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

DRINK SUPERFOODS!

One of the most important part of my diet are superfoods.

What are they? they are foods packed with extraordinary properties, like spirulina, blue green algae, chlorella, bee pollen, maca, goji berries, raw cacao and more. They're full of nutrients, essential amino acids, minerals, packed with vitamins.  They feed your body at a cellular level so it is important to eat them on a regular basis. 

I found that some of these mixed together are just incredible, like goji berries with raw cacao nibs. Or I tried avocado with cacao nibs and agave nectar.... I'm telling you, this is to die for.

I'd like to share the recipe of  a very interesting smoothie I had today:

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp raw cacao powder

1 tbsp raw cacao nibs

a bit of stevia (to taste). If you don't like stevia, you can use one or two dates.

2 bananas (medium)

2 cups spring water (less if you like this to be thicker)

1 tsp maca 

1 cup greens of your choice, I use silverbeet (collard) or spinach. 

Blend everything. 

Delicious, even if you think the mixture green plus cacao looks rather strange, and I thought it was but I kind of feel adventurous in the kitchen these days. This is truly good and packed with nutrients. 

Superfood drinks make me feel gooood. They make me feel totally satisfied. I don't want to eat anything unhealthy after that. I want to FEED my body, I want to feed my cells. I want my body to feel great and full of energy. 

This is the difference between being fed at a cellular level versus eating SAD or highly processed foods containing NO nutrients whatsoever even when they say the contrary on the labels. The added vitamins or minerals in there are all chemically processed. The body cannot use them, it doesn't recognize this kind of foreign nutrients. 

Try it and feel free to share other recipes!

Till next time.

Always with you on the path, Anne

REMEMBERING MY BODY IS THE MASTER, NOT MY BRAIN...

I would like to share something that happened to me today. Got up pretty early this morning, had a green juice around 7:00am (celery, cucumber, ginger, lettuce leaves, apple). Cleaned the house, including the fridge!. Then had my fruits at around 9:45am (large bowl of mixed fresh fruits, mangoe, orange, banana). Had a smoothie (silverbeet + mango + superfoods) at 11:30am. Of course, at 3:30pm, i'm hungry. So I eat a salad (avocado, lettuce, tomato, seaweed...). But i was still hungry and i have been pretty hungry these past few days simply because i haven't eaten enough (don't have the right stuff with me at the office or it takes too much time to prepare or i don't feel like eating this again...). The truth is I have been thinking about eggs for 3 days now. I want eggs. Badly. I haven't eaten any because they're cooked.

I have to remind myself that I was a compulsive overeater for a very long time. My body demands and needs certain nutrients / foods for specific reasons my brain does not and cannot understand. So I FINALLY honored that craving. And I had 4 eggs... i know this is a lot BUT i feel SO much better..... I feel gooooood!

It is so easy to go back to old patterns. This not eating the eggs I really wanted to eat was like the old "no i won't eat this because this is not allowed on my diet" and next thing you know you're bingeing heads on on anything and everything around you. 

So it makes me think how important it is to listen to my body and honor whatever his needs are to properly function. It is so easy to loose communication with my body. I get caught up in what I read in such and such books and such and such schools of thoughts on the subject and I lose sight of myself, of my needs, of my body. Like in the old days I got caught up in fad diets. But I am not there anymore. I constantly have to remind myself where I come from and where I am now. This is my path, still very raw, wonderful and so full of teachings. No path is identical to any other. The important is to stay on it. 

With love, Anne

MIRACLE OF RAW FOODS: MY TASTE IS BACK

Today it occurred to me another miracle has happened. I can taste food now. I mean really really taste it. I know this sounds silly but it is true.

