Discussion Board

HI Everyone.

I am opening this thread as a place for support for those of us, like me, who are struggling with the emotional aspects of food addiction.


This could be anyone. Maybe you have a hard time stopping eating when you are satisfied and even full. (I do!) Maybe you have a hard time going 100% McDougall and those little bits of SAD keep getting bigger and bigger. Maybe you binge, even on vegetables and fruit (I definitely do!) Maybe you notice you eat when you are angry or sad or happy or anything that is not hungry.

I am not sure how to do this exactly, so I am putting it out there to those interested to help us all come up with a format of support that this thread can follow.

Personally, I am going to a Local Overeaters Anonymous group for support, but I am a lone wolf there in terms of my dietary choices, so I wanted to add to my support a safe haven of people who understand what I am doing with my dietary choices. So my approach will be heavily influenced by the 12 Steps, but I do not need others to hold to that if it does not work for them.

I am looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Nicole

Thank you for starting this Nicole.
I'm not familiar with the OA approach, but I am really looking forward to being a part of this support group.

Thank you nicoles for driving this and I'm looking forward to the wisdom, advice and support from our group!

Cheers, Denise

I agree, thank you Nicole. Very clear title!

Shall we offer introductions or be more anonymous?

By way of introduction, I'm moving my comments from the Lounge, which explain key points why I'm here!

I would be interested. I'm 100% MWL and love it...nothing tempts me to eat otherwise. HOWEVER, this doesn't mean I'm cured of my issues regarding emotional eating...and when I overeat, it is MWL compliant - just too much!

What comes to my mind is "Food for Fuel" because I'd like to get to this purpose of eating...I feel as if I eat for every other reason except the one that counts: I need to fuel my body to function vs feeding my emotions.

Cheers, Denise

I wonder if the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions and Promises can be permanently posted as a guide to work?

Aloha, patty

Thanks for this thread. It fills a void, and I hope it helps us all.

Whatever else this is, it's not OA, since we here are not anonymous. Anyone who can click a mouse can find our posts.

I'm an emotional eater, and that has been a problem for me most of my life. I did find one book that was very helpful to me. It's sort of old, and it's called Thin Within http://www.amazon.com/Thin-Within-Wardell/dp/0671745549/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365180052&sr=1-3&keywords=Thin+within It's availabe used on Amazon.com, and probably elsewhere. What I liked about it was that it helped me focus on whether or not I was hungry, and if so, then on what exactly was the perfect food, and perfect amount that would satisfy that hunger.

I read the book shortly after I completed a very stressful life event that I ate my way through. At the time I did not even recall what the physical feeling of hunger was. I decided not to eat until I actually felt hungry. It took about two days, and then I started feeling a little weird. I thought I was getting sick, so I ate something and felt immediately better. Then I realized that the feeling was not illness, but hunger. DUH!!

Some time after writing the book the author of Thin Within got religion, and incorporated that into a new "improved" book and program, which may work for some, but was a complete turnoff to me. If you're into that kind of thing, you may want to have a look at the new books, materials, support groups and programs being marketed.

When I changed to this WOE, part of the appeal was that I could eat as much as I wanted whenever I wanted, so long as it was on plan. I did. I lost weight. But, I also became very, very food-focused in my life, and there is an unhealthy aspect of that for me that I'd like to change.

I've never done OA, but my friend did, and the part that I remember from her materials as being so spot-on was this: (I went and found it online, because I couldn't remember it exactly)

1. Abstain from Individual Binge Foods
Start by asking yourself the simple question, "What are the foods I consistently overeat when I have the chance to eat them?" What are the foods you hunch over, hoarding, eating excessively? -- Clearly any foods you can't stop eating once you've started are things to eliminate from your food plan.

The answers were pretty clear for me [the author I am quoting, not me personally] as far as what my individual binge foods were -- cheesecake, shortbread, doughnuts, ice cream, buttered popcorn, deep fried anything (although deep-fried chicken is a particular one) and fatty meats, like sausage and bacon.

2. Abstain from Individual Binge Ingredients
You need to go further than just identifying individual binge foods -- you need to identify the common ingredients in those foods and ask yourself whether those types of compositions of foods seem to be a problem for you in general.

For me [the author of what I'm quoting, not me personally], the answer was obvious -- fat. I seemed to eat almost anything with a high fat content. It was usually fat mixed with salt, or fat mixed with sugar. All fats have a huge effect on me, but high-fat dairy products, like butter, are especially powerful for me.

Is sugar a problem for me? Well, I just don't overeat foods that are sweet but not fat, like pop or hard candy. So I don't include sugar on my list of individual binge ingredients to abstain from. Fat is clearly the culprit for me.

3. Abstain from Individual Binge Behaviors
This can be things like eating in the car, going through the drive-through, eating from the package (especially a family-size package), eating while standing in front of the refrigerator, eating after midnight or before 6am.

--
I hastily copied the above from some OA materials that were online. #1 and #2 are from the OA big book (again -- hastily copied, not word for word at all!) and #3 includes the examples I remember my friend having identified with her sponsor, which seemed to be better examples than the ones in the OA big book.

Hope this is useful info for those who aren't familiar with OA's approach to compulsive eating!

What is amazing is the collective power of a 12 Program, as people around the world are practicing the same steps, traditions and promises. It is a WE CAN program. Because Dr. McDougall has identified the biological metabolic dollar of fat and oil that has been upsurge by our fear of not having a next meal, I feel he is like Dr. Bob and Bill W., the founders of AA. When I do a food inventory, I also do a money inventory. And I am able to look at my insanity at this disease, knowing scarcity is just a false illusion.

