"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable." -- Coco Chanel (1883-1971), French Designer

LORD, Thank You for making each day a new beginning.
Keep me focused on this day only. If difficulties arise today, I remain confident the You will provide the strength I need to rise to the occasion.
I will not let yesterday or tomorrow detract from the joy that can be found in today.
Thank You LORD for giving me perspective. Amen.

1. Read a Daily Recovery Thought, scripture & Prayer (there are many throughout this web site).
2. Pray and meditate on it, asking God for enlightenment.
3. Memorize verses like: Heal me O Lord and I will be healed; save me O Lord and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise" -- Jeremiah 17:14
4. Journal your thoughts and insights. . One way to begin breaking down a wall is through journaling. Many have found writing helpful in coming to terms with the past, or processing fresh pain. This study requires writing many of your answers in a journal. Some people prefer a chart format in order to pinpoint specific situation that need additional work. Suggested entries:
   o Thoughts and Emotions
   o Physical Sensations
   o What you did; What you could do next time

Keep track of your goals in a journal. Write out and track your new nutrition plan and your thoughts about it. Try to memorize the thought and Scripture. Write it on a card & carry it with you or use a scripture memorization program like Memlok.
5. Gratitude Journal: to gain perspective. "I'd write down 5 things each night that I was thankful for... helped me see that my focus on food/eating/starving/weight was really pointless, and to look at what I have that so many people don't have in this world. It helped get the focus off of ME (the eating disorder's focus on ME has really messed up my perspective)."
6. Share your observations. Help and encourage one another.
7. Apply the Daily Recovery Thought to your day. Share with your family and sponsor how you will implement it in the week ahead. Again, journal this information and refer back to your journal for further insights.
8. As a child you learned to say "please" and "thank-you". Let your first prayer of the day be a "please" for food sobriety, and your last prayer of night be a "thank you" for the progress you made, the abstinence for the day. We can ask God for help, but the job is ours to do.

