Eating From the Kitchen of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)- One Food at a Time

Healing your Disorder with Cucumber

Hadrat Malik bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said, "I have left amongst you two things. You will not go astray so long as you hold fast to them. These are the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His Messenger." (Malik)

Eat from the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and you will be taking a step towards conquering your demon of eating disorder.

Allah has mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example to follow, for the one who hopes in the meeting with Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.”
(Qur’an, 33:21)

In order to live, food is necessary.  In recovery, food is the main source of healing for physical and mental ailments. No recovery from ED is possible without food. Try one food at a time from the kitchen of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and enjoy its blessings.  Today I present to you Cucumber. One of the most common problems with anorexia and bulimia is dry skin, thinning hair, loss of muscle, constipation, bad breath and etc. Cucumber with its numerous benefits can aid in treatment of many of these problems. I find that refusing food is almost as bad as refusing air. It is an exhausting and frustrating battle every second and with time consequences are dire and often irremediable.  It is essential to get vitamins from food. Supplements should be taken in addition to meals and with meals for their essential and proper absorption.

Go for recovery Go for Life and Reach for the Stars.

How much do I need to Eat?

According to Ulrike Schimidt and Janet Treasure author of getting better bit(e) by bit(e) “ you should need to eat atleast between 1,500 and 2,000 calories per day. However, if your levels of activity are high or you are high or you are still growing, you may need considerably more.”

Do bear in mind this is only for people who are not underweight and are not suffering from malnutrition (caused by both bulimia and anorexia). If your in recovery, then please consult your dietician. Don’t forget that you need to work with your body to achieve your optimal weight and well-being and that can only be done through feeding.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are very powerful vegetables and come from the same family as pumpkin, zucchini, watermelon and other types of squash. Also they are one of the best foods for your overall health.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) combined cucumbers with ripe dates saying: “the heat of the latter is reduced by the coolness of the former.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah)

Why not have cucumbers and dates as one of your healthy snacks in your recovery from ED?

For a healthy snack recipe, try slices of cucumber covered with delicious medjool dates!



Cucumber has a cold effect and dates have a hot one. By combining the two it becomes mild. From this hadith we gather that it is recommended that the effect (hot or cold) of things eaten should be taken into consideration. Cucumber is insipid and tasteless, and dates are sweet which results in the cucumber also tasting sweet.

Ibn al-Qayyim said the cucumber has the following health benefits:

• Quenches thirst


• Calms an inflamed stomach


• Beneficial for pains of the bladder


• Its seeds are diuretic

Some more benefits of Cucumber

Rehydrates body and replenishes daily vitamins- Cucumbers contain enough sugar and electrolytes to replenish many essential nutrients, reducing the intensity of both hangover and headache.
Good source of B vitamins

Fight cancers - Cucumber are known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three lignans have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and prostate cancer.
Relieves bad breath

Aids in digestion- the high water content and dietary fiber in cucumbers are very effective in ridding the body of toxins from the digestive system, aiding digestion.

Relieves constipation- Daily consumption of cucumbers can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.
Cures diabetes

Reduces cholesterol

Hydrates Skin- When applied externally, the astringent properties in cucumbers draw out dirt and cleanse the pores and reduce puffiness around the eyes.



Hair Nail and Skin miracle- They are very high in silica which gives you strong hair, nails and skin.  

Controls blood pressure

 

Use Cucumber in Daily Diet for:

Cooling:  During dry and hot weather, drink a glass of cucumber + celery juice. It wonderfully helps to normalize body temperature.

Hair growth:  The silicon and sulfur content in cucumber juice makes it especially helpful in promoting hair growth. Drink it mixed with carrot, lettuce or spinach juice.

Water retention: It supplies the necessary electrolytes and restores hydration of the body cells, thus reducing water retention.

Enjoy Cucumber with all your Meals

A Perfect accompaniment to any Meal Salad-e-Shirazi

One of the favourite Salads of Iran, finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers mixed with olive oil and lime juice and subtle spices make salald-e-shirazi a hit.

