Happy Wednesday gang! This is good, be sure to read the whole post! Hugs Debbie

Disordered Eating all Around

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Disordered Eating all Around Posted: 07 Sep 2011 12:26 AM PDT I met a dietician the other day -- we were talking about this very interesting new book I'm reading (more on that later!).  She made the comment she is very interested in disordered eating (different from an Eating Disorder) because most of her clients are restrictive/binge eaters.  Without getting into a whole diagnosis for this behavior, let's just envision this as restricting, restricting, restricting -- calories, food groups, sweets (or favorites foods), etc. and then going off the deep end and eating everything you have been restricting from yourself (and in quantities that far surpass what you normally would eat). The thought that struck me was -- "almost all her clients exhibit this behavior".  Why?  There are enough pitfalls in trying to regulate one's weight without most of us falling into a single, apparently enormous, hole! So I've spent the decent part of a couple days mulling this over and what I came up with is: Dieting predominately focuses on what we shouldn't do.  Don't eat too much.  Don't eat that.  Don't eat this..... We can manage that for a while.  And because some of us have a ton more willpower than we give ourselves credit for, some of us can hold out for a long time (days of semi-starvation, or weeks without foods with flavor).  The problem with focusing your energy on "not doing/eating/having" is that the focus is accompanied by the mental picture of the object we are staying away from. And we can only with the that desert mirage (or dessert mirage) in front of us for so long before we go crazy and binge on it.  Think back to the last time the gloves came off and you ate what you'd been denying yourself -- did you eat more than was reasonable?  More than you wished you had?  Did you feel powerless against that food? That's binging. And the cause?  Lack of willpower?  I think not! I think the cause is us constantly restricting our eating.  Constantly telling ourselves "no". What if we said "just a bite" -- and actually followed through but ate that bite in 4 smaller bites so we actually got some time to taste it?  What if we said "not right now" and waited until we were actually physically hungry before we chomped into that most perfect dinner. Maybe there are better choices for us than just restricting until we just can't take it anymore.

I can certainly understand what the article is saying, but my personal experience is somewhat different.  I do think restricting is a form of torture!  LOL.  I have also come to recognize that when I a focus on restricting (calories, carbs, etc.), I do so obsessively.  I am counting calories, planning, weighing, measuring, recording, reviewing diets, and on and on.  Clearly, I am an addict, and I can be just as compulsive about restricting as I can be about eating.

That said, I have also found that, for me, certain foods are absolutely addictive for me.  I cannot eat them in moderation, just as I can no longer safely drink alcohol.  Sugar is my number one offender.  Once I start, I do not know when I will stop.  Oh, I can call it moderation when it is a cookie here, or a piece of cake there, but the truth is that it soon becomes an every day habit, and then more than once a day.  Oh, and corn chips?  Crack cocaine to me!  In those cases I choose to call it abstinence rather than restriction. 

I am still learning about my addictive nature. I don't tell myself, "No," or "I can't," but rather I tell myself, "I just don't eat sugar; or drink alcohol; or drink regular soda."  It's always my choice. 

Amen Jill, I do know what you are saying and admit I'm a lot like you. I stay away from sugar and bad carbs but if I do eat them I don't beat myself up anymore.
Now I ask myself..."is this the best choice for me"? Sometimes taking a walk and thinking about my food choices helps, sometimes not.

Like last night when I got home from work...after midnight...drank some water and watched TV for half an hour before I settled down for bed. In bed I'm thinking..."there are chips and dip left over" and they were calling my name. This time I won the war...I stayed in bed and counted sheep! LOL

Yep, in the end it's all about our food choices. Hugs Debbie

Good for you. Debbie.  I lost the battle last night to corn chips.  I seriously wanted to eat them all just to get rid of them! 

Laureen said something at a support group meeting that I've been trying to repeat to myself, about eating in my best interest.

Jill..."Talk to the chips"!!! Tell them to get stale! LOL

I think that the crux of it is, to thine own self be true, knowing your red flag items and either being able to find reasonable substitutions that will not become one is too many and a thousand never enough, or simply learning that in some instances, you just have to realize that the consequences for eating certain things might not be ones you like long term.

Thanks for the reading 

Yep, to thine own self be true!!!!!!!!!!!  Amen Sister!
Hugs Laureen and I always love reading your responses. Debbie