1. MOST IMPORTANT: Surrender your body and heart to God and know that God created you and loves you no matter what you look like. The Bible says, "He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." -- Psalm 147:3
2. #1 - Meditation: One way to establish a relationship with God is by thinking about his Word throughout your day. Meditation is often misunderstood as some difficult, mysterious practice by isolated monks or mystics. The Bible urges us to meditate on who God is, what He has done, and what He has said. Meditation is simply focused thinking and listening, a skill you can learn and use anywhere. When you think about a problem over and over, that's 'worry'. When you think about God's Word over and over, that's 'meditation'. If you know how to worry - you know how to meditate! Just switch your attention to Bible verses. The more you meditate, the less you worry. This site is loaded with verses for you to meditate on.
3. Recovery Thought: It is the pain of living that creates a hunger for healing that only God can satisfy.
4. #2 - Surround yourself with support people. Take part in activities and friendships that enrich your self-image and refuse to focus on things that emphasize your physical appearance.
5. Make a list of all your strengths - creativity, intelligence, compassion, patience, goodness, faithfulness, etc. Don't include physical appearance. Focus on these gifts and talents God gave you.
6. Write out: What is wrong with the "Thin is In" or the "Thin is Best" message. What is right and good about your body ~
   Spiritual Food for Thought: The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the life of a believer. "You yourselves are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in you" (1 COR. 3:16). "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God" (1 COR 6:19). Because He is always present in a believer, He can speak to you at any time. REALLY think about these verses. When you comprehend that the Almighty God lives in you...your body...how can we purposely abuse our bodies? The next time you feel the urge to binge, purge, starve, drink, etc. think about that. Paint a mental picture. It's pretty mind-blowing!
7. Recovery Thought: Patience is the companion of wisdom. - Augustine
8. #3 - One day at a time, one step at a time. One step at a time may seem too slow some days. Impatience is certainly not a virtue. However, we frequently display it as though it were; if we don't get some task done right now, we will have failed for all time. How many backfired circumstances must we have before we get the message? When we came into this recovery program, we may have heard that there would always be enough time to accomplish what God intends us to do. Those of us who looked back at failed attempts doubted the truth of this wisdom. But we are coming to believe it now. In time, all the simple messages seem to come true. The slogans are excellent examples of this. "One day at a time, one step at a time." Will never fail us. We will handle whatever comes to us if we follow that advice. I will accomplish what I need to today, on time, if I let God be in charge --Kay Marie Porterfield
9. Stick to a Schedule. Set times of day for each meal and snack. This way if you have a tendency to skip or forget meals, you won't. A schedule is a way to begin new healthy habits, and meditate in sitting down and relaxing.
10. Being true. We believe we can become beautiful people, free of addiction. God knows our true purpose in life and will help us. He knows what we are capable of becoming, although others may misjudge us. I pray that I may see the good within me and remain true to my purpose.
11. Gratitude Jar: Every day that you are grateful for your recovery, drop a quarter into your Gratitude Jar. On really good days, put in two quarters. Put what you would normally spend on binge food, candy, etc. into your Gratitude Jar. Before the month is over you will have more money that you probably expected! Splurge!!
12. Recovery Thought: When pain is to be borne, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, and a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all. -C.S.Lewis
13. Make a list of "easy" food. Anything pre-made and ready-to-eat will help you meet your eating schedule without the stress of mixing, chopping, beating, and cooking. Foods like bananas, yogurt, cereal, Lean Cuisine, muffins, and cereal.
14. Recovery Thought: Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing!
15. Put off purging longer each day. To say you'll just stop 'cold turkey' probably isn't reasonable to most people- granted, it would be much better to just stop, but if it were that easy, nobody would have long term eating disorders.
16. Recovery Thought: Don't sing of yesterday Yesterday is gone Tomorrow isn't written Make today your song
17. Give yourself permission to not 'do recovery' perfectly. There will be ups and downs, and times when you don't feel you're getting better. Baby steps still get you somewhere...
18. Recovery Thought: Level with your child by being honest. Nobody spots a phony quicker than a child. - Mary MacCracken
19. "I find I am at my lowest (especially my self-esteem) when I am least reflecting the image of God. When I selfishly reach out to someone in need, with no thought of reward, or self, that is when my true self shines forth and I feel sooo much better."
20. Recovery (Healing) is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice; it's not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved.
21. "I got rid of a lot of clothes I had. I gave them to the Salvation Army. They were all small children sizes I hardly wore being I never left the house much. It was hard to do because I had to accept that if I wanted to get better and stay better I'll never be that size again. I really feel pretty good about it!"
22. Recovery Thought: When we get down to basics, behind all of the experiences and choices of life there are only two options: Fear or Faith.
23. The gift of love means this: I want to share with you whatever I have that is good. -- John Powell, S.J. How loving are we, really? Do we keep score when we do favors for a friend, keeping in mind that we're owed one? Do we hoard rather than share a favorite treat, hoping to prolong our own feast? And the good mood, when it's ours - do we use it to help another raise her spirits or do we secretly gloat because we're "in a better place"? The opportunity to respond with love visits us throughout each day. A smile, a kind gesture, including someone in a conversation, noticing a job well done, are acts of love, acts that connect our hearts, at least for a moment. When someone has shared love with us in some form, we notice it and are moved.
24. Start planting seeds for each day you make it through. Sunflower seeds are good. You can do them in an indoor pot if you don't have any garden space. Then come Spring they and You can blossom!
25. Recovery Thought: God will tell us the way to go, but then we have to do the walking.
26. "Since I started recovery 5 years ago for Binge Eating Disorder, I have kept a "Food and Mood" journal. It has helped me connect the dots between my eating and not eating and my emotions".
27. Recovery Thought: Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.
28. Writing prayers can be a powerful experience in some individuals' lives. Write out a prayer to God regarding your healing. Come to God in faith. If your faith is weak, tell God. If you think your healing is beyond His love, care, ability, or power, tell Him. Just communicate! You may want to incorporate Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for Thou art my praise".
29. Recovery Thought: A walk with God takes place through one step of obedience at a time. -- Joyce Meyer
30. Put your ED in a God-box. A God-box is where you write down your problems, people and issues that you're bitter about, whatever is on your heart, and put them in a box (seal it if you want). Give those things to God to deal with. He's got BIG shoulders to take them all!
31. Laugh at yourself first, before anybody else can. -- Elsa Maxwell-- A sense of humor is an essential living tool. Unfortunately, it is most difficult to keep a sense of humor when we're under stress, and that's the time we need it most. In the face of a crisis, we may have found it easier to be dour and nasty, even if we knew, deep in our hearts, that such an attitude was not in our best interests. Ironically, our problems have helped many of us cultivate a humorous attitude toward life. Making the choice between bitterness and acceptance is easier when we take ourselves less seriously. Seeing the funny side of life helps us deal with the most difficult situations life has to offer. Humor cleanses us through spontaneous laughter. It draws others to us and bonds us. I choose to see humor and lightness in my life. I will allow this attitude to brighten my life and that of those around me.
32. Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only take a deep breath and say, "Yes," and hope will reappear. -- Monroe Forester -- No matter how painful our life may have been, we always have the internal resources to heal and grow into happiness. We now have the strength, insight, and spiritual tools. This combination teaches us that there is no unhappiness too great to be made better. Opening ourselves up to the miracles of recovery, we step from the dark of negativity into the light of possibility and abundance. It doesn't happen all at once, but it does happen - one day at a time. Today let me have complete faith that my unhappiness will be removed as I work the steps of my program.
33. Contact me with any ideas that have worked for you!

My Savior, I used to think that seeing was believing. Now I understand
that it is by faith that I really see the Truth. It is by faith that
I can be sure of the things I hope for and certain of that which
I do not see. Thank You for leading me in paths that I have not
known before; for making the darkness light before me;
for making the crooked things straight. Amen.

Give special attention to prayers. Some people have no difficulty communicating with God. For others prayer is a great problem. Writing prayers can be a powerful experience in some individuals' lives. Guidelines For Prayer