Ingredients:

• 3 large, firm tomatoes


• 2 cucumbers


• 1 small onion, red or yellow


• 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, depending on taste


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped


• 1 teaspoon minced garlic


• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix minced garlic with olive oil, lime juice, fresh mint, salt and pepper and set aisde.

Finely chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Toss with remaining ingredients and gently mix well.  Viola your beautiful salad is ready. Serve immediately.

Serve chilled.  Serves 4.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Want Smooth Skin and Strong Hair?

Cucumber Apple Ginger Juice for Strong Hair & Smooth Skin

Source:www.suesnutritionbuzz.com

Reverse damage to your skin and hair with this great smoothie. An energising beauty tonic in a glass. Juicing is a great way to get all the essentials nutrients into your body.

“Since cucumbers are 96% water they make the perfect juice veggie. They hydrate skin with valuable nutrients. When applied externally, the astringent properties in cucumbers draw out dirt and cleanse the pores and reduce puffiness around the eyes.  They are very high in silica which gives you strong hair, nails and skin.

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber


• 1 apple


• 2 stalks celery


• 1 inch ginger


• 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Wash all veggies and fruit. leave skin on if organic.


2. Lightly peel or wash with a fruit veggie wash to remove pesticides if not organic.


3. Juice the cucumber first, followed by the apple, ginger, lemon and celery.


4. Drink plain or pour over ice and enjoy your cool refreshing cucumber juice !

Note-Loaded with silicon and hydrating minerals and vitamins, this juice will make you glow and nourish your skin from the inside out !

Your Thoughts & Focus Determine Your Future Recovery Is Easier When You Focus on the Positive & Take Action

Your Thoughts & Focus Determine Your Future

Recovery Is Easier When You Focus on the Positive & Take Action

Recovery Is Easier When You Focus on the Positive & Take Action

 

By Polly Mertens



http://www.getbusythriving.com/choose-your-focus/

While you may think your eating disorder is helping you cope with life and feel better, it’s merely buffering your true feelings and keeping you from feeling anything.

I can appreciate how dealing with life can be hard and you just want to run away. I want you to know when you avoid feeling negative feelings you’re actually keeping yourself from feeling the positive feelings, too.

Eating disorders sort of “numb” you to life – both the highs and the lows.

When you were a small child you knew and lived as if life was about playing and having fun.

I believe all of life is supposed to be happy and we’re supposed to feel good. I want to share with you some lessons I’ve learned about how positive thinking and feeling and taking action to have what you want in your life makes all the difference.

Your Bulimia Auto Pilot

The road to bulimia recovery is paved each day when we walk along a new path. Each day we create a new reality that didn’t exist before. The road begins by taking one step, then another, then another.

The foundation of your recovery is built upon your commitment and your willingness to change your life forever. While this is where it all starts, the rubber meets the road in your individual moments of decision where you either choose recovery or you choose bulimia. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed by thinking long term that it’s going to be hard, that you’ll never be able to do it. Ignore all that limiting thinking and just make one small decision each time you’re faced with an urge to binge and purge.

Making decisions each and every moment is how we navigate our lives. Somewhere along your life’s journey you started navigating towards bulimia and it’s now a well-worn path. It’s like when you’re on autopilot and drive yourself to work and arrive without remembering the details of the trip you just took. You’re in auto-bulimia pilot right now. Bulimia is your default. It’s up to you to travel a different road, to take different actions, to make different choices in your life.

Choose a New Reality

I learned a wonderful insight early on in my recovery called the Process of Manifestation. It took awhile for me to “get it”, but once I did the implementation of it is really powerful. The Process of Manifestation goes like this:

[Our] Thoughts → Feelings → Action → Results

Our thoughts lead to our feelings and when we take action (or don’t take action) we have results in our life. Allow me to break this down further for you so you can understand how this applies to your eating disorder and addictive habits:

Thoughts – what we think about a situation, a person, or ourselves begins as a thought in our mind. Our thoughts are also our perceptions. Habituated thoughts become our beliefs. The energy (positive or negative) of our perceptions about things starts with our thoughts. When something happens in our life we have thoughts based in our beliefs and life experience and give each situation meaning.

