EP 303: The Eating Disorder Voice Survives on One Thing ~ Here's How to Starve It (Four Agreements Series ~ Part 1)

I've been reading a book that wrecked me in the best way — The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz — and I could not stop seeing recovery on every single page.

So we're kicking off a brand-new series: the Four Agreements, through the lens of eating disorder recovery. These four simple promises you make with yourself have the power to break the stories and the self-betrayal that keep you stuck — which is exactly why they're so pivotal to becoming free.

We're starting with the first, and the one I believe everything else stands on: be impeccable with your word. Because sis, that voice in your head has been holding the pen for far too long — and today, we start taking it back.

What "impeccable" really means

Most of us hear "be impeccable with your word" and think don't lie, keep your promises to others. But it goes so much deeper.

Impeccable traces back to a root meaning "without sin" — without self-betrayal. So being impeccable with your word means your words stand in full integrity with your truth. It means you don't use your words against yourself — not the ones you say out loud, and especially not the ones you say silently, in your own mind.

And if you have an eating disorder, hear this: your words haven't been impeccable — not because you're bad, but because the disorder has been writing them for you.

Your word has been hijacked

The word is the most powerful tool you have. It can create, and it can destroy — and the eating disorder knows it.

Think about what you say to yourself in a single day: I'm disgusting. I shouldn't have eaten that. I'll start over Monday. I have no self-control. I don't deserve to rest.

That's not you being impeccable with your word. That's you using your most powerful tool as a weapon against your own body and soul. Every time you speak those words — even silently — you're agreeing with the lie, signing a contract that says this is true, this is who I am. The eating disorder voice survives on your word. It cannot keep its grip if you stop agreeing with it.

Standing in your truth, no matter what