note:  Nothing is worse than needing your husband to help you with personal feminine items, just in case you were wondering what the worst part could have been.  It was humbling and mortifying, to say the least.)

So, there I was in my deep depression, needing assistance, and randomly bursting into a pity party at any moment when I had an awakening.  A Personal Spring of sorts.

The situation revealed that my preferred method of coping with stress was not normal.  It was far from normal and it was spiraling out of control.  For 20+ years, I developed and perfected a coping mechanism that no one knew about.

How did I do this for so long and not realize it was a problem, not a solution?!  When had my extreme behavior become normalized in my mind?!  Had I gone too far to turn back?!

I was so good at keeping my behavior a secret that no one knew.  No one.  Not my family.  Not my dearest friends.  Not even my pets!  (Cuz pets are people too, you know.  They see crap; they just don't tell anyone.) (I know....it's not normal.)

Unable to cope with the reality of my situation, I knew I had to tell someone because, clearly, I wasn't able to help myself.  I didn't even see myself as "messed up" until 20 years had passed!  So, I swallowed my shame and embarrassment and pride and told my husband.  And he encouraged me to tell my mom as well.  And before I knew it, I had stopped running in circles and began moving forward in a straight line.

You know, I bet it was the dizziness from running in circles for 20 years that had me thinking everything was normal!  I am blond, you know.

So, in conclusion, let me introduce you to my Personal Spring.   (Click here if you do not see a video below)

Links to the sources in the video are below.... scroll down!

There ya have it!  All the deets.

That scared the bejeezus out of me.  All of the thoughts and fears I had of being judged or wondering if my friends would treat me differently were pushed aside when I asked my mom, "What do you think about me putting this out there?"

Her answer?  "We need to share things like this.  Maya Angelou did it when she put out I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings about the hardships she went through and she made a difference.  So, why wouldn't you talk about this?"  My mother made me feel like I was as important as Maya Angelou, y'all!  How freaking awesome is she at being a mom?!  Damn, I'm lucky!

I also feel compelled to add this statement in reference to this post and other previous blog posts:

(Click here if you don't see a video below)

With that, I'm going to leave you with something beautiful.  If you are a woman, take a moment to read through this and see the beauty in it... because it's about all of us.  Really.  Feel Phenomenal!

Love,
Vicki
xoxoxo


LINKS:
Lydia Wente's site: http://www.lydiawente.com
Lydia's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Lydiapher (start with the video marked [#1])
Summer Innanen's book: https://tinyurl.com/ycdxxw9l
Wendy Hendry's book: https://tinyurl.com/y7yvuckz

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