Week 1-What Kind of Eater are you?
mommamuscles
Posts: 584 Member
This week we will be looking at what type of an eater you are. Many of us who have been dieting a long time can probably identify with one or more of these eating styles.
For your homework this week, think about what type of eater you are and discuss!
The Careful Eater-
-very nutrition/health concious, to the point of being unable to let go of an "eating indiscretion".
-scrutinizes nutrition labels, interrogates the waiter at a restaurant, asks for food to be specially prepared
-tend to undereat and monitor the quantity of food eating
-spends many waking hours planning the next meal or snack
-worries about what to eat
-may not officially be on a diet, but is very meticulous about food choices
The Professional Dieter
-differs from the careful eater in that while the careful eater makes choices on the basis of health, the professional dieter makes decisions on the basis of losing/maintaining weight
-usually thinking about the next diet
-may engage in "Last supper eating" the moment a forbidden food is eaten
-a fan of fresh diet starts
-often has unrealistic expectations about diet
-Often leads to diuretic/laxative abuse, anorexia and bulimia, and binge eating is common
The Unconcious Eater
-often has a chaotic, overscheduled life
-have a tendency to ignore biological hunger until they become ravenously hungry
-go long periods of time without eating
-Refuse not unconcious eaters often eat whatever food is around,without much thought (candy dishes, etc)
-Waste not unconcious eaters value the food dollar and tend to not want to see food go to waste, may finish leftovers, etc.
-Emotional unconcious eaters use food to cop with particularly uncomfortable emotions
Each of these eating styles will ultimately fail you and leave you frustrated, looking for the ultimate diet to fix all the eating problems.
The goal is the Intuitive Eater:
-in tune with inner hunger signals
-do not experience ethical guilt regarding food choices
-enjoys the pleasure of eating
-the way we innately tend to eat (think of the eating habits of a toddler)
For your homework this week, think about what type of eater you are and discuss!
The Careful Eater-
-very nutrition/health concious, to the point of being unable to let go of an "eating indiscretion".
-scrutinizes nutrition labels, interrogates the waiter at a restaurant, asks for food to be specially prepared
-tend to undereat and monitor the quantity of food eating
-spends many waking hours planning the next meal or snack
-worries about what to eat
-may not officially be on a diet, but is very meticulous about food choices
The Professional Dieter
-differs from the careful eater in that while the careful eater makes choices on the basis of health, the professional dieter makes decisions on the basis of losing/maintaining weight
-usually thinking about the next diet
-may engage in "Last supper eating" the moment a forbidden food is eaten
-a fan of fresh diet starts
-often has unrealistic expectations about diet
-Often leads to diuretic/laxative abuse, anorexia and bulimia, and binge eating is common
The Unconcious Eater
-often has a chaotic, overscheduled life
-have a tendency to ignore biological hunger until they become ravenously hungry
-go long periods of time without eating
-Refuse not unconcious eaters often eat whatever food is around,without much thought (candy dishes, etc)
-Waste not unconcious eaters value the food dollar and tend to not want to see food go to waste, may finish leftovers, etc.
-Emotional unconcious eaters use food to cop with particularly uncomfortable emotions
Each of these eating styles will ultimately fail you and leave you frustrated, looking for the ultimate diet to fix all the eating problems.
