Follow me....

Hello there,
A quick line to give you the info that you can now follow me at http://annecampion.typepad.com/food_to_freedom/ and of course at www.compulsiveeatingsuccesscoach.com.

With all my support, Anne

When you don't eat enough during the day.....

and find yourself ravenous at the end of the afternoon and evening... 

It happens to me too, still. I don't eat enough because of a lot of reasons: I am too busy, I did not have time to prepare the right food or enough of it in the morning at home to take with me to the office, or I do not feel hungry really in the morning. Well, "why don't you just go out and buy something to eat during the day then if you don't have enough then?Well, I could if only I was able to find "proper" food. What you mostly find around my office is fast food, or "empty" food as I call it, meaning lots of calories most of the time and no nutriments. What's the point? I don't enjoy such food anymore. It doesn't nourish me. Even when I eat it, I still feel empty and never and I mean NEVER feel satisfied. So I don't eat it anymore, it doesn't appeal to me anymore. 

So yeah, I can feel ravenous when coming home because I haven't eaten enough. But it is not the same ravenous stomach sensation as I used to feel when I was on processed foods all the time and consequently bingeing all the time. No, it is more a subtle hunger feeling now because I simply need the calories to fuel me. That's all.

I am much more relaxed about it all now. Today was a day of not eating enough this morning and lots of shopping to do in the afternoon. So I felt tired and hungry at the end of the day. But that's ok! I didn't feel like killing someone like I did use to feel a little while ago. Tonight, I had a nice salad (spinach, lettuce and rocket salad) with a bit of olive oil on top and home made pizza (not raw but at least home made...and organic!). I made sorbet with frozen banana, frozen mango and strawberries for dessert. Heaven!

I do recommend though you eat enough calories in the morning and around lunch time, especially when you first start to control your binges and stay away from processed foods. This can make you go through some hard times and you don't want to add the burden of not eating enough calories. So eat enough during the first part of the day to reduce your hunger feelings later in the day. 

When you are on raw and organic foods for a while, and feel much stronger, you will be able to stay on an empty stomach without going crazy. Don't worry, you'll get there.

Meanwhile, really take good care of yourself and eating enough and organic  foods is one way to really care about yourself.

With all my support. Much love, Anne

Our friends the animals...

Tonight, my husband was telling me about an article he's read on internet about a chicken farm in Australia where these poor animals are caged and left to die. Australia is not the only country, this is standard procedure in many countries. 

There are 10 chickens in small cages, so small they can't move. They are debeaked so they can't fight each other, they hang themselves caught in the wires of the cage and left to die. Pigs and cows have the same kind of cruel treatment. 

If you haven't already, I recommend you read "Diet for a New America" and "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins. These books were a total revelation to me. I had no idea of what is going on in these farms. I had no idea animals were treated this way. This was the beginning of my journey to become a vegetarian. It took me a very long time but I switched rapidly to "organic chicken".  At least, these farms treat their animals with respect and let them live their lives of animals! 

The conventional farm industries nowadays are a total shame to humanity. What kind of human beings get to the stage where they treat animals this way? Even is you think that "this is only an animal, who cares?!" (I have heard this before!). An animal is a living creature of our planet and therefore deserves our respect. If you eat this kind of meat, think again. What kind of meat does an animal raised in these awful conditions produce?  they have to be given all kinds of medication so they survive till it's time for them to be slaughtered. These medications do not disappear by magic. They stay in the animals' flesh. When you eat it, you get it all as well. 

To summarize: these animals live in prison all their short lives, unable to move, and drugged to death so they don't get so sick as their meat can't be sold. "Premium" meat please! People eat this without thinking a second about where the meat is coming from and how the animal was treated ("who cares....")..... Do you realize the insanity of all this? 

It amazes me that this is even allowed. What kind of health do you expect to have in return if you eat this kind of foods? Not only will you get sick one day or the other but by buying these meats, you are encouraging the food industries to go on. 

Well, I have finally understood that it is time to stop this insanity and the best way to do this is to start with myself. So I can only encourage you to find out more about this by reading books and finding information on internet: www.foodrevolution.org, www.earthsave.org, www.naturalnews.com and many more. Education is the only way people can understand and change.

Till next time, I am with you on the path to healing,

Anne

HOW DID I STOP BINGEING?

Hello everyone,

I would like to answer Sophie who left an interesting comment on my previous post. 

How did I finally stop bingeing? 

My experience with raw foods was as if a magic wand hit me. I became hooked onto raw foods when listening to the Raw Food Summit 2 online.  I started eating raw foods at the end of october. From day one, I felt a huge shift in my energy. I don't know how to explain it differently. My weight obsessions disappeared. And you have to understand: I have been obsessed with my weight ALL MY LIFE. My obsessions with exercising like a nut case disappeared. My obsessions with how my body looked like disappeared. My usual cravings for certain foods disappeared: here I am talking about cravings for processed foods like chocolate, ice creams, bread and pasta. The vision of my website appeared in my mind and I HAD  to act on it as fast as I could. The whole experience is a total miracle! 

