I've grown perceptive of dysfunctional eaters around me and amazed by how many different kinds of eaters there are!! I never paid attention to this sort of thing before, I've always had a very clear picture of how I wanted to see myself in the future as an eater and I finally discovered that IE is the only way that I could get there. I find myself very uncomfortable around disordered eaters in general. Disordered eaters have a way of penetrating my mood or psyche, their issues are obvious.
Such as:
- My friend X who criticizes herself before she puts any morsel of food in her mouth, every single time! "Not like I NEED to eat this sandwich but oh well" or "Can I steal one of your fries? I don't know how I'm gonna push these last 4lbs if I keep eating this way." It's like every time you eat with her she feels tremendous guilt and self consciousness about eating. She's thin by the way.
- The guy in our group who is a fitness geek who is always talking about protein, ratios, carbs, and drinks powders who's every meal makes me a better person.
- The family member who eats super super fast and literally cleans her plate at every meal I've ever shared with her.
- The overweight person who barely eats in public. You swear that you have no idea how they got to be 250lbs eating so little that you just assume that they are closeted binge eaters.
And most recently I ran into a few old friends at a recent work event. Friends from my college days. three of them all in one room I was practically certain that they are anorexic, all of them! Didn't eat anything at all, picked at their food, pretending to eat and looking so frail that it made me scared.