The goal is the Intuitive Eater:
-in tune with inner hunger signals
-do not experience ethical guilt regarding food choices
-enjoys the pleasure of eating
-the way we innately tend to eat (think of the eating habits of a toddler)
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Replies
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The professional dieter with some of the careful eater tendencies mixed in
That last supper one sort of sums it up though... one bad thing and the rest of the day is not logged! 0 -
Wow, I think I am a little bit of each one! Looks like I have a lot to work on! :-O0
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I am probably 80% careful and 20% professional - I would love to be able to reach the intuitive eater goal!0
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I am the "careful eater". I'm getting better since I stopped logging my food, but I used to plan my day out so my macros would come out spotless. I mean, put the food in the diary, check my macros and if it wouldn't line up I wouldn't eat it. However, since I stopped logging this has become less of an issue. I also would love to get to the intuitive eater.0
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I would say 80% careful, 15% professional, and 5% unconscious. I would love to be the intuitive eater. My goal this year has been to listen to my body, and I am definitely making strides in that direction, but this subject is definitely a hard one to conquer. Thanks Becca for starting this group!0
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I would say I am mostly the professional eater, with a lot of Emotional unconcious eaters tendencies. When I was completely gluten free I was a careful eater. I am trying to go mostly gluten free now, because I feel better. However, I am not going to go crazy with it like I did before. It was too hard to keep up, and since I am not Celiac, but gluten intolerant, being mostly gluten free is better than how I am eating now, and easier to maintain and not binge when I do eat some.0
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I think I am mostly a professional eater with some careful tendencies. I used to plan my food out the night before, and was constantly going back and forth to make sure my diary was perfect.
I've changed somewhat I'm that. But I still have a long way to go to becoming an intuitive eater.0 -
I'm trying to permanently move out of the unconscious eater category. Emotional eating and not letting food waste are my biggest to overcome. I was always taught to clean my plate and now I need to learn that I need to stop when I feel full and that it's not necessary to clean my plate PLUS my children's. It's still hard for me to watch food go in the garbage. Luckily the husband will eat almost anything as leftovers so I have been putting even the silliest leftovers in the fridge, which helps. Also, I did a lot of "I deserve a double baconator with a large fries because I finished that horrendous day" or "I deserve a large Culver's concrete mixer or 3 martini's after surviving a rough day with the kids". I believe I'm mostly over the emotional eating but I still have to make the conscious decision NOT to eat crap "when I deserve it".
Now I find myself spending quite a bit of time studying food menus when we eat and checking nutrition labels (careful eater category). I hope to learn to be able to make decisions without spending so much time figuring it out but I know that takes time and habit.0 -
I would say that I am primarily the Careful Eater, or nothing at all. I have tried my own version of intuitive eating, but it was more like unconscious eating. Because it packed on quite a few pounds! I would really love to get to a point, especially as I continue toward my goal and eventual maintenance, where I can truly eat intuitively. Listen to my body, feed it properly, and enjoy my life with food in it.0
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I am a mixture of the three:
Careful eater - I do plan and often think about my next meal or snack. Just yesterday during church I kept thinking about what I would have for lunch! Although, my thinking ahead to the next meal is more because I can't wait to eat again and savor my next meal than planning for dieting purposes! I also "worry about" (more like think and plan ahead) what I will eat when we go out to eat or for a treat.
Professional eater - I have many "start overs" for eating healthy. I also base my decisions about what I eat with losing/maintaining weight in mind. I just recently "started" my "grumpy diet" to try and get myself back on track. But I am modifying it a bit. Yesterday's modification included pizza for lunch and then Dairy Queen after dinner!
Unconscious eater - I rarely go long hours without eating and ignore my biological clock, so I do not fit this category with that issue. But I do eat what's laying around (what my kids bring into the house and leave out on the kitchen table!) without much thought. I also do not like to waste food, so I will finish the entire jar of Dark Chocolate Dream and vow never to buy it again rather than just toss it. I often have "forced" my kids to eat what I want to get rid of. I also am an emotional eater. Stress definitely sends me to comfort food. Although, severe stress, like MAJOR issues with kids, will have me fasting out of no desire to eat.
I will definitely be buying this book. I always like having something to read to help motivate me along.0 -
The goal is the Intuitive Eater:
-in tune with inner hunger signals
-do not experience ethical guilt regarding food choices
-enjoys the pleasure of eating
-the way we innately tend to eat (think of the eating habits of a toddler)
This reminds me of a book I read at the beginning of this year. It scared me though.. Because in additon to this, which I think is fine, she advocated still eating less than as a means of making a stance that you have control over food instead of food having control over you. She stated eat whatever your body craved but only eat 1/4 to 1/2 of the food. So it left me confused. What about macros, calories, etc. How do you know you are eating enough when you are intuitively intuned to your body. .What if you get that "satisfied" feeling... do you stop just possibly short of 400 calories? This type of eating would leave me very overly conscious and fearful...
