Emotional Eaters and Being at Peace with Food - Page 2

[kdaisy]

Originally Posted by vermontgirl 

My goal right now is to be kind to myself at all times.

I like this goal!

[tanyato]

hey everyone. Wanted to get this conversation started again.

The other day I realized that over the past couple months, I've slowly become more and more "diet minded". Counting calories, making up a new rule to follow every other day. It actually started when I did a two week elimination diet to see what I was eating that was upsetting LO's tummy. After restricting most foods for so long I kind of kept at it and before I knew it I was overeating "good" foods to compensate for my elimination of "bad" foods. Dumb! When will i realize that dieting just doesn't work??? (for me at least). The real kicker is that I've gained 4 pounds since I started going all food-nazi on myself.

So enough of that. For the past week I have just totally relaxed around food. I still don't eat wheat or dairy (because those are what makes LO grumpy) but everything else is ok again. I generally don't eat "junk" food and packaged foods aren't even in the house, so I'm trusting that by eating the normal, healthy way I do, my body will naturally acheive it's best weight for me right now. It's a tough truth to accept because I'd like my body to be ten pounds lighter, but i'm breastfeeding a 5 month old and being a size 2 just isn't realistic for me. nor is it healthy.

[kdaisy]

I am wondering if anyone else has issues with sugar?  I would easily call what I have an addiction.

tanyato, I totally get what you mean by eating more when you feel deprived.  When I try to cut sugar out of my diet I compensate by eating other carbs and lots of fat.  But my problem is if I don't deprive myself, I will just devour all the sugar there is in the house. 

Over the last two years of not dieting, I have gone from around 180 to 205 pounds.  :(  I feel very stuck.

I am thinking of getting back with my therapist.

[tanyato]

Originally Posted by kdaisy 

I am wondering if anyone else has issues with sugar?  I would easily call what I have an addiction.

i definitely have an addiction to chocolate:) i have to have some every single freaking day. i'm not even that picky about the quality, which is pathetic because let's be honest, there is some crap chocolate out there.

i think the sugar addiction is very very common though. there are books out there about it! in all setriousness, it really is an addiction. sugar is scary stuff. it messes with our body chemistry. i can't think of a book right now, but i'll find it online and reply later. gtg, baby's awake!!

[MrsGregory]

There is some crap chocolate out there.  I recommend refusing to eat it, and sticking to the really, really good stuff.  I'm ridiculous like that.  It's fun to keep family and friends guessing as to which chocolate is now the minimum standard chocolate. 

I don't know thing #1 about intuitive eating...  I'm still a work at the beginning of progress... but I think I am working on being OK with my assorted addictions.  I think at this point in my life my vices are less harmful to me than the process on working to rid myself of all of my vices, if that makes sense.  But I do want to keep those vices from becoming a problem.  I want to spend a month not counting every bite and analyzing what combination of calories and macronutrients will result in the most fat loss possible for me.

I am comfortable with myself, to a point.  Right now I am still in the "I am too fat." mindset, although my "I am OK, this is normal for me." point is higher than it was in the past.  I recognize that in the past I was too hard on myself.  I never think I'm being too hard on myself in the present.  Part of me wishes I had someone to entrust this to, part of me thinks I need to learn to do this on my own.

[gitanamama]

Originally Posted by kdaisy 

I am wondering if anyone else has issues with sugar?  I would easily call what I have an addiction.

tanyato, I totally get what you mean by eating more when you feel deprived.  When I try to cut sugar out of my diet I compensate by eating other carbs and lots of fat.  But my problem is if I don't deprive myself, I will just devour all the sugar there is in the house. 

Yes!! I definitely have huge issues with sugar. I'm feeling really frustrated with myself lately because I've been trying to cut down on how much sugar I eat, and I just can't! I tried to go a week without refined sugar and I found myself obsessing about it, and eating tons of carbs, fat, and "natural" sugars instead. I was literally eating spoonfulls of peanutbutter out of the jar.

I generally eat way more carbs than I'd like to ( I basically live on PB&J) and not nearly as many veggies as I should. So much of it has to do with being busy and tired....I  just grab quick fuel sources (carbs, sugar, caffeine, fat) when I feel my energy tanking, and then an hour or two later, I'm back to feeling exhausted and hungry. I'm actually relatively content with my weight and my figure, but I feel like I'm failing myself nutritionally, and creating some unhealthy eating patterns.

