Mary Teunis

Nutrition + Fitness

Lifestyle

Lessons Learned Through My Eating Disorder Recovery

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Lessons Learned Through My Eating Disorder Recovery

Did you know that February 22nd-28th is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week?!

Eating disorders affect over 30 million Americans each year. If I would have to guess, 2020 brought more people to relapse and suffering when it comes to recovery. Also, the growing “perfect appearance” on social media does not help either. You see Eating disorders are not just about weight loss. Eating disorders are an addiction. An addiction to control. When one suffers from PTSD, anxiety, depression OCD, low self-esteem, drugs, or trauma, they choose to control what they can…What they put in their body and how much they move their body.  

For me, my experience with Anorexia and Bulimia is a coping mechanism for my anxiety plus I always had a negative relationship with my body, seriously I told my mom I wanted liposuction when I was FIVE years old. That is simply crazy!

My deliberating anxiety started at the age of 12. I had my first panic attack in the bathroom at the middle school I was attending. It was so bad that I was sent to the Emergency Room. This was all triggered by a sexual assault that happened to me by another classmate one day after school. I will not get into full details but let’s just say I felt embarrassed, unlovable, undeserving, and useless. A few days after this happened, for the first time I tried to commit suicide.

As the year went on, I held onto my shame in silence. I started coping with my uncontrollable thoughts with becoming the “perfect gymnast.” I made the outside look like this picture-perfect image to cover up the mess on the inside. I restricted my food intake, worked out 7x a week for 7+ hours and I put a smile on my face, pretending everything was okay.

I have learned that I will never be fully recovered, and I will always be in recovery. I fight every day with the negative voices inside of my head. The difference today is that I work through those negative voices and I try my best to challenge them. My recovery is a journey. I will continue to go to therapy, see a psychiatrist and take medication to help from any relapse. I will use my mess as a message to help others.

Below are Top 6 Lessons that I have learned through my 11 years of Eating Disorder Recovery

1.     Recovering from an ED is HELL. It does not stop when you leave treatment. You will not leave a facility and magically be fixed. You must consistently continue to challenge distorted thoughts and actions. You may relapse time and time again (I know I did) but this does not mean you failed recovery! Each time you learn, and you grow!

2.     Let go of control. Learning to surrender and sacrifice is a key to recovery. This means letting go of the eating disorder and living your life! Saying no to the lies it fills inside your head. No to the restriction, No to the negative thoughts, No to the destructive behaviors.

3.     Each day is a new start. You will slip up; you will have your bad days. People who struggle with Eating disorders typically have the all or nothing mindset. We think if there was one slip up, we lost in recovery. This could be so far from the truth. I have learned that even one small victory is a successful day in recovery. Sometimes this would just be getting out of bed and talking to a human being.  One good choice puts you in the right direction.

4.     Do not internalize other people’s opinions. Some will understand and be supportive and others will have no idea what to do and they may say the wrong things. At the end of the day, I learned that I must take other people’s words and actions with a grain of salt. I have learned to listen to science, professionals, and those who love me. Tune out the negativity.

5.      I need to be my top priority. I used to feel so selfish when I took care of ME. I tend to have the personality where I put everyone in front of me. I am a people pleaser, and this often leads to disappointing myself. In recovery, I learned that I must be my priority. If I do not put recovery first, nothing else will be successful.

6.     TRUST the process. Recovery is exhausting, frustrating, empowering, invigorating, liberating, and so much more. There are days where I feel like a million bucks and others where I am barely getting by. I take the good days as they are and learn and navigate the bad days the best I can.

It takes guts to confront your trauma, your past, and your insecurities. Through recovery, I have learned that I am worthy of love and nourishment. Although my ED has taken a lot of time, energy, and life away from me, I would not be the person I am today if it were not for my greatest struggle.

This is your reminder. DON’T GIVE UP. Whatever you are struggling with YOU CAN DO IT. 

Know someone struggling with an Eating disorder or other mental illness? Share this post with them and encourage them to reach out to me.

Xo,

Mary

Six Tips to Make Eating Healthy and Staying Active Easy

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Six Tips to Make Eating Healthy and Staying Active Easy

Do you want to change the way you treat your body but do not know where to start? Use these 6 tips to make eating healthy and staying active easy.

  1. Create a schedule. Each day write when you will get your workout in and when you are going to have your meals and snacks. Make both non-negotiables. When things are put in writing we are more likely to stick to them.
  2. Set your environment up for success. If there are certain foods that you cannot eat in moderation, do not keep them in your home. Instead save those treats for special occasions and do not bring them into your environment. Instead, create a date on the calendar where you will go out and intentionally treat yourself. This way you are not depriving yourself of the foods you love, but you are still setting boundaries around the food.
  3. Set reminders on your phone. 30 minutes before your scheduled time to work out, put a reminder in your phone to start getting ready for the gym. Every Sunday night set a reminder to meal prep and pack your lunch for the following day. These simple but effective reminders will trigger your brain to act.
  4. Plan ahead. If you know that the day is going to be crazy busy, make sure you pack enough healthy food. If you know your workout will be rushed and you are limited on time, go into the gym a with plan on what you want to accomplish.
  5. Lean on family and friends for support. We are human and we all need a little gentle push to get us motivated. Tell a family member, friend, or coach your goals and ask them to hold you accountable. When we say our goals out loud, we tend to follow through with them.
  6. Create a consistent routine. If you can, wake up at the same time every day, workout at the same time, and eat meals and snacks around the same time. The body loves consistency. The more consistent we are, the more likely we can develop new habits.    

If you are looking for additional support with nutrition and fitness please fill out the form in the contact section of my website and follow me on Instagram @mteunis

How To Live A Life Of Fulfillment

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How To Live A Life Of Fulfillment

We all want to live a life of fulfillment, but how do you do that? 

1. Imagine you are on your death bed, and you are reflecting on the life you lived. Are you thinking to yourself, I wish I had done this; I wish I hadn’t done this, or I wish I spent more time doing this? Do not let societal pressure move you to do the things that don’t align with your goals. Start doing more of the things that will lead you closer to a life of fulfillment, and start doing less of the things that cause stress and anxiety.   

2. What is the most important thing you should be doing right now? There are urgent things that could be important such as bills, overflowing emails, or a meeting you must attend, and then there are important things such as building relationships, learning and growing. Often the important things don’t take priority in our lives, and the urgent things do. Yes, you must pay the bills, and you must do the work that needs to be done but don’t let life stress keep you from the important things in life.  

3. Don’t let your feelings get in the way of living a happy life. Emotions can be misguiding. Your feelings reflect your past, not today. For example, if you wait to FEEL like going to the gym, you more than likely will not go to the gym. You must act and go against that feeling. Your feelings will hold you back from achieving what you want to do. 

Start thinking about the little changes you can make to live a happy life!