Family occasion advice needed

theonewiththedream

I have some family visiting this coming week and, despite not having binged in quite some time, I am worried. My problem is that my family is very "food is an expression in love" oriented, they use food and feeding people as a way to show their love. While I understand that, as someone trying to stay binge-free this is an issue as many of the foods they make/bring are my "trigger foods" (foods that I find hard to portion control responsibly), and although I have gotten pretty at resisting these, combined with the "eat, eat" sentiments..... Well. Any advice?

tsikkz

I find people project the "eat eat" sentiments to make themselves feel better about how much they are consuming. I would probably try to eat as slow as possible because people don't usually chide me when I have a plate of food infront of me, I would also tell people im saving room for desert.

I don't personally binge in crowds so my biggest concern would be making sure people take any leftover food with them.

It is possible to indulge without bingeing but if you need to avoid those trigger foods alltogether, just be strong and firm with your refusals. Were all rooting for you!

mae918

Ohhh how I can relate! My family also uses food as an expression of love...we're of Italian decent and I grew up with the expectation to over-eat as a way of appreciating all the hard work that went into making the food.
Soooo much of my family's traditional food and desserts are my trigger foods. It is probably equally impressive and horrifying at how much I CAN eat at family gatherings and dinners..

I am still working on it, but here is what has helped me so far -

I fill my own plate (with smaller portions) and when they ask about seconds I already know which ONE or two things I will take a second round of. This works for me because my portions were small the first time and if I already decided what I will say yes to - I won't cave to the guilt of not taking something they suggest.

I keep 1 - 2 meals worth of left overs at most and send the rest with others. It's helpful to get cheap containers to send them in so they can be distributed easily.

What I need to work on is not touching all the little snacks (that are in every conceivable space imaginable). It's a work in progress! It helps me to know those foods will be available another time..this is not the last time I will ever indulge in them so I don't have to over-indulge to make up for anything. Good luck! And remember how hard you've been working! You will be great