Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Wednesday, which can only mean: it’s time for my next post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. You can check out this year’s list of topics here if you fancy taking part, and you can read what others have written on today’s topic here.

Today’s topic is:

What I Eat in the Average Day

For me, eating is a challenge. As I’ve spoken about previously, I’ve struggled for some time with anorexia and bulimia. It’s been tough, and it has taken a lot of therapy and retraining my brain to eat anything really without having a full-blown anxiety attack.

These days, I still eat very little, though I am going through the process of carefully incorporating more food into my diet with support from my doctor.

Morning
I wake up between 5.00 am and 5.30 am, and the first thing I do is take my meds and have a cup of coffee. This cup of coffee, especially in the winter, feels like the loveliest thing I have ever drunk. It’s a simple, instant black coffee with no sugar, but it’s magic first thing in the morning.

About half an hour after my magic coffee, I drink a pint of water. A while ago, I went through a chunk of time being very dehydrated, so now I’m vigilant about my fluid intake.

At around 7.30 am, I have a protein shake with almond milk. I add a mix of seeds, dried fruit and chopped almonds and then sit on my bed and eat it with a spoon. You might think it’s strange, but this is one of my favourite parts of the day. I eat my shake and make sure I sit, in the present, thinking about the good it’s doing me.

Half an hour later, I have another glass of water, and that’s me until the afternoon.

Late in the Afternoon
For my last meal of the day, I eat a salad bowl with some sort of vegetarian-friendly protein.
My salad consists of two kinds of lettuce (i can’t remember their names), red bell pepper, onion, sweetcorn, cucumber and beetroot. I finish off with another glass of water.

Believe it or not, this is a lot for me. A couple of years ago, the thought of eating anything at all sent me spiralling, and it was hard to see just how ill I was until I started eating regularly. You don’t realise how cloudy your brain gets or how lethargic you become.
Retraining yourself to see food in a whole different way takes time. Food is fuel. Without fuel, you stall.

I’m still learning, and sometimes there are blips along the way. I’m always learning about new strategies and healthy coping mechanisms in therapy. They really help. It’s a long road, but at least now I know it’s not endless. You know, even thinking about this post was giving me a little anxiety and, at first, I was going to skip it and just join in next week, but I figured I’d start writing and just see what came out and how I felt, and I have to say, I feel pretty good. I usually feel embarrassed and self-conscious speaking about this sort of thing, but honestly, I think writing this has done me good!

If you or anyone you know are struggling with an eating disorder, I found Beat to be an invaluable source of great help and advice. You can find them on Twitter @beatED and here on the web.

Anyway, I think I’ve probably wittered on for long enough.

As always, thank you for spending time with me today. I can’t tell you what it means.

Until next time,

George

© 2023 GLT

Categories: Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

Tags: anxiety, Disorder, Disordered Eating, food, mental health, mental illness, Wednesday, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge, what I Eat in a Day