Awareness

Obstacles to overcome

What's normal eating?

Many people with bulimia have simply forgotten what a normal eating is. This includes understanding normal portion size, normal eating pace and feelings of hunger and satiety that normal eaters experience.

How do we fix it?

The key is to re-discover your body's natural ability to tell you when you are truly hungry and when you are satisfied. To get this great ability back, you have to start generating awareness and re-learning the art of normal eating.

Zone To Do List

Read up on Body Intelligence
Go through how to become Body Intelligent
Read up on hunger and the importance of listening to your hunger.
Start to practice generating awareness each time you eat.
Learn about engaging all your senses every time you eat, including sight, taste, texture, smell and how food feels in your stomach.

Zone Goals

To get back in touch with our hunger and satiety
Once we recognize hunger and satiety we can then move on to the "Break free" zone - coming soon.

Before you start...

Have you started to question your bulimic beliefs?
Have you completed the Structured Eating Zone?

Ali says...

Learning about eating with awareness is like discovering a key to unlock the secret behind weight management!

I no longer count calories or fat grams. I now fully trust my body and know exactly what it wants and when. If I'm hungry I eat and when I'm satisfied I know when to stop. I never restrict any food because it's fattening or 'bad'. I done away with 'good' and 'bad' food years ago and eat whatever takes my fancy.

Using your intuition is so simple, trust me. Once you get the hang of it you will never again return to using binging and purging or dieting as a means to control your weight.

Simple guidelines to success

Eat slowly, try eating at half your normal pace
When you eat, make sure you are only eating by focusing on food and your body and nothing else. Make sure there are no other distractions
Pay attention to hunger and satiety sensations. Imagine it like building muscle, the more attention you give it the stronger it will become
Use all your senses when eating, including: taste, smell, touch, feel and sight
Eat when you feel hungry
Stop eating when you feel satisfied
Remind yourself constantly that NO food will make you fat. As long as food is eaten in moderation - eating when you are hungry and stopping before you are uncomfortably full (see the hunger/satiety scale)
Pause in the middle of a meal or snack and ask yourself, "Am I still hungry"? "Do I feel satisfied yet"? or "is satiety approaching"?
Satisfying your hunger means that you are no longer hungry. You have eaten the right amount of food to fill your stomach and have taken away any feelings of hunger.

What our members say...

"Thanks for everything you are doing. I really appreciate the help you provide and without it I wouldn't be able to continue."

Rose, Scotland

"I could never fathom the fact that 1 in 7 college-aged females were bulimic, yet I'd never met anyone who talked about their experience and the internet had an array of depersonalised information. Nothing useful. Nothing that made you feel you weren't alone or that there was hope. Finding the forum and advice at BulimiaHelp.org was the first time I could connect with other people who were experiencing life just as I was. I logged on everyday and started to learn about the illness, but most importantly to learn that there was hope. I can credit a lot of my improvements to the community and information at this site."

Krystyn, Melbourne

"I am truly happy to have found this site & to find so much useful information and support."

Isabel Pasadena, CA

"I found it at a very difficult time in my life and it was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I wish it had existed years ago and I really credit it with turning my relapse into recovery"

Meryl Wellington, NZ

"With the help of BulimiaHelp.org I feel 100% comfortable about accepting the fact that I have a disorder. Everything is confidential and what makes it better is you can relate to others going through the same problem. THANK YOU BULIMIAHELP.ORG FOR HELPING ME GET BACKON THE RIGHT TRACK TO A HEALTHY LIFE!"

Amanda San Diego, United States

"I'd like to thank the BulimiaHelp website for everything it has done for me. Bulimia is truly a devastating sickness, but it has so little support. This website has really helped me understand that I'm not alone with my illness and that it IS possible to become healthy again. Thank you so much!"

Aleksa Hollen Los Angeles, CA

"Bulimia help.org has been tremendous help for me in my fight to overcome bulimia."

Anonymous Pittsburgh, PA

"I used to binge at night, every night. I was so ashamed I would hide it from my husband. To this day he still does not know. Bulimia Help has been a huge success with me. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I feel like I have finally gotten my life back."

Daniel, Galway Ireland

"I really found myself here by accident, but am I ever SOOO happy that I found the support here that I need."

Cameron, Cape Town, S.Africa

"I was too embarressed to talk to anyone about my bulima and I am just grateful I stumbled across your site. Richard I know you must hear this a lot but thanks you so much for all the effort you have put into this. It has changed my life in more ways than you can imagine."

Louise, London England

"I think that this site is a blessing because finally I am able to communicate with people who are going through the same struggle as me. I just want to thank you for all the tools and encouragement and knowing one is not alone is so helpful thank you so much!!!! What inspiration!"

Amy Ruth, Perth

"Richard, what a blessing to have this. Your dedication and drive to help has really inspired me and make me realise that people do care. What a god send!! thanks so much. I pray you and your partner are well."

Caroline, Autun France

"I think that this site is a blessing because finally I am able to communicate with people who are going through the same struggle as me"

David, San Diego CA

"This site is saving my life!! It is a miracle that i found it when i did."

Paula, New Castle England

"i just want to thank you for this site all the tools and encouragement and knowing one is not alone is so helpful thank you so much!!!! What inspiration! "Thanks so much"

Lousie, Edmonton Canada

The information provided in this website is for information purposes only. The information on this website is NOT a substitute for proper diagnosis, treatment or the provision of advice by an appropriate health professional. Please refer to the full disclaimer and copyright. If you do think you might suffer from an eating disorder, it is important that you talk to your General Practitioner, as there are many physical complications that can arise from being at an unhealthily low weight or from losing weight very quickly, or from purging. We advise you to seek professional help with working on an eating disorder.