I got to thinking about this based on some of the chat on other threads. Since your lifestyle change, have any of your eating habits changed for the worse?

I can think of one that has for me. When I was fat, I would never do things like eat an entire box of cookies, or an entire carton of ice cream. (Okay, I do recall one time that I ate a whole pint, but that was really just a large serving for me at that point.) I used to be able to bake a dozen blueberry muffins and eat one or two, or have a box of donuts in the house and just eat one. I can't do that anymore. I specifically don't keep those foods in my house because I will eat the entire container. I do wish I could go back to my old habits in that respect at least, because it would be nice to be able to keep stuff in the house and portion it out reasonably.

I think there are two reasons for this change in my eating habits. One is that these foods have become "treat" foods in my mind, which means I do not get them often, so I have this feeling like I need to eat as much as possible of them when I have the chance, because I won't have another chance for a long time. The other reason, which is probably the bigger one, is DH. He never had junk food in his house growing up, so whenever they got some in it was a race to eat as much as you could before someone else ate it. He brought that mentality with him when we moved in together right at the start of my lifestyle change. Now I feel like if I make a dozen muffins, I need to eat them as quickly as possible so that DH won't eat them all. Sometimes I will portion something out into "his" and "hers" containers, but then I feel bad to still be eating from my container when he finished his several days earlier.

So anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had similar experiences. Have your eating habits changed negatively as a result of some other positive change? Or have they changed based on living with people who have a negative habit?

That's an interesting question, Jessica! (I love all of our thought -provoking threads -- yay, Maintainers!)

In my case, all my eating habits have improved for the better, at least that I can think of right now (Vicodin brain ) I used to be the one eating whole boxes of cookies and cartons of ice cream, but that was before I lost the weight. Now I don't, but primarily because I don't bring them in the house any more. So in one sense, I'm like you because I'd eat them all if they were in the house, but that's old behavior for me, not something that changed with weight loss.

DH makes it easier for me, rather than harder, like yours. Mine is truly a naturally thin person who can maintain a normal weight with intuitive eating. He's always been a good contrast for me and a lesson in the ideal way to approach eating. Not that I think I'll ever be that way, at least intuitively, but it's eye-opening.

I've always said that my way of eating used to be disordered and now it's ordered. I have to use my brain instead of my instincts to tell me how much and what to eat and when, but it's ordered and healthy and sustains a normal weight. So it works for me. Of course I'll slip back into those old, bad habits from time to time, but for me, they're old bad habits, not new ones.

Even though my experiences are different from yours, Jessica, I want to give you kudos for your self-analysis! It seems to me that the only way any of us will conquer our weight issues is complete self-honesty and trying to figure out why we relate to food the way we do. You're always so thoughtful and perceptive when you look at yourself and I think that's just so commendable.

I should add that there probably are people who look at what I do now to maintain my weight and think that I've picked up negative habits. There are people who think it's obsessive to be counting calories, journaling food, planning meals in advance etc, especially when I'm this far along in maintenance. So they might look at what I think is positive, rational eating and say nope, I've definitely changed my eating habits negatively.

Thanks Meg, it's interesting because DH has actually been really supportive of me and in general has a healthy lifestyle. I think he grew up eating healthier than I did in any case (like I said, they didn't have junk in the house when he was a kid), and he has always exercised regularly and eaten pretty healthy. The only negative eating habits he has are being a member of the clean plate club and eating entire containers of junk food, which doesn't happen too often because he doesn't buy them in the first place. He is a little bit overweight by BMI scale, but it seems that no matter how much or how little he eats he always weighs somewhere between 195 and 205 (he's about 6'1").

So I guess I should say that it's not like I'm blaming DH for my unhealthy habits, because while he has influenced that one thing for me, he has also taught me that Cocoa Puffs are not an appropriate breakfast food, exercise needs to be at least three days a week, how to lift weights, that I shouldn't go out to eat too often, and innumerable other positive things!

No.
I can answer this with certainty.
Since childhood my big problem was Binge eating,
and throughout my lifetime I frequently ate as much as was available,
or as much as my body could tolerate.
All my eating habits Now are infinitely better.

Before I lost weight and started exercising I could buy a pint of ice cream and only eat one or two servings out of it, leaving half in the carton. Now, if a pint of ice cream gets opened by me it gets eaten by me in one sitting.

I think with me it is because I don't do it very often maybe?

Nope, not usually. The only time I feel out of control, so to speak, is when I am trying to eat too few calories for too long a stretch. I think of this as having a nutritional deficit in addition to a calorie deficit, but I have no way of knowing.

I was never a binge eater, although I did overeat, and I do have "trigger foods" that I generally avoid.

With some foods, simply finding out how much damage I was doing changed my attitude towards them.

Jay

Interesting question. I think my bad habits have stayed the same, but less intense and less often and I feel much differently about them. I obviously have huge food issues to allow myself to get as big as I got, and I binged pretty much daily, sometimes a couple times a day...I confess, I still binge occasionally, but it is few and far between, less calories, and I feel terrible about it when before I didn't care one single bit that I had just polished off 5000 calories worth of cake and ice cream....If I eat 1/5 of that (as part of a binge), the guilt, and remorse sets in. SOme might say that the guilt issues I have are unhealthy, but I totally disagree. If I quit feeling guilty it would mean I quit caring which would mean I'd be well on my way to super morbidly obeace again. I don't see the guilt as a bad thing, I think it is okay to pissed off as **** when I treat my body like crap.

