GUILT

harribeau2012

I was just pondering the subject of guilt (in relation to eating) - I often feel guilty about eating something if it's over my calorie allowance - UNLESS I am in a "Don't give a damn" mental zone (usually gaining weight as a result), this is my norm.

I have often read the word guilt on here - feeling guilty eating more than such and such, feeling guilty not exercising at so and so time....

Is this purely something that overweight people do? By overweight I mean by a persons own definition of that word, whether 2lbs or 200lbs.

Do people who maintain a very healthy weight either by lifestyle choices started in youth or naturally (my brother has been underweight his whole life!) get the guilts if they have cake (for example)?

I don't feel guilty if I eat cake (again, just an example) within a balanced diet and within calorie allowance, I'm talking about that little (lot) bit extra.

I'm interested in whether someone who has been fit and healthy for ages gets the guilts. :flowerforyou:

yaseyuku

I was fit and at a healthy weight for most of my life until recently. I never had guilt from eating cake, ice cream, pasta, etc.

alisonlynn1976

I've never felt guilty about food, at any weight. I've had issues with using food as a reward, but I think that's something different. I never related to the mindset that certain foods are "bad". Unhealthy, sure, but minus the moral judgment.

PlayerHatinDogooder

I don't eat in a manner that makes me feel guilty.

If I have a piece of cake I have no reason to feel guilty.

If I eat half the cake then I do.

jessicae1aine

No guilt here. If I want something - really, truly want it - and it doesn't fit in my calories, so what? One day is not the end of the world, and I'm not going to deprive myself if it's that important to me. If this was an every day occurrence, it would be an issue, but it's not.

MsLilly200

I've never felt guilt for eating something... I've been overweight basically since I realized I could buy candy for myself with my allowance... I've never been anywhere close to morbidly obese or anything though... So that might have something to do with it...

I do feel regret though... Like last month I ate 600 calories worth of ice cream for breakfast... -_-;; I had a pretty normal day anyways though, I always thought that as long as I'm under or not far above maintainance everything is fine.

Vailara

Well, I used to be slim, fit and healthy for years. And no, usually, I didn't feel guilt about food. HOWEVER, I did when I dieted, regardless of what size I was. It was one of the things that put me off dieting when I put on the weight that I'm losing now. I have found that it has helped to eat quite close to my TDEE. The guilt feelings seem to be triggered by eating to little - I think.

I hate that feeling - it's an unhealthy, unwanted feeling, and it's so difficult to stop. Of course I don't think there's anything wrong with eating the occasional piece of cake. I don't think I SHOULD feel guilty, but I do.

Going for slow weight loss has really helped, and I don't get those feelings any more, thankfully.

poseyj88

Yes! I have absolutely felt the guilt. I think in the past this is ultimately why I've given up calorie counting is I end up obsessing a little bit about everything and I get sick of feeling guilty all the time. Then I don't want to log because it will look terrible... enter vicious cycle.

No advice on ridding of the guilt, but I've been there.

neandermagnon

plenty of very thin people feel guilty about eating certain foods, in fact people of all body types do this, and IMO it's not a healthy mindset. Overeating is not a sin or a crime, so why feel guilty? So many people are stuck in this cycle of excessive restriction, bingeing, guilt, then more restriction, and they're in constant battle with their own body, as the bingeing is in most cases nothing more than a normal, healthy survival response i.e. during a food shortage, we're programmed to eat whatever we can get our hands on. (emotional binge eating happens to some people as well, that's a different situation, but most people who are in this cycle, it's simply the body's survival response to too few calories kicking in). Overeating is an unhealthy habit, nothing more.

IMO it's not healthy to feel guilty about overeating. That doesn't mean everyone should overeat, but I don't think guilt/sin kind of mentality should come into it. A more healthy mindset would be "ooops! If I eat like that every day I won't lose weight... (although once in a while it won't hurt)..." and getting back on track with the eating and exercise plan *without* any additional restriction. If it happens too often, then it could be due to the calorie goal being too low (that's the most common cause of binge eating when dieting, especially binge eating that *only* happens while dieting... i.e. it's a normal survival response), or it could be emotional eating (if severe, get therapy; if mild look for other ways to comfort yourself that don't involve overeating or any other unhealthy habits), or it could simply be due to a lack of motivation or a lack of planning, which you can address, e.g. pre-preparing meals and snacks to avoid having to eat unhealthy snacks because you didn't plan to have healthy snacks with you, or finding ways to motivate yourself to stick to your eating plan, etc.

You can go from this habit (overeating) to various ways of fixing it without ever having to think "I'm a bad person" or feel guilty or getting into the mentality of having to punish yourself with excessive restriction. And the one that isn't putting the whole "guilt/sin" mentality into dieting is more likely to be able to see what's going on clearly and find a solution, than one who responds to every episode of unplanned overeating with excessive restriction and punitive exercise.

That's my take on it. Eating is supposed to be enjoyed, and eating has been a social activity among humans for at least 2 million years (possibly a lot longer) so it's not just supposed to be enjoyed, it's part of the basic emotional needs of humans. So losing weight and staying thin is simply a matter of learning how to continue to enjoy eating just as much as before, while giving your body the nutrition it needs and practicing good portion control so you don't end up piling on excess fat.

harribeau2012

I like the suggestion of "oops...if I eat like that everyday I wont lose weight" being much healthier (mentally) than guilt.. Thankyou everyone for replying, It was just my mind pootling away in the shower....I must stress that I don't think EVERY overweight person has guilt or that NO slender person does , rather, I was merely curious of the experiences of others, in this regard. Many thanks again. :drinker:

whycantregister

I like the suggestion of "oops...if I eat like that everyday I wont lose weight" being much healthier (mentally) than guilt.. Thankyou everyone for replying, It was just my mind pootling away in the shower....I must stress that I don't think EVERY overweight person has guilt or that NO slender person does , rather, I was merely curious of the experiences of others, in this regard. Many thanks again. :drinker:

I like this : "oops...if I eat like that everyday I wont lose weight" instead of feeling 'guilty' - it is like a 'mental training' to think more positively.

I am not overweight, but sometimes, I do feel guilty, and disgusted at myself if I ate more than I should (especially non-healthy fast-food ) - for example, today, haha, I ate McD after my exam (I am an emotional eater :devil: ). Still, I won't over-depress myself for the whole day, I would just exercise/ walking a bit more days after that to compensate the guilt.

I don't record what I eat everyday and precisely, but I knew I ate more than I should if I felt TOO sluggish and excessive laziness afterwards - which would terribly affect my focus in studying, ahh. :grumble:

I wonder how others feel when they over-ate (other than being guilty)

notenoughspeed

I tend to eat what I eat, and just deal with the consequences. No real guilt with eating. I sometimes reflect on my food choices and think that I could have not eaten certain things, but I wouldn't call that guilt. Over the bigger picture, I'm still doing something good for my body.

khall86790

I know people of all shapes and sizes that feel guilty about eating something that isn't particularly healthy.
I think it's more once you are aware of good foods and bad foods or the calories in certain foods, it can instil the guilt into anyone.
I have a friend who is naturally very petite all over and she will still feel guilty on the odd occasion if she eats an McDonalds, one because she knows it's bad for her and two because she knows she isn't putting anything good in to her body.