Either way, I'm definitely an unconscious eater on the weekends... I'm constantly on the go with the kids and if it weren't for them telling me they are hungry...Geez!!! Then I eat a super big meal at dinner time or a smaller meal with ice cream and cake!!!
During the week at work I'm a mixture of professional and careful. I planned my breakfast, lunch and snacks with the idea of hitting macros and calories. Just enough fat, carbs, etc.0 -
I am definitely an unconscious eater. I eat on the go, forget to eat when I am busy, emotionally eat... But I have gotten better about not eating everything that is left out around me. And some of the junk food no longer tastes as good to me. So I am headed in the right direction....0
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I am a mixture of the three:
Careful eater - I do plan and often think about my next meal or snack. Just yesterday during church I kept thinking about what I would have for lunch! Although, my thinking ahead to the next meal is more because I can't wait to eat again and savor my next meal than planning for dieting purposes! I also "worry about" (more like think and plan ahead) what I will eat when we go out to eat or for a treat.
Professional eater - I have many "start overs" for eating healthy. I also base my decisions about what I eat with losing/maintaining weight in mind. I just recently "started" my "grumpy diet" to try and get myself back on track. But I am modifying it a bit. Yesterday's modification included pizza for lunch and then Dairy Queen after dinner!
Unconscious eater - I rarely go long hours without eating and ignore my biological clock, so I do not fit this category with that issue. But I do eat what's laying around (what my kids bring into the house and leave out on the kitchen table!) without much thought. I also do not like to waste food, so I will finish the entire jar of Dark Chocolate Dream and vow never to buy it again rather than just toss it. I often have "forced" my kids to eat what I want to get rid of. I also am an emotional eater. Stress definitely sends me to comfort food. Although, severe stress, like MAJOR issues with kids, will have me fasting out of no desire to eat.
I will definitely be buying this book. I always like having something to read to help motivate me along.
I think I'm your twin. I'm a mix of all 3 also and these same charaterstics.0 -
Just joined the group and think I will purchase the book since I am at a low point with food and in need of focus and recovery. I was an unconscious eater most of my life suffering childhood and early adult morbid obesity. In 2011, I became a professional dieter. I participated in two weight loss competitions and actually won one. As the years have passed since my dramatic weight loss, I have struggled with finding comfort with food and overall weight maintenance. I struggle with vocalizing recommendations to friends looking to lose weight because I know where VLCDs lead over the long term. The problem is that while I agree with the EM2WL food thought (or should I say fuel thought), I can't wrap my brain around being ok with a few pounds gained. I am devastated at the slightest movement of the scale and freak out---scared to death that I will get fat again. Despite that fear, The Last Supper eating style has become a weekly extravaganza and I now have put on 15 pounds. Yeah, time for change. Change comes from within and I'm hoping to look within at my issues with food.
Thanks for reading my ramble 0 -
Just joined the group and think I will purchase the book since I am at a low point with food and in need of focus and recovery. I was an unconscious eater most of my life suffering childhood and early adult morbid obesity. In 2011, I became a professional dieter. I participated in two weight loss competitions and actually won one. As the years have passed since my dramatic weight loss, I have struggled with finding comfort with food and overall weight maintenance. I struggle with vocalizing recommendations to friends looking to lose weight because I know where VLCDs lead over the long term. The problem is that while I agree with the EM2WL food thought (or should I say fuel thought), I can't wrap my brain around being ok with a few pounds gained. I am devastated at the slightest movement of the scale and freak out---scared to death that I will get fat again. Despite that fear, The Last Supper eating style has become a weekly extravaganza and I now have put on 15 pounds. Yeah, time for change. Change comes from within and I'm hoping to look within at my issues with food.
