Food lover or mindless eater?

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Shelley6591
Shelley6591 Posts: 156 Member
in Getting Started
I recently discovered I don't have a huge love of food like I thought but I'm a mindless and emotional eater. I could eat veggies and healthy food all day but if I'm bored stressed at all look out! I wish I noticed this about 50 pounds ago. Any one else have any recent revelations?
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  • jlshea
    jlshea Posts: 494 Member
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    Yes. I work from home and would mindlessly snack ALL day on junk when I definitely was not hungry. Trying to change that.
  • amycuz14
    amycuz14 Posts: 41 Member
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    Can I be both? I can mindlessly eat, especially when I'm stressed. I've taken up crocheting at night to keep my hands busy (it's really working LOL!). However, I LOVE to cook and I LOVE to eat really good food - I can bypass fast food no issue, but out at a nice restaurant I simply can't go for the salad LOL!
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
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    I never thought I was a stress eater--being a strong, silent male type. One day as I was sitting in front of the TV with a bag of chips or something it occurred to me that I was in my "happy place" and that it felt good. That was when I realized that I often was going to my happy place (TV/snack combo) and that I was feeling stress but that I didn't know it was stress. Now I know, it doesn't always keep me out of my happy place but I can at least substitute ice cream with yogurt or an apple with a big glass of water and that has helped me progress this far.
  • sentaruu
    sentaruu Posts: 2,206 Member
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    I'd say both.
  • NapsAndNachos
    NapsAndNachos Posts: 80
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    I'm both. I don't tend to snack, but I can eat vast amounts of foods at one sitting whilst watching telly. Pretty mindless, but I am aware of it. It is ultimately my choice and if I really wanted to, I would put an end to it.
  • Shelley6591
    Shelley6591 Posts: 156 Member
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    My son had colic as a baby and I would find myself at the pantry stuffing my face constantly on bad days, I think that's when I gained the most over that year... he's 8 now... I really find it a mental thing with me and it finally clicked, took me long enough!
  • Maaike84
    Maaike84 Posts: 211 Member
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    I love food, but used to mindlessly snack a lot... I've heard of this being called shadow comfort. Quoting from this source; http://brenebrown.com/2014/01/22/daring-interview-series-meet-jen-louden/


    "Shadow comforts can take any form. It’s not what you do; it’s why you do it that makes the difference. You can eat a piece of chocolate as a holy wafer of sweetness—a real comfort—or you can cram an entire chocolate bar into your mouth without even tasting it in a frantic attempt to soothe yourself—a shadow comfort. You can chat on message boards for half an hour and be energized by community and ready to go back to work, or you can chat on message boards because you’re avoiding talking to your partner about how angry he or she made you last night.”
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
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    I love food, but used to mindlessly snack a lot... I've heard of this being called shadow comfort. Quoting from this source; http://brenebrown.com/2014/01/22/daring-interview-series-meet-jen-louden/


    "Shadow comforts can take any form. It’s not what you do; it’s why you do it that makes the difference. You can eat a piece of chocolate as a holy wafer of sweetness—a real comfort—or you can cram an entire chocolate bar into your mouth without even tasting it in a frantic attempt to soothe yourself—a shadow comfort. You can chat on message boards for half an hour and be energized by community and ready to go back to work, or you can chat on message boards because you’re avoiding talking to your partner about how angry he or she made you last night.”

    Shadow comfort is a gentle name for it. It's also called bingeing and emotional eating. I used to be able to eat a couple of thousand calories and not remember a bite. I once ate an entire double layer fudge cake while driving it home and I don't remember a bite. I was shocked to see the empty box and the few crumbs left.

    My revelation came a couple of years ago when I heard a clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Pam Peeke speak about it. She said that compulsive overeaters do so because of a lack of dopamine to their brains. We COEs get the same rush of dopamine from eating that a gambler gets from betting or a cocaine addict gets from using. There are actual well done studies to indicate it. The difference is, the gambler and cocaine addict don't have to gamble or use; in fact they will be better for it if they don't, but I have to eat and sometimes for me, eating a meal or snack triggers a binge. So does hunger, frustration and the mention/smell/sight of food.

    There are websites and groups dedicated to compulsive overeaters, if you decide to take that route.


    http://www.drpeeke.com/web/page/700/sectionid/700/interior.asp

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-02/fatty-foods-addictive-as-cocaine-in-growing-body-of-science.html
    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/
  • Shelley6591
    Shelley6591 Posts: 156 Member
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    I saw this before and it was a huge part of me noticing my issue. I use to smoke and quit no problem but when someone told me food addiction and over eating is similar to cocaine and heroin addiction a light bulb went off! The fact that you HAVE to continue to eat to live makes it that much harder where if it were a drug you wouldn't be touching it again plus it's obviously more acceptable to eat than do drugs right? I agree with you 100%!
  • kwantlen2051
    kwantlen2051 Posts: 455 Member
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    good question - probably mindless eater. I noticed that I only have cravings or eat more when I am stressed...
  • Tanya949
    Tanya949 Posts: 606 Member
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    I love food, but used to mindlessly snack a lot... I've heard of this being called shadow comfort. Quoting from this source; http://brenebrown.com/2014/01/22/daring-interview-series-meet-jen-louden/


