Recovery bootcamp: mini edition

I can't believe what has happened to me in the past 4 weeks, how many fears I have overcome, and how incredibly proud I am that I stopped compensating (binge/purge) from day 1 of the mini bootcamp. My story goes back 11 years, 11 years of restriction, counting calories, obsessively exercising, and especially engaging in almost daily binge-purge behavior in the evenings. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Next year, I will start my dream job, which will demand a lot from me intellectually and also physically due to long working hours. When I heard that food is often ordered in the evenings, I panicked completely. I would never be able to do this job if the Eating Disorder (ED) didn't go away. So there was only one choice, recovery. Danie was my last refuge. I had tried so much already, but when dietitians told me to force myself to allow and eat everything without understanding why, I always ended up relapsing because that was "comfortable". And under the influence of diet culture, I didn't even realize that everything I was trying was essentially diets, which were supposedly a healthy lifestyle and therefore perfectly okay to follow for a lifetime, even though my mental hunger only grew bigger, leading to my binge-purge behavior and my OCD eating rules (because I had to follow the diet perfectly) becoming even worse. I was terrified to start the journey with Danie, and especially stopping running seemed impossible to me. But from day 1, I felt the relief of finally being allowed to rest, I felt how exhausted my body was. And that's also what Danie told me, my body was going to tell me what it needed. So for the first time, I dared to give in to my physical and mental hunger without guilt, without thinking that "everything was ruined," and therefore without needing to compensate later in the bathroom. That is the greatest liberation of my life! I could never have done this without Danie's help, the accountability, and the understanding that there would be feasts ahead, but that this is very normal. She helped me to stay motivated to go through the discomfort without compensating. I felt so empowered! And that also gave me the strength to face my fear foods, which ultimately turned out to be much less serious than they had seemed in my head for years! I went all in from day 1, and I can only recommend that to you! Make the most of those 4 weeks to reprogram your brain. Danie is an incredible support who says just the right things to repeat to yourself in difficult moments, so that you always have that motivation to keep going. And the harder you go, the easier it gets. I really never thought that I could feel so much more energy, freedom in my mind, liberation from counting calories, better concentration, and a focus on enjoying social events instead of fearing the food in just 4 weeks. From my experience, especially with bulimia, I would recommend this program to anyone struggling with it! I was so incredibly stuck in it for years and never thought it was possible to get out of it, but I did it and I can honestly say that this achievement is the greatest victory of my life, for which I am forever grateful to Danie. (Literally crying now, so grateful). There are still some challenges ahead of me, but now that I have overcome this, I know that the path to full recovery is only a matter of time. I would like to conclude with the right words to express my joy, pride, and appreciation for Danie, as a coach and as a person (I will really miss her as a friend too), but they don't exist. It's indescribable what she has given me and made me do, it genuinely brings tears to my eyes. Please, if you're struggling, join the program, it's the most beautiful and best experience of your life!