“Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.”
– Anonymous
”A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” –
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Dear Readers,
Please find below a very inspiring story in recovery Don’t count calories. Count THESE instead…. This post is courtesy of Dr.Nina.
I love the title of the post ‘Don’t Count Calories Count these Instead’. I’ve had so many visitors to the blog who are obsessed with counting calories. One young person developed anorexia over calorie counting app. Some doctors argue calorie counting is an eating disorder. I strongly encourage you to stop counting calories and count your blessings instead.
Another suggestion was by a young sufferer in Penanng, Malaysia.
“I used to count calories all the time. It was an obsession. I started to get migraines and my weight plummeted alongside my grades. My family became very concerned. They wasted so much money and no diagnosis was made. Focusing on calories led me to food restriction. My studies are very important to me. I do have a dream and that dream is more important than malnourished brain and body. I started my recovery and with online program. Instead of counting, I started to do Dhikr. I saw the amazing transformation in my mind within weeks. Today I’m healthy in mind. My grades and there are good chances I’ll be able to secure a good scholarship for my studies, if not then I know Allah has something better for me. I strongly advise you to do Dhikr and Do Dhikr as much as you can, instead of counting calories.”
16 year old Penang, Malaysia
I recommend Dhikr as well. Please find below some quick Dhikr when you feel challenged by the demon of Eating Disorder. I cannot emphasis enough on benefits of Dhikr in recovery from Eating Disorder. You can read our Dhikr Post here.
You Can download Dhikr Rewards Chart below – This is a brilliant handout on various Dhikrs and their benefits.
The Dhikr below is beautiful. You can play it in background and it will really have an impact on your mind.
Now back to our brilliant post by wonderful Dr Nina;
Don’t count calories. Count THESE instead…When my youngest daughter was in preschool, her teacher showed the class a crayon and asked, “Think I can break this crayon in half?”
The kids giggled, as the teacher easily snapped the crayon.
She grabbed a handful of crayons. “What about these? Think I can break them all at once?”
The kids giggled – of course, the teacher could not break them.
She told the kids, “The lesson is, when we surround ourselves with good influences, it is harder for us to break.”
Don’t count calories. Count THESE instead… What a powerful way to demonstrate strength in numbers.
Recently I’ve been thinking about how to provide a greater sense of community to you, and I remembered those crayons.
Ever feel as if you’re at the breaking point? Keep in mind that you’re part of a group of thousands of individuals (or crayons) all striving to win the diet war. When you hear other’s stories and struggles, you know you are not alone.
(If you’re a member of the secret Facebook group, you know how powerful this can be – and if you’re not a member, but you’d like to be, just hit reply on this email and I’ll help you out).
Don’t count calories. Count THESE instead….
Anne’s Story:
Today’s guest blog is from Anne, who struggled with binge eating and knew that dieting wasn’t working for her (in fact, it only made things worse). When she gave up dieting and started examining “why” she was eating, instead of focusing on food, everything began to shift. She didn’t realize how much she had changed until THIS happened:
What A Tight Bridesmaid Dress Taught Me About Body Confidence
“I never realized how much I had changed until I had a bridesmaid dress disaster a few weeks ago.My cousin Kate’s wedding was a few weeks away and the bridesmaid dresses had finally arrived. I was a little nervous–we’ve all seen 27 Dresses and know just how awful a bridesmaid dress can be!Well, my cousin pulled out a lacy, peacock blue dress out of the bag and I thought it was gorgeous. I put it on, started to zip up, but as it got about halfway up my back, the zipper stuck.Kate came around and started yanking and pulling and tightening, but it didn’t budge. The dress was simply not going to fit.In a very quiet and tentative voice, she said, “Are you going to be okay if we order a bigger size?”She was afraid that my self-esteem was going to plummet simply because I needed a different letter on the tag of my dress.A year ago, I would have been devastated. But a lot can change in a year.I thought, “The size of the dress doesn’t change my body! Just because this size doesn’t fit doesn’t mean I need to lose weight!And I’m certainly not going to keep the too-small dress around as motivation to diet.Heaven forbid I diet and the second the wedding ends, I turn around and binge on everything I’ve restricted the last three months.Why not order a dress that fits me and and makes me look like a million bucks?”To Kate’s compassionate question, I cheerfully answered, “Of course we should order a different size! We don’t want me walking around with my dress zipped down all day! What would grandma think?”She laughed, and together we called the company to ask about their exchange policy.And that’s when I realized how free I was from all the body hatred and shame that I’d struggled with for so long.”
That’s how you win the diet war!
Hugs,
Dr. Nina
