Why I love Food so much

     This topic is from another post, that I needed to respond to. I think that finding why we love food so much, is a really good Idea.  For me I believe it started when I was young. I came from, the generation, when mother's wanted to keep kids quiet, gave them food. They gave food as an award, as a prize, a gift of their love. Always had to eat what was before you, because there was children in other countries that didn't have any. Grandparents always wanting to feed you. I remember one time when I was small and had slept over at grandma's; she let us have Birthday Cake for breakfast  as long as we had a glass of milk with it. I knew mom wasn't going to like it, but I ate it anyway. Food was always there, in my life. When I am cold, it can warm me, when I am hot, it can cool me. When I am lonely, it can help calm me and whittle the hours away. An chocolate, oh beautiful chocolate can mimic the feelings of being in love, when you need to feel all cozy and soft inside. Well I can go on and on.
  Now is the time to find, what else can you do, to feel those things with out eating. like take a hot shower when cold,or cool when you are hot, Get a massage, to feel, period.  Buy yourself flowers, get out and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.  One thing I remember when I wasn't so heavy and younger is the feeling of the muscle control I had when I was dancing, (floating and flying across the floor) The wind in my hair. The charge of competing. To feel that muscle tone all over my frame again. That is what I need to do feel, stop eating it away. Well that's it from me this time around.
What can you do, to manufacture the good feelings without food?

Twilight

Hey Twilight, me too.  Food was always the one way that my mother showed that she loved us so of course I related food with love.  For years it was my comfort, but not no mo!

When I was in group hypnotherapy, the instructor had us do exercises in dealing with our emotions about food.  For instance, we would close our eyes and envision our favorite cookie.  What kinds of emotions did it invoke, would we eat it or not?  How would we feel while we were eating it?  How would we feel after we ate it?  Was it worth the feeling we would get from eating it to feel the feeling of guilt we would feel afterwards?  For me, the answer was no, it wasn't worth the way it would make me feel after I ate it. 

In essence, we have to live in the moment.  Take the time to analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it.  What do you want more, that cookie or a smaller you?  I say that you have to have it in your heart that you want a smaller you more than you want your next breath! 

Mary

Food is Love in my family as well.  My brother's wife has had weight issues off and on.  Back in 2005 she went on a liquid diet (supervised by a physician) and  lost 60 pounds and had her health restored.  Two years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and although she had a lumpectomy and no chemo, my brother was really freaked out over her cancer.  So he started to feed her - I'm not kidding!  Out to restaurants a lot, vacations to Hawaii, lots of parties at home and well, you get the idea.  So my SIL has gained back about half of her weight and she's starting to have health issues again.  I think they're trying now to control the food once again.

My good feelings when I was losing weight: 
 
I felt great after exercising.
I felt great when I got on the scale the the number was less than yesterday's
I felt great when I put on clothes and they were looser than yesterday and I looked a little better than the day before.
I felt great when I had the courage to look in the mirror and notice change for the better.

My good feelings today after losing weight:

I feel great after exercising.
I feel great when I see the number 139 on my scale in the morning
I feel great when my (very handsome, much younger) boyfriend tells me I'm beautiful.
I feel great when I put on clothes and look good in them.
I feel great when my doctor tells me I have a perfect blood profile.
I feel great when men look me at the gym, at the mall, on a flight, everywhere! 

In short :THIN FEELS SO MUCH BETTER THAN FOOD TASTES!

Good post, twi!!!!

I think that food has been more medicinal than pleasing for me. I think that the actual "joy" I felt was that state of being full. Too full even. Trust me, there was no joy in eating my mother's food - what a simply awful cook.

My folks used to laugh about me - age 1 - in my high chair. Mom fried up egg after egg - i ate 6 before I literally laid down in my food asleep. They thought it was soooo cute the way I went me-me-me and grasped at the air showing I wanted more...which they gleefully obliged.

That story has so much in there! Not the least of which:  early on, it was "cute" to eat a lot - encouraged by adult laughter, action.

I have very often pondered my journey with food and over the paths in my life, all the why's.

These days I am pretty much past why and onto finding my personal behavior as acceptable or not acceptable.

It is acceptable to enjoy the flavors of foods; it is not acceptable to eat so much of good tasting food that it crossed a threshold of spiritual or physical discomfort.

It is acceptable to desire certain foods; it is not acceptable to eat at every little whim I may have. This has helped me to look at parties/holidays in a different way - it's about the people, not the food. If there really is some truly special once a year food...eating THAT - a few forkfuls once a year - did NOT get me fat. What got me fat, keeps me fat is eating this special thing, that special thing most of the time.

It is acceptable to let my body feel the sensation of hunger; it is not acceptable to get to the point of crazed maniacal choices.

I'd much rather eat less in the first place than feel like I have to do 2 hours of exercise (read here penance) or worse, suffering two hours plus of shame/physical agony from eating waay too much. 

My fascination/compulsion/obsession with food has actually been more to do with avoiding *other stuff* in my life than the food. Once i started to look at it that way, it was an eye opener, too. Maybe i need to clean up the kitchen after supper rather that scarf off plates like a bag lady...or maybe get out of the house and go see someone who loves me and misses me...or clean out a closet...or go confront a problem with someone...or go learn a new thing?

 

 

I would think that the great majority of people - thin, obese, tall, short, white, black, blue and gold all would list tons of reasons why they love food. After all we all have so many memories of food. Why do you think that someone who has always been thin may say the exact same things about their memories of food? Why would being a member of the clean your plate club gain weight while others remain skinny? There is something more to this than just loving to eat. LOL Wish I knew the answer!

Skylar

  

 Skylar:
  
     Yes, there is something more to this, loving food. For me I believe I over eat, to chase a lot, of what I do not want, to deal with.

One thing I have noticed, that when I watch a movie, or any thing that deals with romance, or the happy family, or loss, I get so hungry,(upset/wanting) I find it hard to not eat. 
On top of this I do love food.  I have been told that I eat to not deal with what scares me, or causes great emotion in myself.  I think I need to find peace in me, and how I feel about things and the world around me.   

I think the people who are skinny, became skinny are people who have become a master at what they want, knowing what, who, and where they want,  to be.
Or are on their way.

Just a thought, my opinion  Twilight 

I have to pitch this:  sometimes, all fat peeps who got skinny did was do a transfer addiction: maybe they learned to not eat, but become exercise addicts or sex addicts or shopaholics?

I only bring this up to point out that skinny people can have lots of issues - just not with food any longer. Eating too much or being slug like have more visible effects than being a shopaholic for example.

But twilight, i do SO agree with you that many of us do equate food with comfort and we need to root out causes to begin to change that! The main thing is the very realization that we are abusing food. (my opinion)

At a point, what worked for me was to realize it did not matter WHY I ate so much as some stress response. What works is being fully accountable and doing the right thing by walking away from the food.  It cannot move out of my grasp - that action is done by ME!