[Kindred]

Reasons to Recover

Recovery can be a long, hard journey and sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the reasons you're actually recovering. So, I've put together a lovely long list of reasons, for us all to look at when we need reminding of why this is all worth it. Keep fighting, together we can beat this <3

If you have more to add, please PM an Eating Disorders Forum Moderator.

1. Because you're worth recovery.
2. Because you'll be able to not constantly worry about how many calories you've eaten.
3. You can go to family meals without getting yourself worked up about it.
4. You can live life, and not revolve it around food.
5. You can wear a bikini and feel good about yourself
6. Because life is worth it.
7. You won't have to wear 6 jumpers just be be at room temperature.
8. You won't have to lie.
9. You can actually have fun on your birthday
10. Because life can be so much more than worrying about your shape
11. Because people wont stare.
12. Because people wont try to force you to eat all the time.
13. Because lectures are boring.
14. Because fights are boring and painful.
15. Because you can go out and not stare at every single person and wonder if they are thinner than you
16. Because there is more to life than food.
17. Because losing friends is not fun.
18. Because seeing that look in peoples eyes, when they know you can't go on much longer is so so painful to see.
19) You can enjoy sociol occasions without having to worry about food
20) You can have your cake and eat it!
21) You won't feel so tired ALL the time
22) It will be easier to concentrate
23) You won't worry and upset the people that love you
24) Because being skinny wont solve your problems, but being stronger will help
26. Because thinking and dreaming and being consumed by food is no fun- in fact its downright rubbish
27. Feeling dizzy and ill and tired is crap, health is much better
28. The costs involved in staying ill are seriously high and your money is much better spent on fun things
29. Being able to buy clothes that fit
30. Being hairy is so not a good look!
31. Because you can eat chocolate..Chocolate! CHOCOLATE
32) So you will actually want to be alive, and be living rather than existing.
33) So that when you're sitting somewhere you won't constantly move your legs out of fear that if you sit still you'll gain weight
34. So that your whole day doesn't revolve around numbers on a scale
35. So you can go food shopping and buy whatever you want without having to panic at calorie content
36. Because genuine beauty is on the inside.
37. Because you can have happy thoughts in your head, instead of numbers.
38. Because it takes a lot to get comfortable
39. Because life can, and should be, so much more.
40. So you can help a friend who's also trying to overcome an ed without feeling like a total hypocrite
41) So you can sit down without your legs going dead
42) So you dont smell of sick
43) So you dont always have to worry about people hearing you purge
44. So you don't waste huge chunks of your day working out how many calories you've eaten and how you can make that less tomorrow etc.
45. So you don't cry yourself to sleep.
46. So you can actually *smile* again.
47. So you are not afraid to go outside because you think you are fat.
48. So you can live again, to feel *alive* again would be amazing...
49. So you don't waste money on food to binge on
50. So you can concentrate.
51. So the people around you stop hurting.
52. It's not nice when your bum goes numb after sitting down for 5 minutes!
53. It's not nice to look like death.
54. It's not nice to feel like death.
55. It's not nice to put off arrangements so you can throw up one last time.
56. Going out,, so that you can actually go out and enjoy yourself again.
57. Because we ALL deserve so much more
58. So you don't get accusations that you're pregnant because your parents have heard you being sick
59. So that you aren't afraid of taking flu remedies because of the possible calories in them.
60. So that your general health is better and you don't constanly have some kind of flu/cold virus/
64. So that you don't feel guilty after breaking your promises.
65. So you can actually have a conversation, without your mind drifting to how many calories you've consumed.
66) So you dont always have to lie to everyone around you
67) So you can listen to songs like courage without getting trig
68.) So you dont constantly feel like a hypocrite replying to threads
69. So you can see how amazing you really look, inside and out.
70) It's not much fun having to run to the shops in your lunch break at work to buy a new baggy top and jeans because you felt too fat and ugly in what you were wearing, now you've drunk that half a glass of smoothie.
71) It's not nice being unable to read because holding the book makes your hands shake because you're too weak
72) It's not nice being unable to dance in bars/clubs because you are too weak and dizzy
73) It's not nice having to drink alcoholic drinks you don't like, just because they are lower in calories
74) Smiles look a lot nicer with healthier teeth. Rotting ones haven't came into style yet...
