Re: What kind of eater are you?

[Guest guest]

I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

[Guest guest]

It seems that we all have learned to eat in response to emotions, especially

stress. The trick is to get to recognize that trigger and then choose to check

in with what one's body really wants instead. Choice trumps control any day!

Keep up the good work - thanks for sharing.

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I am still an emotional eater. Most times I have control and stressful times I

become an emotional eater.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

[Guest guest]

And you may want to consider what Gillian says - being in charge is better than

control too. Best to you, Katcha

>

> I am still an emotional eater. Most times I have control and stressful times I

become an emotional eater.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

[Guest guest]

I've been giving this subject a lot of thought. I heard Deepak Chopra say there are only 2 reasons for eating, hunger or emotions. Since hearing that I guess I am an emotional eater but I don't feel any kind of emotion while I eat, unless mindlessness and habit are emotions. I often find I'm just wanting to eat something, and it's not even a craving...and I go get it. And then I realize it's gone and I hardly remember more than the first 3 bites. I just eat. I was trying to attain all of the IE principles and getting frustrated by not accomplishing much. I am still having problems with diet mentality too, not that I feel the need to diet, but I do strongly have a need to lose weight still (it's both medical and mental) and am still obsessive about the scale sometimes and some days I can push it out of my mind, it's about half and half now. I love not having good and bad foods though I do still catch myself reading labels for new things in the store and have to make myself stop that. I haven't gotten to the point where I can accept my size or the shape of my body and I find it terribly hard to even feel comfortable with the"affirmation" type talk, which just feels silly and phony to me. I'm pretty clear on what I want though. I truly want to be IE all the way and I want to lose half of the weight I need to lose. I think that would solve several of my medical issues and I could live with that. I'm hoping the "initial gain period" which I know is normal, is nearing it's end for me though since my recent gain has exacerbated a couple of my medical issues and it's not good.

Sunny

Re: What kind of eater are you?

I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

[Guest guest]

Evening eating seems to 'haunt' so many of us too. I came to peace with it as I

found that I don't eat as much during the day - usually busy doing lots of this

and that. Plus I also re-discovered that snacking in the evening was a long time

association with my family and enjoying the evening time. I still do have a

'treat' when I want and because I don't fight it, generally its not much as well

as what I really really really want. The most freeing thing for me was finding

that I thought of evening eating as 'bad' - oh those sneaky food police!

Thanks for sharing, your post sparked good IE thinking for me too.

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

>

[Guest guest]

I found that there is several different kinds of 'hunger' -

1) body hunger - which is what we all were born with and are encouraged to refer

to (once again) by IE.

2) emotional hunger - which covers eating in anger, upset, guilt etc.

3) misplaced hunger - instead of thirst! Many foods do contain moisture which

can be a reason one feels compelled to 'eat'.

On the opposite end - there are different types of 'full'! -

1) satisfied - no craving, no longer seeking food

2) FULL - couldn't eat another bite if I tried

3) 'enough' - as judged by me, not my body

Just some thoughts your post brought for me -

Katcha

IEimg since March 2007

>

>

> I've been giving this subject a lot of thought. I heard Deepak Chopra say

there are only 2 reasons for eating, hunger or emotions. Since hearing that I

guess I am an emotional eater but I don't feel any kind of emotion while I eat,

unless mindlessness and habit are emotions. I often find I'm just wanting to

eat something, and it's not even a craving...and I go get it. And then I

realize it's gone and I hardly remember more than the first 3 bites. I just eat.

I was trying to attain all of the IE principles and getting frustrated by not

accomplishing much. I am still having problems with diet mentality too, not

that I feel the need to diet, but I do strongly have a need to lose weight still

(it's both medical and mental) and am still obsessive about the scale sometimes

and some days I can push it out of my mind, it's about half and half now. I love

not having good and bad foods though I do still catch myself reading labels for

new things in the store and have to make myself stop that. I haven't gotten to

the point where I can accept my size or the shape of my body and I find it

terribly hard to even feel comfortable with the " affirmation " type talk, which

just feels silly and phony to me. I'm pretty clear on what I want though. I

truly want to be IE all the way and I want to lose half of the weight I need to

lose. I think that would solve several of my medical issues and I could live

with that. I'm hoping the " initial gain period " which I know is normal, is

nearing it's end for me though since my recent gain has exacerbated a couple of

my medical issues and it's not good.

>

> Sunny

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Re: What kind of eater are you?

>

>

>

>

> I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for that Katcha,

Using your Hunger scale I don't identify the type of hunger I have in the evenings when i seem to graze mindlessly. I know Misplaced hunger from thirst actual feels like body hunger physically. Emotional hunger doesn't. What I normally experience seems more like a result of the Full scale you use. I seems like I must rarely ever be satisfied because if satisfied is as you define it, I rarely stop seeking food, unless I am full to uncomfortable and since I dislike that feeling it I hardly ever get there. I do however, often decide with my mind when enough is, because I can't trust my body to stop seeking food.

