Always Thinking About Food
Question:
My weight and food are constantly on my mind. I have gained and
lost weight many times. I start out eating healthy and then want
to stop eating. Then once I start eating the obsession with eating
returns. Some days I will eat nonstop. That always makes me feel
like a failure . I've always got a good reason to binge (in my mind).
What can I do to stop this cycle. I am 45 and have been dealing
with this since I was a young teen. I am a female.
Thank you
Answer:It is sad to hear your frustration with the years and energy you
have spent on food, weight and dieting concerns. Your focus on these
issues is shared by many women, and some men, and is promoted by
many aspects of our culture. Have you ever wondered what you would
be thinking about if you weren't thinking about your weight and
food?
You seem to be approaching eating as a measure of your value and
competence. From what you say, when you think about eating "healthy"
you may think about not eating certain things, and then you may
take that to the extreme of not wanting to eat anything, as if that
would be even better. When you do overeat, you judge yourself a
failure.
You may recognize from your own experience that restrictive eating
patterns often lead to overeating or bingeing, whether the cycle
occurs on a day to day basis (skipping or skimping on meals during
the day and bingeing at night) or month to month, year to year basis
(dieting and losing weight for some period of time and then, sooner
or later, gaining it back). One way to interrupt this patterm is
to find a moderate, sensible and satisfying way to eat and enjoy
a balanced diet. Consulting a dietician who is experienced with
eating disorders can be very helpful. Check with The American Dietetic
Association (http://www.eatright.org/finddiet.html) to find a specialist
in your area.
Trying out moderate eating behaviors isn't the whole answer of
course. True change will probably involve exploring why you pay
so much attention to food and weight issues. Yet if you are able
to begin by trying to stop stressing your body through undereating
and try to stop stressing your self-esteem with harsh judgments
about overeating, you may feel better. Feeling better you may find
that you have some mental and emotional energy for other kinds of
thoughts and for the work of understanding these issues.
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