Kathy's Question of the Day

This is going to be a toughie. We'll see who dares to answer. What were some of your worst eating habits in your life that you are now willing to fess up to and share? Kathy

1. As a child, I snuck food. When no one was around, I'd go into the cabinet and stuff myself with whatever snacks were there. I once picked at an entire tube of chocolate chip cookie dough and ate it over a few day period. Hid it in the back of the fridge. 2. I would be embarassed to order multiple burgers and fries for myself so I'd order two meals with drinks so "whoever I dealt with" would think that I was getting food for more than one person. 3. I would stop and get a Taco Bell Taco Salad after my WW meetings and weigh in. And I though I was eating healthy. I remember it was 950 or so calories and 65 grams of fat in those days. 4. I have put food in the trash can to avoid eating it and then gone back for it later. I'm talking things in bags or packages like chips. Not food that actually touches the inside of the trash bag or other trash. 5. I remember once when I first lived alone walking into the kitchen about 15 times in an evening and opening the fridge and cabinets looking for something but never knew what I was looking for so I never found it. Talk about emotional eating or attempts at eating, eh? 6. The rest would probably just be chalked up to gluttony. Just stuffing myself on cakes, cookies, snacks, etc. You name the goodie or carb, I overate it at some point. Kathy

Get outta my head!!!!! I could have written each and every one of them. Especially numbers 1 and 2. As a kid, as soon as the house was empty (11 or 12 years old) I would grab HANDFULS of cookies, crap, whatever. I can remember eating 3-4 slices of just plain white Wonder-bread. You know, the amazingly soft bread that you could roll up in a ball of dough? ugh... In addition to ordering extra at the fast food places and making it look like it was for more than me, I would order food and then throw the wrappers out before I got home so no one knew I had been eating. Then I would come home and eat some more... Ughhh...

I agree with your # 1, 2, 4 and 6. That is me in a nutshell. Some days I still struggle. Stacy

I can relate to everything you wrote. My best sneak was at night. I would get up in the middle of the night and eat handfuls of crackers and/or chips. Boy I sure was fooling everyone!! The drive thru is a good one too. On my way to work I would stop at two different places. I would eat one in the car and then bring the other to work for "breakfast" and then order dinner with everyone about 4 hours later ( I work nights) Tricked them! I have been known in the past to finish off something (chips, ice cream, chocolate chips) and then feel so guilty that I would go to the store and eat back to the "used" spot and put it back in the kitchen so noone would ever know. Again I sure was fooling them!!! I feel like I am at an AA meeting. These 12 steps sure are hard. Admitting what we did really does hurt. Gosh Kathy what a question!! I really feel this confession. Jen Feeling totally guilty for the sin of glutteny

I never really had to sneak food, because I come from a long line of gluttons. All we did was sit around and eat and no one was really shy about it. Whenever we went anywhere - even if just to the grocery store - a stop at a food joint was involved. I remember one time we went to this all-you-can-eat buffet and ate for a couple of hours then stopped off at KFC on the way home!!!! Another time, my mother and I ate almost two rotisserie chickens in one sitting. It was the norm to eat humungous amounts of food. I used to keep a "candy bucket" under my night stand so I could eat throughout the night. It was a galvanized bucket filled with candy, cookies, chips, and snacks and I'd be munching in my sleep. I used to joke with my mother about how she should write my obituary if I should choke to death from eating M&M's while half-asleep!

Choking on M&Ms? Oh my! Not a good way to go! Thanks for sharing your story. It is interesting to see that in your case, eating was a family affair. My cousins were both in the Marines and one was 6'7" and one was 6'6". They were tall and skinny but got asked to leave a buffet restaurant. The restaurant was running out of food because of them! Doh! Kathy

Kathy, I think you're deep inside my head too! I can relate to so many of the things you mentioned. Such as: 1. As a child, I snuck food. I can remember getting in trouble when my mom found a stash of food in my closet, a can of nuts, some lunch meat (closet just the place for it, huh?), and cookies. I also remember my dad asking everyone in the family who ate all of the salami and I lied denying it just like my mom and my brother. 2. I cannot tell you how many times I ordered two drinks with my large fast food order hoping they'd think I was buying for two people. Gosh I didn't know others did that too! 3. Emotional eating. I used to eat when I was happy. I used to eat when I was sad. I used to eat because I was bored. I used to eat because it was just a bad habit. It was my primary source of entertainment and activity. 4. Nighttime eating has always been my downfall. From sneaking peanut M&Ms into my room when I was in high school to late at night as an adult eating left overs, ice cream, popcorn, whatever I could get my hands on. 5. Basic overeating and stuffing myself has been a way of life for me. This last holiday season is the first time I didn't have seconds, thirds, fourths, etc. during a holiday meal. But I didn't just overeat at holidays, I did it ALL the time. I felt miserable typically after eating.

As you read from my other post, sneaking food was just to terrifying at home. But sometimes I would go to the neighbors house next door and steal some of their ho-hos that their kids would get anytime they wanted. Whenever I spent the night at my grandmas she would always let us have poptarts or a bowl of cereal before bed, so I would make it a point to stay with her whenever my parents allowed. As I got older and lived on my own, my favorite thing to have was doritos. I would sit and practically down a whole bag at one sitting.

I was a major food sneaker when I was a child, mostly cookies. My mom tried to hide them, but Ha! I also drank a lot of Hi-C (remember that?) and Coke, which I think really established my weight problem firmly. I ate a lot of white bread, too. I recall making 'turnovers', where I'd smash the white bread flat, fill it with jam, and fold it over. As an adult I think my worst problem was eating candy. Several years ago you'd find me at this time of year prowling the seasonal candy aisle in the store, looking for cherry gum drops or cinnamon bears. I could polish off a whole bag (not feel great afterwards). Easter time my favorite was Marshmallow Peeps and some chocolate Easter eggs I can't recall the brand (purple bag). Halloween I liked those nasty Mello-creme Pumpkins (I didn't even have the good taste to eat the little candy bars). I did most of my eating in the car. Eating candy always brought on 'good' feelings of childhood nostalgia. I knew that I was going for that, but never really understood why I wanted to relive my very-young childhood (which was not particularly happy). Possibly because I was happiest when eating candy as a kid. Hamburgers and fries, while I like them, were never objects of food abuse. Anything sweet and I'd be a mess.