Binge Eating Disorder New Year's Resolutions

It's common for everyone, whether you have binge eating disorder or not, to make New Year's resolutions. But what makes a good resolution and what makes one that will set you up for failure? Although a lot of people don't take resolutions seriously, they can be a starting point for you to make changes in your life and leave harmful habits behind (New Year's Resolutions: You Gotta Want It). Binge eating disorder New Year's resolutions can be helpful.

What Makes a Good Binge Eating Disorder New Year's Resolution?

So you have binge eating disorder and you're making your New Years resolution, what do you include? What should you leave out? What is the difference between a doable resolution and an impossible fantasy (Making Goals For Your Eating Disorder Recovery)?

Here are some tips for crafting New Years resolutions you can follow and stick with.

• Be specific. A lot of people put goals on their lists that don't have a measuring point. For example, if someone wants to eat more vegetables in 2016, how many vegetables are needed to reach this goal? How do you know when you've reached it?

Unhelpful resolution: Eat more vegetables.
Better Resolution: Eat one serving of vegetables with every meal.

• Be realistic. If there's a specific task you want to accomplish, that's great but make sure this task is viable and fits in with your treatment plan. A lot of people make weight loss goals for their New Years resolutions and that's fine, but some people put a lot of pressure on themselves to lose weight quickly and that can lead to starvation diets and fad dieting.

Unhelpful resolution: Lose 20 pounds in January.
Better resolution: Work with my doctor and my binge eating disorder therapist to come up with a weight loss plan that I can stick to.

• Keep it short. I've seen New Years resolution lists that go on and on with loads of ideas and changes that no human being could make in a year. Focus on what you really want to accomplish in 2016 and and don't go overboard with making changes.
• Have fun with it. Sometimes people act like New Years resolutions are supposed to be a laundry list of things you need to do or should already be doing in order to change your life. A lot of people have an idealized version of what "real adults" are doing in their lives and they want to live up to that ideal even though it doesn't exist. Add in some fun New Years resolutions which will make the new year something to look forward to, not something to dread.

Unhelpful resolution: [List of difficult tasks and things everyone wants to pretend they do but no one actually does.]
Better resolution: Go on a day trip every month to a different historical site or museum in the area.

Here Are My Binge Eating Disorder New Year's Resolutions

I didn't do any resolutions last year, but this year, after having issues with my binge eating disorder, I decided to make some New Years resolutions.

1. Keep meal portion size to eight ounces: After my gastric sleeve weight loss surgery my stomach can only hold eight ounces at a time. Recently, I've been overstuffing my sleeve to the point where I feel ill. No more of that.
2. Submit my book to publishers: It's a daunting task, but I need to edit, revise, and polish a book, then write a proposal to submit it to publishers next year. I'm hoping to have it completed by summer.
3. Go see Monticello for the first time in over two decades: I've wanted to go back there for a while now and I really just need to make plans and do it.
4. Stop drinking sodas: The carbonation hurts my stomach and the sugar makes me feel ill. There's no good reason why I should be drinking them.

Final Thoughts On Binge Eating Disorder New Years Resolutions

Everyone wants a clean slate in 2016 and a fresh start to the year, so a lot of people make binge eating disorder resolutions. It's important to remember that every day is a fresh start and a resolution can be made or amended at any time. If your resolutions don't work out, there's always a new day and a chance to try something else.

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