As of September 1, 2012: - Goal to remain mindful of not binging and when I do binge figure out why and what was going on when I binged. I also want to log it all

Mollie - 13
The Binge - 3 (1, 10, 16)

There is a Mystery Behind Every Food Addiction

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 | POSTED BY DR. GOULD

Are you looking for a "Magical Cure" to your food obsession or a "Scientific Solution?"

We know that emotional eating is the major cause of overeating, weight gain, food disorders and eating addictions. When you eat for emotional reasons, you are doing so because you are in conflict with yourself. You have to recognize that you have two selves fighting it out with each other, over every difficult food decision.

THE CONFLICT

On one hand, when you decide to "diet", you are saying to yourself that you want to learn how to eat in moderation and stop using food in excess to deal with overwhelming emotions. You want to stop the self destructive use of food which is making you fat, miserable, and damaging your health. You are the one who is deciding to stop this eating pattern because it's in your best interest.

On the other hand, there is a part of you that when it comes to eating what you want, says; "nobody's going to take my food away from me." This stake in the ground represents a defiant act of independence. For some strange reason, this rebellious self is glorified and generates a sense of pride. This is part of the mystery that needs to be revealed, because that someone who wants to take food away from you is you.

THE MYSTERY

The meaning of food and hunger, and the act of eating, is part of the "mysterious" unique psychology of each person's complex life, both past and current. Below is an example of a common scenario that illustrates the origins of the rebellious self. Keep in mind, there are many others. Some that start later in life and others that have nothing to do with a parent. Regardless of the origin of your eating conflict, the fact that you are still rebelling against yourself, is a mystery to be solved.

Often times the pattern starts as a rebellion against a parent, mostly the mother. People vividly remember their mother constantly harping about their weight during late childhood and adolescence. They did not see their mothers attention to their weight as a loving gesture. Usually they saw it as a rejecting gesture meaning that they were not valued if they were heavy and would only be valued if they were thin and popular.

In response to that interpretation of their mother's intent, they dug in their heels and rebelled and refused to lose weight. Oftentimes they would sneak food to baffle their doctors and confuse their parents who couldn't understand how they gained weight on the prescribed diet. Since they were ostensibly doing everything possible they should be excused from losing weight because it wasn't in their control, it was just their metabolism. They convinced themselves that they were victims being misunderstood and unfairly treated.

THE SOLUTION

The solution to this conflict is insight, it is your personal "Ahas" that will resolve this conflict over time. Here is an example of a woman who conquered her rebellious self.

One day she calmly and clearly decided that she was simply going to lose weight! This statement came only after she was convinced she could master the problems in her relationship without using food to comfort herself or to punish her husband. This did not just happen magically. It was at the end of a process during which she was immersed in hours and hours of thinking about herself and food and grabbing little insights along the way until it all added up.

Many other members of the Shrink Yourself Program have reported that they have suddenly lost their cravings, after understanding the rebellious aspects of themselves.

THE SCIENCE

All significant learning takes time, attention, practice and patience. The brain has multiple processing centers that work individually and every night when you go to sleep your brain works very hard to synthesize what you have learned in these multiple centers. Therefore, every morning when you wake up you're a little bit wiser.

The Shrink Yourself program takes into account how the brain works. We keep you immersed in thinking about emotional eating and your life for 12 weeks through multiple approaches and features so that you can collect hundreds of little insights, sleep on them every night, and let your brain finish the work.

So although the emotional eating issue is complex and the rebellion against yourself very personal, there is a scientific method that can deal with that complexity if you are willing to make the effort to learn more about yourself.


Are you ready to resolve the "mystery" of your eating conflict?

As of September 1, 2012: - Goal to remain mindful of not binging and when I do binge figure out why and what was going on when I binged. I also want to log it all

Mollie - 13
The Binge - 4 (1, 10, 16, 17)