Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Vacation Triggers


I've been out of town on a much needed vacation which explains my lack of blogging over the past several days. Even though most people think of vacations as relaxing, believe it or not, they can be somewhat triggering for those of us in recovery. One of my email recovery buddies told me her doctor warned her most patients lose weight while on vacation; which is true, but not a good thing to tell those of us in recovery. In our sick minds it makes us think that if we don't lose weight while vacationing then we're somehow a failure. 

The only time my weight has dropped a few pounds was, ironically, after a week long vacation last April. Without the structure of my meal plan and eating at regular times, it became easy for me skimp out on calories here and there. Nobody noticed because I appeared to be eating normally.

This time around, although it hasn't been easy, I have been doing my best to consume my recommended daily calories. In my opinion, learning to deal with past mistakes differently is what recovery is all about. Here are a few of the potentially triggering situations I have faced:

Eating at different times. When I am at home, I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same exact time everyday. Maybe that is a little too structured, but it keeps me in line so I stick to it. Since this vacation has started, I don't think I have eaten breakfast before noon once.

Huge lunches. Without eating much breakfast, I have been enjoying much larger portions at lunch. So far I have had two buffet style (which is always scary) lunches and a cheap Chinese food lunch; none of which I would have ever picked on my own, yet was pleasantly surprised at my ability to face these fear foods.

Ice cream for breakfast. Actually, it was more like lunch because it was after noon. Sharing a pint of Ben & Jerry's was a perfect way to start my day and I highly recommend it. 

Munchies. Bacon & cheddar fries and muddy buddies chex mix are my new fave.

Being around people who actually enjoy being full. What? How does that saying go? Something like, "a full belly, is a happy belly." As strange as it may sound, somewhere along the way, I forgot that some people actually do feel content when their stomachs are full. It's nice to be around people who have such a relaxed relationship with food.

Ordering the most outrageous quesadilla I have ever seen. It was enormous. I thought ordering a quesadilla would be a safe choice, but I was quickly proved wrong.  Everyone at the table was ooohh-ing, ahhh-ing, and high-fiving me when they saw that thing. For me, on the other hand, that massive plate of food triggered a mini freakout. After eating what I felt comfortable with, I stopped even though it didn't look like I had even put a dent in it. Worried about what everyone else might think, I did struggle through the meal, but survived it.

Vacations are supposed to be an opportunity to escape daily life and have a good time; both of which I have done, but I have also been faced with quite a few tests. There is still a small voice in my head trying to convince me to skimp on calories. Luckily, however, with the help of a supportive friend and knowledge gained from past mistakes, it has been much easier to ignore that disordered voice this time around.

Progress.


Best of all, I made a new special friend on this trip. :)


14 comments:

  1. I am on vacation right now too and finding it quite hard. I'm with family too so I feel guilty that I'm not able to just relax and enjoy it. It's reassuring to hear that others feel the same way... what is simply enjoyable for most people is challenging for those of us in recovery. Congrats on being so mindful and fighting the ed voice - I'm trying to do the same!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Best of luck to you! Even if you do make a few mistakes, it's okay because those mistakes help you learn. Enjoy your vacation the best you can. <3

      Delete
  2. It is so so nice to read your post! I have missed you! I am having a real hard time to eat for weight gain and love myself. Reading your post makes me feel easier to do work for recovery. Yes, changes in a structure of daily life make us feel so confused even for a short time. Fear... to me, that's what it is. But doing foods imperfectly means to me that we are doing life perfectly then. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's nice to hear from you too, Kyoko! Fear is exactly what keeps us stuck, so being away from home is good because it pushes me out of my comfort zone. I'll email you as soon as I can. Hang in there! <3 xx

      Delete
  3. 1.) Who eats breakfast before noon ever? Like no one I know!
    2.) I got cheap Chinese food, you got expensive Japanese food.
    3.) You left out the Magnum Bars. Om nom nom
    4.) Sorry for eating all the munchies. I'll bring home more, I just love being full so darn much. You are learning to like it too... Don't deny it!

    Progress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1) I usually eat breakfast before 7am.
      2) it was not expensive. It was 2 dollars more than yours.
      3) How could I have forgotten the magnum bars? I think we had those for breakfast one day too.
      4) It's okay, I brought a whole bag of my own munchies that I'm eating right now.
      Get back to work.

      Delete
  4. I can very much relate to this, I would do the same thing every single vacation. it was like a place for my Ed to come out in full force without much effort as sick as that sounds. I love that you determined steps to not let that happen again. it is all about being proactive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sure is about being proactive. It never fails to amaze me that we continue to listen to those disorder thoughts even though we know they are unhealthy. Thanks for the encouragement!

      Delete
  5. Kelsi, you are so strong to get through all of this in such a state of awareness about the stress you were feeling from all of the triggers. I have been reading your blog since March- I started my real fight against anorexia in January. It is such a struggle, but reading your blog has helped me so much! It makes me feel like I am not the only 20-something young woman going through all of this. Thank you thank you thank YOU, I'm so glad that sharing your story by blogging has helped you because it has helped me more than I can say!

    -Jessi, New Hampshire

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Goodness, Jessi! Thank you so much and good for you for beginning the recovery process. I'm really happy to have you along this journey with me. I think the more support we have, the easier it is to beat our EDs. <3

      Delete
  6. I'm so glad you had a successful and (mostly) enjoyable vacation, despite the challenges! Good for you! I've had different vacation experiences throughout my ED...most of them were pretty horrible disasters, but a couple of times I was able to be a lot more free than at home (and then, when I returned home, I fell straight back into the old patterns...).

    Also, like your friend, my doctor at the time (a supposed ED specialist) said to me before one of the (successful) vacations 'you're definitely going to lose weight...everyone with an ED always does...if fact a lot of people without EDs do as well' and when I returned, and hadn't lost weight - 'wow! that's so surprising! I can't believe you didn't lose weight! what did you DO?! what were you eating?!' etc. Yikes. Even though I'd been proud of myself for doing well with eating, that kind of killed it. Gosh, was over 6 years ago and it still makes me squirm in shame. I'll stop going on about it now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your doctor/ED specialist really said those things to you?! I think it's really important for us to somehow separate ourselves and our thoughts from others while we are in recovery... Even if those people are "specialists." Even if people do say the right things to us, we still have a sick way of twisting their words into something completely different than what was meant to be said. It's such a frustrating mind game!

      Delete
  7. I'm glad you were able to enjoy your vacation! For those of us who thrive on routine, any change can be tricky. Your post was very encouraging!

    I just became aware of a weird change: my son (4th grade) returned to school yesterday. So, we have shifted our breakfast time from 8 all the way back to 6:45! My little girl (age 4) and I found ourselves hungry for lunch at 10 a.m.! We ate a normal lunch for us, but by 1 or 2, I knew I had to have something to tide me over till dinner at 5. It's been a bit of an adjustment, trying to nourish her and myself appropriately with the new schedule! I had found a good nutritional groove over the summer that left me feeling satisfied but not stuffed, so I'm hoping to achieve the same thing now that we are on a totally different timetable for the weekdays.

    It's good to have you back in the blogging world this week! Blessings--Alison


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is amazing what a big difference those small changes in our routine can make! I'm heading home tomorrow and am kind of excited to get my routine back. :)

      Delete