Overcoming Secretive Eating
|
Finally - you are alone. No one else is around. Maybe you've waited until they are all soundly asleep. You find yourself in the kitchen sneaking food. Sometimes it's cake, sometimes it's ice cream. Other times you're standing in front of the refrigerator eating leftovers without a plate. Once in a while, you plan ahead, stocking up on your favorite goodies on the drive home.
Almost in a trance-like state, you begin eating the foods you don't want anyone to know you eat... in volumes you don't want anyone to know you want. You eat quickly, not wanting to get caught. The irony is that you're not really enjoying the food, you're not really hungry, and you don't know why you are doing it. Initially there is a sense of freedom, exhilaration, and relief. But something odd also occurs. When eating becomes secretive, it becomes both more exciting and more difficult to give up. A devastating cycle begins. The lure of sneak eating progresses, but so does the sense of guilt and failure. Of course, this leads to more sneak eating and on it goes. It becomes a overwhelming cycle that generates a life of it's own.
EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Sneak eating is a metaphor for real needs. These are needs that are typically not addressed. We think we shouldn't have them. Or we don't know how to deal with them. It's usually a time we can be alone, with all our wants and desires. It is a time we don't have to pretend to be capable, competent, pleasant, likeable, strong, and without needs. It is a time to be entirely self-centered, where you don't have to take care of the needs of anyone else and can focus completely on yourself.
Sneak eating is about hunger. Hunger that develops because of the deprivation of strict diets, restrictive food plans, and the list of "bad" foods that you "shouldn't" be eating. Sneak eating is also a substitute for emotional comfort. A way to nurture the unaddressed feelings of shame, guilt, low self-esteem and loneliness. These feelings may be with you most of the day. It is only when the pace slows down, that the emotions begin to emerge. Not knowing how to handle these powerful emotions, eating follows. Eating in isolation can be a way of stuffing down emotions that seem overwhelming. Eating alone can provide down time without the interruption of family, work, or other responsibilities.
THE 10 MOST POWERFUL FEELINGS YOU EAT TO KILL
1. Hurt
2. Guilt
3. Anger
4. Shame
5. Lonely
6. Anxiety
7. Self-hate
8. Disappointment
9. Emptiness
10. Deprivation
These feelings are normal for every human being. We each need to take the time, and learn the skills, to sit with our emotions. Recognize that it is essential to know what is going on within our bodies. Know that you are important enough to take the time to be still and be with who we really are. Every person has wants, needs, and desires. We need time to focus solely on ourselves and satisfy our needs. Many of us were taught that these things were selfish and unimportant. We learned to disconnect and hide, lie and make excuses about our needs. We pretend we don't need or want pleasure. We substitute food for what we really needed in life. We end up with a love/hate relationship with food. We try to force ourselves not to eat, especially not to sneak eat. And we punish and criticize ourselves for not being able to stop.
Recognize that sneak eating is not about your having shameful desires that cannot be controlled. Instead, sneak eating indicates that you have healthy, natural, human longings that you were not taught how to address.
QUESTIONS
There are a variety of things you can do to help build-up your willpower and let go of the need to sneak eat. Discover what motivates your behavior by asking yourself a few questions as each incident occurs.
* Where are you when you sneak eat?
* What were you thinking about right before you ate it?
* What were you feeling before you began eating?
* What need is this food filling (or stuffing) in your life?
* What else, other than food, would fill the wants and desires that you have?
* What is it that you really need?
Answering these questions and keeping a journal of your answers for future reference will help you understand what prompts your behavior. Your journal entries will serve as a starting place towards noting ideas. These ideas will help you work towards solutions once you are able to more readily recognize your pattern.
Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
For free inspirational newsletter, articles & info visit: http://www.LovingMiracles.com
972.985.8750
"Opening Creative Portals to Success"
|
|
|
Diet Preparaton -- The Impact Of Sleep And Stress
When you have started a diet in the past, how much sincere and attentive focus did you give to preparing for your diet? Isn't it true that usually you are getting the food together a particular diet requires, buying yet another tread mill (or hauling out the old one covered in dust from the last diet), getting another gym membership, planning that last big blowout gluttonous meal you're going to eat because you are going to have to starve for the next eight weeks. The above really isn't an exaggeration. People spend a lot of time preparing everything else for their new diet program except the body...(related: Weight Loss)
Mind, Body Weight Loss For Life Equals Behavior Change - The Acceptance Factor
Getting to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants in your garden are not healthy looking, just trimming them back will not take care of the problem. What do the roots look like? I am no psychologist, but there is a very interesting twist you need to understand before you begin any weight loss or fitness program. To change unwanted behaviors, it's important to acknowledge your thinking toward exercise and eating. A lot of people believe they know what t...(related: Weight Loss)
Low-carb Diets: Fad, Fallacy, Or Fact?
The most common and popular diet fad over the past two years has undoubtedly been the low-carb diet. It has many followers, both in the U.K. and the U.S.A., and its various celebrity endorsements, particularly of the most renowned version, The Atkins Diet, have undoubtedly played a large part in its popularity. ...(related: Weight Loss)
Diet Tips ? Common Sense Rules
We, as a society, are always trying to lose weight. Some of us are concerned about a lot of extra weight, and some of us are trying to lose that pesky unwanted ten to fifteen pounds. We will go back an...(related: Weight Loss)
Do You Want To Lose Weight Without Going Crazy?
Here's what to do if you want to wear that slinky black dress, and stay sane:1. Make sure that you're not being neurotic and overly body conscious.Meditate. Try to catch yourself naked unawares in a full length mirror. Find out your ideal height-weight ratio. Get some amateur photos taken of yourself in casual clothes. Try to be detached and objective.Overweight is sometimes a state of mind instead of body. What trauma or childhood inadequacy causes you to see yourself as fat and undesirable, when medically you're normal, or just a little full figured?If you are definitely a fatty:2. Meditate. Try to...(related: Weight Loss)
3 Fast Weight Loss Tips That Work
Looking to lose some pounds quickly? Fast and safe weight loss is possible - but only if you do it right. Just keep in mind that we're only talking about losing a few pounds here. 5, maybe 10, within a few weeks. No matter what anyone tells you, you're not going to safely lose 20 lbs. of fat in 2 weeks. It's just not possible. Plus, long-term weight loss success usually only occurs after many months of slow, steady body fat...(related: Weight Loss)
Breast Cancer - Another Obesity Victim
Obesity raises the risk of various types of cancer. And only 3% people know that obesity increases cancer risks. According to a recent research based on one million Americans conducted by the American cancer society, 14% of cancer deaths in men and 20% of cancer deaths in women occur due to Obesity. Scientists say that 90,000 deaths can be avoided in America if they take good care to maintain their body weight. Women are more likely to get ca...(related: Weight Loss)
Diet And Weightloss -- Start Your New Year Off Right!
FINDING THE PERFECT DIETArriving at the Perfect Diet is no quick, simple task in today's world of fast-paced living. For example, there are several different educational food pyramid plans. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a food guide pyramid. And the Mayo Clinic, in conjunction with the May Foundation for Medical Education and Research, has their Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. (Lists of pyramids are updated regularly at the USDA site: http://ww...(related: Weight Loss)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved. | Weight Loss