The Value of a Coach

I'm going to tell you something that's going to surprise you. Everything there is to know and learn about overcoming binge eating and overeating is already out there. Trust me, I'm looking at a stack of books on the topic as I write this and that's only a fraction of what's out there. And no matter how long you've been struggling, how overweight you've become, how many times per day you binge, it's 100% possible to leave this part of you behind.

So why isn't it so easy? The information is out there, the tools are floating around, I've even shared many important pieces of the puzzle in my blogs, Q&As and other content. But gathering up the pieces and organizing them into a way that builds upon the prior piece, and knowing how to support yourself when you waiver, and knowing which tools to focus on- that's where it gets tricky.

I see so often people on social media sharing their struggles, counting their binge free days, then feeling lost and alone when something triggers them back into a binge. They move from this idea to that idea, sometimes trying to control themselves with diets, then embodying intuitive eating, then eating whatever they want, then back to a plan. I did the same kind of journey during my two years of self-healing, always trying something new, always left to pick up the pieces.

But I feel for these people, because I know it doesn't need to be that way. Yes, you can take two years to overcome your struggles, but you could also take two months. I see coaches out there who are helping people recover from binge eating daily- coaches like Kathryn Hansen of Brain Over Binge, or Brittany Brown of Beating Binge Eating, Kirstin Sarfde of Coach Kir, or Ellen Shuman of A Weigh Out. These coaches, as well as myself, are here to support you. We have experience, we've helped others, we each have our own systems that work, and we help people overcome these struggles in an organized and efficient way.

When binge eating is personal and secretive and ongoing for years, it can feel bigger than you, and bigger than anyone. You can start feeling hopeless. But I'm here to remind you, or tell you for the first time, that recovery is possible when you're ready to commit. And although I can tell you that the information is out there for you, and you can do it alone, which it is, and you can, there are simply better ways to go about it now. I could say the same thing about getting the knowledge of a Bachelor's Degree- the material and course books are all out there. I could learn the same content in my own time- read, watch videos, attend public lectures, but unless someone is leading me through, telling me what to study, assigning the appropriate work, tracking my progress, helping me when I get stuck, then it's likely I won't do the work required to learn what I could, even if it is all at my finger-tips, and even if I do have the desire. In fact, I likely wouldn't even know what work needed to be done.

This public service blog is intended to share one thing- recovery is possible, and although there are options for accessing materials and tools on your own, the value of a coach leading you through to offer wisdom, perspective, accountability and structure is indispensable. If you want to recover from binge eating, do yourself a favour and find a coach you resonate with, pay the fees to work with them, and get on with your life. You do not need to suffer alone... or suffer at all.

So to all the women I see, struggling. I feel you. I really do. I was there, all of us coaches were, and I went at it alone simply for lack of options of help. But it's an incredible and connected world we live in now where there are actually people out there specializing in this. (Hi!) Take a leap of faith, commit to your recovery, and invest in yourself. You won't regret it.