Feelings – feelings create sensations in our physical body and these sensations are created by our response to the thoughts we think. Thoughts of love or happiness may make us feel warm and sort of energized inside our core. Thoughts of anger or frustration may give us a sensation of shutting down, getting “fired up” or impatience and anxiousness that leads to sweating or increased heart rate. We interpret our feelings through our intuitive kno wing (sometimes referred to as our inner guidance system). We know when we feel good and we know when we feel badly. Feelings exist inside our bodies, not in the physical, outer world.

Actions – when we move from the non-physical world inside our bodies and into the physical realm of our outer environment, it is due to actions we take. This is the barrier between the seen/unseen, internal/external, and invisible/visible world. You might say this is where we play a part in the manifesting of creation. Taking actions includes things like talking, walking, speaking, and otherwise exerting our bodies. The opposite of taking action is not taking action. By not doing something we also create results in our life.

Results – these are the outcomes, or experiences, we have because of the actions we have or have not taken. The way our life shows up for us is a direct correlation to the thoughts we had, feelings we felt about those thoughts, actions we took or did not take. I look at changing the course, or results, of my life like turning an ocean liner. The ocean liner does not change course quickly and yet over time the end destination – and the journey along the way – was affected by the small adjustments (choices/actions) we made.

Here’s something to help you remember the process of manifestation :

That which you think about – and take action towards – comes about.

If you want to live a recovered life, it’s up to you to begin to monitor and modify your thoughts and actions. You’re responsible for the course of your life and it means you go back to thinking like a non-bulimic.

Start With Today

I challenge you to start making new choices to overcome bulimia today. Depending upon your level of willingness and commitment to recovery these choices may seem easier and sometimes harder. Like I’ve said before: recovery begins when you decide to be a non-bulimic. I hope you’ve already decided to transform your life. If so, good for you. If not, why not start today?

Thoughts Become Things

I want to complete this with a final word about how our thoughts become things by telling you a story of my friend Mira. I met my friend Mira while working shortly after college. We became close friends quickly and spent a good amount of time together. After a year or so of working together I moved on to a new job and eventually out of the area.

I knew Mira while I was in the midst of my bulimia phase, but she never was aware of my eating disorder. After about 9 years of sending emails I decided to visit her . My friend Mira had divorced her husband and had to give up custody of her daughter because she did not earn enough money to fight the battle for primary custody of her daughter.

When I arrived at her home it was hard to walk in the front door because of how much stuff she had piled around her home. Her home was wall-to-wall filled with stuff and just a pathway from room to room. This was the first time I had stayed in her home and I was surprised by how much clutter and useless stuff she had because I knew her job as a bookkeeper did not allow her much extra money.

On the second day of visited with her we were talking and I asked about all of the things everywhere and she said “Oh, I know. I’m so bad. I can’t stop shopping.” She said with a laugh and shy look in her eye. She said, “I’m so bad” about 15-20 times over the course of the two days I visited with her.

I started to notice how quickly and often she said “I’m so bad” that I realized it was an unconscious affirmation she said to herself. I mentioned it to her gently asking if she was aware that she was saying it and it took her by complete surprise. She was not upset that I pointed it out, but surprised that she wasn’t even aware she was doing it.

She finally became aware of what she was saying and realized how saying this about herself, to herself over and over each day was filling her with negative feelings and low self-esteem. She could hardly believe what she was saying and we spent several hours looking at where the phrase came from, why she might be saying it to herself, and adjusting the behavior (I would let her know whenever she said it so she could begin to stop the habit).

After a few days she was more and more aware of how negative the affirmation was having an affect on her so she committed that weekend to stop saying it. This is exactly the type of pattern we develop when we think something, feel something and then develop a pattern or habit to reinforce the negative.