Sunny

Re: What kind of eater are you?

> > > > > I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

What about it tastes good and is pleasurable? would that be emotional hunger? When I eat after I am satisfied its usually because something just tastes so good I cant stop :)To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Fri, February 18, 2011 4:25:38 PMSubject: Re: What kind of eater are you?

I found that there is several different kinds of 'hunger' -

1) body hunger - which is what we all were born with and are encouraged to refer to (once again) by IE.

2) emotional hunger - which covers eating in anger, upset, guilt etc.

3) misplaced hunger - instead of thirst! Many foods do contain moisture which can be a reason one feels compelled to 'eat'.

On the opposite end - there are different types of 'full'! -

1) satisfied - no craving, no longer seeking food

2) FULL - couldn't eat another bite if I tried

3) 'enough' - as judged by me, not my body

Just some thoughts your post brought for me -

Katcha

IEimg since March 2007

>

>

> I've been giving this subject a lot of thought. I heard Deepak Chopra say there are only 2 reasons for eating, hunger or emotions. Since hearing that I guess I am an emotional eater but I don't feel any kind of emotion while I eat, unless mindlessness and habit are emotions. I often find I'm just wanting to eat something, and it's not even a craving...and I go get it. And then I realize it's gone and I hardly remember more than the first 3 bites. I just eat. I was trying to attain all of the IE principles and getting frustrated by not accomplishing much. I am still having problems with diet mentality too, not that I feel the need to diet, but I do strongly have a need to lose weight still (it's both medical and mental) and am still obsessive about the scale sometimes and some days I can push it out of my mind, it's about half and half now. I love not having good and bad foods though I do still catch myself reading labels for new things in

the store and have to make myself stop that. I haven't gotten to the point where I can accept my size or the shape of my body and I find it terribly hard to even feel comfortable with the"affirmation" type talk, which just feels silly and phony to me. I'm pretty clear on what I want though. I truly want to be IE all the way and I want to lose half of the weight I need to lose. I think that would solve several of my medical issues and I could live with that. I'm hoping the "initial gain period" which I know is normal, is nearing it's end for me though since my recent gain has exacerbated a couple of my medical issues and it's not good.

>

> Sunny

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Re: What kind of eater are you?

>

>

>

>

> I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

>

[Guest guest]

I hate to admit it but lots of times the only thing that tastes good and is pleasurable would be the first few bites, after that I go into automaton state and suddenly it's all gone. In trying to be more mindful about it, I am able to stop myself sometimes and I find I'm not physically hungry anymore but not full yet either. I find the "had enough" spot difficult to gage and that's why I let my head decide what enough is at times. I do agree with you about the eating because it tastes good though. When I find I'm no longer hungry, and there are only 3-4 bites left and I like that stuff, I also tend to keep eating it. I'm not sure I'd call it emotional though. It doesn't make me happy to do that. In fact it still makes me feel guilty if I feel anything at all. I don't know. and it's not the clean plate syndrome thing. I actually have that one licked. I don't feel any need to clean my plate anymore and haven't for several years. I'm still new at IE and still find a lot of it confusing. Confusing but yet it makes so much sense. I look forward to the day when I have it mastered a bit more.

Sunny

Re: What kind of eater are you?

>

>

>

>

> I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

>

[Guest guest]

This is only my impression, but what came to me as I read your question was not

that you are being motivated by physical intra body hunger, but perhaps

rebelling to dieting? Feeling denied and fearful of losing the pleasure of

something sooooo good appears to be driving over the inner 'satisfied'?

That said, I do hope that you don't go and STOP because you SHOULD! It seems to

me that this is another reason to legalize - to prove to yourself (body and

mind) that 1) you will not deny your body what it wants and 2) all foods are

fair game, there isn't any 'good or bad' (beyond how your body reacts to them -

think allergies ;-)

Keep up the good work and love that body - its the only one ya gets :-)

ehugs, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

> >

> >

> > I've been giving this subject a lot of thought. I heard Deepak Chopra say

> >there are only 2 reasons for eating, hunger or emotions. Since hearing that

I

> >guess I am an emotional eater but I don't feel any kind of emotion while I

eat,

> >unless mindlessness and habit are emotions. I often find I'm just wanting to

> >eat something, and it's not even a craving...and I go get it. And then I

> >realize it's gone and I hardly remember more than the first 3 bites. I just

eat.