75)because life's for living not just existing
76)You are worth so much more than a number on a scale
77)It's nice not to be freezing all the time
81)You cannot live tomorrow if you die today
82) Because crying in your room is never a good way to spend friday night.
83) So that you get rid of that unattractive guilty look you permenant have in your eyes. Guilt that you have eaten but feel you should have. Guilt that you haven't eaten and you know you are letting loved ones down. Guilt that you have binged. Guilt that you have purged. Guilt that deep down you have forgotten how to love yourself.
84. So your bones aren't brittle and easy to break.
85. So you don't get hunger pains while sitting in class.
86. So the school nurse doesn't think it's because you "ate something weird" in the cafeteria.
87) so you dont have to clean your room/clothes because your purging got out of control.
88) Because I care
89) You can have a great summer, not worrying about who's staring at you on the beach/park
90) Be confident again.
91) So you don't feel like a complete & utter hypocrite when trying to help someone that is in the same position as you.
92) So you can enjoy "family time" & not worry about eating "bad food"
93) So that your first thing to do in the morning wouldnt be running to the scales to meassure your worth, but to actually look in the mirror and love you for who you are.
94- So that when you go out to eat with family, you actually go out to /eat/.
95- So that you don't spit up after you eat because your esophagus is so ****** up from purging.
96- So that people don't see 'Eating Disorder' when they see you.
97. So you're not constantly spending money on clothes only to have to buy another new wardrobe a month later because you lost even more weight.
98. So you don't miss out on life.
99. Because calories are just a scientific measurement
100. Because it's nice waking up and thinking about what you're going to do that day rather than think about what you're going to eat that day.
101. So you can be trusted to eat by yourself.
102. Because watching comedy is far more fun than watching "thinspiration" videos.
103. Because it's (also) nice to wake up in the morning with energy, rather than waking up feeling tired from not eating or ill from binging.
104. So that you can get up in the morning and see, not have black vision as you try to sit up.
105. Because hiding food and only realising it when it smells is gross
106. So you dont have to rack your brains so quickly all the time to find yet more lies and excuses.
107. So you can love yourself again
108. So you can show your friends its safe for them to love you again. That you aren't going to break.
109. So you can go shopping without breaking down.
110. So you can eat a sandwich without guilt and anxiety.
111. So when people say you look great you can accept their compliment happily.
112. So you don't cry and panic when you hear someone setting the table.
113. So that you can sit in an exam or quiet place and not worry about who might notice your tummy growling for food.
114. So you don't have to lie anymore to people you love
115. So you don't have to pretend you've eaten all your food
116. So no more food is wasted!
117. So they don't have to feel like there's no hope for you.
118. So they don't give up.
119. So people don't get upset when they see how ill you look.
120. So you don't have to miss out on social engagements because you're worried about having to eat.
121. So you can stand up without getting dizzy.
122. So you can have enough energy to do the things you enjoy.
123. So you can run or play sports for enjoyment, not for weight loss.
124. So you can have a life.
125. Be able to eat something without feeling worthless and guilty
126. Be able to sleep at night
127. Be able to go out without thinking everyone is looking at you
128. Be able to go out with friends/family and eat
129. Be able to walk past restaurants without bursting into tears
130. Be able to go into a supermarket feeling safe
131. Have a life and be happy
132. Because rings look more beautiful when on your fingers than on a chain round your neck, just because you are scared they will slip off and be lost forever
133. So you can go to bed at night, and actually fall asleep, not be kept awake by hunger pains.
134. So that you don't faint and collapse all the time, especially in class.
135. So that people don't have ago at you
136. So that you don't have to count every calorie
137. So you are not scared of going to the doctor
138. So you don't have constant fear of being taken away
139. So you don't have to excuse yourself during work to purge.
140. So you can go on a date and feel happy and not worry.
141. So that you can help others.
142. So you don't have to buy expensive diet food which taste bad... even more so when you purge it.
143. So you don't waste all your money on laxatives.
144. Because EDs and lack of nutrition feeds anxiety and it all plumets from there..
145. Because ALL of us deserve better.
146. So you don't hate the family and friends who care about you.
147. So you can go on that night with the girls and not have a care in the world.
148. Stop hiding behind the bagy clothes.
149. Stop living a lie.
150. So your boyfriend can give you a cuddle and say he loves your curves.
151. So you don't have to be on the scales 24/7
152. So you don't have to worry about coving up with make-up.
153: So you can have children
154: So you can be truly beautiful, not broken and fragile. Beauty comes from happiness and love, EDs take that away.