    "Shadow comforts can take any form. It’s not what you do; it’s why you do it that makes the difference. You can eat a piece of chocolate as a holy wafer of sweetness—a real comfort—or you can cram an entire chocolate bar into your mouth without even tasting it in a frantic attempt to soothe yourself—a shadow comfort. You can chat on message boards for half an hour and be energized by community and ready to go back to work, or you can chat on message boards because you’re avoiding talking to your partner about how angry he or she made you last night.”


    Shadow comfort is a gentle name for it. It's also called bingeing and emotional eating. I used to be able to eat a couple of thousand calories and not remember a bite. I once ate an entire double layer fudge cake while driving it home and I don't remember a bite. I was shocked to see the empty box and the few crumbs left.

    My revelation came a couple of years ago when I heard a clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Pam Peeke speak about it. She said that compulsive overeaters do so because of a lack of dopamine to their brains. We COEs get the same rush of dopamine from eating that a gambler gets from betting or a cocaine addict gets from using. There are actual well done studies to indicate it. The difference is, the gambler and cocaine addict don't have to gamble or use; in fact they will be better for it if they don't, but I have to eat and sometimes for me, eating a meal or snack triggers a binge. So does hunger, frustration and the mention/smell/sight of food.

    Yep... that's me.
  • Tanya949
    Tanya949 Posts: 606 Member
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    Apparently I need to work on my reply to quotes.
  • annettelauer
    annettelauer Posts: 3
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    I find that I am a "boredom" eater. It is on the days when I have free time that I eat the most. I am not hungry at all but eat because I can. As a school teacher, I do pretty well during the school year since I am busy teaching classes all day long. The summer is a different story- my husband is still at work and my kids are gone a lot to their other parents' houses. It's good to find out why you eat. Then you can plan around that.
  • GummyHuman
    GummyHuman Posts: 193 Member
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    One day as I was sitting in front of the TV with a bag of chips or something it occurred to me that I was in my "happy place" and that it felt good.

    Oh. Yeah. I know that place.I was just thinking about how I missed that happy place a little the other day. I had gotten home from shopping and went to grab a water and when I opened the fridge I felt that sensation of what it was like to be grabbing a Mtn. Dew and something salty to go with it and sitting down at my computer to snarf it down. For a split-second I really wanted one (for the first time since I quit drinking dew in Sept '13)

    What I wanted was that "comfort".. the feeling you have when you're in your happy place.
  • Shauneexo
    Shauneexo Posts: 92 Member
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    I'm definitely a mindless eater. Sometimes, I will have to really sit down and talk myself out of going to the store and getting that slice of cake or eating way over my calories for the day. It comes from stress, boredom, any other negative emotion I might be feeling.. It took me forever to recognize that and to come to terms with the fact that it is no way to live eating crap food just because of a passing emotion.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
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    I think most people probably are both, they are kind of connected aren't they? I know I am both. I LOVE food, which leads me to the mindless eating. It is hard to get out of that state of mind and into a healthier one. Slowly but surely...
  • marianapril
    marianapril Posts: 26 Member
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    I think, I love food because if I'm stress or tired, all I want to do is eat. It's like my mind vs. my stomach. I realized that its just a matter of controlling yourself. I don't want to be a mindless eater anymore. I hope I can pass this challenge for myself. Mind over my tummy.

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  • lisawinning4losing
    lisawinning4losing Posts: 726 Member
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    Yes, I have such a sweet tooth and want snacks so bad! Lately I've been keeping my calories at a decent level with portion control and eating "diet" snacks but I'm still getting way too many carbs/sugars and not enough protein.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I am a food lover - one of those people who savors each bite and is always the last to finish. I can be satisfied with a single, savored bite, and I find great pleasure in food. If it doesn't taste good to me, it's usually not worth my time and calories to bother with it, although I will eat for the sake of fueling myself, even if it's not great. In that case, I at least want what I eat to be nutritious. I think mindless eaters are probably more prone to weight problems because they aren't paying attention to what and how much they are consuming. They are often just filling a void.
  • Obnoxa
    Obnoxa Posts: 187 Member
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    Oh I'm a food lover all the way. Snacking isn't/hasn't been a big issue for me. I will snack from time to time, but I certainly don't struggle with it. Good food on the other hand, I will gorge myself really; eating well past the point of full just because I love it. Taste, texture, smell, appearance, when it all comes together, ahh there's nothing like it!
    *Deep breath* So erm, yeah... it's about portion control for me. Definitely a food lover... :tongue:

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