In my compulsive overeating days, I couldn't taste what I was eating. I binged. I stuffed myself compulsively. I never had enough. In order for me to really taste/smell/feel anything,  the food had to be either extremely sweet, or extremely salted. Maybe did I taste the first bites, but after half the pint of ice cream was gone, I was unable to feel anything. I was numb. I was on a high from -usually- sugar. Like a robot, the spoon would go from pot (rarely from a bowl or a plate) to mouth, pot to mouth and went on till nothing was left. When I was not bingeing, I was not really tasting anything either. I was too preoccupied with the calories I had on my plate.

But now, my taste buds are rejoicing at every meal! 

This morning I had the most beautiful plate of fresh fruits, a mix of mangoe, black plums, litchees and pineapple. It was total heaven! The sweetness and slight acidity of the fruits were just a perfect match. It was like an explosion of sunfoods full of natural sugars. Nothing was missing. Everything was there in a perfect synergy. The pineapple was enhancing the taste of the mango which was in turn supporting the sweetness of the litchees and plums. It was juicy and melted in the mouth. I felt totally satisfied and did not feel the need to eat anything else.

When I was hungry again later, I had mango, silverbeet leaves and some superfoods (spirulina, aloe vera and dried purple berries) all blended together. I love the taste of this smoothie. The mango gives it its sweetness, the silverbeet its green smooth taste. The color is unreal. It is a very dark green created by the mix of silverbeet and spirulina.The texture is like one of a pudding which I love (highly processed puddings were items I used to binge on a lot). This smoothie is fulfilling and holds me for a few hours.

I finally enjoy and taste/feel/smell the subtle perfumes hidden in a mixed smoothie, in a sweet and juicy Pink Lady or Golden apple or in frozen raw cacao fudge melting in the mouth... it is like an explosion of pleasure. I enjoy preparing delicious foods, either from recipes I pick in raw chefs' books or I create my own. I have a lot of fun and pleasure in my kitchen now. 

Raw foods revealed to me one of the best pleasure we have as human beings, the taste. This is total happiness!!!

Till next time, with all my support, Anne

MIRACLE OF RAW FOODS

Hi there, this is Anne. 

Three days ago, I woke up with this headache (I never have headaches!) that went worse during the day. I felt slightly sick to my stomach (in reality the liver), and exhausted. This is very unusual to me nowadays. I usually feel very energetic and very healthy.

But instead of beating myself up a little bit more like I would have done in my compulsive overeating days, I decided to treat myself the best I could. 

I treated my liver with essential oils (it does wonders!), added a few drops of lemon in my water and ate lightly. In the evening I just did no-thing. A real treat since I am really busy writing and preparing for my website soon-to-be. Instead, I comfortably sat in the sofa and watched three episodes of Seinfeld. As I say, LE BONHEUR! (total happiness!).

I can't stop comparing how I am treating myself now to how I used to beat myself up again and again in my hell days of eating. Even sick (with a stomach flu!), I was overeating. I am SO grateful now that this is over. I am SO thankful to the Universe to have put me where I am now and be able to share this with you. 

Now every time I am eating, I am treating myself like a queen. My body deserves the best (phew! what a change!). I spend time in my kitchen and I have such a pleasure to prepare a delicious raw meal. 

But what is raw foods? Raw foods has not been heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit (about 48 degrees centigrade). So basically, the food is not altered by heat and all the enzymes, vitamins and minerals are still present (heat destroys them). This is a vegetarian/vegan diet with a lot of fresh foods, no not only salads!

Eating raw was and is everyday a total revelation. The one incredible thing that happened only after a few weeks, and I have to share this with you, is my life-obsession with my weight disappeared. Even when I was eating healthy, whole and organic foods, and my overeating was in control, I  was still obsessed with my weight and how many calories I was eating. After a few weeks of eating raw, the obsession disappeared. It is as if a little fairy came to me and touched me with her wonder stick! 

When did I start to go raw is hard to say because it really happened naturally to me. I have been drinking healthy smoothies for at least 3 years and I started to read about raw foods only 9 months ago. Then I started to add a few things like greens and superfoods (spirulina, raw cacao, maca...) to my smoothies. I really changed pretty much everything in my diet 4 months ago. So it was gradual. 