156. Because laxatives aren't FUN
157: Having bags of food under your bed isn't exactly appealing
158: So you don't nearly pass out at work
159: So you can actually think about something else
160: save money on diet pills
161. So someone can just love you without having to look after you too
162. So you love yourself
163. Because you're worth more than all of this
164. So you can actually focus/have the energy to go to your uni classes :\
165.So you can help others who are going through this in the futher
166.So you can actually concentrate in your lessons
167.So that your P.E teachers will let you do pratical..
168. So you can make spontaneous plans to go out, and not have to check or worry if they'll "fit in" with the eating disorder.
169. So you can spend time having interesting conversations with people, without your mind wandering off to do calorie counts.
170. So you buy clothes that might actually fit you for more than two months.
171. So if you decide to bake cookies, you can actually have one or two and know you can keep it to one or two.
172. Because everyone is fabulous and beautiful.
173. Because of advent calendars. Oh yes, I think I'm actually enjoying having an advent calendar this year.
174. So you don't have to feel guilty for wasting their money on food for you when you are only giving it away/chucking it away.
175. So you don't get triggered when you brush your tongue/teeth.
176. So you don't have to exclude yourself from your friends when they're eating 'cause it makes you feel too sick.
178. So you can eat Christmas lunch with your family
179. So we dont have to be watched every meal.
180. So we can live a normal life.
181. So you don't have to take days off work because you feel too dizzy
182. So you don't have to keep hiding the fact you don't eat from your family
183. Because clothing sizes are a load of crap
184. Because life is fab and we should all be able to feel it.
168- So you can feel unafraid for the first time in a long time
169. So you can have a normal relationship with a person (bf/gf, Friends, familt ect.)
170- So you can walk around town with a friend without worrying about fainting
171- So you don't have to lie awake at night worrying about the damage you're doing to yourself
172. So you have the self confidence to stand up for yourself and others
173. So you can get your natural skin tone back without looking so sickly pale all of the time
174. So you can have a meal without thinking about where you are going to purge.
175. So you don't have a heart rate of 120 and have to leave your classes
176. So you can have a bath or shower and not spend agers pinching your thighs and arse and crying over it.
177. So you dont have to weigh yourself every time you go to the loo, just in the vague hope the number might be down.
178. To be able to walk into boots and not go straight to the 'suppliments' isle.
179. Because it's much nicer to relax after a meal, rather than be curled up over a toilet getting exhausted and sore.
180. So you can sit wherever and not have your ears prick up when someone mentions 'calories' 'diet' 'thin' or 'eating disorders' and hense loose track of the conversation you were meant to be having with your friend.
181. So you can choose what to eat on the basis of like, rather than calorie content.
182. For the day when you wake up and not head straight for the scales.
183. So you don't have constant wind or bloating
184. So you can sit down and rest without feeling guilty
185. So you can have a warm shower
186.So you can go to parties instead of staying home alone
187.Not to fear going to the cafeteria and to feel comfortable with whatever your friends give you
188.Not to cry after every time you step off the scale
189.So you can clear your head of all the numbers ,calories , pounds, inches
190.So you can have a good health
191. So you can accept a compliment for what it is, without having to question it.
192. So you don't have to worry about school/college trips.
193. So you don't have to worry what people think of you.
194. So you don't have to punish yourself for eatting.
195. So you can go out with my friends every week and not have to worry.
196. So you can have a bag of popcorn at the cinema without feeling bad.
197. So you dont have to keep articles saved because they are about EDs
198. So you can smile without it hurting your jaw
199. So you can sit up for more than 10 minutes without your stomach getting too tired.
202. So you can drink whatever you want without panicking
203.You won't think for an hour before allowing yourself to have an apple
204. Your room won't smell of mouldy food
205. So your bf/gf hugs you because they think you are the most wonderful person in their life....not to comfort you because you can't face the thought of eating another meal.