Lori, I've often said that fear and guilt are two of my most useful weight control emotions. Fear of going back to morbid obesity and guilt when I do something that will put me there. If I eat something seriously off track or feel out of control, I'll feel so guilty that night that I won't be able to sleep. I'll wake up all night regretting what I've done. Thank heavens! I'm so grateful that I still feel that way! I never want to lose that fear and guilt and I know that you understand exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm not sure if this is negative, but I have lost my innocence regarding food.

Maybe by innocence, I mean a certain obliviousness. And to some extent, that was a good thing to have lost, since I ate without really understanding the consequences, and look where that got me.

But I know that this loss of innocence means that I'm forever unfit to attempt anything like intuitive eating. I have no intuition left. I can't see food as itself anymore, as a neutral entity. I'm always judging or going through a bit of calculation, thinking ahead to possible consequences.

That is, if you put me back in the Garden of Eden, I wouldn't be able to wander through it looking at all the growing things without thinking: "Apple ... excellent ... slow to digest & some fiber there ..." and "Banana? I'll eat half. Do I need the potassium?" and "Coconut? Hmmm. Those are contentious. So are avocados, but my position on them is lenient."

As I said, this is good, mostly. But it does leave me a little sad.

LoriBell oh how I can relate to what you said. I can't believe just how horrible I feel after I've eaten poorly. Which is new for me. Well not that new anymore, but since I made the switch to a healthy lifestyle. I feel out of whack, mad as heck at myself, out of sorts, uptight, and on and on. Back in the day I never felt this way. Sick to my stomach, but that's about it. No guilt, no remorse, just when do I get to do it again.

Like Meg & LoriBell, I use these *unpleasant* feelings to my advantage. It IS a great maintenance tool. "Off" foods, even when I PLAN them, no longer do the same thing for me that they used to. I will never be able to enjoy those foods in the same way again. I know better now. I just do. I know how marvelous I feel when I eat the healthy stuff - so, when I don't I just can't enjoy it quite the same way. Which is really, really okay. Luckily I LOVE the healthy foods that I do eat on a daily basis. That's not to say that some of the "off" foods don't taste good to me (though I am ALWAYS disappointed, ALWAYS), but that same pleasure, that same high - gone, gone, gone.

As for the original question, no, I can't think of any new negative habits that I've acquired. My bad habits were back in the day. Like Meg, I was the one downing entire 1/2 gallons (feh to pints, childs' play ) of ice cream, boxes of cookies, boxes of Drakes coffee cakes, etc.

I too don't bring them in my home. They are not welcome. I am missing nothing. I have gained so much by eliminating them.

I used to have to hide my eating habits from the world, they were a big source of embarrassment and shame for me. Now I am darn proud of my eating habits and I will gladly share them with anyone and everyone. I've nothing to hide or be ashamed of (better than 95% of the time anyway .

I do see a bit of a trend here. I could be totally wrong and off base here and I apologize if I offend anyone. But it seems to me the former morbidly obese ones here have similar feelings on this topic and the ones that never made it up quite that high also have similar feelings, though different than the former group.

Can't say I've developed any negative habits, but I did want to add to Robin's comments. I've not horribly overeaten this holiday season, but some of my choices of foods were not the best, and my veggie level in particular has been way down. My holidays ended with my birthday yesterday (and the cake the girls at work got me was over the top! yikes) and today I had my usual Friday lunch out with 2 GFs, and had a lovely grilled chicken salad with oil/vinegar, and it tasted sooo good. Welcome back real food.

My own take on this is when I was eating junk I was eating junk constantly so maybe I didn't finish a box of cookies in the afternoon but I was probably having pizza for dinner. So instead of a "bad eating episode" I was constantly eating badly so it didn't matter if I finished the cookies there would be more tomorrow. Now if I choice to eat the junk, it is "hopefully" just for now and I can move foreward tomorrow.

Thought provoking January, thanks Jessica

Negative is such a "harsh" word.
I'm sure that some of my new habits would be considered "negative" by at least some folk.

I know my trigger foods. I KNOW that I need to avoid them. So, forcing myself to stay away from them - given my "moderation in all things" mentality is a negative result of my lifestyle change.

But, beyond that?
My binge eating is almost non-existent now - a BIG change from my former lifestyle.
I CAN eat MOST foods in moderation and quit after a reasonable portion (pizza, desserts (even cheesecake), crackers, breads, cheese - all foods that used to guarantee binge behaviors).

Honestly - the biggest "negative" from a family perspective is that I no longer eat with the family just because it is dinner-time. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. This was hard for my family to grasp and probably is still a negative in their minds. I join them at the table with a cup of tea - but - I will no longer eat because it is the socially acceptable thing to do.

Other than those things - no, I really don't see any negative habits resulting from my journey and maintenance.

I agree with saef that I have rather lost my innocence regarding food. I've also lost, to a certain extent, my ability to eat for pleasure. Before I lost weight, I ate what looked good. My meals and snacks were dictated by my palate. Now, I don't enjoy food the way I used to. When deciding what to eat, I look at my fitday account, and say to myself -- how are my macro and micronutrients? If I am short in protien, I eat some protien. If I am low in selenium, I eat a food that will supply that mineral. I no longer enjoy going to my favorite chinese restaurant because the thought of the fat and sodium in my favorite dishes taints the experience. I am not sure if this is a healthy attitude to have. It's not that I dislike my food, just that the pleasure element is much less.