Re: Ian's Normal Diet Disorder ?

[Guest guest]

Ian,

I certainly cannot disagree with this theory. I know that it has

rarely been hunger that caused me to gain unwanted weight. There are

plenty of psychological impacts that come into play and food becomes

a comfort and a reward. This is a factor for many smokers who will

not even try to stop since they know they will gain weight by eating

instead of smoking.

My first awareness of the twisted logic that plays a part in my food

intake ...was as a young stay at home wife with 2 step children ages

5 & 6 in the home. There was always work that needed to be done... I

would only allow myself to stop and rest by having a cup of tea (a

self imposed coffee break so to speak) and I had to eat a piece of

toast or a cookie with the tea since my stomach complained over the

liquid without solids.

It was also true that during my pregnancies I worked harder at eating

healty (per the doctors suggestions) and found it quite easy to give

up the " junk " food since I was highly motivated for the sake of the

baby.

Once my system is cleansed of many of these foods for a few days it

becomes pretty easy for me to forego them and eat properly if I am

motivated ( changing to new foods can be very time consuming:

learning which foods are good, how to prepare them ..cooking by habit

is simpler) In my case I have also had the responsibility of

preparing a different diet for others in my family. So there is more

exposure to the temptations of that food and to the temptation to

skip the " work " of taking care of myself.

The lifelong habit of putting others needs ahead of my own and the

chained to the house (and to responsibility) plays right into the

hands of the food = reward - comfort. I had 30 years of raising

children and then 15 years of life alone when I was able to choose to

eat well and exercise. Now I am back to feeding a husband and both of

us are suffering from being " chained " to the house to care for my

father who is 94 years old, instead of being out of the house and

busy at a more active lifestyle. So striving for a CRON regimen at

this point requires a big effort.

Lucy

> What this suggests to me -- given that we can not only live

> with less food, but live better -- is that normal eating

> patterns may be more indicative of an addictive disorder,

> ie, a habitual behavior that reduces overall well being. But

> then I'm not one to impose my concept of " disorder " on others.