206. So you don't feel guilty for making your friends cry
207. Because spending your evening hanging over a toilet is never time well spent
208. Because this SUCKS
209. Because you can join the recovery family
210. So you don't eat stupid things like uncooked pasta, or take sips of milk from the cartoon...because you feel like rebeling, and then throw it up
211. So you can have a bf, without having to worry he's going to 'ruin' your ED
212. So you don't get up in the middle of the night feelin as though you need to do sit-ups before you can sleep and then spend all day feeling tired, and ill.
213. So you don't worry about the calorie content of a multi-vitamin
214. So that you don't cry at how huge your thighs are
215. So you can help your friends
216. So you dont hesitate opening up because it means more people'll be watching you and making sure you're not being dumb
217. So you can watch shows and enjoy them
218. So you dont get triggered by random people
219. So it doesnt take such a long time to convince yourself to eat something
220. So you dont get a bad grade in your gym type class because you're too weak to exercise but you dont wanna tell the prof that...
221. So you can believe your significant other when they tell you how amazing you look.
222. So YOU know how amazing you look!
223. So you do not cause your significant other to sob after telling them you have fasted the past few days.
224. So you can look someone in the eye and honestly say that you have eaten
225. So you can stop wearing baggy clothes to hide the fact you've lost weight
226. So you can get enough comfortable sleep
227. So you aren't FREEZING all the time
228. So you dont end up in hospital at 3am because your bowels are bleeding due to your ED
229. So you don't feel constantly dehydrated.
230. So you don't spend half your life thinking about what to eat/what not to eat. Let's face it...there are much more interesting things we could think about.
231. So you don't feel like such a hypocrite all the time
232. So you don't have to lie all the time
232 - Because if you didn't need food we wouldn't have shops.
233 - Food is yummy
234 - You only live once
235 - So you dont have to take hours to find something you can just about stand to wear outside in public
236 - So you can eat when you're hungry
237 - So you can eat in front of people
238 - So you dont have to have your nan secretly bone check your back when she hugs you
239. So you dont have to worry about going on a trip with college and worry people are looking at you all the time when you eat something.
240. So you can eat whatever you want, when you want.
241. So when you're ill and you may need to go hospital you don't have to hide under layers of clothes
242. So you can go to work without worrying your going to pass out.
243. So you can participate in all aspects of your degree without being a health risk (in labs)
244. Because studying is so much easier when you can actually concentrate
245. Because spontateous meals out with friends are fun!
246. So you don't look like an ugly scary skeleton on pictures of you and your friends
247. So that good memories aren't tainted by memories of anorexia
248. So when you eat party food on your friends birthday for appearances, you don't frantically seek out somewhere to get rid of it again
249. So you can eat with your friends
250. Because passing out from lack of food isn't fun at all, it's painful.
251. Headaches hurt.
252. You are the way you are for a reason.
253. Because it's embarassing to have to cover up the fact that you have one or explain why your senstive around food.
254. So you can exercise for fun, not to lose weight
255. Because scales shouldn't rule your life
256. because you shouldnt have to worry about what you eat with your friends.
257.So you won't panic and you feel so worthless when you see you mum making a cake
258. So you dont have to bunk of school/college/work becuase you are 'having a fat day'.
260. So you no longer compare yourself to others and judge on appearance
261. You will have more friends !
262. You will be happier without your ED
263. So you don't have to come up with excuses anymore.
264. So you don't have to take yourself out of your soccer match at halftime because you haven't enough energy to carry on.
265. Because curves are beautiful. And so much easier and more fun to flirt with.
266. Because you don't have to isolate yourself and you can socialise easier.
267. Because you don't have to worry before you meet people (eating somewhere, going to a restaurant, celebrate something...) and you can enjoy these days instead.
268. Because you don't feel dizzy, shaky and sick that often.
269. Because you can feel less guilty.
270. Because you can concentrate on more important stuff (social life, career, doing something to make the world a better place...).
271. Eating Disorders actually cost a lot of money
272. So when someone tells you that you're beautiful, you won't think it's just because you haven't eaten in days.
280. Because life is for living... not suffering