We're going to start TTC again pretty soon, so I'm hoping that will be enough motivation to get me back on track nutritionally. I had an easy, healthy pregnancy with my first (he's now 2) and I think my diet really helped. But now that I'm a mother of a very active, high needs toddler, I find I'm so exhausted and busy I don't have the time or energy to focus on eating right. 

[tanyato]

Originally Posted by MrsGregory 

I think at this point in my life my vices are less harmful to me than the process on working to rid myself of all of my vices, if that makes sense.  

yes! In school (to become a holistic nutritionist) studied a little bit about orthorexia, which is an obsession with healthy eating/clean eating, that type of thing. i truly feel that even though I KNOW soda is bad for me (and caffeinated soda is worse) it's better for me -mentally- to have a cola once a week. it's much better to have a sugar and caffeine loaded soda once a week than live on diet coke (which is what i did for about a year when i was 20...yikes). it's so nice to let go, enjoy something "bad" every once in a while and just...MOVE ON! 

[poiyt]

Im still on the counting calories thing...hoping that maybe having a challenge to live up to will make me stick to it...well after the first 5 weeks, I did lose 10lbs (the medication I am on has caused me to gain 65 in a year, YIKES!, but now nothing. I have plateued and now I am wondering what is holding me up - that maybe its mental. I think about food quite frequently, not to much the eating of it - but the taste of it, and how good it is. I have a huge problem with restricting myself because in my mind life is too short to not enjoy it, but if I give in than I wont enjoy the health of my body. Its very conflicting.

[homemademom]

Wow. I can relate to everything you are all saying.  

Edited by homemademom - 5/13/12 at 3:12pm

[tanyato]

Originally Posted by poiyt 

I have a huge problem with restricting myself because in my mind life is too short to not enjoy it, but if I give in than I wont enjoy the health of my body. Its very conflicting.

gah! the balance!!! sooo hard to find. I'm right there with you. I think "indulging" is good (even healthy) to do once in a while (once a week maybe? still trying to decide) but stopping before i feel ill should be essential to the indulgence. it's when i go overboard - that's the problem.

[tanyato]

also, i figure this would be a good place to post the following whine/vent/rant:

i used to be so thin! boohoo! i will NEVER be that small again. why? because i eat like a normal person (i know, i know, it's a GOOD thing) and i've had a baby. my body will never be the same....sniffle. 

ok. crying over. that is all. 

[poiyt]

I used to be thin too!!! Even after I had kids...It felt so good, and though it started off unhealthily, it turned into good eating and exercise. Sigh - I feel like even though I didnt give birth since being thin that my complete body shape has changed. My hips are sooooo much wider. IDGI...I had kids, those are supposed to widen my hips, depression is not lol.

[DeerMother]

I had been doing pretty well, eating for nourishment only.

I am having horrid PMS and lacking self-control. Eating a lot, craving carbs and sweets.

[MrsGregory]

I just want my ribs out farther than my belly again.

[crayfishgirl]

Originally Posted by MrsGregory 

I just want my ribs out farther than my belly again.

Hahaha....right there with you MrsG!  Sigh.

[Cyllya]

Between sensory issues, depression, and just plain being a baby, I have a lot of trouble eating healthily. I don't like most foods, and if I limit what I'm allowed to eat, it really stresses me out.

I'm especially sad right now because I found a recipe (variation of this) that has all of these qualities:

1) Fairly cheap ingredients

2) No animal products

3) Ingredients don't spoil quickly

4) Tasty! And no creepy leafy veggie textures!

5) Not too time-consuming to make

6) It's healthy... except that I get terrible heartburn and reflux after eating it. 

I looked up what causes heartburn, and it seems to be from the large amount of onions in the recipe. I've also had lots of reflux problems from drinking a lot of orange juice. Apparently things like friend chicken and soda cause heartburn in lots of people, but not me. If those things did cause me problems, I'd probably have an easier time eating healthily, but no... it's the otherwise healthy things like onion and oranges. Damn it.

[DeerMother]

Originally Posted by Cyllya 

Between sensory issues, depression, and just plain being a baby, I have a lot of trouble eating healthily. I don't like most foods, and if I limit what I'm allowed to eat, it really stresses me out.

