Guest guest Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 It could just be turning to food to deal with anything, doesn't have to be some secret bad memories. If you look in the book Intuitive Eating you will see there are many different types of eaters...not always having to do with eating memories. Warrior > > > > > > I hope my story helps some of you understand the concept of emotional eating as it relates to sugar being used as an over the counter tranquilizer. Any suggestions for avoiding the urge top medicate with sugar would be greatly appreciated also! > > > > > > I have gone many years without restricting forbidden foods. From age 33 to the present, (I am 44) I ate whatever I wanted in whatever quantities I desired. I simply did not care how much I weighed or what size I was! > > > > > > UNTIL my older sister lost 90 pounds and my mother informed me that I was now the largest female in the family. I was happy for my sister, but I knew her weight was 20 pounds more than me, and her height was 3 inches shorter than me. I also saw the tags in Mom's and Sister's pants! > > > > > > I WAS NOT bigger than them, and I decided that the next time they'd see me it would be a no-brainer. I lost 25 pounds and went from an 18W to a 14 in four months. Guess what Mom said when she saw me? " I can tell you have lost weight in your face and arms, but you still have your gut. " . Nice, hiuh? Well, I LoVe my body just the way it is! > > > > > > Anyway my point in writing this is that I have had a sugar addiction for 20+ years... from my skinny college days, to my anorexic first years of marriage, to my. highest weight of 225 and still today at 189! > > > > > > I am NOT addicted to the taste of sugar, for if I was, I would be able to make a candy bar last all day like my skinny 12 year old daughter does (and leave part of it on the hot car seat to make a melted mess).. I too, used to savor each tiny bite, sliding it around my mouth so that each part of my tongue had an opportunity to share the joy of it. I am aware of this, and if I'm mindful I can do that. > > > > > > BUT I don't eat sugary foods for the way they taste, I eat them in large quantities for the way they make me feel AFTER I have eaten them. I binge on them, cramming them down as quickly as I can... And I have sadly come to the realization that this is the classic profile of an emotional eater. > > > > > > With the book Shrink Yourself, I have made great progress, and I'm only half-way finished with it. > > > > > > Here are some truths about me... I was a binge drinker in college and quit when I started my teaching career. Shortly after that I married and had a daughter. I learned the power sugar held as a tranquilizer when a long chain of miscarriages preceded the ultimate birth of my perfectly healthy son. With a 5 year old to care for and a teaching career to honor, bingeing on alcohol just wasn't a feasible option. > > > > > > Until reading Shrink Yourself (the first half so far) I was totally unaware that I was using sugar as a tranquilizer. Like I said before, I have NEVER forbidden sugar, but once I experienced its numbing effects while losing baby after baby, I held strong to it and unconsciously applied its power to other uncomfortable feelings like anxiety, fear, worry, hurt, anger... NOW the only thing I have left to work on is recognizing my feelings in the split second before I head for whatever sugar is available! And trust me, it is and has always been plentiful in my pantry! > > > > > > > > > Knobloch > > > Sent from my BlackBerry� wireless device from U.S. Cellular > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Yes, I totally get this!! Along those lines, I also feel like if someone's going to hurt me, it's going to be me. lol Very healthy, right? Anyway, somehow I feel like I'm in control. Warrior > > > > Does Gillian believe people use sugar to tranquilize? > > > Knobloch > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Wow! Well said! Yes, I do think it might be about control! KnoblochSent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. CellularFrom: "K T" Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:54:19 -0000To: <IntuitiveEating_Support >Subject: Re: My story Yes, I totally get this!! Along those lines, I also feel like if someone's going to hurt me, it's going to be me. lol Very healthy, right? Anyway, somehow I feel like I'm in control. Warrior > > > > Does Gillian believe people use sugar to tranquilize? > > > Knobloch > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 There is a fantastic book for working with anxiety, called the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook (author's name is Bourne, I forget first name). This book has a wholistic approach, looking at self-talk, nutrition, exercise, spirituality, and a whole lot more. I highly recommend it. Re: My story The tranquilizing effect of sugar, food, alcohol, etc.. is about avoiding feelings. A big break through in my case has been not labeling any of my feelings as "bad" and allowing them to be and sit with them. It's as if we have to learn to trust that we can withstand feeling certain feelings that maybe at one time seemed uncomfortable or unsafe to us and not identify the feelings as who we are-- aka, I am angry therefore I am a bad person. For me that is about learning how to appropriately express and acknowledge anger (because we nice gals never get angry do we? ), disappointment, grief, etc... all the stuff