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What kind of eater am I
170isreal
Posts: 151 Member
Hello Friends fighting the same demon!
I have been attempting to evaluate my eating habits. I often wonder if I am emotionally attached to food and I am not convinced that I am. But I cannot seem to pin point my reasons why I binge. I am a Therapist (Currently a grad student in Social Work) and I help my clients everyday to pinpoint life events that have caused them to process behaviors and actions in the ways that they do and redirect that energy or change a negative behavior to a positive. I ask clients to relive their own traumas in order to heal. Yet, I do not know why i do what I do! I am so frustrated at this point, I feel like I will never have control until I understand why. So I ask you all for some assistance.
1) I crave sweets at night in particular chocolate and when I get a hold of chocolate (which I do not keep in the house) I eat quantities larger than the average person consumes
2) When I have my cheat day once a week I cheat! I want everything to be "worthwhile" "worth the calories" so everything is decadent, and again in large quantities, I often feel sick from my cheat day habits
3) I do not eat when I am sad or depressed or under stress
4) I love to celebrate with food, I am a foodie I love trying new things, and quality of food is important to me
5) I am beyond excited for the 27th when I go to Epcot's food and wine festival (which I will both justify the money I spend as well as the calories I ingest with the idea that I am making a memory and "burning calories" by walking around the park)
I have a love affair with food, good food! I am picky about what I binge on, I am a critic of everything I eat. I rarely eat alone. But i do enjoy eating in public alone as I feel judged even when the food is healthy.
What have you all found to be the emotional attachment? I don't want to lose my enjoyment of food or un-foodie myself I just want to be able to have control over quantity.
Help!
P:s- I know this was lengthy and I appreciate all who took the time and energy to read this post thank you so much!
I have been attempting to evaluate my eating habits. I often wonder if I am emotionally attached to food and I am not convinced that I am. But I cannot seem to pin point my reasons why I binge. I am a Therapist (Currently a grad student in Social Work) and I help my clients everyday to pinpoint life events that have caused them to process behaviors and actions in the ways that they do and redirect that energy or change a negative behavior to a positive. I ask clients to relive their own traumas in order to heal. Yet, I do not know why i do what I do! I am so frustrated at this point, I feel like I will never have control until I understand why. So I ask you all for some assistance.
1) I crave sweets at night in particular chocolate and when I get a hold of chocolate (which I do not keep in the house) I eat quantities larger than the average person consumes
2) When I have my cheat day once a week I cheat! I want everything to be "worthwhile" "worth the calories" so everything is decadent, and again in large quantities, I often feel sick from my cheat day habits
3) I do not eat when I am sad or depressed or under stress
4) I love to celebrate with food, I am a foodie I love trying new things, and quality of food is important to me
5) I am beyond excited for the 27th when I go to Epcot's food and wine festival (which I will both justify the money I spend as well as the calories I ingest with the idea that I am making a memory and "burning calories" by walking around the park)
I have a love affair with food, good food! I am picky about what I binge on, I am a critic of everything I eat. I rarely eat alone. But i do enjoy eating in public alone as I feel judged even when the food is healthy.
What have you all found to be the emotional attachment? I don't want to lose my enjoyment of food or un-foodie myself I just want to be able to have control over quantity.
Help!
P:s- I know this was lengthy and I appreciate all who took the time and energy to read this post thank you so much!
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Replies
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I'm going to say you're still an emotional eater, you just eat when you're happy instead of sad/depressed/bored. You associate food with being happy/having fun (from the way you posted) and it seems like you glamorize it to a certain extent.
How is your control? Could you have an indulgent dessert or something a few times a week instead of a full day of "cheating"? Maybe a meal once a week? Feeling sick isn't a good thing and maybe spreading it out a little might help with control. Are your habits affecting your weight loss goals?0 -
If I remember correctly, either Fairburn or my therapist said that at one time binges may have developed from emotional/abusive/traumatic time, and that even after that time has passed you could still be on the binge roller coaster because you're still limiting calories/overexercising/purging, then binging, wash repeat. The root was emotional but the continuance is based on not breaking the binge/purge cycle.0
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How is your control? Could you have an indulgent dessert or something a few times a week instead of a full day of "cheating"? Maybe a meal once a week? Are your habits affecting your weight loss goals?
Thank you for your reply! I have very little self control
Turning down food is very difficult and I am a jealous eater, if someone has it I want it too.
I have began to think about the possibility to make my cheat day a cheat meal but I am not quite ready to let go. It is something I have been considering for awhile.
My habits do not affect my weight loss in general. I have lost 60lbs in under a year at an average of 2lbs per week. However, I had recently experienced more difficulty getting back on track after a cheat day whereas I did not experience this in the beginning
Thank you very much for your input and I also agree that I glamorize food..0 -
If I remember correctly, either Fairburn or my therapist said that at one time binges may have developed from emotional/abusive/traumatic time, and that even after that time has passed you could still be on the binge roller coaster because you're still limiting calories/overexercising/purging, then binging, wash repeat. The root was emotional but the continuance is based on not breaking the binge/purge cycle.
I do not purge, I also do not over-compensate with lower calories or exercise I just fall into guilt and almost a bit self defeating. Thank you for your input though, I do wonder if my binges come from a traumatic place...
When I was young I used to sneak food and hide it after I binged....0 -
Hmm, sneaking food as a kid might be worth exploration... discovering where and how the guilty feelings are triggered. Good luck!0
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Hmm, sneaking food as a kid might be worth exploration... discovering where and how the guilty feelings are triggered. Good luck!
I agree, thank you so much. Wish I knew though 0
This discussion has been closed.