The Pain of Procrastination

I looked back a month, at a post I put up just after we got back from vacation. I said:
At the end of the month, I'm hoping I'll be able to say the following:

• I'm back down to the lowest weight in more than 20 years
• I don't wince when I look at the checkbook balance and worry if I can pay the bills
• I have my Etsy store opened and I sold something! 
• My blog made more than last month! (considering I made $8 in May, that shouldn't take much!)
  

Okay, let's check in on my progress... 

• Instead of losing ten pounds, I gained five.
• The checkbook has made some progress, but the credit card bill with charges from the vacation needs to be paid next week, so that will wipe out the checkbook again.
• Etsy store still isn't open, and I only have four items ready to sell. 
• My blog did not make any money so far this month... apparently you can lead a reader to a page, but you cannot make them click. 

I've still got five days left in the month, so rather than getting discouraged, I want to turn things around and end the month with a sense of accomplishment. Today, I wrote up an ambitious to-do list (where most of the items have been on my to-do list for the entire month of June), and I am attacking it with a vengeance. 

One of the first items on the list is a book review. Back in February, I got a book called "Hope, Help & Healing for Eating Disorders: A Whole-Person Approach to Treatment of Anorexia, Bulimia and Disordered Eating" from the Blogging for Books program. I've struggled with overeating and "stealth eating" for years, and was hoping that this book would help me get to the root of the problem.

Due to my procrastination, it took me more than a month to get around to reading the book. It's not a quick sit-down-and-read-it-through book. It's the kind of book you want to read slowly, with pen and paper nearby, taking notes, leaving bookmarks, maybe even writing on the front cover "turn to page ___ when you feel like going on a junk food binge!" 

The book deals with a lot of serious issues, helping the reader to get to the reason why she turns to (or away from) food. I like that way that the issues are addressed from a spiritual standpoint, giving Bible verses throughout the chapters, and ending each chapter with a "Spiritual View" discussion that helps the reader to focus on the issue from a Biblical standpoint. 

This book isn't a quick fix for disordered eating, but it is a valuable tool. If you read it slowly and prayerfully and do the "homework" in each chapter, it can help you break free from destructive habits.