And act as if:) One day at a time. Cradle to Cradle.

I love the end of the promises that state the fear of economic insecurity will leave us and intuitively will handle former situations that used to baffle us. God will do for us what we can't do for ourselves.

THE A.A./OA PROMISES

Aloha, patty

Great to see the thread already started.

I'm happiest when I am McDougalling. I have been doing great lately but my pattern over the years is that, very gradually at first, a little non-McD food creeps in and before I know it its becoming more difficult to stop.

I know I reach for food for emotional reasons. I also know I don't die when I don't give in to those impulses so I just need to stop!! It is that simple isn't it....and yet it seems to be so hard to do!

Its been many years since I went to OA but I appreciate that they treat this with the seriousness that it deserves. I also love the one day at a time approach and if that is too much then, one hour, one minute.

I think this thread will be of importance to most everyone that has an interest in diet and nutrition. Emotional eating as a term has such power just in the words describing it. I know that at some level turning to food in times of stress or anxiety seems to be human nature. My experience reflects this even though I would never describe myself as having this condition. It seems perfectly nomal to turn to food when the pressure goes up.
Is there a line that we can draw that says here is where it's a perfectly normal experience and here is where it's a condition to deal with? Is it when observable weight gain takes place? Seems like the combination of eating a low fat plant based diet in combination with the awareness of these high stress situations would be of benefit to anyone that contemplates these issues.
It also brings up a lot of questions about how much of the issue needs addressing from the type of food side vs the emotional/mental side. It seems that there is a lot of crossover as lot's of the food choices feed the emotional side of the equation.
I look forward to seeing where this thread leads and what we learn from the examinings of the observations of those contributing.
f1jim

Jim, I think it's likely to be difficult to draw an exact line in the sand as to what is normal stress response and what is emotional and/or compulsive overeating. For myself, I would classify consuming some foods as definitely in the compulsive category based on the following criteria:

1. I know perfectly well that the particular food is not healthy for me yet I continue to consume it.

2. I obtain, make, and/or consume the particular food in a ritualistic way. The food has to be "just right" or eaten in a particular way or at a particular time to satisfy the emotional need. If this is not possible, it negatively impacts my mood, resulting in temporary depressed mood, frustration, and/or anger.

3. Consuming the particular food makes me feel guilty because I feel like I should be able to go without it. As a friend put it, "I don't want a food to have control over me." Yet it does.

4. I may hide the fact that a particular food is consumed because I am ashamed of eating it. I am intelligent, very knowledgeable about the health impacts of food, an outstanding cook and baker, yet can't seem to avoid consuming the particular food.

5. Even if I have successfully avoided the particular food for months at a time, it always feels as if it is only a matter of time until I answer its siren call once again.

6. Even if I have abstained for some time, it only takes consuming the particular food once to start the cycle all over again. (Just like an alcoholic!)
---

As you can see, these are not rational approaches to supporting my health or eating appropriately. But that's what this thread is all about, I think. If this was posted in the Lounge, I'd get a bunch of suggestions on how to "solve" this issue along with a number of people telling me I'm an idiot for not being able to follow the program exactly, or at least as well as they do. Believe me, I've heard from the experts on how to deal with this (live and in person, thankyouverymuch) and I still struggle. Not all the time, but periodically (seasonally).

Same here. So please take what I say with a grain of salt!


That brings up something that's really important. Basically -- I think it's very human to turn to food when you want some stimulation, or to turn to food when you want some comfort. I've spent many hours surfing the internet (or actually on these boards) eating spear after spear of broccoli, and then switching to watching TV while eating a huge acorn squash, and just spooning it into my mouth like babyfood.

I don't think volume eating (in and of itself) is something that will prevent you from achieving near-optimal health. I don't necessarily see volume-eating as a problem that needs to be addressed unless it is causing a person some distress. Now, clearly it does cause people a lot of distress here -- and I just sometimes wonder if that's because we've been told it's shameful and have adopted a mindset that it's shameful.



Yes, yes, yes! I personally tend toward the belief that the flaw is in the food (not a personal defective or character flaw). Once you take the highly-palatable, calorie-dense foods out of the equation, the problem is so much smaller, or possibly gone altogether. I do think that it can take time for this outcome to manifest.

Now! This are just my personal (opinionated! ) opinions -- just spouting forth, as I sometimes do. Discussions on emotional eating can get very heated, and I have no intentions of pissing anyone off, so if I've said something stupid, go easy on me!

The answer to this may be different for each individual, and I will speak only for myself. When I eat in response to stress (or boredom, or frustration, or to celebrate or any reason other than hunger) it can become a problem for me. This is true even if I'm eating healthy food. Too much of anything is not healthy for me. It's often easier and faster for me to eat rather than to respond appropriately to an inconvienient situation or feeling. That does not make the situation I'm avioding dealing with go away, and eventually I have to deal with it anyway.

Weight gain may or may not be an issue in overeating or emotional eating.

Does that make any sense?

Just hopped online and I see this thread is already jumping!

This is a very charged topic for many people, and I will accept anyone's definition for themselves of what they think is overeating or emotional eating for them - it is not for me to judge.

I am learning for myself that it is a learning process, finding out what is "sober eating" (as they say on OA) and what is not, and a highly individual situation for each person.

This is a place for support, and so I'd like to make a request that any debating about overeating goes to another thread.

I sincerely want to deal maturely with my overeating, and I would like to create a space where I, and others, can do that safely, without fear of any judgement or shame.

I am so glad that everyone is here!