ohifelloff i was very ill with bulimia and anorexia, now i am a normal (still low/normal)weight and i don't obsess about food - i pretty much eat what i want and don't restrict, but i still have certain foods just i don't eat (like i just haven't bothered to include them as i don't think its necessary) but i eat a lot of calories a day, in fact i don't count any more and in the times i have counted i realise i eat a lot more than a normal woman and still maintain my weight (when im doing well) which is very encouraging, and should be, to those who are recovering.
about my actual recovery....it has gone through sooo many stages! the first was getting pregnant, it seemed to help me realise i need to eat for my child, and gave me a reason to recover. then i went low carb for awhile and this broke my fear of fats - i was no longer afraid to eat fat, i was ok with fatty foods and still am even when i came off the low carb as it wasn't really working for me ... but it served its purpose in helping me get more balance in my diet. then i broke off a bad relationship, and was able to stop bp as much because i had less time alone because i was running around after dd, so ed took a back seat. i was no longer depressed and held back because of the bad relationship so that helped.
i think one of the most important stages that i had to go through in recovering, was to let my body have the binge. years of restriction, years of bp, cause tremendous damage to the body, which is part of the reason we crave binging - our bodies need the food to repair the damage - yes it needs simple sugars and carbs to provide the quick energy thats needed. its only for awhile. i let my body have what it wanted and sat with the uncomfortableness, for about 4 months. my stomach bloated, i went through a stage of exhaustion when i believed my body was healing itself, then i no longer seemed to crave binging like i did before, the weight started gradually balancing out to the rest of my body and i began to feel much better and not focus on food as munch. there is a lot of information about this way of recovery the website www.youreatopia.com/ i didn't follow this method fully, but i was aware of it, and it really really helped me accept the stages i was at in my recovery and let go. i really suggest you read some of the entries about extreme hunger and the stages of recovery listed here www.youreatopia.com/archive/
lots of reading but very worthwhile
for me i went through years of therapy. very negative - weighing every week, food diaries, cbt. yes i gained awareness but none of it ever worked - i got better when i quit therapy. i still struggle with overeating at times and bp sometimes but im living my life now.
wow this was long. there is much more that helped too but ive rambled long enough for now!