I'm especially sad right now because I found a recipe (variation of this) that has all of these qualities:

1) Fairly cheap ingredients

2) No animal products

3) Ingredients don't spoil quickly

4) Tasty! And no creepy leafy veggie textures!

5) Not too time-consuming to make

6) It's healthy... except that I get terrible heartburn and reflux after eating it. 

I looked up what causes heartburn, and it seems to be from the large amount of onions in the recipe. I've also had lots of reflux problems from drinking a lot of orange juice. Apparently things like friend chicken and soda cause heartburn in lots of people, but not me. If those things did cause me problems, I'd probably have an easier time eating healthily, but no... it's the otherwise healthy things like onion and oranges. Damn it.

That's a lot of onions! Did you use four? Hope you feel better soon. Heartburn is the pits.

[gitanamama]

I'm considering joining one of those nutrition "diary"/calorie counting websites, to help me stay aware of what I'm eating. Has anyone used one? I'm a little bit hesitant because I don't want to get obsessive about it---a few years back I got into a really stuck place where I was recording everything I ate and obsessively counting calories. It was restrictive, unhealthy, and something I hope I never do again. It was a pretty tumultuous time in my life, so I think I turned to food for control, but that's not a coping mechanism I want to fall back on. But I do need to find a way to stay mindful and aware about what goes into my mouth. Sometimes our days get so busy that I find myself grazing and just grabbing and eating anything lying around--DS's leftovers, snacky foods, icecream, and way too much coffee. I get really lazy when it comes to preparing food for myself during the day--even smoothies and sandwiches require prep and clean up that I just would rather avoid. :/

Anyone have good, practical tips about staying aware and not mindlessly snacking? I've considered posting notes, or even just a visual symbol, around the kitchen, in hopes of catching my attention when I'm in crazy grazing mode. Other ideas?

[tanyato]

Originally Posted by gitanamama 

I'm considering joining one of those nutrition "diary"/calorie counting websites, to help me stay aware of what I'm eating. Has anyone used one? I'm a little bit hesitant because I don't want to get obsessive about it---a few years back I got into a really stuck place where I was recording everything I ate and obsessively counting calories. It was restrictive, unhealthy, and something I hope I never do again. It was a pretty tumultuous time in my life, so I think I turned to food for control, but that's not a coping mechanism I want to fall back on. But I do need to find a way to stay mindful and aware about what goes into my mouth. Sometimes our days get so busy that I find myself grazing and just grabbing and eating anything lying around--DS's leftovers, snacky foods, icecream, and way too much coffee. I get really lazy when it comes to preparing food for myself during the day--even smoothies and sandwiches require prep and clean up that I just would rather avoid. :/

Anyone have good, practical tips about staying aware and not mindlessly snacking? I've considered posting notes, or even just a visual symbol, around the kitchen, in hopes of catching my attention when I'm in crazy grazing mode. Other ideas?

I was really hesitant to do it but...yesterday...I....joined....weight watchers online. I know I know. But I feel good about it. Essentially, I *know* what to eat but with a young baby it's REALLY hard to be in tune with myself for hunger/full signals. And it's totally unrealistic to expect that I'll be able to sit quietly at mealtimes and chew each bite 20 times etc. etc. 

I need something right now to just help me know when I've had enough food for the day. With WW I get to pick my own food, fruit and veg are freebies (awesome!) I get extra points because I'm nursing, I get extra points if I exercise and the points aren/'t even based on calories so essentially no "calorie counting" which I like. 

I am going to stay signed up online for a couple months to just get me back on track. I don't even have a lot of weight to lose (5-10lb max). The accountability that comes from paying for something and being apart of a "program" is what I need.

[gitanamama]

Good for you tanyota--I'm glad you found a system that works fr you. I started keeping a food journal--it was pretty eye opening in terms of making me realize how terribly I was eating. I also felt a little silly because my daily list was soooo long---I ended up writing down things like "2 bites of DS's mac and cheese, 1 handful granola, 6 chips from DH's lunch, etc.) Snacking seems to be a big issue for me, I just graze my way through the day, and generally end up way low on veggies and protein. I haven't kept a food journal in a few days now, but I think I'll get back to it---like you said tanyota, I need some accountability!