Reading Women, Food, and God

July 11, 2010

I bought Women, Food, and God yesterday and am about a third of the way through

it. I'm finding it very unsettling.

I'm one of those people who has never been comfortable with the overeating as an

emotional issue concept. Not for myself, anyway. I didn't doubt that some

people ate to numb some sort of pain they couldn't deal with; I just never

thought I was one of them. Which isn't to say I don't have various things in my

past that have been painful, but all in all, I've never been abused, no one

important to me died when I was young, my parents didn't get divorced, I didn't

get teased for being the fat kid, or any of the other things you often hear

people say are the catalysts that started them overeating. I've always figured

that my life was fairly run of the mill and any effort to say that something in

my upbringing was so hurtful that it caused me to stuff myself to not deal with

it was nothing more than whining and melodrama. So I'd always pretty much say

to myself to walk it off, deal with it, and get on with things! Please. People

have *real* problems. For that reason, I think I've always avoided Geneen's

books, because I knew she was one of the people that promoted this concept that

I couldn't accept for myself.

But I have to say, this book has not been a comfortable read for me. And I keep

finding myself in the kitchen in a way I haven't been since I started IE. This

quote really jumped out at me:

" Sometimes people will say, 'But I just like the taste of food. In fact, I love

the taste! Why can't it be that simple? I overeat because I like food.'

" But.

" When you like something, you pay attention to it. When you like something -

love something - you take time with it. You want to be present for every second

of the rapture.

" Overeating does not lead to rapture. It leads to burping and farting and being

so sick that you can't think of anything but how full you are. That's not love;

that's suffering. "

I don't know where this book is taking me or how I'll feel when I'm done. I'm

still not 100% sure that I accept this concept, but I have to acknowledge that

this unsettled feeling is trying to tell me something. It'll be interesting to

watch her on Oprah tomorrow.

So, we'll see where this goes.

Josie

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