Even if we want to change, we may feel stuck, or we’re attached to something that keeps us from changing. We may get pulled between different things, like taking care of others versus taking care of ourselves; or, wanting to lose weight, but not wanting to give up comfort eating and drinking.

In 2008, my collegiate swimming career was coming to an end. By that point in time, it was coming somewhat as a welcome. I was just coming out of some serious issues with over-training syndrome and exercise addiction. But a large part of me was concerned about what my identity would be like without swimming. Outside of that, what was I to do as far as fitness and staying in shape? For 16 years I had grown accustomed to just wearing a Speedo to swim in. But would I have the audacity to ever put one back on if I couldn't look at least decent in it again? So many concerns were going through my head with the end of such a career…

It’s 2:45 AM and I’m lying in my bed listening to my husband snore. My mind is racing - thoughts like “I’m never going to fall asleep”, and “my day is going to be ruined” stream across my mind. After flipping over onto my side for what feels like the thousandth time, I accept defeat. I lost the battle. I crawl out of bed, stomp downstairs, and flop onto the couch, much to the dismay of my 4-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback…

I’ve cycled through lots of extremes regarding my nutrition. I’ve gone years never thinking twice about what I consumed. I’ve gone through periods of intense bingeing, only to restrict for days on end. I have also lived on the other side of the extreme…

I felt it was time that I wrote something more personal. I think I have avoided delving too deep because of the shame that is attached to food addiction, emotional eating, binging, etc. It wasn’t until fairly recently that I was able to pinpoint exactly how I defined my own emotional eating behavior. I once sought the help of a therapist for this very issue. Why do I eat when I’m not hungry? I was met with amateur-hour suggestions. Eat off a red plate, drink water before meals, “I’ll fill a prescription for an appetite suppressant.”

Let's talk about stress. We’re all pretty familiar with it. As adults stress becomes a part of our life. We have responsibilities and deadlines to attend to. Although we often think of stress as a bad thing, in small doses, it’s actually quite beneficial. It motivates us to meet those deadlines at work, finish a school project, stick to our diet, or get to the gym first thing in the morning. But sometimes, stress becomes overwhelming. It accumulates and eventually, we can’t take it anymore. This build-up and constant stress is the kind that’s harmful to our health. This is the type of stress we want to talk about.

Problem-solving has many layers. You’re here and I’m here because we have a problem that we’ve yet to solve on our own. We’re here because we need help. There’s nothing wrong with needing help. Everyone needs help with something in their lives at some point. As you start to outline the things you need or the actions you need to take to solve a problem, it may take a bit to get going. But at some point, it starts to build like a classic cartoon snowball rolling down a hill. Here is a sample list of things or actions you’ve likely done as you started your journey with BIN to solve this problem.