It's a beautiful day to feel beautiful

Today should be a ridiculously stressful day for me -- but I'm gonna try my best not to let it be.  I have to write a four page paper on a book that I didn't read, don't own, and isn't on sparknotes.(due tomorrow)  Normally I'd be freaking out right now but honestly, what good will that do for me?  I slept in til about 11 today which felt nice because I haven't slept through the night in a long time!  Anyway I've just been on my facebook and email and stuff to let myself wake up a little before I go to the gym since I was so groggy this morning.  Starting my day with some exercise is going to be just what I need to feel good and try to bang this paper out!

While I'm at the gym I read health magazines like Shape, Self, Women's Health, etc and have been finding all these ideas in each one to help stop yourself before eating something you know you shouldn't or from a binge.  The binge they're talking about is much different from the one's we tend to experience -- but still, the ideas seem pretty effective.  Later on I'm going to post a list of different things to do to prevent from eating, overeating, or binging.  I just wanted to start my day with a post since once I fill you in on my day's plan, I feel more obligated to follow it since I told everyone about it.  I guess this comes from my competitive, determined-to-follow-through nature, which I developed from ED but hey! it does do me some good sometimes.

Anyone who's been following me since I recently started this blog knows how into horoscopes I am.  Depending on how insightful they are, I sometimes share them to spread the motivation I received from reading it.  Here it is:Are you so caught up in your dreams that you are ignoring the magic that is in your reality right now? This is not a time to focus on hopes and wishes. It's a time to take stock of what you have, and cherish it. Send an expression of gratitude out into the universe -- concentrate on how very thankful you are that you've come so far in your life. So what if your material goods fall short of someone else's standards? Don't judge yourself by others' expectations.

Some of this I found totally irrelevant to me like the judging yourself by others' expectations.  I mean, I have my own expectations for myself but if you read one of my older posts "Let me explain" you'd know that these expectations were brought on by someone who I felt like I was never good enough for.  Either way, most girls and even guys in our position can't help but be influenced by the thoughts of others and truly care about other's opinions of us. BUT there were certain points of it that really opened my eyes.  I feel like we're all so caught up in our end goals that we don't celebrate our everyday successes.  I know I've said this before but recognizing our little accomplishments is just what we need some days to keep ourselves from a day of feeling inadequate or like failures.  Every day, even every hour, that we follow our plan is a step closer to our goals and being aware of our progress is just what we need some days to keep going!

If you find my posts obnoxiously positive, I'm sorry haha, but I really feel like on days without positivity I find myself skipping an exercise session or making an excuse to eat or even over eat!  I'll say, " today's just a really bad day and I already ruined it by not excercising so I might as well take today to get my cravings out of my system" WRONG WRONG WRONG. Do not let you talk yourself into this, I've done it WAY too many times.  It derails progress, you end up feeling bloated and tired, and just end up depressing yourself even more.  Trust me -- after recovery I was the master of making up excuses to eat and look where it got me!  Obsessed with restricting and excercising once again. 

I hope you find my posts valuable, although they can be a little too long at times, I try to give out advice based on the things I've learned through my experiences and both my good and bad decisions.  If I can tell you anything it's don't put off your dreams.  Just one day of putting of your goals may lead to another day, then just one more day, and so on.  This is the pattern that's going to make you hurt the most, which isn't all that easy to bounce back from.  That's not to say we don't deserve to treat ourselves every now and again, but there's guidelines we MUST follow when doing so.

                      1. Treat yourself when deserved -- after reaching a goal, on a day you notice progress, etc
                      2. Don't turn a treat into a binge -- yes people, treat is singular, not at all day or 2hour event
                      3. Be aware of portion size and control your intake
                      4. Enjoy each bite you take -- stop before feeling full and don't finish every single bite!

This ended up being much longer than I intended but I guess I had a lot to say!  Thought to remember: You're beautiful now because of your drive and willpower, and at the end of this you'll be even more beautiful when satisfied and confident with your new body.  All my love and support.