August 2010 Update:
I don’t want to revise the “About me” section below, as much of it is still true and I do want to leave it intact for reference, as well (though given the time passage, you can do the math regarding my age).
But I think there’s an important add-on to my story, and that is that I joined a 12-step program over a year ago, and it has been, unequivocally, the best decision I have ever made, with regards to my recovery. I dare say it has been the single greatest stepping stone in achieving the level of progress I currently enjoy. I know that backsliding and relapsing are risks I will always have, but for today I have a level of peace and optimism that I have never had before.
So that’s my nutshell for me and my life since the “little bit about me” below!
From 2008:
I’m 40 years old, live in the northern midwest. My interests include running, skiing, cooking, wine, coffee, and dancing. I love all kinds of music, from classic rock (love AC/DC Led Zepplin) to relatively current stuff (U2 and Kylie Minogue are two examples), from 80’s pop (confessed fan of Duran Duran and Sting) to gems from the 60’s (yeah, I can still listen to the occasional Monkees hit) and 70’s. Love Booker T and MG’s and similar sounds. But I especially enjoy various world/international genres. Bossa nova, flamenco, French or Italian lounge music, African drums, Celtic tunes…these are what you’re likely to find me listening to for pleasure. Having always been an athlete in one way or another, I love to exercise and train, and try to do so every day. I do it because I love to move, not to obsessively manage my weight. I would never knowingly ignore my body’s limitations and put it at risk; I always take a rest when I sense my body needs it (which thankfully, isn’t very often). But I also love to push myself, to set new challenges, to feel my heart pumping, my muscles toiling, my breath intense.
And because this is a blog about (at least in part) eating disorders, for the record I’m 5’6″, and my weight fluctuates between 125 and 128. I have weighed more, I have weighed less, but this is where I have been for many years, and I’m happy with it. My body type is lean and muscular, and I’ll admit I very much enjoy looking the part of the athlete that I am. Overall, I feel extremely happy and satisfied with life; I have much to be thankful for and remind myself of this daily. I tend to be described as high-energy and positive, which is true as I have always been a bound-out-of-bed kind of person (and I like to think that I try to see the bright side of things as often as possible). But I’m also an intense perfectionist, I can definitely be moody and cynical as well. I prefer to keep these traits private, though, which is one reason I have this blog!
This is so weird! Your “Advanced eating disorder recovery phase” popped up on my blog as a related item, or however they call it. So I took a peek and was shocked to see that we both picked out the same design, and that we write very similarly. But I’ve never been very athletic, nor do I bound out of bed.
Congratulations on your process of recovery!
Martha