Confessions of a closet eater....

This list is perfect. Closet eating is one of my biggest habbits that I'm trying to break.

Wow...holy negative body image.

Ugh yes.

ANYTHING will make you FAT if you EAT TOO MUCH!

Stop with the food hating. Learn to make things fit and eat what you like within moderation.

FFS.

For those of us who struggle with closet eating (compulsive eating, etc.), it's hard to "]earn to make things fit and eat what you like within moderation." Anyone who dismisses a person who talks about compulsive eating has NO IDEA what it's like.

Why assume that someone who has learned to eat all foods in moderation, or advocates eating all foods in moderation, has no experience with compulsive eating or negative body image? There are lots of folks here who have struggled with this stuff, and learned a lot about how to do things differently.

Me? I ate two huge bowls of ice cream yesterday. Felt guilt and beat myself up both times. Still, that wasn't enough after the first bowl in the afternoon to keep me from the second bowl at night. As much as I don't want to, it's truly difficult to fight the compulsion.

Just one little tip: try working on the guilt/beating yourself up part first. That's a big part of the problem.

OP: I commend you for trying to work on your issues; I'm not 100% sure you're going about it in completely the best way. Individual foods aren't "bad" and individual foods aren't to blame for you gaining weight. I can only speak from my own experience, but I never managed to seriously lose weight until I started loving myself and respecting my body. I wasn't able to approach having a halfway decent relationship with food until I started accepting that I like eating food, that there's nothing wrong with that and forgiving myself when I over-ate. Food isn't bad. Being hungry or having an appetite isn't bad. You're not bad for enjoying foods that are high in fat/sugar/salt. You're not bad because you have learned to use foods to cope with unpleasant emotions.

Maybe try working on different coping strategies for the emotions you find unbearable, and changing the habits you currently have. For me, it was habit to reach for food when I felt sad/bored/anxious. It's hard to just give that up without a new habit to take its place, so I had to work on incorporating new, healthy habits instead of over-eating.

(By the way, I think nos 16 & 17 are great questions to ask!)

And now I want to eat a whole bag of chips.

Yeah, there is always a critic.... Of course i struggle with negative body image... DUH.
I have 75lbs to show me I havent been taking care of me :drinker:
However, I find humor helps me express myself and get it all out there.
I love posting my feeling....even when they are achievements. :flowerforyou:


Thank you ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU FOR SHARING

it helps me if i just dont include it on my shopping list. like if i dont bring it in my home then i wont eat it. as far as going out (dinner / six flags/ beach) i understand what you mean. it all takes self control.
The amount of money you would spend on junk food, just put it aside and buy a new workout outfit

Thank you so much for doing this! I too suffer from "closet eating". I also suffer from stress eating (hand in hand right?). I find you to be brave for posting this and it makes me want to write down my list. I am trying so hard to find my groove again, and it's nice to know I am not alone. Thank you!

Stop with the food hating. Learn to make things fit and eat what you like within moderation.

FFS.

Not everyone has the self control to "eat what you like within moderation." Some of us are emotional eaters and food addicts and certain foods are triggers that once started just can not be stopped until it's gone and then creating more poor choices to follow. It's not as simple as just eat in moderation.

20. Picture myself naked ..... TADDAAAAAAAA ... I am not hungry at all :sick:

I got a huge giggle out of this list, thank you, OP. All SO TRUE! Especially #20 hehe. :laugh:

haha !! i love this, things we never say outloud

Totally just printed this out at work! lol!!

Great post! Either a closet eater, or maybe in the car eater.... drive thru eating. Not a good thing!

Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed it!

I'm going to be honest with you, I don't like your list of questions. And the reason I don't like it is because it 1) places blame on the food (not high in nutrition, processed, can be bought at a gas station), and 2) incorporates shaming, either through body shaming or peer shaming.

Bingeing and compulsive eating are behavioral issues that have little to do with food. The only question that even touches on that is "16) Am I just eating my emotions?" In order to change a behavior, you first have to identify why you engage in this behavior in the first place, then work to change it. Blaming the food for being "bad" or shaming yourself may get you to put the cookie down, but it isn't addressing the root cause, just treating the symptoms.

Often when the root cause is not addressed, another behavior replaces the old one. It's why you see alcoholics take up smoking, or former smokers put on weight after quitting. They got used to doing one behavior in times of stress/emotions (drinking or smoking), and now that they can't do that but do not have the coping mechanisms to deal with the stress/emotions, they use the new behavior (smoking/eating).

I think trying to identify what is going on to nip a binge in the bud is absolutely a good thing, but the way you are going about it is flawed. I feel like you are setting yourself up to feel worse about yourself when you do have a slip with all the negativity you have in your list. If bingeing or compulsive eating is truly an issue, I would recommend talking to a doctor or therapist to help get to the root of the issues, or contacting an Overeaters Anonymous group for support.