that is somehow seen as bad. In the end feelings are just feelings-- we can all withstand them and we are not alone in them.Not sure if this makes any sense, but that's my take on it! >> I hope my story helps some of you understand the concept of emotional eating as it relates to sugar being used as an over the counter tranquilizer. Any suggestions for avoiding the urge top medicate with sugar would be greatly appreciated also! > > I have gone many years without restricting forbidden foods. From age 33 to the present, (I am 44) I ate whatever I wanted in whatever quantities I desired. I simply did not care how much I weighed or what size I was! > > UNTIL my older sister lost 90 pounds and my mother informed me that I was now the largest female in the family. I was happy for my sister, but I knew her weight was 20 pounds more than me, and her height was 3 inches shorter than me. I also saw the tags in Mom's and Sister's pants! > > I WAS NOT bigger than them, and I decided that the next time they'd see me it would be a no-brainer. I lost 25 pounds and went from an 18W to a 14 in four months. Guess what Mom said when she saw me? "I can tell you have lost weight in your face and arms, but you still have your gut.". Nice, hiuh? Well, I LoVe my body just the way it is!> > Anyway my point in writing this is that I have had a sugar addiction for 20+ years... from my skinny college days, to my anorexic first years of marriage, to my. highest weight of 225 and still today at 189!> > I am NOT addicted to the taste of sugar, for if I was, I would be able to make a candy bar last all day like my skinny 12 year old daughter does (and leave part of it on the hot car seat to make a melted mess).. I too, used to savor each tiny bite, sliding it around my mouth so that each part of my tongue had an opportunity to share the joy of it. I am aware of this, and if I'm mindful I can do that.> > BUT I don't eat sugary foods for the way they taste, I eat them in large quantities for the way they make me feel AFTER I have eaten them. I binge on them, cramming them down as quickly as I can... And I have sadly come to the realization that this is the classic profile of an emotional eater. > > With the book Shrink Yourself, I have made great progress, and I'm only half-way finished with it. > > Here are some truths about me... I was a binge drinker in college and quit when I started my teaching career. Shortly after that I married and had a daughter. I learned the power sugar held as a tranquilizer when a long chain of miscarriages preceded the ultimate birth of my perfectly healthy son. With a 5 year old to care for and a teaching career to honor, bingeing on alcohol just wasn't a feasible option. > > Until reading Shrink Yourself (the first half so far) I was totally unaware that I was using sugar as a tranquilizer. Like I said before, I have NEVER forbidden sugar, but once I experienced its numbing effects while losing baby after baby, I held strong to it and unconsciously applied its power to other uncomfortable feelings like anxiety, fear, worry, hurt, anger... NOW the only thing I have left to work on is recognizing my feelings in the split second before I head for whatever sugar is available! And trust me, it is and has always been plentiful in my pantry! > > > Knobloch> Sent from my BlackBerry� wireless device from U.S. Cellular> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I know, right? Isn't that weird? And how sick is it that we are putting ourselves in the perpetrator role to ourselves, maybe so we don't feel like the victim. Okay, maybe this is a bit deep conversation before noon. ;-) Warrior > > > > > > Does Gillian believe people use sugar to tranquilize? > > > > > Knobloch > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 That's kind of what my therapist said. In the end, who cares what you're trying to eat away or why -- you are choosing to eat instead of do something healthy for yourself. Much of the time when I feel the urge to eat and I'm not hungry, or to eat something that I know will make me feel bad, I don't really know why. However, I know that I have a choice to make. I can eat or I can do something else. > > > > I guess my problem is I can't figure out what feelings I'm hiding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Barb: I can definitely relate to your post about not being able to figure out what feelings you are hiding. For a long time I felt ashamed and guilty for being a disordered eater. I did not feel like it was justified by my childhood. I had a really great and normal childhood. I have been fortunate in many ways, no abuse of any kind, supportive parents etc... Ultimately I feel like my disordered eating is attributed to a combination of societal influences, perfectionist and controlling tendencies along with anxiety. For me, this was a huge breakthrough. I started to look at what I have been getting out of my daily habits. I now feel like my eating habits are an attempt to calm myself down. I am now working on trying to sit with my anxiety, which is so much harder than I thought it would be. It is far easier to distract myself by munching on candy all night and dwell over " my eating issues " than actually sit with my anxiety. Anyway I hope this helps. Maybe you aren't suppressing difficult past memories but current feelings and even events in your life? - Kaylin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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