I still drink green tea, I have a little organic wine on week-ends and yes, sometimes I have a little bit of cooked food (like eggs). But this is totally all right coming from where I come from. What I did immediately when going raw was to prepare good and nice foods. I tried all kinds of raw recipes found on the net and bought a few books. I already had a blender and a Champion juicer, so that helped! I became organized! For example, I always have frozen fruits ready to prepare nice sorbets. I always have frozen chocolate fudge in the freezer as well (and yes, I eat a few pieces almost everyday and of God, I looooove it!). I always sprout lentils, alfalfa and mung beans. And I buy organic products as much as I can. The taste and the nutrients contents is just nothing to compare with the conventional ones. 

Right now, I am experiencing different food combinations. I had a few bad experiences that made me feel sluggish and heavy in the digestive area... you can say that again! But you know what? I have spent my life listening to what others wrote about nutrition, each one had their own method that was the best, the best diet, the best in anything. And I always believed they knew better than me. I totally forgot myself, I lost myself for years. 

Now, it all comes down to what my intuitions are telling me what to eat or not to eat. It is not easy, I do not listen all the time. But I am trying. And I improve little by little. What a wonderful journey this is! I feel so much happiness now, this is incredible!!!! I have changed so much that I could probably write a whole book about it! 

So to make the story short, I'd say that being tolerant with myself is the priority because after all, I'm only a human being learning and trying my best. I recognize that eating cooked foods makes me feel sluggish and I can feel my energy going down the drain. And I also recognize that not having enough sleep will trigger cooked foods cravings. So I am careful with getting enough sleep. I eat less and less cooked foods, rarely now. Sometimes, I eat a little too much because this frozen cacao fudge is sooo good.... yeah, sometimes it's hard to stop. But that's ok. I don't make a big fuss about it. No more guilt. I make a note of if and move on. 

Slowly, my eating will get more and more truthful to my body's needs. I want to be my own best friend in every sense of the way. And more importantly, I want to help my fellow binge eaters if I can with all my heart and loving support. 

It is a long path but it is the walking on the path that makes us grow. 

With all my loving support, 

Anne

COOKED FOOD AND ENERGY

Hello everyone, 

I need to tell you this little experience of mine last Friday. My husband and I decided to have sushis. The "regular" kind with rice. We have a good place selling them near our home. I did not had the time to prepare anything and needed a break from preparing anything actually.

So here we go our merry way and buy sushis. At the same time, why not drink a glass of wine with it (organic wine). 

To be honest, I found it good to the taste, it's true even though I definitely prefer the raw ones with all kinds of fresh and crunchy vegies in them!  

20 minutes after finishing my meal, my energy level went right down to the floor, through the bottom floor to the basement. Crash!!!! I had to go to bed when these days I do have enough energy to stay up till midnight! But after this cooked food meal, my eyes were closed at 10 o'clock. 

The next morning, my brain was totally cloudy. I couldn't think clearly.

All raw foodists will tell you similar stories. But you don't really believe them... yeah yeah... that won't happen to me! ya right. Well, folks, I have to tell you. The story is true. Very true. It took me a few hours the next day to clear my brain and think a bit straighter. And these days, I need a clear brain!

Good lesson and I won't forget it! 

It comes down to a simple conclusion, how do I want to feel? sluggish with a cloudy brain? or do I want to have an alive body full of energy with great thoughts and ideas constantly coming to my mind? 

How on earth can anyone feel alive and energetic when eating dead foods?!!!! I wonder how I did it myself for so long.... actually I was not really completely alive. I binged to try to save myself.

With all my support, Anne

My website soon-to-be

Hi everyone,

I lack time these days to post more on my blog and I apologize. I am currently spending all my free time on my new website soon-to-be. I'll tell you when it is running and viewable. 

I promise you a lot of information and help on the way to those who are struggling with food addiction.

My goal is to offer on-line programs to the compulsive overeaters and bring them inspiration, support and the best help ever. 

All my time is currently filled with these projects that I will share with you soon.

Meanwhile, with all my support and love,

Anne

I LOOOOOOVE ICE CREAM!

One of my favorite food ever is ice cream. Always have been and always will be.  It's creamy, soft, silky. It soothes my cravings for softness and kindness. It's one food I feel that takes care of me in the nicest way. 

I used to buy gallons of highly 'processed' ice cream full of sugar (you know the brand names found in every food store) and it would scare me a bit to eat the whole gallon!!!

Now, I keep frozen fruits in my freezer. I buy bags of frozen fruits. I also buy organic fruits in bulk (on sale when very ripe and that's when they're perfect to be frozen). 

Fruits, only fruits. Strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, bananas, raspberries.

Today I had blueberries, banana and mango sorbet. Sprinkle a bit of shredded coconut and raw cacao nibs on top. Heaven!

I use the blank plate of a Champion juicer but you can also make this in a blender. You need to thaw the fruits a little before blending.

Who would imagine how good this tastes. The banana makes it extremely smooth and all creamy. The banana enhances the taste of the mango and finally, the blueberries not only have a lot of antioxidants, but they also give a beautiful color to the mix.

With all my support, Anne