ADVANTAGES OF ABSTINENCE

• I don’t have to plan future binges and nervously await them.
• I save money on food, and I eat healthfully.
• I don’t have to worry about gaining weight from a binge and having to lose it again.
• My relationship to food becomes balanced.
• I don’t have to dread the consequences of a binge. Instead I can touch them lightly before a binge starts and then let them go.  
• I feel closer to God and to other people.
• My heart becomes more open and tender.
• I don’t have to lie about my food.
• I don’t have to climb back out of oblivion after the binge.
• I learn I can be with my emotions and outlive their grasp. Each time I do that strengthens me to deal effectively with future strong and difficult emotions.
• I gain self-confidence and self-respect in all areas of my life.
• I don’t have to hide how I purchase food and eat it.  
• I have much more access to my feelings of gratitude.
• I like myself more.
• I appreciate my body more. I feel that its size and shape are just as they should be at this moment. I can work sanely with its inevitable changes.  
• I enjoy nature, creative arts and other people much more.
• I feel happy, joyous and free.