Follow-up to Question of the Day

I was never an emotional eater. I was having flashbacks of my psch. eval. when I read your post. He kept asking if I ate when I was angry, sad, happy, etc. I told him that I was from this big, Mexican family that just ATE! We eat all the time. I've never been one to eat out of emotions but when I bored I snacked plenty. I did have portion problems which stem from childhood. My dad worked and my mom stayed at home raising 5 kids. We always had the minimum and my mom knew how to stretch food. My parents refused to get any government help out of pride so we often had little to eat and never had leftovers or seconds. I'm the last of the 5, so obviously there was more food as my sisters grew up and got married(my mom always cooked for 7 people). I got greedy and excited and just started eating more. I've never binged a day in my life but just loved having 2nd and 3rd helpings. Plain and simple, I just ate too much all the time and having kids and finishing off their plates didn't help either. I also fell in love, love with fast-food. It's easy, quick and yummy (doesn't taste good to me anymore) and I ate lots of it. THis tool has definitely helped me learn portion control and put me on the track of eating healthier than I have ever before. You really got me thinking. Thanks for the great questions! ana

Kathy, Good comments and questions, and I'm confident that I DO NOT have most of the answers now. I take things one day at a time. I still struggle late at night with the desire to eat. Fortunately, I'm making better choices now and it's working for me. I've also taken up knitting, so rather than eating while I watch TV, now I can't hardly bare to sit there without having the knitting needles in my hand. Now I have to find cheap yarn to buy! I'm going for a walk when I get frustrated, rather than eating and using food to stuff my feelings, but I'm far from fully confident that I'm totally in control. All I know to do is to be aware every single day and focus on good habits.