> >I was trying to attain all of the IE principles and getting frustrated by not

> >accomplishing much. I am still having problems with diet mentality too, not

> >that I feel the need to diet, but I do strongly have a need to lose weight

still

> >(it's both medical and mental) and am still obsessive about the scale

sometimes

> >and some days I can push it out of my mind, it's about half and half now. I

love

> >not having good and bad foods though I do still catch myself reading labels

for

> >new things in the store and have to make myself stop that. I haven't gotten

to

> >the point where I can accept my size or the shape of my body and I find it

> >terribly hard to even feel comfortable with the " affirmation " type talk, which

> >just feels silly and phony to me. I'm pretty clear on what I want though. I

> >truly want to be IE all the way and I want to lose half of the weight I need

to

> >lose. I think that would solve several of my medical issues and I could live

> >with that. I'm hoping the " initial gain period " which I know is normal, is

> >nearing it's end for me though since my recent gain has exacerbated a couple

of

> >my medical issues and it's not good.

> >

> > Sunny

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Re: What kind of eater are you?

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > I too am an emotional eater and find it especially difficult in the evening.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Sunny, I STILL am a 'fast' eater. Its such an old and long standing habit that I

constantly catch myself doing that. I've found that this habit is probably

driven by the 'meal time' rules I grew up with. Ours wasn't an 'open

refrigerator' type of family. After school snacks were ok, but not enough to

'ruin dinner'. (sound familiar?!?) So when dinner time came, its was like

piggies around a trough - head down and EAT. Clean plates or no dessert etc. To

this day sitting down to dinner is like a starter's pistol going off - GO!

One thing I tried for myself which helped me learn satisfaction vs. full was at

breakfast. I hate eating soggy cereal so I got out two small bowls into which I

put my sliced bananas and some cereal into the second. I also had a little

creamer dish for the milk. I would add a few bananas slices to the cereal, pour

on some milk and eat the cereal while it was most tasty. This not only helped me

satisfy my taste for what I wanted to eat, it also helped me to learn that I

could savor without rushing to prevent the soggy effect. And since I could eat

as much as I wanted, the pausing to refill were excellent places to evaluate

satisfaction too.

At dinner time, when I can remember, I try and chew more completely instead of

bolting my food down. Its at dinner time that I have a 'gotta be HOT' mania

which makes me eat faster (before food cools). Preheating my dinner plate or

re-warming in a microwave helped that too.

I am not saying - do the same - I am only sharing what worked for me. As you

discover what works for you, please do post it so we all can add that to our

storehouse of references. Alternatives are great, but we have to think them up

first!

Best to you, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

>

> I hate to admit it but lots of times the only thing that tastes good and is

pleasurable would be the first few bites, after that I go into automaton state

and suddenly it's all gone. In trying to be more mindful about it, I am able to

stop myself sometimes and I find I'm not physically hungry anymore but not full

yet either. I find the " had enough " spot difficult to gage and that's why I let

my head decide what enough is at times. I do agree with you about the eating

because it tastes good though. When I find I'm no longer hungry, and there are

only 3-4 bites left and I like that stuff, I also tend to keep eating it. I'm

not sure I'd call it emotional though. It doesn't make me happy to do that. In

fact it still makes me feel guilty if I feel anything at all. I don't know. and

it's not the clean plate syndrome thing. I actually have that one licked. I

don't feel any need to clean my plate anymore and haven't for several years.

I'm still new at IE and still find a lot of it confusing. Confusing but yet it

makes so much sense. I look forward to the day when I have it mastered a bit

more.

>

> Sunny

[Guest guest]

emotional eater

night eater

mindless eater

uncontrollable eater

full of guilt eater

eye eater

what else? probably more

>

> I am still an emotional eater. Most times I have control and stressful times I

become an emotional eater.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

[Guest guest]

My tendency is to eat fast. I never really feel overfull, but I don't feel I as

satisfied with my food as much as I could if I slowed down. I'll get into the

habit of eating slowly, and then boom, one day I'll realize I'm scarfing my food

again. It's a habit I developed as a child. I always had the feeling that if I

ate faster, I'd get more of the food I wanted, but of course it didn't really

work that way. I was very thin as a child, and my mom didn't really restrict me

due to that, but she was a dieter, and I think she just couldn't stop herself

from controlling our food, and how much we ate of each thing.

Since my diabetes diagnosis, I've been worse. I'm coming to the conclusion that

I need to discuss a fast-acting insulin with my doctor so that I can truly eat

intuitively again. I actually don't really want to eat that many carbs anyway,

but just knowing that I " shouldn't " eat them is making me label food, and making

year for food I don't normally yearn for. I'll have the insulin for backup so I

can eat the occasional 30-40 gram carb meal without feeling I'm harming myself.

Sara

>

> I am still an emotional eater. Most times I have control and stressful times I

become an emotional eater.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>