It's just food...right? Thoughts on overeating.
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love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
Posts: 6,897 Member
in Chit-Chat
So, for those of you who ever struggle with this...why is it so hard when YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH to just stop eating something delicious? The feeling when you are physically full but simply WANT more.
Sometimes I ask myself this--like a genuine "WHY do i feel the NEED to eat more than is enough?"
I will be honest that I'm fortunate enough to be plenty active and I don't have to worry too much about my indulgences. However, I often think about how common this "food focus/obsession" is (maybe "obsession" is a bit dramatic but I can't think of a better term).
Maybe MOST people do this--maybe eating past satiety is actually the natural response to having something that tastes good at your disposal.
I honestly don't know the answer because I only have access to MY internal response to food. I mean, I have friends who are fat/thin/average who all overeat on occasion so I don't think one's weight is the underlying reason.
Anyway...just thinking "out loud." What are your thoughts? Do you ever think about this?
Sometimes I ask myself this--like a genuine "WHY do i feel the NEED to eat more than is enough?"
I will be honest that I'm fortunate enough to be plenty active and I don't have to worry too much about my indulgences. However, I often think about how common this "food focus/obsession" is (maybe "obsession" is a bit dramatic but I can't think of a better term).
Maybe MOST people do this--maybe eating past satiety is actually the natural response to having something that tastes good at your disposal.
I honestly don't know the answer because I only have access to MY internal response to food. I mean, I have friends who are fat/thin/average who all overeat on occasion so I don't think one's weight is the underlying reason.
Anyway...just thinking "out loud." What are your thoughts? Do you ever think about this?
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Replies
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it is way too easy for me to overeat to the point that i have binge ate many many times. i know i'm satisfied but i just want it allllll.0
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If you like something, anything, you want more. Not just food: alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. I dunno, just my tired lunch-break thought. Curious what others say, though.0
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With some foods, I think it's a chemical reaction. For example, with sugar, if you eat a portion of something very sweet, and there is still more left, the urge to eat more is very physical. If I then, intentionally, pause, that feeling will subside, but without that pause, I'll eat it all up.
Other times, I think it's just pleasure. It's too good, so you don't want to stop. Other times, it's logical: I paid for this, so I'll eat it. Other times it's over-compensating for having been really hungry before.
One logic I like is that our bodies aren't 'designed' to accurately count the calories of very calorie dense foods. We are 'designed' to recognise satiety when it is caused by enough of a range of natural, fairly low calorie density foods. Therefore, a modern diet and actually recognising satiety do not go hand in hand.0 -
With some foods, I think it's a chemical reaction. For example, with sugar, if you eat a portion of something very sweet, and there is still more left, the urge to eat more is very physical. If I then, intentionally, pause, that feeling will subside, but without that pause, I'll eat it all up.
Other times, I think it's just pleasure. It's too good, so you don't want to stop. Other times, it's logical: I paid for this, so I'll eat it. Other times it's over-compensating for having been really hungry before.
One logic I like is that our bodies aren't 'designed' to accurately count the calories of very calorie dense foods. We are 'designed' to recognise satiety when it is caused by enough of a range of natural, fairly low calorie density foods. Therefore, a modern diet and actually recognising satiety do not go hand in hand.
True. I like this explanation actually. I think all of these things are reasons people overeat.0 -
I keep eating beyond dietary satiety because I enjoy it. The aroma, taste, and texture all play a part of that enjoyment.0
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Someone said something about eating sugar and not being able to stop, and I totally agree. My secret for that, for myself, is that I allow myself one sweet thing per day. Today, it was a Peep. Yep, A, as in ONE, Peep! lol What I do is make the moment my own. I don't just grab something sweet and eat it. I took the Peep, sat down on my bed, by myself, closed my eyes, and enjoyed it. I ate it slowly, I savored the taste and the nostalgia of eating that one Peep. And by the time my moment was over, I was good. I had more, but I just left it at that. I let myself have my little moment per day, and that's it.
I think it comes down to making yourself feel good. It tastes good, it makes you feel good, and you want to keep feeling good. Just stop and savor it!0 -
And sometimes over eating "helps" me feeling myself/my body by feeling my stomach and my boundaries... It makes me heavy (overweight by time and heavy for that moment) and this also helps in feeling grounded.0
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I have discovered certain thing sin the diet can cause this. HFCS, for one. Wheat is a trigger for me, and since I have been on the candida doet I have much more control. It's strange because I am so used to feeling I am starving all the time, now I don't feel that way.0
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if you're really interested in this subject, you should pick up the book Mindless Eating. It's an easy read and really interesting, sharing studies done at the University of Illinois food labs, as to why people overeat. It was recommended to me at the clinic that I went to for weight loss help and was extremely eye opening. I've read it twice as a matter of fact!0
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I would add that for some, you overeat for the same reason you sit there and look at the internet or watch a tv show that is only remotely interesting. Your body/brain just gets in the habit of doing something, and takes the path of least resistance.0
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Well... I try not to do this anymore, obviously, but before, I was really bad about it.
I honestly believe it was the way I was raised. My grandmother was pretty active in my upbringing. She was born during the Depression era, and was taught never to waste food. She would serve us huge meals and demand that we clean our plates. Of course, for fear of being punished, I would comply. But even on the verge of being sick, I can remember her grabbing a piece of bread, slopping up all the leftover spaghetti sauce on my plate, and shoving the bread into my face.
I was just trained that way. She meant well.0 -
Serotonin and Endorphins. They both alleviate physical and emotional pain and are triggered by eating (especially sugar).0
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Someone said something about eating sugar and not being able to stop, and I totally agree. My secret for that, for myself, is that I allow myself one sweet thing per day. Today, it was a Peep. Yep, A, as in ONE, Peep! lol What I do is make the moment my own. I don't just grab something sweet and eat it. I took the Peep, sat down on my bed, by myself, closed my eyes, and enjoyed it. I ate it slowly, I savored the taste and the nostalgia of eating that one Peep. And by the time my moment was over, I was good. I had more, but I just left it at that. I let myself have my little moment per day, and that's it.
I think it comes down to making yourself feel good. It tastes good, it makes you feel good, and you want to keep feeling good. Just stop and savor it!
Yea, I'm exactly like that too...except, following the serenity, I run down every last damn peep within a mile of me and shove it in my face.
Marshmallows sprinkled with colored crack...that's what they are.0 -
Yea, I'm exactly like that too...except, following the serenity, I run down every last damn peep within a mile of me and shove it in my face.
Marshmallows sprinkled with colored crack...that's what they are.
Hahaha, precisely!0 -
I just started reading It Starts With Food. The best explanation I found for over eating sweets was that it's empty of nutrients essentially, so there is no part of your bodily response for being healthily nourished, it's just a bunch of sugar and fat and **** swirled together to look beautiful.... so instead of the normal responses you get from eating healthy foods, like getting enough protein or salt, you just get that happy feel good response of "OMG SO DELICIOUS" and there is no end to this response... just more feel good.0
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Yea, I'm exactly like that too...except, following the serenity, I run down every last damn peep within a mile of me and shove it in my face.
Marshmallows sprinkled with colored crack...that's what they are.
Hahaha, precisely!
...then I get a nasty stomach ache and regret ever eating them. Then I do it all over again...0
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