what is your payoff for overeating?

I used to eat to cope with my stress too. Now that I've quite for a while I still find myself slipping back into bad habits once in a while. The funny thing is it no longer works for me. Food has stopped giving me that same happy buzz it used to give. Now I find it easier not binge because I know it won't help. Exercising never seems the answer while I'm doing it but my problems seem more manageable when I'm done. I also find my overall stress stays lower when I regularly exercise.

I will always love food, I love to cook and it represents family and comfort; I think this is something I always sought to find. It does not mean I need to overeat though. I guess I don't look at it as a payoff right now and I definitely don't see the exercise as a replacement. I'm looking at it as a means to fix the damage I've done by slacking and not caring. The payoff will come eventually with my hard work!

Two personal theories:

1. The kind of stress a crappy job and mean boss and poverty cause are analogous to the kind of stress that tells one of our furry tree dwelling relatives that it is low status. And any creature low status among its kind had better gorge on high calorie food any chance it can get, and fast, before someone stronger and meaner and higher status takes the food away.

2. Since calorie rich, sweet or meaty foods were scarce at one time, maybe consumption of those foods overrides the low status signals we get from being poor and harried by some idiot boss and tells us we are indeed kings in our domain.

Either way, I think it has its roots way back in our ancestry. And of course I could be totally wrong. Maybe it's just nice to eat something that tastes good after a day of putting up with other people's crap.

Very honest post!
Well I am wondering about the idea of food being so pleasurable...is it really? When I struggled with food/overeating, I did not really enjoy food...i ended up with digestive pain, I felt frustrated. I summed it all up as a bad habit.

Its a mix for me. I mean I can be an emotional eater when I have a bad day or in a super excited mood or oh when I'm in pain from periods and give in to my cravings to feel better-i forgot about that. but I can control it these days so well I can eat what I want and be ok due to portion control. I have also binged on certain foods like cookies or nacho cheese and chips hehe but idk I don't focus on that I guess. I just listen to what I want and to what I need and have ups and downs and don't allow cheat days anymore (I used but no more) because I try to allow myself the freedom to have ice-cream everyday if i choose to and just make sure my calories are good. I think working out and releasing endorphins helps with the emotional part of eating so maybe thats why i can't say. When I quit smoking and started to get into eating right and working out i remember how weak i still was but i kept working out and got better so I guess my answer is WORKING OUT due to endorphins calming oneself down thus not feeling urges to eat as much:drinker: I never-I mean almost NEVER make myself feel bad for over eating . I goes its cause I grew up with men to help me with that mentality thankfully but noway. If I am going to be bad LOL I will go dive in and make that count and enjoy every finger licking bite I possibly can then move on ^________^ I think I didn't make a right reply-- I try not to over eat. I goes when I do its because I can be all of the above. sometimes its comforts of childhood I miss and being able to walk down memory lane helps me I love food too -a very much foodie type here. I mean everything about food is awesome. To cook it, bake it, smelling it and eating food is a nice experience in alone these days. Working out makes me hungry due to metabolism i think so its cause I'm hungrier than I normally am and haven't been sustaining my body as I could be.

I used to stress eat a lot in college now it only happens occasionally. I also really enjoy preparing and eating food, I like to savor all the flavors and textures, that's my payoff.

Eating releases endorphins, that's why it feels good.

I (used to) comfort eat. So if I'm feeling sad, I eat to cheer myself up.

Immediate gratification is the pay off. Stop being a slave to your indulgences.

I agree with the first part, but I don't think trying to understand your own urges means that you are planning to be a "slave to your indulgences." For me, becoming aware was part of stopping it.

Anyway, part of it for me is like the OP and itsbasschick said--eating for self comfort. I got to my highest weight during a very stressful period in my job, where I felt like I did not have time for any other pleasures (in large part because I had previously fallen out of the good habits that would have carried me through, like working out and to some extent regular cooking, although my weird hours aggravated that). And I was rather maladapted anyway, since I'd used alcohol to avoid dealing with emotions for some time and having stopped my immediate reaction remained finding a way to push them away and put them off, at least when I did not have time to deal with them, because I had to be super on and effective at all times for important work stuff.

This is not an excuse as plenty of people deal with similar situations without overeating or eating stupidly. It was me and specifics I'd allowed to happen that led to it, but being aware of it--and even recently starting to see how I'd done similar things off and on since high school (back when it had no consequences because I was really active and had a teenager's metabolism)--has been quite helpful in seeing what was off about what I was doing and stopping it.

For the record, this was during stress at a job that's not at all "low status" as our society defines things, and in particular a job I generally love and quite like my boss. Unpleasant things happen, such as nutty work schedules, stress, having to deal with unpleasant people, because that's the nature of my job and life itself, but I don't see this as a reason why I did anything. My own bad habits about how to deal with things were at fault, and understanding that will help me deal better, including taking actions that in some cases can help create a better situation.

Anyway, this was part of it, but by no means the only part. I'd say that an equally significant overeating risk, for me anyway, is simply because food is really tasty. For example, I'm going out for tapas tonight with a group, and I know that's a huge overeating risk. That's simpler--I think it's human nature to think "this is tasty, more would be even tastier and better!" You have to be able to stop that too, and though it has nothing to do with eating as a substitute for other stuff, it can be hard too, and has to be learned for many of us.

I stress eat. Then feel guilty. I love many savory types of food. Even the healthy stuff has calories..... but its not as tasty / satisfying as the other stuff. Each evening I crave cheese and a sweet or salty flavor. Bad for me with water retention.

A day at a time.