Look to your own thoughts and to what you say to yourself regularly. If you have a habit of saying things like “I’m so fat” or “I’m such a loser” or “When I’m thin then I’ll be happy” you may be slowly reinforcing unhappiness and negative energy towards yourself.

First, begin to notice your behavior. Then, replace it with something else and start to condition yourself with more empowering thoughts. All it takes is time and a desire to change for you to turn around these patterns.

What to Focus On

Here are a few ideas of great things to start focusing on:

• Find a support system –  online forums, friends, family
• Think about therapy or Eating Disorder treatment Centre
• Learn about your triggers and how to avoid them
• Develop a structured meal plan

• Do what makes you feel good and be easy on yourself.

Your recovery is in your hands. Little actions taken each day will eventually turn your ocean liner.

Are you ready to change the course of your life and create different results in your life?

Now you know some small steps you can take. Now take at least one step this week to start changing the course of your journey.

…and remember the Process of Manifestation:

Thoughts → Feelings → Actions → Results

Eating Disorder Success Story

 



Forwarded by Karen from www.mom-please-help.com: This is a very special article, it was written by an ex-sufferer whohas used Dr Irina's program with great success. It is her thoughts on how she felt and what she found was her key to success.

 

From Andra.

Off the top of my head, I would say that I strongly identify with the
ED as the only thing I could do well. Everything else was too hard
and resulted in failure. Not binging and purging is impossible.
"One more time" was my albatross; and one I could not logically move beyond. I found this the hardness thing to conquer.

So I started making notes on what may be helpful in your program to
me and I think to others also.

Here are some very brief thoughts- that I found helped me:

An encouraging/supportive coach is essential - (You have been my lifeline in this process Irina and William I don't know where I would be without your unbelievable understanding, encouragement and wealth of information. So please take advantage of the also.

I found that if I write every feeling down - positive and negative - keep a log or diary on these as it has been so helpful to re-read our correspondence from time to time, as I could see I really was making progress!!! Very important that you think you are winning.

I also found if I broke the recovery process into tiny, baby steps it helped. If you identify one tiny, mini goal or thought, you can master it and move on and feel good instead of procrastinating. I found following the program step by step really helped.The problem I had before was to jump from one thing to another thing and it did not work. But once I started to do the baby steps it all fell into place.

I found to write and post my personal goals/mantras on sticky notes and place everywhere, keep these very brief and repeat whenever you can - e.g. while I skip in my workout, I repeat over and over again. Things like I am free from my disorder, I eat normally and don't want to purge etc.

When I get negative feelings and thoughts I use the BAM technique on them and one of the mantras that works for you - i.e. "Only one decision away". learn to differentiate what is truly important and what can be dealt with at another time, each morning you wake up and make a conscious decision on how this day will be, discipline yourself to think happy thoughts, like, food = nourishment = fuel,it is ok to eat and enjoy it as I am not on a diet... I don't have to binge or purge anymore as food is only food not an escape for my feelings.

Understand that recovery is not overnight and to be ok with this in your own mind as long as you are having some tiny successes it will work for you.

Recognize personal mini successes, like not binging or not purging for a couple of days - jump up and down and be excited when this happens!!! Also find someone you can ask for help because you do need to share with someone. But don't ask someone who will offer advice unless it is Dr Irina or William because they will not know. Find someone who will listen to your thoughts and encourage you without making judgments. You can ask a friend and tell them you just want to talk about your feelings and could they reframe from commenting on anything you say to them.

If you do these things then you will have success, because I did. And I can tell you honestly that being free of the ED is the most wonderful feeling you can have. I am really jumping for joy and if you are still suffering please just get Dr Irina's and Williams program and you will be free and feeling wonderful like me. I have my life back and it is an amazing feeling.

Thanks for reading Andra from Canada.
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=J1f3.&m=1lz6MEdeBZOP2j&b=I3Uodds_TEiO_u7WCg9EKg