To conclude rapidly on this (there is so much to say about it all!) is that my cells are finally getting what they were craving for all these years. Finally, my body is really nourished and can finally take a back seat and let me enjoy life to its fullest. 

I will tell you more and more about raw foods along the way.  

Anne, always with you on the path. 

Dieting (1)

At the office today, we celebrated a French tradition called "les Rois" (The Kings). The origins of this tradition can be found on line so I won't get into the details of it. But this is essentially about eating the "Galette des Rois" (the King's cake) and drinking champagne. A hidden bean is inside the cake and the person finding it is "elected" King or Queen. The cake made out of white flour, butter, almond flour and white sugar is round and flat with a sweet almond paste in between two thin crusts.
In the past, I would have been totally thrown out to have succombed to a piece of Galette because the current diet I was on was under threat.
Being a compulsive overeater, I was either on a binge or on a diet. If on a binge, I would have eaten as much as I could have. On a diet, I would have tried to eat as little as possible, get depressed about it, feel guilty about not eating the whole piece (what are my co-workers going to think?) AND feel guilty because I was eating a piece. The monologue in my head would have been something like "ok, let's try to figure out how many calories are in a piece of galette des Rois. 500 calories maybe so that gives me only 300 calories left for the day. But if I exercise for an hour, that's 400 burnt cal. Maybe I could exercise for two hours so that makes 800 burnt cal. I could do the regular cardio workout and add the fat burning aerobic class as well." This internal monologue would go on and on while people around the table were having a good time. Plus, chances are that the feeling of guilt about eating one piece of cake and the fact that I was completely starving (and ignoring it totally) because on a diet, I would have gone home and binged all night.
This is not a fantasy. This is exactly what my life was like back then. Hell.
Today, I ate a piece of Galette, not that I really liked it, but because I like this kind of traditional gathering. It is a very sociable moment with collegues, it gives the opportunity to talk about something else than just work, it is a sharing moment.

I chose not to drink champagne because I don't like the way it makes me feel. With only a few drops in my glass though, I raised my glass with everybody around. And I only ate half the slice of cake because this kind of food throws my energy down to the floor.
Whas has changed between "before" and now will you ask? First, I stopped dieting and then I went raw (more about raw foods in future postings).
But what is interesting is, to tell you the truth, I didn't think the Galette today was that good. I mean I know the quality of the product was excellent but it simply doesn't appeal to me anymore. My taste buds did not rejoice. I used to like that. Now, it makes me feel "undernourished". It does contains a lot of calories but they're empty and dead calories. The nourishment though came from being with people, the gathering and the enjoyment of the moment.
And that's what makes such a difference.
With loving thoughts and always with you on the path.

Introduction

I'm Anne, a former compulsive overeater. Former? yeah! Over the years, I healed myself. I'd like this blog to be a help community for compulsive overeaters to share, laugh and cry. You never know how you can touch the heart of someone in need of help or even change the course of her/his life. A single word can make a huge difference. 

We do heal from the addiction to food. I did. I am 48 years young and it took me 25 of these years to get out of this hell. 

To any of you who is suffering and wondering how on earth you are going to get out of this, why you are in so much pain and struggling with your eating, at war with your body, your mind and everything else, constantly dieting and bingeing, I promise you, you will get out of it. 

My overeating started when i was about 14 years. I thought I was plump. I loved to eat. I loooooved chocolate and deserts (still do). What happened? I went on my first diet. I lost 4 pounds or so. Waoh! this thing works! I went straight back to my former eating and gained everything back. The second diet was... different. I was in love. For six months. The longest diet I was ever on. When love vanished, so did the diet. And I binged for three months. Before going on a new diet. 

I did not know at the time but the vicious circle was on. I had crossed the doors to hell. 

Rings a bell? 

I'll tell you more about my long story in future postings. 

Take care, Anne