Thanks for reading my ramble
Thanks for sharing and for your transparency. I definitely do not think you are alone! Going from VLCD to properly fueling your body is a lengthy process...definitely one that cannot be rushed. I personally had to give it about a year before I felt like my metabolism was reset, and to be honest, over this whole time I've struggled with occasional binges and that last supper eating. I am convinced if you dont work through the emotional issues with food, you will never make any true progress. I am truly excited to see what happens as we focus on eating more intuitively!0 -
The goal is the Intuitive Eater:
-in tune with inner hunger signals
-do not experience ethical guilt regarding food choices
-enjoys the pleasure of eating
-the way we innately tend to eat (think of the eating habits of a toddler)
This reminds me of a book I read at the beginning of this year. It scared me though.. Because in additon to this, which I think is fine, she advocated still eating less than as a means of making a stance that you have control over food instead of food having control over you. She stated eat whatever your body craved but only eat 1/4 to 1/2 of the food. So it left me confused. What about macros, calories, etc. How do you know you are eating enough when you are intuitively intuned to your body. .What if you get that "satisfied" feeling... do you stop just possibly short of 400 calories? This type of eating would leave me very overly conscious and fearful...
Either way, I'm definitely an unconscious eater on the weekends... I'm constantly on the go with the kids and if it weren't for them telling me they are hungry...Geez!!! Then I eat a super big meal at dinner time or a smaller meal with ice cream and cake!!!
During the week at work I'm a mixture of professional and careful. I planned my breakfast, lunch and snacks with the idea of hitting macros and calories. Just enough fat, carbs, etc.
I guess I understand the point of this, however, I also think this can lead to undereating just to prove a point. Most eating disorders focus on making you feel like you have control. Even control over normal body processes like hunger. I think this is fine, usually, to not feel like we have to finish everything on our plates, but probably better to focus on your hunger/fullness signals. So many of us have dieted so long that we've lost that ability. We need to learn to be in tune with our bodies and trust that if we eat when we are hungry and stop when we are full, that if we apply a common sense approach to food and nutrition, that it will all balance out. Our macros do not need to be perfect all the time! If we want to live on nothing but ice cream and donuts, that is not us making nurturing choices and we should really evaluate why we want to make those types of choices, I have a feeling most of the time there is a deeper issue there. But on the other hand, if we want that donut we should be fine with having it. It should not feel like an ethical dilemma. Its just food, after all!0 -
Suddenly it has dawned on me what an emotional eater I am! Seeing facebook updates and the posts on MFP about the Boston Marathon, I flipped on the news to watch. Shocked and saddened, I wandered to my freezer and ate 4 chocolate eggs. Hmmm. . . I wasn't hungry . . . just emotional. I switched gears, made some tea and toast, talked to a couple of friends, and feel better. I didn't need the toast, but found I felt better once I nourished myself with my homemade bread.
This is intuitive eating is going to take some time! I like principle 10: Honor your health - gentle nutrition. I don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. Progress, not perfection, is what counts. Recognizing what I was doing in the kitchen, for me, is progress.0 -
Is it possible not to be any or to be a mixture of all three? I do plan my meals in advance, but it's not like I worry about what I'm going to eat! I'm not in to fad diets or reading books about diets! I don't binge. I do eat to be a healthy weight, I also pay attention to food labels and I Sometimes ask for special preparation at restaurants . I am all over the place!0
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Suddenly it has dawned on me what an emotional eater I am! Seeing facebook updates and the posts on MFP about the Boston Marathon, I flipped on the news to watch. Shocked and saddened, I wandered to my freezer and ate 4 chocolate eggs. Hmmm. . . I wasn't hungry . . . just emotional. I switched gears, made some tea and toast, talked to a couple of friends, and feel better. I didn't need the toast, but found I felt better once I nourished myself with my homemade bread.
This is intuitive eating is going to take some time! I like principle 10: Honor your health - gentle nutrition. I don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. Progress, not perfection, is what counts. Recognizing what I was doing in the kitchen, for me, is progress.
That is great that you caught yourself in the middle of it. I often do that too! I am a huge emotional eater and really trying to work on overcoming this.0 -
Is it possible not to be any or to be a mixture of all three? I do plan my meals in advance, but it's not like I worry about what I'm going to eat! I'm not in to fad diets or reading books about diets! I don't binge. I do eat to be a healthy weight, I also pay attention to food labels and I Sometimes ask for special preparation at restaurants . I am all over the place!
Most definitely. Also I just wanted to point out I dont think its necessarily wrong to be health concious and to eat to be a healthy weight as long as it is not done in an obsessive/perfectionistic way.0 -
I think I'm a combo of them all depending on the situation. But I'm more pro and careful eater, all equally frustrating sometimes.0
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Ok I see! Very interesting! Liking this info a lot!Each of these eating styles will ultimately fail you and leave you frustrated, looking for the ultimate diet to fix all the eating problems.
The goal is the Intuitive Eater:
-in tune with inner hunger signals
-do not experience ethical guilt regarding food choices
-enjoys the pleasure of eating
-the way we innately tend to eat (think of the eating habits of a toddler)0 -
Like Anitra, I'm a mix of all 3. More on the careful eater side though.0
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I'm a mix of all 3 also0
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im the professional dieter all the way0
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Although I plan my meals daily, and I'm always thinking about what or when I'm going to eat next, I don't consider myself a "Careful Eater." I should work at being a bit more careful.
And while I don't identify with the "Professional Dieter," or subscribe to diets in general, I DO often find myself engaged in "Last Supper Eating." If I fall off the wagon at any point during the day, I tend to throw in the towel and eat mindlessly for as long as I'm up. That lack of control, discipline, willpower, or whatever it may be quickly turns to guilt and the cycle begins. However, I'm always glad that I can look forward to a new fresh start tomorrow... There's always tomorrow!
The "Unconscious Eater" is where I find myself. I don't go long periods without eating, but I'm guilty of not eating enough satisfying, nutritional food for a particular meal/snack, which later leads to increased hunger and emotional overeating. If it's around, I'll eat it. If it's not around, I'll go get it. I find it difficult to fill that space, regardless of how much I eat (unless it's high carbs and sweets).
I would really like to get a handle on this eating thing and STOP giving in to my cravings. I have to STOP listening to that voice in my head, grow up and STOP seeking satisfaction through food.
If not now, when?0 -
I am 100% the careful eater. As I'm sure those of you who know me have accurately assumed based on my past. LOL. I'm considering buying the kindle version of this book, so I can read it when I have down time at work (on the Cloud
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I really want to learn to eat intuitively, and I'm not entirely sure I know what that means. So...perhaps I should read the book. Now that I'm eating more and not working out to work off all my food...now that I'm HEALTHY...perhaps this is the next step in my journey.0 -
Okay, so I bought the book, and the more I read, the more I realize how very CAREFUL an eater I am and how disordered that really is. I mean. I know I'm in recovery and still have issues. But I've been telling myself for years now that I'm just eating healthfully. Yet...
* I set certain times to eat and go crazy when something happens, and I can't eat. The weekends are a bit different, and my schedule tends to be a lot later. But during the week, I have allotted times for every meal and every snack and do not deviate (unless it's absolutely impossible).
* I always ask for no butter and light oil when at a restaurant.
* I eat nothing fried.
* I don't eat red meat or pork.
* I don't eat rice, pasta or bread - HOWEVER - I do believe I have a gluten sensitivity because once I stopped eating these things, the horrible, horrible cramps I was getting (winding up in the ER, had many tests run, no one could figure it out) stopped. I haven't had those cramps in years.
* I do eat oatmeal...occasionally.
* I don't eat desserts. Maybe a tiny bite from someone else's. I WILL eat maybe half if it's a "healthy" (read: splenda, egg whites, low fat ingredients etc) dessert I made myself.
* I measure/weigh everything.
* I refuse to drink juices or milk b/c I'd rather spend my calories elsewhere.
I've been eating more, but I still eat by these rules. I'm not sure I want to change them. All of them anyway. But...I'm very curious to keep reading this book and see what I learn.0 -
Definitely Professional Dieter with Careful Eater mixed in. It's such an eye opening experience for me to be finally aware of my unhealthy tendencies. I put away my scale and have stopped logging. I feel so free!0
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They all just about sum up my life.
I currently have a an eating disorder and I am going to work on properly responding to body signals 0
